GRE Score for ISB: Does ISB Accept It, and Is There a Cutoff?

Which rules does your GRE score have to meet?

• Take the test at a test center. ETS, which runs the GRE, lets you take the test at a test center or at home. But since the April 2025 intake, ISB has accepted only test-center scores.
• Make sure the score is still valid. A GRE score is valid for five years from the test date, and it must still be valid on the deadline of the round you apply in.
• Take the test on or before your round’s deadline. You can apply before your official scores arrive: upload the test confirmation email and enter your scores in the form. Your official scores must then reach ISB within three weeks.

Two more rules round these out. ISB does not waive the test, so every PGP applicant needs a valid GMAT or GRE score. And if you are reapplying, you do not need to send your score again, unless the score you sent earlier came from a test taken at home.

Sources: ISB PGP FAQ; ISB PGP application deadlines page.

What if you took the GRE before September 2023?

The GRE became a shorter test in September 2023, so you may be holding a score from the older, longer version. ISB accepts that score as long as it is still valid, because its FAQ sets the same rules for every GRE score, old or new. The older GRE also used the same score scale, so you can compare an older score directly with ISB’s figures in section 2. One thing to check: if your older score came from the at-home GRE, ISB will not accept it, because ISB takes only test-center scores.

How late can you take the GRE and still apply in your round?

You can take it as late as the day you submit your application, as long as you submit by your round’s deadline. ISB lets you apply with your unofficial scores, so you do not have to wait for your official scores before you apply. For the class joining in April 2027, that means taking the GRE by December 6, 2026, for Round 2, or by January 17, 2027, for Round 3.

Which of those two rounds you aim for matters too. If you want a scholarship, Zaveri suggests applying in Round 2 at the latest. ISB’s FAQ says tuition waivers go to deserving candidates whatever the round, but ISB has only so many to give, and strong applicants in the earlier rounds may take many of them. Our ISB fees guide explains the scholarships ISB offers and who can get them.

Zaveri also called it a common mistake to wait for a good score before starting the application, and I agree with him. Start your essays now, and fit the test around them.

How do you send your score to ISB?

The best and least expensive time to send your scores is test day. Once you see your scores at the test center, ETS lets you send them to up to four schools for free. After test day, sending your scores costs US$40 for each school.

So go to the test center with your list of up to four schools ready, with ISB on it. If you are happy with your score, you can send it to all four right away without paying anything extra.

If you have taken the GRE more than once, you also get to decide which of your scores a school sees. ETS gives you different choices on test day and after it.

• On test day, when you send your scores to your four free schools, you pick one of two options for each school: send only the score from that day, or send every GRE score you have from the last five years.
• After test day, when you pay to send your scores, you have one more option: you can also pick which scores to send, such as only your best attempt.

A school sees only the scores you send it. If ISB ends up with more than one valid GRE score from you, its FAQ says ISB considers the higher one. So sending ISB all your scores cannot hurt you.

What do these numbers tell you?

The median is the score right in the middle, so half the GRE takers scored 325 or more, and half scored 325 or less. In this class, the average and the median both came to 325, which makes 325 the number to compare your own score with. ISB publishes only total GRE scores, not section scores or essay scores, so compare your total.

You may also see an older GRE range of 319 to 330, which ISB’s FAQ still quotes. Go by the Class of 2027 figures above, since they are the latest.

Why does the score range tell you more than a cutoff?

In our talk, Zaveri pointed out that applicants should look at the score range, which is simply the lowest and the highest score in a class. A cutoff would only tell you the score below which nobody gets in. The range shows you the scores of the people who actually got in.

For ISB’s Class of 2027, the GRE range was 309 to 337. Treat the lowest score, 309, as an exception. It shows that a lower score can be made up for. It does not mean that most admits scored anywhere near 309.

So read the range and the median together, and pick your score band below to see where yours sits.

Is the cutoff different for Hyderabad and Mohali?

No. There is no cutoff for either campus, and the bar is the same for both. ISB has two campuses, in Hyderabad and Mohali, and Zaveri explained that a computer program assigns students to them. ISB tries to give each campus the same mix of men and women, the same mix of engineers and non-engineers, and the same average GMAT and GRE scores.

The people who interview you do not know which campus you will join. Recruiters do not know either. When companies come to ISB to recruit at placement time, they do not know which campus a student is from, and they are not allowed to ask.

How can you check your own application?

Since ISB scores all five parts, it makes sense to check yourself on all five. Go through them one by one, and mark which are strong and which need work. Our guide to the ideal ISB profile has a quick check that helps you do this, and if you would like a second opinion, Crackverbal’s free profile evaluation is a three-minute quiz, followed by a 30-minute conversation with our admissions team.

What can make up for a lower score?

Zaveri put it this way: an applicant with a slightly weaker score, strong achievements, and very good work experience stands the same chance as one with a strong academic record, an okay score, and okay work experience. By very good work experience, he means the quality of the work you have done, not the number of years. So use your application to show what you did in your job and what changed because of it.

My experience with ISB applicants

In my experience, the ISB admits I remember best did not have very high scores. What got them in was a clear story. They knew what they wanted to do, and they could explain why an MBA would help them get there. One of them was a development-sector professional who had worked for years in remote villages. His stories were unique, but he worried that his English was not polished enough. His profile carried him.

It works the other way too, because a high score cannot make up for a weak interview. I remember one applicant with a very high GRE score and a very good profile who was rejected because his interview was all “I, I, I” and never “we.” ISB is a collaborative school, and it looks for people who work well in a team.

What should you do next?

If your score is between 309 and 324, it is within the range of ISB’s Class of 2027. Spend your time on the other four parts of your application, especially your essays and your interview. If your score is below 309, it is lower than every GRE score in that class, and a retake may be the simpler fix. Our guide to retaking the GRE explains when a retake makes sense.

What if you have both scores?

If you send ISB both a GRE and a GMAT score, ISB has not said which of the two it will use. Its FAQ says it considers the higher score, but since it does not convert one test into the other, nobody outside ISB can tell you how it decides which is higher. If you go with the GMAT, ISB’s median on the GMAT Focus Edition was 675 for the Class of 2027, and our GMAT score for ISB guide covers that test the way this guide covers the GRE.

If you are still deciding between the two tests, our GMAT vs GRE guide has a short quiz that points you to the test that suits you.