If you’re a student who is doing their Bachelor’s Degree in India, it would’ve crossed your mind to study abroad. It is quite common for students in India to complete their Master’s Degrees outside the country but do their UG studies here. However, many are not aware of the exams you have to take to study abroad. Let us discuss some of these exams briefly, and also how you can prepare for them as well.
For technical higher studies: GRE
The Graduate Records Examination is a standardised test whose scores weigh in heavily on whether you get your preferred seat. GRE tests 3 critical areas, namely Analytical Writing, Verbal Reasoning, and also Quantitative Reasoning. This is one of the most important exams you have to take to study abroad in a technical field.
REGISTRATION: Candidates can register at www.ets.org/gre, and the registration fees is USD 205.
FORMAT
The first section called Analytical Writing requires aspirants to write an essay on any topic from a pool of statements. You must also analyse the argument in the essay. The Quantitative section tests the candidate’s high school mathematics. Verbal reasoning tests one’s grammar knowledge and vocabulary as well.
NOTE:
The verbal and quantitative sections of GRE are computer adaptive.
SCORING:
Total scores for GRE are usually between 130 and 340.
Scores are valid for 5 years.
For MBA and similar degrees: GMAT
GMAT is a standardised test is a competitive exam written English by people from all around the world to gain entry to any graduate program such as an MBA. Many colleges consider GMAT scores for admission, and many people use this exam as an opportunity to improve their resume when applying to universities outside India.
GMAT is designed to test 4 critical areas, namely Analytical Writing, Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning, and Integrated Reasoning.
REGISTRATION:
Candidates can register at mba.com, and the registration fees is USD 250. Students can also call test centres to learn more about the offline registration process.
FORMAT
GMAT has a total time of 3 hrs 7 mins.
The exam has 4 sections: Verbal, Analytical Writing, Quantitative, and Integrated Reasoning. All sections are similar to GRE except for the Integrated Reasoning. This section has questions with a lot of data, asking the reader to make predictions/ statements based on what they learn through the visualisations. There are 4 types: 2-part analysis, graphics interpretation, multiple-source analysis and table based analysis questions.
NOTE:
The verbal and quantitative sections of GMAT are computer adaptive.
SCORING:
Total scores for GMAT are usually between 800 and 200.
Scores are valid for 5 years.
An exam you have to take to study abroad in any program: TOEFL
Lastly, if you are applying for a Master’s program in English in any county outside India, it is necessary to write TOEFL. TOEFL stands for Test of English as a Foreign Language, and is designed to test “the ability of non-native speakers” of English, and therefore, their competence in understanding the course material.
TOEFL has 4 parts: Reading, Listening, Speaking and Writing. The first two parts are pretty standard. The third consists of speaking tasks that are recorded and sent to ETS, which conducts these examinations. Writing consists of two parts: independent and integrated. The independent part has students analysing the listening passage, and relating it to the key points in the reading passage. The integrated one has groups of students write on a topic and listen to a single speaker discussing it.
Further preparation
If you are worried due to this list of examinations you have to write, don’t fret! Everyone goes through the same process if they want to study abroad. The only problem you may encounter is managing your work-study schedule with your exam prep.
A lot of people in this situation end up taking help from online coaching platforms. One such wonderful platform is Edureify. Edureify provides material on each topic, mock exams, and also tuition to aspirants taking up these exams. Edureify provides a topic-wise set of questions, with sub-topics such as proverbs, sentence completion, for verbal reasoning, mensuration and arithmetic for quantitative reasoning, etc.
The platform also has teachers who specialise in English and Math, so you can request their improve your performance. With over 650000 questions per topic, Edureify challenges you while also helping you find the answers in your own time. Going at your own pace helps you understand all the exams you have to take to study abroad.
To know more, visit edureify.com.
