Belief in one’s knowledge and the thirst of perceiving higher qualifications from a renowned University is quenched when one gets aware of the GRE test and the opportunities it provides.
GRE, that is , Graduate Record Examination, is a computer or paper based standardised test to apply for masters and doctoral degree programs in various universities in the United States. It is administered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS) and through verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, critical thinking and analytical writing skills, GRE sets a common eligibility criteria for the applicants of different educational and cultural background to applying for an advanced degree.
Apart from this general test of GRE, there is also a GRE subject test that evaluates candidate’s ability over particular subject and is required for getting admission in specialised courses, for instance, Mathematics, Literature , Physics, Psychology, Biology, Chemistry, and Biochemistry.
The GRE test is basically formed of three measures:
A. Analytical writing skills, that is, is to deal and support with any argument accompanying evidence and discussion over certain ideas which requires a focused analysis of the given task.
B.Verbal reasoning skills, it reflects how one understands the content, captures the written material and compose the information from it. It requires the grasp of meaning and the analogy of words and concepts.
C. Quantitative reasoning skill is the practice of dealing with mathematical concepts of algebra, geometry, arithmetic, data analysis. It measures the ability to analyse the problem and solving it through mathematical models.
The test is been taken in two ways
1. The COMPUTER-delivered:-
The criteria consists of six sections and the first section, always, is analytical writing task following by five sections coinciding two verbal reasoning sections,two quantitative reasoning sections and an experimental section. The examined person is given about 3 hours and 45 minutes for the entire testing procedure including a 1 minute break after each section and a 10 minutes break after the third section. The applicant is allowed to deal with the questions in any pattern within each section and can mark the question to review.
2. The PAPER-delivered:-
The format of paper based test is mostly similar to the computer based test except that it doesn’t include any experimental section.
PREPARATION for the GRE test-
ETS provides the resources for the preparation of GRE test through a preparation software, Power prep, that contains two practice tests of remote questions that gives an insight over the structure and scores of the actual GRE test . In addition, it supplies the review material as well for further practice. ETS is the only source of their retired material, denying any allowance to other companies.
University textbooks, GRE preparation books and online resources are much available if not interested in the online practice courses.
SCORES :-
• An analytical writing score reported on a 0-6 score scale, in half point increments.
•A verbal reasoning score reported on a 130 to 170 score scale, in 1-point increments.
•Scores:- A quantitative reasoning score reported on a 130 to 170 score scale, in 1-point increments.
Many factors affect the graduate school application and GRE score is just one aspect of the calculation of one’s profile. The undergraduate GPA, letters of recommendation (LoR), research, and personal essays will all contribute to the student’s acceptance into the desired universities.
Validity and Attempts to rise-
Despair is a natural tendency over the first failed attempt and after months of labour and investing such load of expenses over it is dejection. But the spark of hope rises when one gets to know of the flexibility of attempts GRE allows . Technically there is no limitation for applying for the test but a gap of 21 days between consecutive tests is must with maximum of 5 attempts in a year.
And once the score report is in favour of the students, it’s validity consoles one’s heart for 5 years from the day score reports are published.
Talking about expenses, one needs to know that it’s not only GRE test fees but other expenditures as well that matters a lot and depends on student to student.
It costs $195 for the registration of GRE. And this registration fee, initially varied for different countries but now is fixed for every student across the world by ETS. And it is just the initial stage of spending, for after getting the score record of the test, one has to apply for their desired universities. ETS allows to send the score record to four universities for free and if the student decides to apply for more, it costs them 27 bucks per University. With this scale of expense, student need to shortlist the universities with great care.
Why GRE is a big deal?
After completing the graduation course, students plan to acquire a prestigious foreign degree through GRE .And an impressive GRE score, brightens the student’s profile with the exposure to international institutions. It reflects student’s analytical and reasoning skills related to the subject.
•A good GRE score paves the way of getting scholarships that makes the admission easier. Some universities mark GRE not for admission but for the selection of scholarship and fellowship candidates.
•A good GRE score helps to lift up the profile if the student has a week undergraduate GPA or little work experience.
• Different sections of GRE are taken into consideration for different programs. If the application of for maths or statistics program, the score of Quantitative section are more effective than Verbal section. Similarly ,verbal and analytical section are considered more importantly when applied to English graduate program.
So prepare yourself for this opportunity and give yourself some extra stars. *For further and detailed information regarding the GRE test, it’s official website https://www.ets.org/gre would be a great help.
