MORE
GRE Test
The GRE, or Graduate Record Examinations,
are standardized tests taken by potential graduate or professional
students as supplements to their undergraduate records. Accredited
graduate or professional schools, individual graduate departments or
occasionally non-accredited schools may require the GRE. It serves to
neutralize grades and faculty recommendations of the pool of applicants
from different schools. There is a GRE General Test, required of most
applicants, designed to measure general knowledge, and there are 8
different GRE Subject Tests, which may be requested by specific
graduate departments.
The GRE General Test can be taken either as a
computer-based or paper-based test. Most sites in the United States and
Canada offer the computer-based test, whereas most of the paper tests
are overseas. The types of questions posed on both examinations are
similar, although the distribution of questions and time allotted is
somewhat different. Both methods of testing begin with Analytical
Writing sections, in which you are asked to write two different essays.
The writing sections are followed by up to five multiple choice
portions, measuring either verbal or quantitative skills. In the
computer-based test, the multiple choice questions employ a unique
method of generating questions and scoring them which is computer
adaptive. In other words, the difficulty of questions posed depends on
your answer to the previous question, and your score is determined by
difficulty and number of questions answered. In the case of paper
examinations, there is no adaptive feature, and the raw scores are just
scaled to the difficulty of the test given. Each type of test may have
a random pretest section which is not scored and not identified, and
the computer tests may have an un-scored research section which would
be identified.
GRE Practice Tests
GRE Scores
GRE Test Study Guide
GRE Exam Flashcards
GRE Test Prep
The computer-based GRE General Test can
take up to 3 hours. The first two sections pose two different type of
Analytical Writing questions and you are asked to write two essays. For
the first essay, you are given two topics of general interest to choose
from. You are then required to address this issue from any perspective
you wish in an essay, as long as you demonstrate pertinent reasoning
and examples to support your point of view. This is followed by a 30
minute section in which you must critique the argument presented in a
given passage in terms of its logic without regard to your own
viewpoint. Each writing section is graded by two trained readers and
given a score between 0 and 6 (best); the total score averages the
readers’ scores for both essays combined. The multiple choice sections
follow. If a pretest is included, the number and type of questions in
that section can vary, but there will be at least one Verbal part,
consisting of 30 questions to be completed in 30 minutes, and one
Quantitative portion, posing 28 questions to be finished in 45 minutes.
The range of Verbal questions can include identifying relationships or
opposites, filling in the blanks, or answering questions about written
passages. In the Quantitative portion, you will be asked to compare
quantities (including whether sufficient information is presented), to
employ basic mathematics skills in problem solving, or to interpret
data presented in graph or table form. There may also be an un-graded
research section. The total Verbal or Quantitative scores range from
200 to 800.
If you are taking a paper-based test, the
test will begin with the same type of essays as in the computer-based
test, an issue and an argument, for 45 and 30 minutes respectively. The
multiple choice sections are not computer adaptive but they pose the
same type of questions. However, you will be given more sections; there
will be two Verbal portions, each with 38 questions to be completed in
30 minutes, and two Quantitative sections, each containing 30 questions
to be finished within 30 minutes. A 30 minute pretest section may also
be included.
The GRE General Test is administered by
the Educational Testing Service, www.ets.org. The cost is $130 in the
U. S. and its territories, $175 in certain Asian countries, and $160
elsewhere. The computer-based test can be taken a maximum of once per
month up to 5 times in a 12 month period and is given year-round.
Paper-based tests are only given about 3 times a year on Saturdays with
some Monday alternative dates. Potential candidates can find test sites
and register online at the ETS website, or by mail (or phone for the
computer test). Examinees can ask for score sheets to be sent to up to
4 institutions. Scores are available to you in 10 to 15 days after the
test by computer, or will be sent by mail in 4-6 weeks for the paper
test.
The GRE Subject Tests, if required, are
offered in 8 different subject areas. These are (1) Biochemistry, Cell
and Molecular Biology, (2) Biology, (3) Chemistry, (4) Computer
Science, (5) Literature in English, (6) Mathematics, (7) Physics, and
(8) Psychology. They are only given at paper-based test centers in
November, December and April. The subject tests cover specific subject
matter. They are generally reported on a 200 to 990 point scale, and
are scaled to the difficulty of the test.
