GRE: Importance, Facts and Process
The Graduate Record Examination or GRE is a standardized test that is used for admission to graduate schools mainly in the United States and in some other English speaking countries. The test has been created and is conducted by the Education Testing Services or the ETS. The test is mainly focused on testing the abstract thinking of students and has four sections which are vocabulary, math and analytical writing and the subject knowledge in some case. It tests the extent to which the student has developed his/her verbal and quantitative skills irrespective of the subject in which they have specialized.
Importance of GRE Score:
Almost 600,000 applicants take this test each year across the world; it provides a common measuring scale for students who come from diverse academic backgrounds and different countries. The way the scores are used varies from college to college and each department and program also uses it differently when deciding about the right candidates for admission. For admission to programs in liberal arts the admission committee may only consider the applicant’s verbal score and for mathematics and science program only the quantitative ability score may be considered. However since most of the applicants to a science or mathematics program are expected to have a high quantitative score, in such a case verbal scores can become a deciding factor.
Admission to graduate schools is not based on a single factor and is a mix of various factors that includes letters of recommendation, statement of purpose, GPA, GRE score etc. GRE scores are used by some schools when making a decision about scholarship and fellowship candidates only and not for the admission process, the converse may be true for some other schools. It is important to mention here that the policy may differ from program to program within the same school, so if you want to find out about how a school uses the GRE score then you must get in touch with the particular department and not the school.
The GRE Structure:
The exam comprises 2 separate tests; the General Test and the Subject Test. The general test has four parts; the first one involves writing while the other three consist of multiple questions. The verbal section consists of analogies, comprehension passages and sentence completions. There are generally 30 questions and the time allowed to complete this section is 30 minutes approximately. This section is designed to check the vocabulary of the applicant and is generally a low score section.
The quantitative section in GRE tests the high school level mathematics knowledge of the applicants and is composed of 28 questions with time duration of 45 minutes. It consists of typically includes 14 quantitative comparison questions, 10 discrete quantitative questions (multiple-choice) and 4 data interpretation questions.
The analytical writing section has two essays, one issue task and one argument task. The essay is written using a word processor on a computer. The applicant can choose between the given two topics to write an essay on and the time allowed is 45 minutes. The word processor allows only basic functions and features like spell check and grammar check etc are disabled. The essays are scored by at least two readers on a six point scale. If both the scores differ by one point or less than an average is taken, if the difference is more than a point then a third reader is appointed. In the argument task the applicant has to write a critique on a given argument and the time allotted is 30 minutes. This section measures the critical thinking and analytical writing skills, specifically the ability to articulate complex ideas clearly and effectively.
There is another section which is known as the experimental section; it can be either a verbal, quantitative, or analytical writing task. This consists of new questions that ETS is considering for future use. This score of this section is not counted but since the test takers are not aware which is the experimental section they are compelled to complete all the section with equal sincerity.
In addition to the General Test, there are also eight GRE Subject Tests in subjects like Biochemistry, Biology, Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics, Computer Science, Literature in English and Psychology. The time duration of these tests is 170 minutes. These tests are also scored between 200 and 800. For admission to graduate programs score of the verbal and quantitative sections are considered.
GRE Facts:
ü GRE is a computer based test except in a few select locations where the necessary technology is not available.
ü You have to register yourself in case you want to appear for the test. Each sate will have separate centers. For the General Test you should register well in advance so that you can get your choice of dates and for the subject test you must register at least six week in advance.
ü Registration can be done online or through mail.
ü A score between 450 and 500 in each test is good enough to get admission to any of the colleges in the Master’s program; however for the Doctoral programs a score of above 550 is required.
GRE Preparation:
It is very important that you go about preparing for the exam in a systematic way. You can take help of various sources like books, coaching classes or the information available on the internet. Cramming will not help you in cracking this exam and there is no shortcut available. It is advisable to start your preparation much before you register yourself for the exam. November is a good time to take the General Test as in case you do not get the desired scores you can give a retest in December and still be on time in applying for the colleges.
When giving the exam you should be organized, be sure about the timing (how much to spend on each question) and should use the process of elimination to get a good score.
In December 2009 ETS made some changes in the GRE exam pattern, the scoring scale was changed, questions based on analogies and antonyms were eliminated and the facility of online calculator was added. Those of you appearing for the General Test in August 2011 can expect a revised and more user friendly exam pattern. Watch this space for more updates and information.
