The Graduate Record Examination is held by the Educational Testing
Service
(ETS), and is required for admissions into graduate programmes in
universities in the United States of America and Singapore.
Being a Computer Adaptive Test, it can be taken any time of the year.
All one has to do is book a date with the ETS to write the GRE.
The GRE has three sections:
i. Quantitative Reasoning: This mainly includes basic mathematics
questions -- 28 questions to be attempted in 45 minutes. One can
score a
maximum of 800 in this section.
ii. Verbal Ability: 30 questions in 30 minutes is acknowledged by
most to
be the toughest section in the examination, especially for non-native
English speakers. The highest score possible in this section is also
800.
iii. Analytical Writing Ability: This requires students to write two
essays -- one expressing your opinion on a topic, and another in
which you
are expected to analyse an argument. This section is scored out of 6.
Got tips to crack the GRE? Write to us!
When to start
This is the question that plagues most students during their prefinal
year.
Many believe that the GRE requires close to six months of intensive
preparation. This, I think, is a fallacy.
The GRE is not a particularly difficult examination. Really!
As an engineer/ engineering student, the Quantitative Reasoning
section of
the GRE shouldn't be too difficult, especially after spending four
years in
the company of engineering mathematics.
If you are like most engineers who have had a healthy disdain for
English
through school, Verbal Ability is unlikely to be a cakewalk.
Everything taken into consideration, cracking the GRE does not
require more
than a couple of months of hard work.
Pre-final year students have the advantage of having a summer break
before
the final year. This summer break can be put to good use, especially
if you
manage to cloister yourself in a room, away from distractions.
The best time, in my opinion, to book a date for writing the GRE is
in the
month of June or early July. After that, academic pressures may put a
damper on your preparation for the exam.
If you postpone taking the exam to September, you could suddenly find
oneself pressed for time. This is mainly because the official GRE
scores do
not arrive until three weeks after you take the examination.
More important, writing the GRE is merely a small part in the entire
application process.
Booking a date
i. The easiest way to book a date to write the GRE is to call
Prometric
India on (011) 2651 1649.
Writing the examination will put you back by $140 (Rs 6,115
approximately).
ii. You need an international credit card to book your seat.
iii. Monday is a good day to choose to write the GRE because Saturday
and
Sunday are likely to be holidays, and so you miss fewer classes (or
days of
work).
Study material
The GRE guides on the planet are probably outnumbered only by the
number of
institutions claiming to give you a passport to the Indian Institutes
of
Management.
Choosing the right mix is not very easy and involves trial and error.
A few books and CDs that I, and a few of my acquaintances, found
helpful
are:
i. Barron's How to Prepare for the GRE: Graduate Record Examination,
14th
edition.
This is a book every GRE aspirant is undoubtedly aware of.
It is most famous for its 50 word lists, containing arcane words the
testers at ETS love to ask.
Read the book. You will totally believe that the people at ETS do not
speak
normal English like the rest of us.
ii. GRE Big Book, published by the Educational Testing Service.
The Big Book is little known. But it is one I found extremely useful.
It contains 27 question papers culled from the paper and pencil
avatar of
the GRE over several years, and is published by the same people who
set the
tests, ETS.
Unfortunately, it is out of print and is very difficult to find.
With a little perseverance, you can get hold of a photocopy of the
same. If
you are decent at Quantitative Reasoning, you can safely skip those
sections here.
This book is a must-have!
iii. Kaplan Higher Score on the GRE CD
This CD contains a diagnostic test, three full-length Computer
Adaptive
Tests and six sectional tests, in addition to a few nifty tools.
The Verbal Ability Section is much tougher than what one is likely to
find
elsewhere (and in the actual exam as well). The Quantitative
Reasoning
section is tougher as well.
So do not be surprised if you witness a terrible dip in your
performance
when you try this out.
iv. The Princeton Review CD
The Princeton Review CD has quite a few Computer Adaptive Tests which
are a
lot easier than the actual GRE, in my opinion.
Attempt to score a minimum of 1,450 or so in these tests. For a
sample test
online, click here.
v. The PowerPrep CD
When you book your date to write the GRE, you will receive this CD
from
ETS.
There is not a lot on the CD (shocking, especially when one looks at
how
much ETS charges the test taker!).
I strongly recommend preserving one of the two diagnostic tests on
the CD
for the day before the GRE. This is because repeated experiments with
several people I know seem to indicate that what you score in the
actual
GRE will hover around your score in the PowerPrep test.
There are lots of other test prep CDs and books you can avail of.
(Cambridge and Peterson's crop to mind), but it is best to stick to
these.
If you have the time, inclination and money for the others, do give
them a
shot.
Note: Many wonder whether it is worth attending coaching classes to
prepare
for the GRE. To answer the question: No.
The coaching institutes charge the earth, and do not give you an edge
over
anyone else who has worked hard sitting at home.
Also: the practice tests that most of them promise you are merely
CATs from
some of the CDs I have mentioned above. Take it from one who has
actually
squandered a lot of money there!
