Your ultimate guide to cracking the GRE

Achieve success in

your

GRE !

INTRODUCTION

Over the years the GRE has evolved to become the single largest knowledge and talenttesting examination for students aspiring to study postgraduate courses in the USA,Canada, and certain other countries that use English as their first language. The GREtest is accepted world-over by more than 3,200 graduate schools and also businessschools. The GRE or the Graduate Requirement Exam is a popular common entrancetest, which is used by many institutions abroad to gauge the academic skills ofapplicants to their postgraduate courses. Over the years the form and pattern of theGRE has changed but it still remains an important test accepted by all leading Americaninstitutions.

The GRE test is designed to test the applicant’s knowledge in language, reasoning andnumerical skills. The analytical writing section, which has two essays is the perfect testto check if a student can structure and write content on relevant topics.

In our efforts to help students in making a wise choice when studying abroad; TeamHotcourses India spoke to Chris Lele who is the resident GRE expert at Magoosh, aleader in GRE prep. Based on the answers given by Chris and additional research wehave compiled this ebook, which will be valuable for every student who aspires to writethe GRE.

Chris is a UCLA graduate with more than 10years of experience tutoring math and verbalskills for the GRE. He has coached severalstudents to a perfect score.

Get free advice on study abroad Call us @ 1-800-103-9634(toll free)

http://gre.magoosh.com/

CONTENT

What is the GRE? What is the cost and duration of the Exam? - 6

GRE Sections and Score Patterns - 8

Exam Requirements - 11

GRE – FAQs - 13

Do's and Don'ts while preparing for the GRE - 15

Top 10 Tips to prepare for the GRE Exam - 17

Useful Resources - 20

What is the GRE? What is the cost and duration of the Exam?

CHAPTER 1

The GRE stands for the Graduate Record Examination that is taken internationally andis conducted by the U.S. based ETS or Educational Testing Service. The GRE isadministered online in over 700 test centers in over 160 countries all over the world. Insome countries where internet and computer usage are limited, the GRE is a paper-based written test.

Cost

For applicants within the USA the GRE test costs USD 160; for those taking the testoutside the USA the fee is USD 190. The test usually lasts for a bit over four hourincluding registering for the test and filling basic information.

Duration

The test will take you close to four hours. This includes checking into the testing center,answering a few background questions, and then diving into two 30-minute essays andfive math/verbal sections (including the one experimental section).

The good news is that you will get two scheduled breaks of 10 minutes each.

Achieve Success in Your GRE 6


GRE Sections and Score Patterns

CHAPTER 2

A GRE test comprises three parts - verbal, quantitative and analytical writing. The firsttwo components are rated on a scale of 130 to 170. The final part involves the writing oftwo essays and students can score on a scale of 0 to 6.

Sections

Analytical Writing

The Analytical Writing Section of GRE consists of two essays which students aresupposed to complete within 30 minutes each. This section measures the students’organizational, analytical reasoning, and analysis skills.

Verbal Reasoning

Next comes the verbal section that tests students on the aspects of readingcomprehension, text completion, and sentence equivalence. The verbal reasoning hastwo sections with around 20 questions in each section, with a time slot of 30 minutes foreach.

Quantitative Reasoning

The Math section of the GRE, or the quantitative section as it’s more commonly known,is the section that will put basic math skills to test with 20 questions and two sectionswith a time slot of 35 minutes per section. This section however can’t be underestimatedas sometimes test makers are known to word the questions in ways students are leftclueless.



Score Patterns

It is the sum of the scores of all of its sections totally. The analytical writing section willbe rated (in half point increments) on the scale of zero to six. The verbal reasoningsection (in 1 point increments) could carry the score of 130-170. The quantitative section(in 1 point increments) could carry the score of 130-170. The maximum score thatstudents get in the GRE test is 340.



GRE Exam Requirements

CHAPTER 3

New GRE Exam Requirements

If you took the GRE over two years ago, you took a very different test, which now goesby the unflattering name: the old GRE.

Here’s Magoosh’s comparison of the old and the new GRE! Click on the infographicbelow to expand it, for more detail on how the exam has changed:



http://www.uniguru.co.in/blog/new-gre-exam-requirements/19359/

http://www.uniguru.co.in/blog/new-gre-exam-requirements/19359/

CHAPTER 4

GRE – Points to Keep in Mind

1. How often can a student take GRE?

There is no limit to the number of times a student can take the GRE test; but in a calendaryear the test can be taken only five times.

2. What's the validity of the score?

The test scores are valid for five years from the date of publishing of the test-score. In case astudent took the old GRE test four years back those scores are still valid when applying for apostgraduate course in the USA now.

3. How can a student send the GRE scores to Universities?

There are two ways to submit the GRE test-scores. The first option is the ‘Score select’,which allows students who have accepted their GRE score to send the test score to any fiveinstitutions of their choice free of cost on the test-day.

The next option is to send the test score on some other day after the test - a transaction feeusually between USD 20 to USD 25 is charged each time a student sends the test-scores to aninstitution.

4. What is GRE subject test?

The GRE subject test offers students the chance to demonstrate their level of learning in aspecific subject. The GRE subject test is taken in addition to the main GRE test. Currently theGRE subject test is offered in the following subjects - Biochemistry, Cell and MolecularBiology, Biology, Chemistry, Literature in English, Mathematics, Physics and Psychology.

5. Can a student cancel or postpone a GRE Test?

Students can postpone their GRE test date. The test has to be postponed at least four daysbefore the scheduled test-date or the applicant forfeits the test-fee. The rescheduling of testsis to be done online through the official GRE website.

6. Does GRE score help in securing scholarships?

GRE test or ETS do not offer any scholarships to students. Most institutions and privatestudent funding agencies and institutions do consider the GRE score to be an importantfactor while reviewing the applicant’s academic credentials.



Do's and Don'ts while preparing for the GRE

CHAPTER 5

Do’s

Signing up for the test as early aspossible is a good thing to do as it givesstudents more time to prepare.

Students should refer authorisedtraining material and not sign-up forrandom online tests just because theirfriends are taking them up.

Using sub-standard training material isdetrimental.

Most important factor is the ‘never saydie’ attitude. One should be confidentand prepare with dedication to secure agood score in the GRE test.

Don'ts

Students should not just memorisewords and their meanings but learnhow to use them effectively in asentence.

Students should not just memorisemathematical formulae but be able toanalyse a mathematical question andsolve it to get the correct answer.



Top 10 Tips to prepare for the GRE Exam

CHAPTER 6

Your GRE exam preparation must be well-rounded so take your time to collect all therequired material and study well.

Here are a few prep tips to get you started.

1. Start early

Plan to start your preparation at least six months ahead of time. Cramming in all yourprep into the last two months is really not the best way forward. Being organised aheadof time is a very important factor.

2. Pick out the right guide

Do your research on the internet or ask references for good GRE study guides and collectall the study material with care. This will reflect your exam results directly so put a lot ofthought into choosing the right material to study with.

3. Learn the layout

Learn the GRE layout. The exam is divided into three sections basically: a verbal sectionconsisting of 30 questions, a quantitative section consisting of 28 questions, and ananalytical writing section. There may also be additional non-graded sections used forresearch that won’t affect your score. Familiarise yourself with all of these.

4. Be well-versed with instructions

Remember that timing is everything in the GRE so memorise all the directions requiredfor each section in the examination. This will make sure that you don’t take up morethan required time reading the directions.

5. Format

Take time to become familiar and prepare with the different question formats for eachsection of the GRE. This will help increase you pace in the exam helping you deliveryour best within the time allotted. Having a glance and recognising the kind of questionbeing asked will definitely prove to be useful.



6. Practice, practice, practice!

No pain no gain! That in fact is true so get lots of practice in the forms of online mockexams for the feel of the computer-adaptive GRE or study guides. Do the research andcollect all the required material and start your prep.

7. High frequency GRE words

Get your hands on lists of high frequency GRE words either through study books oronline. Make your way through the list and make a note of all the words you finddifficulty memorizing. This will help you out with the antonym and analogy questions.

8. Tone up your Math skills

It’s a fact that none of the GRE questions require advanced Mathematic skills; but youmust review some of the basic arithmetic, geometry, and algebra skills and memorize allkey formulas required.

9. Prepare for your POV

Prepare well for the analytical writing section that requires writing a point-of-view(POV) essay and writing an analytical argument essay. Visit the GRE website to find outthe list of topics provided to prepare for the POV essays. Make it a point to never bringin personal opinions in analytical argument essay writing and give suitable reasoning.

10. Take a chill pill!

Last but not the least; don’t over-stress yourself with jamming into many study sessionsendlessly day and night. Keep yourself healthy with breaks, healthy food, and propersleep. Stay motivated and don’t give way to the pressure, just prepare confidently andyou will come out with flying colours.



USEFUL RESOURCES

• ETS Official guide to the use of scores

- http://www.ets.org/s/gre/pdf/gre_guide.pdf

• Frequently Asked Questions About the GRE® revised General Test

http://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/faq/

• The Ultimate GRE guide from Magoosh

http://magoosh.com/gre/ultimate-gre-guide/

• Test Centers and Dates

http://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/register/centers_dates?WT.ac=grehome

_grecenterdates_130807

• About the GRE® Subject Tests

http://www.ets.org/gre/subject/about?WT.ac=grehome_gresubject_130807

We have tried to cover the key GRE topics at a beginner level. If you think somethingneeds more clarity; please do write to us – [email protected] with your inputs.

All the very best for your GRE test!



http://www.ets.org/s/gre/pdf/gre_guide.pdf

http://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/faq/

http://magoosh.com/gre/ultimate-gre-guide/

http://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/register/centers_dates?WT.ac=grehome_grecenterdates_130807

http://www.ets.org/gre/subject/about?WT.ac=grehome_gresubject_130807

mailto:[email protected]