GRE is a standardised exam. People from all around the world write it. GRE scores are also compulsory for admission into graduate school in the USA. Read on to know more about the test details, syllabus, dates and how to prepare.
Graduate programs in the United States in colleges like Harvard, MIT, UCLA, UCSD, etc are very prestigious. However, millions of people all over the world apply, from different education systems. In order to have a standard metric, all US universities require applicants to take up a standard exam.
This test is the Graduate Record Examinations. The Educational Testing Service conducts it year-round in almost 160 countries. This is a computer-based test designed to test Analytical Writing, Verbal Reasoning, and Quantitative Reasoning. You can also take up GRE subject tests to improve your application to highlight your strong areas.
Many programs ranging from STEM to financial to management, and also law programs accept these scores.
REGISTRATION:
Candidates can register at www.ets.org/gre, and the registration fees is USD 205. There are over 1000 centres, most of which have computer testing.
FORMAT
GRE’s total time is 3 hrs 45 mins.
The exam has 5 sections based on 3 areas of testing: Verbal, Analytical Writing, and Quantitative Reasoning.
There is also a 6th section that is research based and does not count towards the final score.
Analytical Writing:
Time: 60 minutes.
Number of questions: 2
- Issue Task: The candidate must write an essay on a matter chosen from a pool of topics. The ETS website lists these topics beforehand.
- Arguments: You must analyse and critique an argument in a logical manner.
Scoring: Graded from 0-6
Quantitative reasoning:
Time taken: 35+35 minutes
Number of questions: 20+20
These are regular, high-school level mathematical problems that could be of arithmetic, geometry, and also algebra. You cannot use calculators.
Scoring: 130-170
Verbal reasoning:
Time taken: 30+30 minutes
Number of questions: 20+20
This section may include text completion, sentence correction, and reading comprehension.
Scoring: 130-170
NOTE:
The verbal and quantitative sections of GRE are computer adaptive- i.e the level questions that are presented to a candidate are based on the responses of that candidate. The more they answer correctly, the harder are the questions.
SCORING:
Total scores for GRE are usually between 130 and 340.
Scores are valid for 5 years.
IMPORTANT DATES:
Aspirants can take it up multiple times in a year.
Computer based: Upto 5 times within 12 consecutive months. You cannot take the exam more than twice within a period of 21 days.
The paper-based exam can be taken as many times as it is being offered.
GRE SUBJECT TESTS:
There are also 6 GRE subject tests. These topics are Biology, Maths, Chemistry, English Literature, Psychology, and Physics.
Time per exam: 170 minutes.
These exams are a wonderful way to highlight your strengths, and look good either on a resume or a cover letter when applying.
HOW TO PREPARE:
This exam is so competitive, that many people cannot study for it by themselves. Thus, many turn to online educational platforms.
One such wonderful platform is Edureify, which provides material on each topic, mock exams, and also tuition to GRE aspirants. Edureify provides a topic-wise set of questions that are rather specific to the GRE, with sub-topics such as proverbs, sentence completion, etc.
The platform also has a dedicated set of teachers who specialise in English and Maths. You can request to be tutored by them further to improve your performance. With over 650000 questions per topic and teachers with over 7 years of experience in the education industry, Edureify challenges you while also helping you find the answers in your own time. This is a very convenient option as compared to heading to a coaching centre.
Edureify also designs solving sets in levels of increasing difficulty. This is especially helpful in the computer-adaptive tests. Be sure to participate in the HOTs quizzes as well.
With a little help, you also can get the perfect GRE score. To know more, visit edureify.com.
Best of luck!
