What is GRE Test?

Top

The Graduate Record Examination is a Standardized test that measures verbal,

mathematical and analytical skills. It is intended to help the graduate schools (of all fields
other than business) assess the potential of applicants for advanced study . Nearly 2300
universities in the US require GRE® scores from each applicant. The GRE tests the
fundamental skills - Reasoning and Comprehension included - and does not require any
subject-specific theoretical study. (This is true only for the General GRE Test, and not the
GRE Subject, which is required by certain universities. In this section, we mean the General
GRE Test whenever we refer to the GRE Test)

The test is designed in such a way that it would be unlike any other test you would have
taken at school or college. First, the test has no question paper or answer sheets, nor does it
have the same set of questions for all the examinees. Further, it does not give you the
option of not answering a question (unless, of course, you run out of time at the end). All this
because the GRE Test is an entirely Computer based test - the keyboard and mouse do the
work of a pen or pencil. The test is scored out of 1600 (in multiples of 10).

The GRE Test 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 translate into an
admission offer from a great school. But the test can be looked upon as the first major
hurdle to be cleared in the process of getting admission into a Graduate school of your
choice.

Who administers the GRE Test? Top

The GRE Test 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. In India, this agency is the "Sylvan Testing Services Pvt Ltd" which administers the
test at 9 centres in the country: Ahmedabad, Allahabad, Bangalore, Calcutta,
Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai, New Delhi, and Trivandrum.

When is the GRE Test held? Top

All-round-the-year. Unlike other exams, you can choose your own date and time for taking
the GRE Test! 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 Test, so in case you
intend to take the test during this period, you need to register very early (say 90 days in
advance) 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.

Eligibility and Fees Top

Anyone and everyone is eligible for taking the GRE Test - there are no restrictions based on
age or qualifications. The test scores are valid for five years, i.e., most universities accept
scores up to five years old. But it is always better if your scores are recent (not older than 2
years).
Test fees for GRE Test may vary according to the country in which you take the test. In India,
this fee is US $140 (approx Rs. 7000), payable at the time of registration. You cannot pay
in Indian Rupees. The fees has to be paid through a US Dollar denominated draft, made
out in favour of "ETS - GRE" payable in the U.S. Such a draft is usually available with the
Main Branches of most banks (which have a foreign exchange counter) in most of the big
cities for a nominal charge (around Rs. 200). Alternately, the payment can also be made
through a credit card which has global acceptance. The credit card need not necessarily be
yours - you can get your father to sign for you!

How to Apply? Top

Obtain the "GRE Information Bulletin" available free with Prometric Testing Services and
USEFI. You can also request the bulletin from Infozee at Request Test Forms and it will be
delivered to your given address. The Test Scheduling Form comes with the bulletin. The Test
Scheduling Form comes with the bulletin. There are four ways to register:

Registering by Phone: You may call up Prometric Delhi office until 12:00 noon to register.
Make sure to call at least THREE BUSINESS DAYS before the test date.

Registering Online: You may now also register only from the GRE site: www.gre.org.

Registering by Fax: If registering by fax, you must send your fax at lest SEVEN DAYS prior
to your first choice of a test day.

Registering by Mail/Courier: Fill in the form, get the draft made (if you are not paying by
credit card), and submit these to the Prometric Centre at New Delhi either by hand or by
registered post/courier. You must send the documents at least THREE WEEKS before your
choice of a test day.

On receipt of your documents, an appointment will be scheduled for you to test at the
Prometric Center. Confirmation of the date, time and location of the appointment will be
sent to you. If you do not receive confirmation at least THREE business days before your
first choice of test day, please call the Prometric office to verify your appointment.

Prometric Testing Private Limited

2nd Floor, DLF Infinity Tower - A
Sector 25, Phase ll
DLF City, Gurgaon
Haryana 122002
India

Tel: 91 - 124 - 4147700

Fax: 91 - 124 - 4147773

You will receive an admit card normally within a week of applying. Remember to keep a
copy of the form and the draft with you.

The GRE-CAT Top

What is a Computer-Adaptive Test?

In a computer-adaptive test, the computer screen displays one question at a time, which is
chosen from a very large pool of questions categorized by content and difficulty. 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 - you’ll get few questions that are either too easy or too difficult for you.

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, so you cannot skip a question.
You cannot also go back to a previously answered question to change your answer. Thus, if
you guess a correct answer or answer a question incorrectly by mistake, your answers to
subsequent questions will lead you back to questions that are at the appropriate level of
difficulty for you.

Content and Format of the GRE Test Top

The test has three distinct sections : Writing Assessment (WA), Quantitative, and Verbal. 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. There are a total of 58 questions, 28 in Quantitative
and 30 in Verbal.

The third section, Analytical Writing Assessment measures critical thinking and analytical
writing skills. It consists of two analytical writing tasks : (1) "Present your perspective on an
issue", and (2) "Analyze an Argument".

There is a one-minute break between each test section. Midway through the testing session,
an on-screen message will inform you of the opportunity to take a 10-minute break. Section
timing will not stop if you take an unscheduled break.

Section Number of questions Time

Analytical Writing:
Analysis of an issue 1 Topic 45 min.
Analyze an Argument 1 Topic 30 min.

Verbal Section 30 30 min.

Quantitative 28 45 min.
Experimental Section varies varies

An unidentified verbal or quantitative experimental section may be included and may

appear in any order after the analytical writing section. It is not counted as part of your
score.

Quantitative Section Top

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.

Verbal Section Top

The verbal section in GRE Test requires a good vocabulary level, the basic skills of correct
English coupled with reasoning and analysis. The 30 questions, to be attempted in 30
minutes, consist of four types : Antonyms, Analogies, Sentence Completion, and Reading
Comprehension. The four types are intermingled, with no fixed number for each type.

Analytical Writing Assessment Section Top

The writing assessment section requires you to write - or type - two short essays. The first is
the Issue task, in which you need to analyze the issue presented and explain your views on
it. For the Issue task, you will be able to choose 1 of 2 essay topics selected by the computer
from the pool of topics. You will get 45 minutes to do write or type this essay.

The second essay is Analysis of an Argument, in which a given argument has to be critically
analyzed and evaluated. The Argument task does not offer a choice of topics; the computer
will present you with a single topic selected from the topic pool. You will get 30 minutes to
write or type this essay.

For both the essays, the emphasis is on the "Analytical" part, and not on the "Writing" part.
This implies that a concise essay with well-reasoned points written in simple English will be
looked upon more favourably than an essay which falls short on the analytical aspects even
though it is high on writing skills.

A ten-minute break follows the two essays. The computer gives you the option to take this
break, or to move directly to the subsequent section. Even if you finish the essays before the
stipulated sixty minutes, the break will still be of five minutes. It is advisable to utilize this
break by gearing yourself up for the tougher sections that follow.

Reporting the Score Top

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.

The Scoring Pattern in GRE CAT Top

The GRE Test results comprise four different scores : a total score, and separate scores for
Verbal, Quantitative, and Analytical Writing Assessment sections. The total score is reported
out of 1600 and the sectional scores are out of 800. The Writing Assessment section is
scored separately on 6.

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.
Retaking the GRE Test Top

Even though an "I could have done better" feeling is inevitable after any test, taking the GRE
Test again may not be helpful. Sometimes it is necessary to take the GRE Test 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
similar exceptional circumstances, it’s advisable not to succumb to the temptation of
repeating the test. This is so for given the nature of the test, it is unlikely that your scores
can substantially improve, and in fact, your scores may decrease.

If you repeat the test, your scores from the latest test date and the two most recent test
administrations in the last five years will be reported to the institutions you designate as
recipients. In any case, you cannot take the test more than once in the same calendar
month, even if you have taken the test and cancelled your scores.