Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) is a popular standardized test among the study abroad aspirants. GRE scores are evaluated for the purpose of graduate admissions and it is most preferred in the United States. It is hosted by the world's largest private nonprofit educational testing and assessment organization, Educational Testing Service (ETS). 

GRE is unique for being the only graduate admissions test that renders immense control over answering the questions for the candidates. Not only can you skip the questions in the test but also go back and change your answers.

Registration and Eligibility Criteria:

Although there is no specific eligibility criteria for appearing for the GRE, providing a valid proof of identity is a mandatory requirement. For a majority of the countries (including India), candidates can provide their passport as the proof of identity. 

If you didn't play your cards right on the test day, you can also retake the exam! The test can be taken once every 21 days, up to five times but within a year.

Validity: Your scores will remain valid for a period of 5 years after taking the exam.

Test Pattern

There are two types of GRE tests -

i. GRE General Test

ii. GRE Subject Test

The GRE General Test is most preferred by the MS aspirants whereas the PhD aspirants opt for the GRE Subject Test in general. In the GRE Subject Test, undergraduate achievement is assessed through any of 8 areas of study.

GRE General Test fee: $205

GRE Subject Test fee: $190

This article focuses on the GRE General Test.

GRE Score Cut-Offs

It is important to have a minimum target score in mind while preparing for any exam. Therefore, you must look at the average scores of admitted profiles at your dream university. This will give you an idea of your chances of getting admitted based on the scores you achieve in mock tests.

Have a look at the average GRE scores of the admitted profiles at Rice University, Texas. 

 

 

 

What does the GRE General Test test you on?

GRE tests a candidate's knowledge of Analytical Writing, Quantitative Reasoning, and Verbal Reasoning. The computer-delivered GRE General Test lasts for about 3 hours and 45 minutes.

Grading System

The Analytical Writing is graded on a 0-6 score scale in half-point increments while Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning sections are reported on a 130-170 score scale, in 1-point increments. Also, there is no negative marking on the GRE so, you are free to take a chance while tackling questions you do not know the answer to. Interestingly, the Analytical Writing section always comes first, followed by two Quantitative Reasoning and two Verbal Reasoning sections irrespective of the order. There is another Experimental Section that can either test your Quantitative Reasoning or Verbal Reasoning. Your performance in this section will not count towards your final score and it is purely used for research purposes by the GRE.

Analytical Writing

In this section, your essay-writing skills are evaluated. Here, you should be able to produce an effective response to the question. Your essay must contain grammatically-correct, error-free sentences and you should maintain coherence through the whole of it. 

Your ability to support your ideas with relevant examples and logical reasoning is measured in this section. Also, you must express your thoughts with clarity and use the appropriate words that confer the right meaning. 

 

 

You will have to write two essays - Issue Essay and Argument Essay, in an hour. For each essay, you will get 30 minutes.

Is coronavirus the end of the world? is an example of an Argument Essay Prompt but this is not what the actual question will look like. It is just to give a rough idea of what you can expect here. 

For the Issue Essay, you will have to write an answer after analyzing an issue.

Here's an example of an Issue Prompt:

Claim: The emergence of the online "blogosphere" and social media has significantly weakened the quality of political discourse in the United States.

Reason: When anyone can publish political opinions easily, standards for covering news and political topics will inevitably decline. 

Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the claim and the reason on which that claim is based.

 

Quantitative Reasoning

The GRE Quantitative Reasoning measures your ability to solve problems that revolve around numerics. It consists of 40 questions in total that are split into two scored 35-minute sections.

This section tests your understanding of elementary mathematical concepts that include Arithmetic, Geometry, Algebra, and Data Interpretation, among others.

You will find four types of questions in this module: Quantitative Comparison questions, Multiple Choice Questions that require selecting only one answer and another where you select more than one answer, and Numeric Entry Questions. 

The Quantitative section is broadly divided into three categories: Quantitative Comparison, Problem-solving, and Data Interpretation.

Number of Quantitative Comparison questions asked in each section: 8

Number of Problem-solving questions asked in each section: 9

Number of Data Interpretation questions asked in each section: 3

 

Verbal Reasoning

The Verbal Reasoning section is divided into questions of Text Completion, Sentence Equivalence, and Reading Comprehension. It consists of 40 questions in total that are split into two scored 35-minute sections.

For Text Completion, you will be asked to fill up the blanks in a passage by choosing the right options given in the question. 

Number of Text Completion questions asked in each section: 6

Sentence Equivalence questions are designed to test your competence in completing a particular sentence by selecting the most appropriate answer choices. The choices you make must form the sentences such that all of them impart the same meaning.

Number of  Sentence Equivalence questions asked in each section: 4

Through Reading Comprehension, GRE measures your understanding of prose and finding answers to the questions based on the given passages.

Number of Reading Comprehension questions asked in each section: 10

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See Also: How you can truly score 160+ in GRE Verbal

 

Bottom Line

Now that you have a better comprehension of what the GRE actually is, it is time for you to begin your preparation.