GRE

The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is a standardized test that is an admissions requirement for many graduate schools principally in the United States, but also in other English speaking countries. Created and administered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS), the exam is primarily focused on testing abstract thinking skills in the areas of math, vocabulary, and analytical writing. The GRE is a computer-based exam that is administered by select qualified testing centers in India.

The Graduate Record Examination is a test taken to estimate verbal, mathematical, and analytical skills in students. The Graduated Record Examination is simply known as GRE. This test helps universities or colleges to measure the ability of applicants for advanced education. The students who intend to study business don’t require attending GRE exam. More than two thousand universities in the USA require GRE score from each applicant before permitting them to admit in their university.

The GRE examines the skills on reasoning and comprehension. There is no any minimum qualification indicated for taking GRE. However, the candidate must be a graduated student or about to complete graduation within six coming months.

Generally, the students who want to study Post Graduate level or PhD program in American universities requires to pass the GRE Test. Princeton in New Jersey conducts this exam which is a provide Educational Testing Services.

The GRE 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.

The test is held all-round-the-year. Therefore you can choose your own date and time. The test is administered in the above cities five-days-a-week (Monday through Friday), twice-a-day. September to December is the high season for GRE, so in case you intend to take the test during this period, you need to register very early to get a date of your choice. Otherwise, registering at least 15 days in advance is mandatory. The test lasts roughly three-and-a-half hours, and most centres offer two slots: 9 A.M. and 2 P.M.

Structure of the GRE

The GRE test has three distinct sections and a required experimental section that is not included in the reported score: The sections are Quantitative, Analytical writing, and Verbal. The Analytical writing section will always appear first, while the verbal, quantitative, and experimental sections may appear in any order on the test. 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. Questions in the Analytical Section test your logical and structural reasoning ability. There are a total of 93 questions, 28 in Quantitative, 35 in Analytical, and 30 in Verbal. The entire test procedure takes about 3 hours.

Section             Questions                  Duration

Verbal                   30                       30 minutes
Analytical               35                      60 minutes 
Quantitative           28                       45 minutes
Experimental        Varies                     Varies  

Verbal section

The verbal section, consisting of multiple-choice questions in the form of analogies, antonyms, sentence completions, and reading comprehension passages. Multiple-choice response sections are graded on a scale of 200-800, in 10 point increments. This section primarily tests vocabulary, and average scores in this section are substantially lower than those in the quantitative section. In a typical examination, this section may consist of 30 questions, and 30 minutes may be allotted to complete the section.

Quantitative section

The quantitative section, the other multiple-choice section, consists of problem solving and quantitative comparison questions that test high-school level math. Multiple-choice response sections are graded on a scale of 200-800, in 10 point increments. In a typical examination, this section may consist of 28 questions, and test takers may be given 45 minutes to complete the section.

The 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.

Analytical writing section

The analytical writing section consists of two different essays, an "issue task" and an "argument task". The writing section is graded on a scale of 0-6, in half-point increments. The essays are written on a computer using a word processing program specifically designed by ETS. The program allows only basic computer functions and does not contain a spell-checker or other advanced features. Each essay is scored by at least two readers on a six-point holistic scale. If the two scores are within one point, the average of the scores is taken. If the two scores differ by more than a point, a third reader examines the response.

Issue task

The test taker will be able to choose between two topics upon which to write an essay. The time allowed for this essay is 45 minutes.

Argument task

The test taker will be given an "argument" and the test taker will be asked to write an essay that explains why one "side" of the argument is superior. Typically, the task requires that the taker identify and critique the logical fallacies of the argument. The time allotted for this essay is 30 minutes.

Experimental section

The experimental section will be either a verbal, quantitative or the essay section which contains new questions that ETS is considering for future test editions. This section will not count toward the test-taker's score; however, the section will appear identical to either the "actual" verbal or quantitative section and will likewise be a multiple-choice test with the same number of questions and the same time allotment as the "real" verbal or quantitative section. The test taker will have no way of knowing which section is experimental, so the test taker is forced to complete this section.

If the experimental section appears as an analytical writing question (essay), if an "issue" type question is presented, a choice between two topics will not be given. This coupled with the fact that the true analytical writing section is the first test given can help the test-taker to deduce which is the experimental section and the taker can thus lower the importance of that section.

Research Section

An additional research section may appear at the end of the test. Unlike the experimental section, this section will be clearly marked and will be completely optional. The test taker's participation or refusal to participate will not affect the reported score in any way.

Use in graduate admissions

The GRE is only one of several parameters which the graduate schools look at to determine the selection of an applicant. A high score alone does not guarantee admission.  But the test can be looked upon as the first major hurdle to be cleared in the process of getting admission into a University of your choice.

Most graduate schools in the United States require GRE test results as part of the admission procedure. The GRE test is a standardized test intended to measure the abilities of all graduates in tasks of general academic nature, regardless of their fields of specialization. The GRE is supposed to measure the extent to which undergraduate education has developed an individual's verbal and quantitative skills in abstract thinking.

The use and weight of GRE scores vary considerably not only from school to school, but from department to department, and from program to program too. Programs in liberal arts topics may only consider the applicant's verbal score to be of interest, while math and science programs may only consider quantitative ability; however, since most applicants to math, science, or engineering graduate programs all have high quantitative scores, the verbal score can become a deciding factor even in these programs. Some schools use the GRE in admissions decisions, but not in funding decisions; others use the GRE for the selection of scholarship and fellowship candidates, but not for admissions. In some cases, the GRE may be a general requirement for graduate admissions imposed by the university, while particular departments may not consider the scores at all. Graduate schools will typically provide information about how the GRE is considered in admissions and funding decisions, and the average scores of previously admitted students. The best way to find out how a particular school or program evaluates a GRE score in the admissions process is to contact the person in charge of graduate admissions for the specific program in question (and not the graduate school in general).

Programs that involve significant expository writing require the submission of a prepared writing sample that is considered more useful in determining writing ability than the analytical writing section; however, the writing scores of foreign students are sometimes given more scrutiny and are used as an indicator of overall comfort with and mastery of conversational English.

In the graduate school admissions process, the level of emphasis that is placed upon GRE scores varies widely between schools and even departments within schools. The importance of a GRE score can range from being an important selection factor to being a mere admission formality.

So what is the true value of GRE, in the whole process, you may ask? Find it out here

Computer Adaptive Testing

The Verbal and Quantitative multiple-choice portions of the test use computer-adaptive testing (CAT) methods that automatically change the difficulty of questions as the test taker proceeds with the exam, depending on the number of correct or incorrect answers that are given. The test taker is not allowed to go back and change the answers to previous questions, and the answer to a question must be given before the next question is presented.

The first question that is given in a multiple-choice section is considered to be an "average level" question that half of the GRE test takers will answer correctly. If the question is answered correctly, then subsequent questions become more difficult. If the question is answered incorrectly, then subsequent questions become easier, until a question is answered correctly. This approach to administration yields scores that are of similar accuracy while using approximately half as many items. However, this effect is moderated with the GRE because it has a fixed length; true CATs are variable-length, where the test will stop itself once it has zeroed in on the candidate's ability level.

The actual scoring of the test is done with item response theory (IRT). While CAT is associated with IRT, IRT is actually used to score non-CAT exams. The GRE subject tests, which are administered in the traditional paper-and-pencil format, use the same IRT scoring algorithm. The difference that CAT provides is that items are dynamically selected so that the test taker only sees items of appropriate difficulty. Besides the psychometric benefits, this has the added benefit of not wasting the examinee's time by administering items that are far too hard or easy. This occurs in fixed-form testing.

Score 

The GRE results comprise four different scores : a total score, and separate scores for Verbal, Quantitative, and Analytical sections. The total score is reported out of 1600 and the sectional scores are out of 800.

In addition to these scores, the score report also contains percents (%) below. These "% below" indicate the percentage of examinees who scored below you based on the scores of the entire GRE testing population for the most recent three-year period. These percentages are important in considering how an applicant for admission to a particular management school compares with everyone in the specified period, with all other applicants to the same school, and with students already enrolled at the school.

Preparation

A variety of resources are available for those preparing for the GRE. Upon registration, ETS provides preparation software called PowerPrep, which contains two practice tests of retired questions, as well as further practice questions and review material. Since the software replicates both the test format and the questions used, it can be useful to predict the actual GRE scores. ETS does not license their past questions to any other company, making them the only source for official retired material. ETS used to publish the "BIG BOOK" which contained a number of actual GRE questions; however, this publishing was abandoned. Several companies provide courses, books and other unofficial preparation materials.

ETS has claimed that content of the GRE is "un-coachable"; however, many test preparation companies claim that the test format is so rigid that familiarizing oneself with the test's organization, timing, specific foci, and the use of process of elimination is the best way to increase a GRE score.

GRE tips 

1. First 10 Questions of each section are more important than the latter ones.

2. Most of candidates will find the quantitative section easier but be careful and avoid making silly mistakes. Note 'that you wont get extra score if you finish this section before time!

3. Questions on Probability, Permutations, combinations, mean, mode, and standard deviation are common. Be patient in Quantitative section.

4. Verbal section is tougher for people not having English, as native language best solution is to learn as many words as possible.

5. Answer all questions in each section.  There is negative marking for questions left unanswered. So in the last 2 minutes just guess all the remaining questions.

6. Don't panic even if your score is low

7. Be prepared with the names of 4 Universities where you wish the scores to be reported.

4 GRE Myths
There are the Greek myths, and then there are the GRE myths.  We don’t have much to say about the first. But we can help bust the second.

MYTH #1: GRE scores are not as important as your personal statement and your relationship with faculty members at prospective schools.

FACT: While the weight placed on your GRE score in relation to other factors (undergraduate GPA, letters of recommendation, relevant experience in your chosen field, etc.) will vary from program to program, poor GREs can seriously hurt your chances of admission. In addition, GRE scores are an important factor when it comes to awarding teaching and research assistantships and merit-based financial aid.

MYTH #2: The GRE tests complex math concepts.

FACT: GRE math is tough because of the way the concepts are tested, not because of the concepts themselves. The GRE tests math concepts you learned in the seventh or eighth grade—you won't see any calculus or trigonometry.

MYTH #3: You can hone a number of skills to improve your math score, but you can't really raise your verbal score.

FACT: The single best way to improve your verbal score is to increase your vocabulary. Antonyms, analogies and sentence completions all rely upon your understanding of the words in the questions and answer choices. If you’re familiar with the definitions, you'll be able to answer the questions quickly and accurately.

MYTH #4: All of the questions on the GRE count equally towards your score.

FACT: The GRE is a computer-adaptive test. This means that unlike paper-and-pencil standardized tests that begin with an easy question and become progressively tougher, the GRE always begins with a question of moderate difficulty. If you get it right, the computer gives you a slightly harder question.  If you get it wrong, you’ll receive a slightly easier question. Therefore, questions at the beginning of each section have a greater impact on your score.

Eligibility and Fees

Anyone and everyone is eligible for taking the GRE. There are no restrictions based on age or qualifications. The test scores are valid for five years. Most universities accept scores up to five years old.

Test fees for GRE may vary according to the country in which you take the test. In India, this fee is US $170, payable at the time of registration.

What is Computer Adaptive Test (CAT)?

In CAT the computer screen displays one question at a time, which is chosen from a very large pool of questions categorized by content and toughness. The first question is always of a medium difficulty, and each subsequent question is determined by your responses to all the previous questions. In other words, the CAT adjusts itself to your ability level.

Each question in the GRE CAT has five answer options, and you are required to select one of these five as the correct answer by clicking on it. A subsequent question is displayed on the screen only after you have answered the previous question. You cannot also go back to a previously answered question to change your answer.

GRE Subject Tests

In addition to the General Test, there are also eight GRE Subject Tests testing knowledge in the specific areas of Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology, Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Literature in English, Mathematics, Physics, and Psychology. In the past, subject tests were also offered in the areas of Economics, Revised Education, Engineering, Geology, History, Music, Political Science, and Sociology. In April 1998, the Revised Education and Political Science exams were discontinued. In April 2000, the History and Sociology exams were discontinued, and the other four were discontinued in April 2001.

Reporting the Score

ETS has the provision of reporting your GRE scores to a maximum of four universities of your choice, the cost of which is built into the fee you pay. You have to indicate the four universities where you wish a copy of your GRE score to be sent after you get to know your scores. For reporting to each additional university, the ETS charges you $13, payable by an international credit card or a dollar denominated draft.

Retaking the GRE

Sometimes it is necessary to take the GRE more than once, like when a management school asks you for more recent scores than what you have. However, unless your scores seem unusually low compared to your performance in the practice tests, or if you have not been able to perform well because of a sudden illness or lar exceptional circumstances, it’s advisable not to repeat the test. Given the nature of the test, it is unlikely that your scores can substantially improve. In fact, your scores may decrease.

Revision of GRE

Critics of the GRE have argued that the exam format is so rigid that it effectively tests only how well a student can conform to a standardized test taking procedure. ETS responded by announcing plans in 2006 to radically redesign the test structure starting in the fall of 2007; however, the company has since announced, "Plans for the Revised GRE General Test Cancelled", and ETS decided to introduce new question types and improvements gradually over time." The new questions have been gradually introduced since November of 2007.