How Good is a 319 on the GRE?

A 319 is above every field average ETS publishes. This page is about which programmes that actually opens, and where the split matters most.

A 319 does the job. The reason this page keeps going is that the total hides the thing committees actually read — your two section scores, which ETS reports separately and percentiles separately.

The short answer

Good, with one thing to check. A 319 beats every published field average; whether it beats your field's expectation on the section they care about depends on your split.

Move the split, keep the total
Every setting below adds up to 319. Watch what happens to the percentiles.
Verbal
160 · 84th
Quant
159 · 47th
Total
319
Shape
balanced

A 319 against your field

A 319 against average scores by field
Physical Sciences314 · 153V/161QEngineering313 · 150V/163QComputer Science313 · 150V/163QSocial Sciences307 · 155V/152QArts & Humanities307 · 157V/150QBiological Sciences306 · 153V/153QBusiness306 · 151V/155QEducation301 · 152V/149Qyour 319
Each dot is the average total (Verbal + Quant) reported for that graduate field; the dashed line is a 319. Field averages are ETS interpretive data, also published on what counts as a good GRE score.

No discipline in the ETS tables averages as high as a 319. Physical Sciences comes closest at 314, and it is still well short.

Treat those averages as orientation, not thresholds. They are means across everyone who reported a score in that discipline, which mixes together programmes with very different expectations.

A 319 is not one score

The same 319, built five ways
149V / 170Qquant-heavy3491155V / 164Qquant-heavy6563160V / 159Qbalanced8447165V / 154Qverbal-heavy9534170V / 149Qverbal-heavy9921Verbal percentileQuant percentile
Each row is a Verbal/Quant split that adds up to 319, with the percentile ETS publishes for each half. The totals are identical; the applications are not. Percentiles come from the tables behind our GRE percentile calculator.

Here is the thing most pages about a 319 get wrong: it is not one score. ETS reports Verbal and Quant separately, publishes a percentile for each, and publishes nothing at all for the sum. A committee reads the two halves.

At a 319 the spread is enormous: depending on how the points are distributed, one of your sections could sit anywhere from the 21th to the 99th percentile. That is the range a single total is hiding.

Split evenly, a 319 is 160/159, which ETS puts at the 84th percentile for Verbal and the 47th for Quant. That gap is not an error; the Quant distribution is simply far more crowded at the high end.

Why the two sections are not comparable

Why 160 Verbal and 159 Quant are not the same achievement
0255075100130140150160170Verbal percentileQuant percentile
The two sections use the same 130–170 scale but completely different distributions. A 160 on Verbal is the 84th percentile; a 159 on Quant is the 47th. That gap is the single most misread thing about GRE scores.

Should you retake?

There is little here worth chasing. The score clears every field average, and the realistic upside is a few points nobody reading your file would weigh differently.

There is a single scenario worth the trouble — your field reads one section closely and that section is behind. Otherwise the score is finished.

Check your split, not your total

Verify the shape before you stop thinking about the test. The GRE percentile calculator turns your two scaled scores into the two percentiles a committee will see.

Check your section percentiles

What to do next

Only retake if your weaker section is below your field's average. The total is already doing its job.

Frequently asked questions

Is a 319 good enough to apply with?

Comfortably. Every graduate field ETS publishes an average for reports a total below 319.

How can a 319 be split between sections?

The range runs 149/170 through 170/149. A balanced 319 is 160 Verbal with 159 Quant.

Would retaking improve a 319 enough to matter?

Usually no. The upside is small and programmes see your attempts; the exception is a weak section in a field that reads that section closely.

Does a 319 work for a STEM programme?

Above the 313 engineering average, yes. The number that matters more there is your Quant score on its own, against 163.

Nearby scores