What is GRE Exam?
- The GRE Exam (Graduate Record Examination) is a standardized online exam that is an admittance compulsion for most graduate schools abroad to apply for a Masters Degree or Ph.D. in any field. You can write the GRE exam any time during the whole year by selecting a slot for the exam 45 days prior. It is created and supervised by ETS (Educational Testing Service) and aims to measure your aptitude in verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning and analytical writing.
- GRE exam is provided as a computer-based exam supervised at various Prometric testing centres located all over India. Most of the top graduate schools require a GRE score as one of the selection criteria in admission for their masters programs. The GRE exam pattern and syllabus remain constant throughout the whole year. The GRE exam aspires to determine the extent to which undergraduate education has enhanced a student’s aptitude base in abstract thinking.
- GRE is a computer based exam which is conducted all year round, subjected to seat availability and can be given any number of times with a gap of 21 days between consecutive attempts. In a year, a candidate can attempt it a maximum of 5 times.
- Graduate schools will consider your best GRE score among all the attempts. So if you didn’t score well in the first attempt, you always have a backup option of retaking the exam and sending fresh scores.
- The total test time of the GRE exam is 3 hours and 45 minutes.
- The total cost of giving the exam is $ 205.
- Your GRE score will be valid for 5 years.
- You can select up to 4 graduate schools to send your scores. If you wish to apply to more schools, you have to spend an extra $27 per school.
- A good GRE score can compensate for an average or below the average academic record in your undergrad.
- You can apply to technical, managerial, techno-managerial, Ph.D., Languages, Social Studies and a bunch of other types of masters through this exam.
- Aim for a GRE score of 320+ to be eligible for applying to almost all colleges abroad.
- You can also use your GRE score to apply for an MBA.
Understand how you can get a 320+ with Byju’s
PATTERN OF GRE EXAM:
| Section | Time | Includes |
| Analytic Writing | 2 Essays – 30 Minutes Each | The type of two essays is issue essay and an argumentative essay. They will be evaluated by 2 or 3 readers. There are no wrong answers for this section. |
| Break | 10 Minutes | |
| Verbal Reasoning | 2 Sections each with 20 questions, 30 Minutes for each section | Includes a mix of reading comprehension passages, sentence completion and equivalence questions. The questions will be having either single or multiple answers whereas the text completion questions will have upto three blanks. |
| Quantitative Reasoning | 2 Sections each with 20 questions, 35 Minutes for each section | Each quantitative section consists of about 8 quantitative comparisons questions, 9 problem solving question, and 3 data interpretation questions. |
| Unscored Section | Purely experimental by ETS to try out the possibility of adding new sections during the test. This doesn’t count toward the test scores. The section will either contain math or verbal test. |
GRE Exam:
The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is the entrance test which is attempted by many aspirants to pursue their Masters program outside India. This test is administered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS) and started in the year 1949. It evaluates an individual’s capability to measure quantitative aptitude, reasoning skills, verbal reasoning, critical reasoning skills and analytical writing. GRE is a General Test that is offered as a computer-based exam administered by Prometric testing centers.
The level of importance on the scores varies among the colleges & departments within the schools. The importance of scores can range from being a formality for admission or a vital selection factor after which there might be several processes to secure a seat in the university
The cost for taking the GRE Exam is US$205, although ETS has agreed to reduce the fee under special circumstances. ETS also provides financial aid to the GRE applicants if economic hardships are proven.
The scoring scale changed from being 200 – 800 points to 130 – 170 points in the year 2011. The exam was refurbished on a section to section basis, which determines the level of difficulty in the next section by the performance of the candidate in the first verbal and quantitative sections. For example: If you perform well in the first sections of both verbal and quantitative then the next section’s difficulty will increase. However if you have not performed well in the first section then the consecutive section will be relatively simpler. Unlike GMAT, which determines the level of difficulty of the next question by the performance in the current question.
Eligibility Criteria For GRE Examination:
There is no specific eligibility criteria for attempting GRE. Almost all the top MS colleges in around the world accept the GRE scores for admission. The prospective graduates who are interested in pursuing MS, master’s and specialized master’s in business or research and doctoral degree, have to take this GRE General Test. The best part about this test is diversity – applicants come from various backgrounds and cultures to take the test as GRE provides a common platform to test and compare every candidate’s qualification.
GRE Exam scores may be accepted along with academic record, fellowship panel and recommendation letters to supplement the admission procedure.
Structure Of GRE:
The pattern and structure of the GRE examination are as follows:
| Verbal Reasoning | Measures the candidate’s ability to analyze and evaluate the written material. Analyze relationships among the sentences and recognize relations among words and concepts. |
| Quantitative Reasoning | The candidate’s problem solving skills are measured in the GRE Quantitative Reasoning section. Concepts like Basic arithmetic, algebra, geometry and data analysis are tested in this section. |
| Analytical Writing | The Analytical Writing section tests if the candidate can articulate complex ideas clearly and assertively. |
Validity Of GRE Scores:
The scores are valid for the period of 5 years after attempting the test. For Example, scores for the test that is taken on the 1st of June 2016, will be valid until 20th May 2021.
Score Select Option in GRE:
GRE has an option to choose the best score if the test is given within 5 years. The ScoreSelect option in GRE will enable the students to take the test more confidently and send the scores that they feel are their personal best. Available for both the GRE General Test and GRE Subject Tests.
GRE Subject Test:
GRE Subject Tests are taken to test the knowledge in specified areas of subjects including Biology, Chemistry, Literature in English, Mathematics, Physics and Psychology. Each exam is of 170 minutes.
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