Should I retake the GRE? How many times should I take it?

We always recommend planning to take the exam more than once. This reduces the pressure on any single sitting and gives you a backup plan, because things don't always go according to plan. Best case: you hit your target score on the first try. But everybody has bad days, and it's good to have room for a retake if you need one.

ETS allows you to retake the GRE every 21 days, with a maximum of five attempts in a rolling 12-month period. A smart approach: schedule your first exam early enough that the 21-day minimum still leaves time for a retake before your application deadlines.

There are two common retake situations:

1. You had a bad day. Your practice test scores were consistently where you needed them, but test day didn't go as planned. In this case, about a month between attempts is plenty. The work is about tightening consistency, building resilience under pressure, and getting back to the level you've already proven you can reach. You don't need a major overhaul — you need another shot.

2. You weren't fully ready. Maybe you scheduled the exam hoping to be ready, or you wanted a first experience in the test center. If your score is far from your goal, you may need more than a month to make real improvement before going back. Take the time to actually close the gap rather than rushing into another attempt.

The ideal situation is to keep taking the exam until you get the score you want, with no hard deadline forcing you to stop. Plan to keep improving and keep going back. That said, don't treat the exam casually — five attempts in a year is enough for most people, but if you burn through them without real improvement between each one, you could run out. Each attempt should come with a credible reason to expect a better result.

If you got a score that doesn't feel like your best effort — that doesn't represent the work you've put in or the results you've seen in practice — you probably can do better. Go back and get the score you've earned.