Whether a student will be accepted into a graduate program, depends on his/her GRE scores. The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is a computer-based test and serves as an entrance exam into graduate studies. The admitting score depends on the field of study, but the nature of the test is the same for all graduate programs.

How is the GRE structured?

The exam consists of two separate tests: the General Test and the Subject Test. Usually, graduate schools require the General Test as an admissions requirement with a minimal score of approximately 1000 (verbal and analytical combined). The General Test is divided into three parts: a verbal, a quantitative and an analytical writing part.

In order to score high on the exam, it is required that you prepare for the GRE. Generally, students take in between three to four months to fully understand the nature of the exam and in order to practice GRE-like problem solving. It is advised that you put together a “master plan” for your studies in order to cover each section before you go into the test. Required skills are vocabulary, reading comprehension, analogies, algebra, geometry and probability.

Students generally take their first test between September and November. As the chance of failing the GRE the first time is given, this time frame will allow you one more chance before the spring semester. Remember that you can only take the GRE once per calendar month. At the same time, it is important to book appointments early in advance, as there is limited time in each testing center. A registration fee must be paid when you book your testing date and you can cancel the appointment up to 7 days before the testing date with a full refund for the fee.

Test preparation - www.gre.org

• GRE Practice General Test (URL: http://ftp.ets.org/pub/gre/14614.pdf) (FREE)– Contains one full-length paper-based GRE General Test, test-taking strategies, sample verbal and quantitative questions with explanations, sample analytical writing topics, and scored sample essays and reader commentary. Sent to individuals who register for the paper-based GRE General Test or download now. (URL: http://ftp.ets.org/pub/gre/awintro.pdf An Introduction to the Analytical Writing Section of the GRE General Test (FREE) – Contains a description of the analytical writing section, strategies for each task, directions, scoring information, scoring guides, score level descriptions, a sample test, and scored essay responses with reader commentary.
• View the entire pool of (URL: issuetop.html Issue topics and (URL: argutop.html Argument topics.
• (URL: https://www.dxrgroup.com/DxR_GRE/index.html ScoreItNow! Online Writing Practice (US$10 for two essay submissions) – Assists GRE test takers in preparing for the analytical writing section of the GRE General Test. Users receive immediate scores on their responses to GRE analytical writing tasks, diagnostic feedback on grammar, usage, mechanics, style, and organization and development, and more.
• (URL: http://ftp.ets.org/pub/gre/GREmathPractice.pdf Math Review (FREE) – Contains information on the mathematical skills and concepts likely to be tested on the GRE General Test.
• (URL: http://grediagnostic.ets.org GRE Enhanced Diagnostic Service (US$15) – Provides feedback on the General Test verbal and quantitative skills.
• (URL: book.html Practicing to take the GRE General Test, 10th Edition (US$21 plus shipping) – Contains review questions from the verbal and quantitative sections of 7 actual GRE tests, test-taking strategies for the analytical writing section, and more.
• (URL: http://www.gre.org/practice_test/index.html" target=_top>Interactive General Test sample questions (FREE).
• (URL: http://ftp.ets.org/pub/gre/011499.GRE.pdf Preparing for the Verbal and Quantitative Sections of the GRE General Test (FREE) – Contains sample questions with explanations.
• Test-taking strategies for the Score reporting

In paper-and-pencil tests, the differences in difficulty among test forms are relatively small and are adjusted through a process known as score equating. The number of questions answered is also figured into the calculation of the reported score because it limits the number that can be answered correctly.

With adaptive testing, an examinee is administered a set of questions with a difficulty level that is specifically designed to match the examinee's ability level. The mathematical process for calculating a score in this situation incorporates the statistical properties of the questions, the examinee's performance on the questions, and the number of questions that are answered.

Scoring of the Sections

Analytical Writing Section

A single score is reported for the analytical writing section. Each essay receives a score from two trained readers, using a 6-point holistic scale. In holistic scoring, readers are trained to assign scores on the basis of the overall quality of an essay in response to the assigned task. If the two assigned scores differ by more than one point on the scale, the discrepancy is adjudicated by a third GRE reader. Otherwise, the scores from the two readings of an essay are averaged. The final scores on the two essays are then averaged and rounded up to the nearest half-point interval (e.g., 3.0, 3.5). If no essay response is given for either of the 2 tasks in this section, an NS (No Score) is reported for the section. If an essay response is provided for only one of the 2 writing tasks, the task for which no essay response is provided will receive a score of zero.

The primary emphasis in scoring the analytical writing section is on your critical thinking and analytical writing skills rather than on grammar and mechanics. (Read the scoring guides for each essay task)

During the scoring process, your essay responses on the analytical writing section will be reviewed by ETS essay-similarity-detection software and by experienced essay readers.

Verbal and Quantitative Sections

Computer-Based Test: Your verbal and quantitative scores will depend on your performance on the questions given and on the number of questions answered in the time allotted. Because both of these sections are computer adaptive, the questions presented are selected to reflect your performance on preceding questions and the requirements of the test design. Test design factors that influence which questions are presented to you include (1) the statistical characteristics (including difficulty level) of the questions already answered, (2) the required variety of question types, and (3) the appropriate coverage of content.

Paper-Based Test: Scoring of the verbal and quantitative sections of the paper-based General Test is essentially a two-step process. First, a raw score is computed. The raw score is the number of questions for which the best answer choice was given. The raw score is then converted to a scaled score through a process known as equating. The equating process accounts for differences in difficulty among the different test editions; thus, a given scaled score reflects approximately the same level of ability regardless of the edition of the test that was taken.

GRE Score Reports

General Test

Three scores are reported on the General Test:

1. an analytical writing score reported on a 0-6 score scale, in half-point increments
2. a verbal score reported on a 200-800 score scale, in 10-point increments
3. a quantitative score reported on a 200-800 score scale, in 10-point increments

If you answer no questions at all in a section (analytical writing, verbal, or quantitative), that section will be reported as a No Score (NS).

Subject Test

One total score is reported on a 200-990 score scale, in 10-point increments. Subscores are reported for the Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology; Biology; and Psychology Tests on a 20-99 score scale, in 1-point increments.

Score Report Mailing Dates

Computer-Based Testing—Score reports are mailed to you and up to 4 institutions, if you designate them on the day of the test, approximately 10 to 15 days after you test.

Paper-Based Testing—Score reports are mailed to you and up to 4 designated institutions, if you designate them prior to the test administration, approximately 4 to 6 weeks after your test date.

Because institutions have the option of receiving scores in a format that is distributed approximately twice a month, you should allow additional time for receipt and processing time at the institutions.

Your score report is intended only for your information and personal records. Official reports are sent by ETS directly to all authorized score recipients you designate.

Cumulative Reporting

GRE score reporting is cumulative. Current GRE Board policy states that your scores are reportable for 5 years. Your scores are retained for the 5 testing years following the testing year in which you tested. All scores earned during this time will be reported to each institution you designate. You may choose to send only General Test scores, only Subject Test scores, only Writing Assessment scores, or any combination of the above, but you may not choose to have only those scores from a specific test date reported. Your score report will indicate your designated recipients and your cumulative record reported at that time. However, your designated recipients will not receive information concerning the other score recipients you have chosen.