GRE

GRE Administrator: Educational Testing Service

GRE Exam Classification: GRE General Test

                                                  GRE Subject Test

GRE Skills Tested: Analytical Writing

                                    Quantitative Reasoning

                                    Verbal Reasoning

GRE Exam Duration: GRE General Test – Computer based – Approx. 3 Hours 45 Minutes including breaks.

                                        GRE Subject Test – 170 Minutes

GRE Score Range: GRE General Computer Based test

    Analytical Writing – 0 to 6 in 0.5 point increments

                                    Quantitative Reasoning – 130 to 170 in 1 point increments

                                    Verbal Reasoning – 130 to 170 in 1 point increments

   GRE Subject Test – Total Score Scale 200 to 990 in 10 point increments.

Sub-scores for Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology; Biology; and Psychology Tests are reported on a scale of 20–99 in 1 point increments

GRE Score Validity: 5 Years

GRE Exam Mode: Computer based Test

                                  Paper based Test

Note: We recommend students to opt for Computer based test.

GRE Exam Dates: Computer based Test – All around the Year

                                   Paper based Test – Thrice a Year (October, November & February)

 GRE Exam Registration:  Online

                                                Phone

                                                Mail

We at ILW can guide you through the GRE Registration, contact +91 9820864001

 GRE Exam Attempts: GRE General – Computer based Test – Once every 21 Days, up to 5 times within any

                                                                     continuous rolling 12 month period

GRE Subject Test – No limit on attempts – Conducted thrice a year

GRE Exam Centers: GRE General Test: About 700 Test Centers in 160 Countries

                                                                         More than 30 Centers in India alone

GRE Subject test: 7 Centers in India

GRE Exam Fees: GRE General Test – USD 205

                                 GRE Subject Test – USD 150

   Some other charges, you would want have a look at

GRE Exam Score Report: Approximately 10 to 15 days after the test date.

GRE Grades used by: Most graduate Schools in USA and in some other countries as well.

Forms for GRE: No paper forms for GRE registration are available. Registration has to be done online by using My GRE Account on ETS website

Requirements for Web/Phone, Fax and Mail Registration or Requirements for Registration:

There are four ways you can register for the computer-based General Test.

Web: 

Online Registration can be done only via International Credit card. International Credit cards that can be used are American Express, Discover, JCB, MasterCard or VISA card. Debit card cannot be used for online registration in India.

Phone:

• One can register over the phone by using an American Express, Discover, JCB, MasterCard or a VISA International Credit card
• Post that, students need to call the appropriate RRC [Regional Registration Center]. A confirmation number, reporting time, and the test center address will be given to you when you call

Fax:

• One needs to register using American Express, Discover, JCB, MasterCard or VISA International Credit Card and then fax the International Test Scheduling Form (PDF) to the appropriate RRC [Regional Registration Center]
• The form must be received at least 7 days before your first-choice test date
• A confirmation number, reporting time and the test center address will be faxed or mailed to you. If you do not receive a confirmation of your appointment, call the appropriate RRC at least 3 business days before your first-choice test date
• If your requested date(s) cannot be accommodated, you will be scheduled for the next available test date. If your assigned test date does not meet your needs, call the appropriate RRC within 24hours of receipt of your registration confirmation

Quick Pay Instructions:

• Locate an agent in your country
• When completing the payment services or blue form, please use the following codes under the “Pay To” section:
• Company Name: Educational Testing Service
• Company Code: GREPROGRAM NJ
• Country: USA
• The form must be received at least three weeks before your first-choice test date
• A confirmation number, reporting time, and the test center address will be faxed or mailed to you
• If you do not receive a confirmation, call the appropriate RRC at least 3 business days before your first-choice test date. If you miss your appointment and did not call the RRC, your test fee will not be refunded. If you provide an e-mail address, you may receive a confirmation by e-mail

Mail:

• Mail the International Test Scheduling Form (PDF) to the appropriate RRC with appropriate payment, (at least 3 weeks prior to intended date)
• ETS now accepts payments via the Western Union Quick Pay service for computer-based testing administrations. Only original receipts will be accepted by Prometric

We recommend all our students to opt for computer based tests to all our students.  The GRE Exam is basically classified in two types.

1. GRE – General Test
2. GRE – Subject Test 

1. GRE – General Test:

The basic structure of the GRE General Test consists of five sections.  The first section is always Analytical writing that requires a precise response to the presented task.  This demonstrates your skill in directly responding to a task. This is separate from the other five sections of the test.  The following five sections are broken down as two sections of verbal reasoning, two of quantitative reasoning and one experimental of research section. Almost all the universities accept the General test score and usually everyone opts for this test. It takes place round the year and you can choose your date according to your convenience.

GRE Exam – General Test – Analytical Writing Section:

The Analytical Writing section comprises of two different essays, “Analyze and Issue” task and “Analyze and Argument Task”.  Both essay’s are restricted to a time limit of 30 minute each.  It tests your critical thinking and analytical writing skills. The motto is to understand the test takers response to complex situations and construct arguments. The assessment is not based on the content knowledge.

Each essay is scored on 0 to 6, in 0.5 point increments.  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.

* For the Issue task – two essay topics will be presented and you will have to choose one. In this essay, you usually agree and disagree with the author. There is no need to take a stand. You can state the pros and cons of the topic.

** The Argument task – does not present a choice of topics; instead, one topic will be presented. In this type of essay, you should disagree with the author. As the name suggests, you should argue with the author’s views.

GRE Exam – General Test – Verbal Section: 

The computer-based verbal sections assess reading comprehension, critical reasoning and vocabulary usage. Each verbal section consists of about 6 text completion, 4 sentence equivalence, and 10 critical reading questions. In this section, it is important to understand major points and the structure of the text presented.

GRE Exam – General Test – Quantitative Section:

The Quantitative section measures your ability to analyze quantitative information and solve mathematical problems. It’s a test of your skills in algebra, geometry and data interpretation. The quantitative section includes a on-screen calculator to the test takers.

GENRAL FACT:

The Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning sections are section-level adaptive, meaning that the first section of the Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning measures spans a range of difficulty levels, from easy to difficult. The first section is assembled such that, overall, the first section is of average difficulty. The second section of each of the measures is administered based on a test taker’s overall performance on the first section.

Unscored: An unidentified unscored section that does is not a part of your total score.  IT may be mentioned in any order after the Analytical Writing section

Research: An identified research section also does not contribute to your total score and may appear alongside Unscored. IT is mainly for ETS research purposes.

1. GRE – Subject Test

Mode: Subject test is a paper based test

Number of tests: The test can be given as often as they are offered. The test is held three times a year – October, November & February

Subject Offered (GRE subject test): Biochemistry Cell & Molecular Biology, Biology, Psychology, English Literature, Chemistry, Physics, and Mathematics

The Computer Science was discontinued in April 2013

The length of the exam is 170 Minutes.

• GRE Exam – Test Dates & Location – General Exam

GRE takes place round the year. It is not like any other exam where the dates will be announced in the newspaper or any official website. So, anytime you feel you are in a position to prepare well for about 3 months, book your test date then (for 3 months after). Start working towards that date.

In general, engineering students prefer to take GRE in their 3rd year either in March or August. GRE is an exam which requires you to be tension-free and relaxed. Most engineering students are relatively free during these months. Please choose your date wisely and carefully. Although you are allowed to postpone the date, you will only be losing $50 or an additional $190 if you reschedule it within 3 days of the exam.

There are more than 30 centers to give your GRE exam in India.

• GRE Exam – Test Dates & Location – General Exam

While selecting a date for your GRE Subject Test, make sure your score will be in time with the Application deadlines. One can take as many GRE Subject tests as they are offered.  The Exams are conducted thrice a year – October, November & February.

The students should be booking in advance as not all test centers are open on all test dates.  The information will be available online at the time of registration.  Are you worried you may miss the test? Call us on +91 9820864001 and we will take you through.

Test Centers in India for GRE Subject Test:

• GRE Exam – Scoring & Results – General Exam

The GRE scores are valid for a period of five years.  After the test you can expect your scores approximately after 10 – 15 days. IF in any section is not answered by the test taker completely, then it will be reported as No Score

If the test taker is absent on the test day, no report will be sent to the pre selected Universities / Institutions intimating your absence

 Score Structure for GRE General Exam

Quick Pointers for GRE General Exam Score

• GRE Scores are a part of your reportable history and will be available till five years after your test date
• The best part about GRE is that the institutions will not be aware of any additional GRE tests taken by the test taker
• The Institutions report will only include the scores selected by you in the Score Select option of your GRE account.
• Students can send their GRE Scores to four Universities / Institutions for free
• Students can opt for sending additional score reports, but they will have to pay USD 27 per report.
• After payment, the request cannot be cancelled and the report will reach the designated institution in 5 business days

Score Review for GRE General Test Exam

Students have the facility to review their individual section scores after paying reasonable fee.

• Analytical Writing Measure – USD 60
• Verbal & Quantitative Reasoning – USD 50 (For paper test only)

• GRE Exam – Scoring & Results – Subject Test

In GRE Subject tests, the questions answered correctly are adjusted with the difficulty level of the questions. The difference in the difficulty level is relatively minor and is further adjusted by a process called score equating. Scoring in GRE Subject Test is a two step process:

If the test taker is absent on the test day, no report will be sent to the pre selected Universities / Institutions intimating your absence

The Total Score is reported on a scale of 200 – 990 in 10 point increments.  The range for any particular subject test is relatively smaller

Sub-scores for Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology; Biology; and Psychology Tests are reported on a scale of 20–99 in 1 point increments.  The range for any particular subject test is relatively smaller

• Step1 – Raw Score – The computation of raw score is based on the number of questions answered correctly minus one-fourth the number of questions you answered incorrectly.

• Step 2 – Scaled Score – The raw score is then processed to a scaled score through equating that accounts for differences in difficulty among the different test editions. The given scaled score reflects approximately the same level of ability regardless of the edition of the test that was taken.

Quick Pointers for GRE Subject Exam Score

• The scores are available up to five from the day of the Test
• The best part about GRE is that the institutions will not be aware of any additional GRE tests taken by the test taker – I read this on the website – but not sure I got it correct
• Students can send their GRE Scores to four Universities / Institutions for free
• Students can opt for sending additional score reports, but they will have to pay USD 27 per report.
• If you wish to review your score for the GRE Subject Test, you could avail it by paying an admin fee of USD 50.

Cancellation of your GRE Exam

• If the application is cancelled in less than four full days, then the entire fees is forfeited and no amount will be refunded back to the test taker.
• If the application is cancelled in not less than four full days, half of the Exam fees will be refunded to the test taker
• The refund will be in US Dollars and will not be paid in cash
• The refund amount will be credited the debit/credit card used at the time of payment.
• The refunds will not be processed if the registration formalities were followed as per procedure or if the test taker fails to present the required identification documents

Rescheduling your GRE Exam

• If the application is requested to be rescheduled in less than four full days, then the entire fees is forfeited and no amount will be refunded back to the test taker.
• If the application is requested to be rescheduled in less than four full days, the test taker can reschedule the test date by paying an fee of USD 50.
• The rescheduled date must be within a year of the original test date
• In order to change Subject Test, one must place a request not less than four full days by paying a fee of USD 50
• Changes in subject tests are not guaranteed and strictly subjected to availability
• Testing fees are also not interchangeable in GRE General Test and GRE Subject Tests
• Similarly testing fees are not interchangeable between paper-delivered and computer – delivered tests in GRE General Test

Retaking your GRE Exam

• Retaking GRE General Test:
• GRE General Test can be taken once every 21 days, up to 5 times in a continuous 12 month rolling period (Max 5 times a year from the first test date)
• The condition is applicable even if the scores were cancelled in the previous test.
• In case of inconsistent registration information, one may have to retake the test compulsory. In case the inconsistency was observed after the score is reported, scores will be cancelled and the entire fee will be forfeited.
• Retaking GRE Subject Test:

• There is no limit to the No. of test for GRE subject Test. One can take the test as many times it is offered.
• It is an advantage to take it more than once in case you have obtained low scores

• Super useful information on your GRE test:

  Examination: Formally, GRE used to be a standardized computer adaptive test. The difficulty of your next question would depend on the answer of your current question eg. If the first question was of a moderate level and if answered correctly the next question would be of a higher level. The moment a question was wrongly answered the level of the questions was decreased

  Post July 2011, the GRE pattern has changed and the exam is no longer a computer adaptive test.

  Note: If a difficult question is answered correctly, the scores shoot up by a considerable margin and if a simple question is answered incorrectly, the scores fall by a similar margin

  Are you making a mistake?: The first few questions should be solved taking as much time so that you definitely get them correct. This is not true. It should really depend on the level of questions. This logic is if you take too much time in the beginning, you may not have enough time in the end to complete the test. That would be a disaster.

  Must do: You MUST attempt all the questions even if you are not confident of the answer being correct. An incomplete paper can cost you a loss of significant points

  Some quick tosses:

  Appeared for GRE twice, which score will be considered?

  The best score is taken into account by most Universities. Some Universities may want to consider the average score

  What should you target as your GRE score?

  315 and above (new GRE) should be a target. Above 325 would be lovely. Do not panic however. Anything above 285, we believe you will have a chance to go to a foreign University to study

  GRE Quick tips:

  • Flash cards (GRE words) needs to be revised thoroughly
  • Revising the Quant formulae
  • Read Newspapers for an hour everyday to stay in touch with long Reading Comprehensions (RC)
  • Stay relaxed. It is mind, over matter

Lost where you want to start? Call us on +91 9820864001 to simply things for you

Preparation:

Even though the exam pattern has changed, most part of the preparation remains the same. Since Antonyms and Analogy are not a part of the new syllabus, memorizing the word is no more important. However it is always advised to have strong vocabulary as sections like Sentence Completion demand you to be extremely quick with the words and its meaning/connotation.

When to begin studying for GRE?

It varies with each and every individual on how fast he/she finishes studying for GRE and is set to take it. But in general, you need around 50 days, give or take a few. As per the old pattern – it starts with learning words from what you call ‘flash cards’ – the popular of the lot – which have around 4000 words. If you’re pretty consistent with reading newspapers, you definitely have an edge, considering you’ve probably come across a handful of words already.

In short, be quick with the meanings and its use of the words.

The last month to your GRE:

Once you are done with a considerable number of words, start solving the BigBook. Borrow it from one of your friends who have already taken the GRE or you can download it from the internet. It is advisable to solve the big book on the screen as you have to take the exam on the computer.

Every test has two papers which follows the oldest pattern of GRE (38 questions in 30 mins for verbal; 30 questions in 30 mins for quant). Try solving the paper with the old pattern (rather than adding your own touch-ups and increasing time or other such weird experiments). This will definitely improve your speed. Overall, there are 27 tests (54 papers). Try solving at least 20 papers. Give a week to the BigBook and solve minimum 2 papers a day. You can always do more.

Along with the BigBook, solve BARRONS. It is a simple book but teaches you a lot. Solve the quant section completely. It is fun to solve and is useful. It has 5 papers with the new pattern. Solve them gradually.

Last 15 to 20 days to your GRE test:

In the last 20 days, start taking the adaptive exams on the computer. There are hundreds of tests if you search on the internet and one can’t solve them all. Hence, there are some standard tests one needs to solve. Cambridge, Princeton, Kaplan (very important) and PowerPrep (GRE level) are those.

Cambridge is an elementary test and it helps you get acquainted with the adaptive exams on the screen. You need a maximum of two days.

Next is Kaplan, the most important of all the above mentioned tests. It has 6 practice tests each for Verbal and Quant and 3 full length tests. Kaplan Quant is really important and helpful, so be serious with it. Make sure you evaluate all your tests properly. Taking a test is not a big deal; learning from it is definitely one.

Solve Princeton simultaneously along with Kaplan. Finish it off in a week or 10 days.

Last week to your GRE test:

Study for your AWA (essay) 4-5 days prior to your GRE test day. Read some essays from Barron’s, the method to write it and take any topic from these tests and write it down. Exchange the essays amongst your friends so you’ll get an idea how well they write. Solve the PowerPrep tests completely along with the essays to get an idea of your patience level. Take our word, full test is quite long!