How many times can you take the GRE?

You can take the GRE exam five times in a twelve-month period, but you have to wait 21 days between each attempt. Both the online test and the in-person test count toward your yearly GRE limit.

Although there is no lifetime cap on how many times you can take the GRE, you probably don’t want to make too many trips to the test center. So, how many times should you plan to take the test? Read below for some ideas on how to plan your GRE timeline.

Get a baseline GRE practice test score first

If you’re just starting out with your GRE studies, you first should gauge your starting score. This will help you figure out how far you are from your target score, as well as which areas need the most work.

To get a baseline score, start by familiarizing yourself with the structure of the test and the types of questions that you’ll see. This summary from the creators of the GRE offers a rundown of the overall GRE test structure, including examples of the types of questions you’ll encounter.

After you’ve familiarized yourself with the test format and question styles, take a full, official GRE practice test. Make this test experience as realistic as possible – only take the short breaks that you’re allowed on the real test, complete all of the sections, and don’t pause in the middle of the sections. This will take around 3 hours and 45 minutes, so plan accordingly.

This GRE practice test should give you a good idea of where you are before you start studying, and will help prevent you from taking the GRE exam more times than is truly necessary.

Your first time taking the GRE: the “expensive practice test”

In general, you shouldn’t head into the test room unprepared and praying for a miracle from the GRE gods. Instead, shoot for consistently good results in your homework so that you can walk into your official GRE test knowing that you’re ready to achieve a good score.

That doesn’t mean that you need to wait until the perfect moment to take your first official GRE test. In fact, it can be valuable to experience the GRE one time before you’re 100% ready, just so that you know what it feels like to take the real thing. The GRE test-day experience can help you make your subsequent homework sets and practice tests more realistic.

So, when should you take the GRE for the first time? We recommend taking the exam when you feel that you have solid foundations in all of the major question types. (Check out our Reading Comprehension, Text Completion, and Sentence Equivalence guides for strategy advice.) You should also have a plan for how to manage your time on the quant and verbal sections.

When you feel like you are generally on the right track, it might be time to sign up for a first official attempt. It’s reasonable to treat this attempt like an expensive practice test – your goal is to see what it feels like to go through the test center rigamarole (or the digital equivalent if you’re taking the GRE online). Don’t expect perfection. Instead, just try to stick to the strategies you’ve developed, and think of this as a learning experience.

After your first official attempt, take some time to reflect. Did your official test score roughly align with your practice test score? Or did your score suddenly plunge? Were you able to stick to your strategies under pressure? Which areas are looking good, and which ones need more work?

Use this first attempt to learn more about yourself as a test-taker, and then adjust your future GRE study plan accordingly.

And hey – if you get an awesome score on your first attempt, that’s great! You’re done, and you can go celebrate.

Your core GRE attempts

After getting one official GRE attempt under your belt, we recommend studying until your official practice test scores roughly match your goal score. It just doesn’t make sense to retake the exam if you’re still scoring significantly lower than you’d like on your practice tests.

When your official GRE practice tests are in good shape and you’ve implemented any necessary changes from your initial attempt, you’re ready. Sign up for another official GRE test.

If that test goes well, then great! You’re done, and you can go celebrate.

A word of caution, though: it’s fairly common for students to need more than this single attempt to hit their goal. After a long bout of studying, it can just be a little nerve-wracking to get back into the test room, and those nerves can throw you off of your game.

So if your GRE score goals are ambitious, we recommend being prepared for at least two core GRE attempts. Again, it might all work out on the first try – but if it doesn’t, don’t despair. Shake it off, reflect on what happened, and get back in there. It’s very normal to need an extra attempt.

A “no pressure” GRE retake

Let’s say that you’ve taken the GRE and you now have a score that you’re reasonably happy to put on your graduate school application. It makes sense to start working on the rest of your profile – go dust off your resume, beg for letters of recommendation, and write some nice application essays.

In the back of your head, though, maybe you’re wondering whether you could have scored just a bit higher on the GRE.

Tons of students end up in this position, and we often recommend a “no pressure” GRE retake. You now have a score that you can live with, so this last attempt is just a cherry on top. Why not try to roll out of bed one day, sign up for the next available slot, and just go take it?

When pressure is removed from the equation, many students are able to relax and achieve their very best GRE score. Here’s one of our favorite examples of a student who took a standardized test with absolutely no pressure – and performed wonderfully.

An overall plan for your GRE attempts

So, what does the above look like when you put it all together?

Start with an official GRE practice test.
Read up on the fundamentals of each major question type, and develop your overall GRE strategy.
Go in for your first attempt: the “expensive practice test.” If you nail it, congrats! You’re done.
Reflect on your first attempt and implement necessary changes. Work until your practice tests roughly match your goal score.
Go in for your next attempt(s). You’re ready to rock it, but mentally prepare yourself for two attempts. That will reduce pressure on the first one.
Consider a “no pressure retake” if you’re somewhat happy with your GRE score but curious about taking it in a more relaxed state.

Of course, every student is different – you may be done after one attempt, or you may need to take the GRE several times to get to your best score. Just try to have a rough plan, and don’t squander your GRE attempts before you’re fully ready.