GRE : Key Highlights
Exam Name | GRE |
GRE exam full form | Graduate Record Examinations |
Official Website | |
Most popular for | MS courses in the USA |
Also accepted for | MBA courses outside India |
Conducted by | ETS (Educational Testing Service) |
Mode of Exam | Computer-delivered test Paper-delivered test GRE at Home |
GRE Fee | US $213 |
Score Range | Verbal Reasoning score range: 130–170 Quantitative Reasoning score range: 130–170 Analytical Writing score range: 0–6 |
GRE Contact | +91-1244517127 or 000-800-100-4072 Monday–Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. IST Email: GRESupport4India@ets.org |
What is GRE ?
RE Exam: Conducted by ETS, the GRE Test is one of the most popular graduate admission tests for candidates looking to pursue MS Studies or Graduate studies abroad. The ETS GRE exam is held multiple times around the year and candidates can appear for the exam from the designated GRE test centre or the safety of their homes by opting for the ‘GRE at Home‘ facility of the test. However, candidates would be required to have the pre-mandated system requirements and a test conducive environment to opt for the proctored GRE exam at Home test.
The GRE full form is Graduate Record Examination. Apart from introducing the GRE home facility of the test. ETS – the conducting body of the GRE test has also allowed candidates who are eligible to appear for the GRE exam to use their Aadhar Cards as part of their student ID starting July 1, 2021, during the GRE registration process. In this article, we are going to be talking about the test centre dates available for taking the GRE Test along with important GRE Exam topics such as GRE exam syllabus, GRE exam fees, GRE exam eligibility, GRE score validity and much more.
Types of GRE Exam ?
There are two types of GRE tests, GRE General Test and GRE Subject Test.
- GRE General Test
- GRE Subject Test
| GRE General Test | Area of Difference | GRE Subject Test |
|---|---|---|
| The GRE General Test is not related to any specific field of study but measures your verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, critical thinking, and analytical writing skills that are important and have been developed over a long period of time. | About the test | The GRE Subject Test measures your knowledge in a particular field of study. Subjects covered in the GRE Subject Test include Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics, and Psychology. |
| The duration of the GRE General Test is 3 hours and 45 minutes. | Duration of the GRE Exam | The duration of the GRE Subject Test is 2 hours and 50 minutes. |
| The cost of the GRE General Test for students registering from India is US$213. While the worldwide cost of GRE General Test registration is US$205 | Cost of the GRE Exam | The worldwide cost of GRE Subject Registration is US$150. |
| The GRE General Test is held online from a GRE test centre or the comfort of your home in the newly launched, GRE at Home facility. The GRE test is held multiple times a day and on most days of the month. | When is the GRE test held? | The GRE Subject Tests are offered at paper-delivered test centres worldwide, three times a year. In September, October, and April. |
GRE Exam Eligibility/Requirements:
GRE Eligibility: There are no specific GRE eligibility criteria as prescribed by ETS. Anyone can register for this GRE exam, irrespective of age or qualifications. However, candidates applying for master’s courses are required to take their GRE test. The only other factor that a candidate is required to keep in mind is the fact that he/she would be required to produce their original passport as proof of identity at the exam centre, so candidates are required to have a valid passport before they register for the GRE exam. Update: Candidates should note that starting July 1, 2021, candidates can use their Aadhar Card as part of the identity of proof during the GRE registration process.
GRE Exam : Age Limit
No Age Limit
GRE Exam : Fees
Here is how much GRE costs around the world:
| Location | GRE Fee |
|---|---|
| GRE Fees in Australia | $230.00 |
| GRE Fees in China | $231.30 |
| GRE Fees in India | $213.00 |
| GRE Fees in Nigeria | $226.00 |
| GRE Fees in Turkey | $255.00 |
| GRE General Test Fees in other areas of the world | $205.00 |
| GRE Subject Test Fees in the world (all locations) | $150.00 |
GRE Cancellation Fee/ GRE Rescheduling Fee
Candidates who must cancel or reschedule their GRE General Test registration are required to do so no later than four days before the test date or the GRE exam fee would be forfeited. Candidates would be required to pay $50 for rescheduling their GRE test. Apart from this, candidates are charged $50 if they want to change a subject in the GRE Subject Test.
GRE Special Handling Requests
Candidates wanting to avail of additional services would be required to pay an extra fee for the same. Charges for special handling requests for services are mentioned below.
GRE Services | GRE Fee |
|---|---|
GRE Late Registration Fee | $25 |
GRE Standby testing Fee | $25 |
GRE Changing the test centre Fee | $50 |
GRE Rescheduling fee | $50 |
GRE Subject Change Fee | $50 |
How to apply for the GRE exam:
For GRE registration you need to follow certain steps.
1. Create an account on ETS website
The first step is to create an account on the official ETS site. Only then can you could apply for the GRE, view your GRE scores and also send the universities of your choice your report for admission.
2. Select the test centers and GRE exam date
Select carefully the nearest or the best center. Block your date and time for the exam. Keep in mind that you’ll need to spend 4 hours at the test centre so choose wisely.
3. Fill your personal details and verify them
Before you pay the application fee you need to fill in all the mandatory details that are asked in the form with red asterisks. You can even buy official GRE study material during the application process.
4. Pay the GRE fee
Here a question arises, “How much does the GRE cost?”.
The GRE exam fee varies depending on the country you take it in but you can expect to pay between USD$200 and USD$240.
This fee is for an international test taker. For GRE-test takers in the US, the price is a little bit lower now.
This fee is to be paid using accepted forms of payment.
After the completion of payment a confirmation mail with selected GRE exam date, time, test center address and some other information regarding the application will be received.
Once you’ve created your GRE login on the ETS website you can apply, view or even cancel your application,
Difference between GRE at Home and GRE at the test centre
Candidates should understand that the GRE test at home has not replaced the GRE at the test centre. The GRE at home has been introduced for the convenience of students who are looking to appear for the GRE exam from the safety of the home. The GRE exam fee for both the GRE test at Home and GRE at the test centre is the same. The GRE Exam Fee is US$213 for Indian students wanting to register for the GRE test. The basic difference would be that while the GRE exam for the GRE at Home is held from the safety of your home, the GRE exam for GRE at the test centre is conducted at the test centre.
While the GRE test centre would have a specific test schedule, the GRE at home can be taken at the convenience of the student. However, candidates would have to make sure that they have the required system hardware and software to run the GRE test smoothly, and also there should be no electricity outage. This, however, would not be a matter of concern for students taking the exam from a GRE test centre. The GRE at home is similar to the GRE at the test centre that can be taken once every 21 days, up to five times within any continuous rolling 12-month period (365 days).
GRE Exam Pattern
The GRE comprises 3 major sections:
- Quantitative Reasoning
- Verbal Reasoning
- Analytical Writing Assessment
The concepts tested in the Quant Section of the GRE comprise:
- Arithmetic
- Geometry
- Data Interpretation
- Algebra
In fact, the Quant section of most standardized tests comprises these topics. GRE Quant is considered to be more straightforward, in terms of the concepts tested and the nature of the questions asked. A calculator is permitted for the Quant Section as well.
GRE Quant is relatively simpler in terms of the nature of its questions. Question types are mostly MCQs, along with some numeric entry questions, questions with multiple correct answers, and questions related to quantitative comparisons.
Total Number of Questions: 40 questions.
Duration: 35 minutes per subsection.
Score Range: 130-170.
GRE Verbal Section :
GRE Verbal places heavy emphasis on vocabulary. It has 2 sections within Verbal, and the question types vary from multiple-answer choices, MCQs, and filling in the blanks. The Topics tested are:
- Reading Comprehension
- Sentence Equivalence – unique to the GRE, this involves choosing two answers to fill a blank, both of which should produce logical and meaningful sentences that mean the same thing.
- Text Completion
- Critical Reasoning
The number of question types in GRE verbal section are usually split this way: 4 Sentence Equivalence, 6 Text completion, and 10 Reading Comprehension. You can crack this section easily with good GRE vocabulary skills.
Total Number of Questions: 40 questions (20 in each section)
Duration: 60 minutes in total.
Score Range: 130-170.
AWA, where you will be required to write an essay based on your analysis of a given prompt, reasoning, or argument presented.
GRE AW – 2 tasks, 30 minutes each – 60 minutes in total.
Unidentified section :
Now this section does not actually contribute to your score. It’s like a dummy section which ETS uses to gather data on the responses to the questions found within this section.
Your performance in this section does not actually contribute to your final score but the problem is that you will not know which section is this special un-scored section.
So as far as you are concerned it could be any one of the sections, so you must treat this section a part of the Test. This section could come either under Quant or Verbal, and it isn’t possible to identify which is which.
| GRE Exam Pattern | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sections | No.of Questions | Time Allotted | Position During Exam |
| Analytical Writing (One section with 2 separately timed essay tasks) | One “Analyse an Issue” task and one “Analyse an arguement” task | 30 minutes per task | 1st section |
| Verbal Reasoning (Two Sections) | 20 Questions | 30 minutes per section | Anywhere in between |
| Quantitative Reasoning (Two Sections) | 20 Questions | 35 minutes per section | Anywhere in between |
| Research Section (Identified) | Varies | Varies | Last Section |
| Unscored Section (Unidentified) | Varies | Varies | Anywhere in between |
GRE Exam Dates 2022
GRE Test Dates: Like other international standardized exams, there are multiple GRE exam dates 2022 in India and candidates can choose any GRE dates according to their convenience and availability. The GRE exam date that you choose should be at least two to three months before your first university application deadline. So if the deadline for your application is November, you should choose a test date for August or September. If you feel the need to retake the GRE exam, you can take it in October again. So you need to make a judicious decision about when you need to start preparing for GRE.
How Many Times to Take GRE Exam ?
You can take the test once every 21 days, up to five times within any continuous rolling 12-month period (365 days). This applies even if you canceled your scores on a test taken previously.
GRE Test Centres
GRE Test Centres in India: In India, GRE is conducted in almost 22 cities having various GRE test centres. These are Ahmedabad; Allahabad; Bengaluru; Chennai; Cochin; Coimbatore; Dehradun; Gandhinagar; Gurgaon; Gwalior; Hyderabad; Indore; Kolkata; Mumbai; Nashik; New Delhi; Nizamabad; Patna; Pune; Trivandrum; Vadodara; and Vijayawada. The majority of them offer computer-based GRE options for the test. As informed earlier, in response to the ongoing pandemic COVID-19, ETS – the conducting body of the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) has decided to launch the GRE General Test at home for locations where the computer-based format of the GRE Test was earlier available for the convenience of students wanting to study abroad.
GRE Syllabus
1.Verbal Reasoning:
The Verbal Reasoning section of GRE can be aced by intensive reading and practicing various grammar exercises that expand your vocabulary. Three types of questions in the section test your English comprehension skill, vocabulary and grammar.
Question Types of Verbal Reasoning:
- Reading Comprehension: Read the given passages and answer the questions.
- Text Completion: Fill in the blanks with appropriate answers.
- Sentence Equivalence: Check if the underlined words fit the sentence. If not, replace the word with the appropriate answer from the given options.
Topics you must thorough yourself with for the Verbal Reasoning Section:
- Modifiers and Parallelism
- Idioms and Idiomatic expressions
- Verb tense
- Pronoun Agreement
- Subject-Verb Agreement
- Nouns, Adjectives, Pronouns
- Synonyms and Antonyms
2.Quantitative Reasoning:
The GRE exam syllabus for the Quantitative Reasoning section is based on Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry, and Data Analysis. You need to strategize and resolve mathematical questions to arrive at the answer swiftly. The Quantitative Reasoning syllabus picks on your ability to apply logic to solve complex problems. Types of questions you need to solve in this section include:
- Multiple-choice questions: Choose an answer from the given options.
- Comparative questions: Compare the given values to deduce your answer based on the requirement.
- Word problems: Read the word problem, to understand, evaluate and find an answer.
- Numerical questions: Problems that would require you to answer by solving the numerical.
Quantitative Reasoning Syllabus:
The challenging GRE Quant questions are based on:
- Arithmetic: Property and types of integers, Power and roots, Statistics, Estimation, Number properties, Percentage, Exponents and Roots, Ratio and proportions, Simple and Compound Interest, Arithmetic Operations.
- Geometry: Lines and Angles, Circles, Triangle, Quadrilaterals, Polygon, Three-dimensional figures, Area, Perimeter, Volume, Angle Measurements.
- Data Analysis: Descriptive statistics such as Median, Mean, Range, Mode, Percentiles, etc, Interpretation of data based on graphs, circle graphs, scatter plots, etc, Probability, Permutation and Combination, Venn Diagrams and Sets Theory.
- Algebra: Exponents, Algebraic Expressions, Factoring and Simplifying, Equations and inequalities, Linear and Quadratic inequalities, Linear Equations, Quadratic equations, Word Problems, Speed, distance, and Time, Profit and Loss and Coordinate geometry.
3. Analytical Writing Assessment:
Analytical Writing tests your argumentative skills and articulation. In this task, you’re required to write two essays. This AWA score acts as an indicator of how effectively you can communicate your thoughts.
Types of essay you need to write:
- An argumentative essay
- An issue based essay
Analytical Writing Syllabus:
To compose a well-structured essay, prepare yourself with the basics of writing. Update yourself with current affairs, subscribe to news platforms, build your opinions based on the ideologies you stand for. Refer to the GRE official Analytical Writing guide and practice writing essays on various GRE topics.
GRE Score
Candidates who have appeared for their GRE exam can access their GRE scores by logging into their GRE account using their credentials. The GRE exam total mark is 340. Similarly, the GRE maximum score is 340, whereas the GRE minimum score is 260. The composite score mentioned here is the sum of total GRE marks got in the Verbal and Quant sections, while the AWA section score is presented separately.
How long is GRE Score valid for?
Candidates who have appeared for their GRE exam should be aware that their GRE score is valid for a period of five years from the day of the exam.
What is a Good GRE Score?
Good GRE Score: If you are applying for MS courses in the US in particular, remember that colleges don’t have minimum ‘cutoff’ marks required for admission. However, you still need to have an idea about average GRE scores across Top US universities. The below mentioned good GRE score range will put you ahead of the pack (50%+), but won’t be as advantageous when applying to highly competitive programmes.
GRE Verbal Section: 152 – 158 | GRE Quantitative Section: 153 -158 | GRE Analytical Writing: 4.0 |
What is an Average GRE Score?
Average GRE Score: The average GRE score is highly dependent on your university/programme admission guidelines. However, to give candidates an understanding of what their average GRE score might look like candidates can take a look at the table below.
GRE Verbal Section: 149.97 | GRE Quantitative Section: 153 -158 | GRE Analytical Writing: 4.0 |
Important Links
OFFICIAL WEBSITE: CLICK HERE
Apply link: click here
Frequently Asked Questions :
What does GRE stand for?
GRE exam stands for Graduate Record Examination.
Is GRE Exam Hard?
GRE exam is generally considered hard because of the challenging Verbal Section. But the math tested in the GRE is easy and can be considered basic.
What does the GRE consist of?
GRE exam consist of Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative reasoning and Analytical writing assignments. The test is 3 hours 45 minutes long .
What is the GRE exam fee?
GRE exam cost around 200-240 USD
What is the duration of GRE exam?
GRE exam would go on for 3 hours 45 minutes
What is the GRE score validity?
GRE score validity is for 5 hours
What is GRE exam used for?
GRE exam is used to get admissions into thousands of graduate and business schools across the world and can also be used to get fellowship opportunities
Is the GRE exam only used to get admissions into US universities?
No, GRE exam can be used to get admissions into multiple countries across the world for graduate and business programs
Can we get a scholarship through GRE?
Yes, there are many scholarship opportunities one can attain through the GRE exam! Here’s a resource that has in-depth information about it all.
