GRE Test (Graduate Record Examination)

The Graduate Record Examination is a Standardized test that measures verbal, mathematical and analytical skills. It is intended to help the graduate schools (of all fields other than business) assess the potential of applicants for advanced study . Nearly 2300 universities in the US require GRE® scores from each applicant. The GRE tests the fundamental skills - Reasoning and Comprehension included - and does not require any subject-specific theoretical study. (This is true only for the General GRE Test, and not the GRE Subject, which is required by certain universities. In this section, we mean the General GRE Test whenever we refer to the GRE Test)

The GRE Test is an entirely Computer based test - the keyboard and mouse do the work of a pen or pencil.

Total Score: The test is scored out of 1600 (in multiples of 10).

Required for: For the admission to graudate schools or to master's programs and doctoral programs the test is required. It is intended to access the potential of applicants for advanced study.

Administered by: The GRE Test is developed and administered by the US-based "Educational Testing Service" (ETS) under the direction of the Graduate Record Examination Board , a non-profit organization of graduate business schools worldwide. This implies that ETS sets the questions, conducts the test, and sends each examinee the score report. For the conduct of the test, ETS has appointed Testing Agencies in various countries, which act as franchisee for ETS.In Nepal, this is conducted by American Education Center.

Eligibility: Anyone and everyone is eligible for taking the GRE Test - there are no restrictions based on age or qualifications.

Test fees: The test fees for GRE Test may vary according to the country in which you take the test. In Nepal, this fee is US $ (approx NRs. ), payable at the time of registration.

Test Validity: The test scores are valid for five years, i.e., most universities accept scores up to five years old. But it is always better if your scores are recent (not older than 2 years).

GRE Pattern : The GRE - Graduate Record Examination comprises 2 separate tests. These include the General Test and the Subject Test

The General Test is divided into three parts:

o Verbal o Quantitative o Analytical writing

• The scores of verbal and the quantitative tests each are between 200-800. A scale of 0 - 6 is used to keep the scores of the analytical writing test which are incremented by ½-point. The Subject Test checks the student's knowledge in psychological concepts required for graduate study, which also has a score between 200-800.

• For admission to graduate school, the scores on the verbal and quantitative sections (excluding the Subject Test), matter the most. For admission to doctoral programs, it is important to score at least 550 on each test. Master's programs are comparatively less competitive, so, scoring between 450-500 on each of the tests can be considered just fine. A score above 450 is expected for entry in any of the colleges.

• Registration is compulsory for taking the GRE. There are separate testing sites in each state. For the General test, you should register well ahead of time to get your choice of dates for the test. For the Subject Test, you will need to register in an advance of at least six weeks.

• Online registration can be done. Registration by mail is also another way. You need to fill up the registration form in the GRE Information and Registration Bulletin. The registration bulletin can be obtained from GRE- Online or by writing to: GRE, CN 6000, Princeton, NJ 08541-6000. Master's programs are comparatively less competitive, so, scoring between 450-500 on each of the tests can be considered just fine. A score above 450 is expected for entry in any of the colleges.

• Registration is compulsory for taking the GRE. There are separate testing sites in each state. For the General test, you should register well ahead of time to get your choice of dates for the test. For the Subject Test, you will need to register in an advance of at least six weeks.

• Online registration can be done. Registration by mail is also another way. You need to fill up the registration form in the GRE Information and Registration Bulletin. The registration bulletin can be obtained from GRE- Online or by writing to: GRE, CN 6000, Princeton, NJ 08541-6000.

Content and Format of the GRE Test

The test has three distinct sections : Writing Assessment (WA), Quantitative, and Verbal. The Quantitative section has Problem Solving questions, which test your mathematical skills and concepts of roughly the high-school level. The Verbal Section has four types of questions : Antonyms, Analogies, Reading Comprehension, and Sentence Completion. The questions of each type appear in no set sequence. There are a total of 58 questions, 28 in Quantitative and 30 in Verbal.

The third section, Analytical Writing Assessment measures critical thinking and analytical writing skills. It consists of two analytical writing tasks : (1) "Present your perspective on an issue", and (2) "Analyze an Argument".

There is a one-minute break between each test section. Midway through the testing session, an on-screen message will inform you of the opportunity to take a 10-minute break. Section timing will not stop if you take an unscheduled break.

An unidentified verbal or quantitative experimental section may be included and may appear in any order after the analytical writing section. It is not counted as part of your score.

Quantitive Section: This section tests you on a level of Maths that is comparable to Class 10 mathematics, with questions on Number Systems, Percentages, Fractions & Decimals, Algebra (including Quadratic Equations), Geometry (including Basic Coordinate Geometry), Ratio & Proportion, Area & Volume of 2-D and 3-D figures, and Probability. This list is not exhaustive; questions from beyond these topics may also be asked.

The section has 28 questions to be completed in 45 minutes.

Verbal Section: The verbal section requires a good vocabulary level, the basic skills of correct English coupled with reasoning and analysis. The 30 questions, to be attempted in 30 minutes, consist of four types : Antonyms, Analogies, Sentence Completion, and Reading Comprehension. The four types are intermingled, with no fixed number for each type.

Analytical Writing Assessment Section: The  writing assessment section requires you to write - or type - two short essays. The first is the Issue task, in which you need to analyze the issue presented and explain your views on it. For the Issue task, you will be able to choose 1 of 2 essay topics selected by the computer from the pool of topics. You will get 45 minutes to do write or type this essay.

The second essay is Analysis of an Argument, in which a given argument has to be critically analyzed and evaluated. The Argument task does not offer a choice of topics; the computer will present you with a single topic selected from the topic pool. You will get 30 minutes to write or type this essay.

For both the essays, the emphasis is on the "Analytical" part, and not on the "Writing" part. This implies that a concise essay with well-reasoned points written in simple English will be looked upon more favourably than an essay which falls short on the analytical aspects even though it is high on writing skills.

A ten-minute break follows the two essays. The computer gives you the option to take this break, or to move directly to the subsequent section. Even if you finish the essays before the stipulated sixty minutes, the break will still be of five minutes. It is advisable to utilize this break by gearing yourself up for the tougher sections that follow.

GRE Preparation

• To ensure a higher grade in GRE, it is very important to prepare yourself thoroughly.
• Get hold of review books and plan a systematic method of study, which will help you in brushing your skills in areas of vocabulary, analogies, reading comprehension, geometry and algebra.
• Cramming is no way to crack a GRE - Graduate Record Examination, all you need is time. It is advisable to start your preparation much before your registration.

Planning the General Test in November is a wise decision, which will ensure your scores will be available well on time to meet any deadline during the admissions. Again, if you lose out, on the first trial, you will have sufficient time to re-take the test in December

SUBJECT GRE

The GRE Subject tests are meant to assess your qualification in a specific field of study. It is required mainly for Doctoral Study in the US and is also required by some universities for Masters Level programs.

You need to check the application requirements of universities you are applying to. The test is available in eight different areas:

(1) Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology (2) Biology (3) Chemistry (4) Computer Science (5) Literature in English

(6) Mathematics (7) Physics (8) Psychology

This test is a written test and not a computer test like the General GRE test