Graduate Record Examination (GRE) helps thousands of students to achieve their dream of pursuing education abroad. The examination offers not only opportunities for higher studies, but it also holds promise of multicultural work experience and attractive salaries. Basically, GRE is a yardstick to test students’ readiness and interest for advanced studies at eminent graduate schools and/or B-school universities located across the globe.
GRE Revised General Test comes in two formats: Computer Based and Paper Based. GRE Revised General Test is suitable for those who want to pursue Master’s Degree Fellowships, like MS, MIM, and MBA. The test duration is 3 hours 45 minutes and comprises of three sections: Analytical Writing Assessment, Quantitative Aptitude, and Verbal Reasoning. One can take the GRE test upto 5 times within a period of 12 months. The biggest advantage with GRE is that the scores are valid for 5 years.
How to prepare for GRE Test?
- Verbal Practice
The Verbal Section will test your Vocabulary and Reading Comprehension skills. Gone are the days when Vocabulary had to be learnt the rote way. There are many interesting ways of learning and retaining meaning of new words. Think out of the box…that’s what GRE is looking for…even for the most dreaded Reading Comprehension. One of the favourite advises that people will give you for RC is to read newspaper articles for speed reading. However, little would be all those hours spent on the advice, as GRE passages need different approach than the one which you use for leisure reading. When you are timed on your reading passages, the trick is to read less and answer more questions. This is where the Pareto’s principle, AKA 80/20 principles can be of great help. Using this, one could answer 80 percent of the questions by focusing on the essential 20 percent of information in the RC test.
- AWA- The template approach
While writing for AWA section, one needs to remember that the essay is checked by the examiners for certain attributes. If one needs to tailor the essay to the GRE pattern what better than using a pre- practiced template that covers all the crucial points.
Determine a template that could most beautifully express your points. But this is not enough practice writing essays using the template. If the question is where to find topics to practice essay writing, the answer is:
- For Analysis of Issue topic:
www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/prepare/analytical_writing/issue/pool
- For Analysis of Argument topic:
https://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/prepare/analytical_writing/argument/pool
- Refresh your basic mathematics concepts
The quantitative reasoning section of the GRE is an assessment of your basic Mathematical Skills, your grasp of simple mathematical concepts and the ability to apply those skills and theoretical models to real-world problems. Focus on relearning mathematical terms from your early days of high school.
- Start early
Give yourself enough time to prepare for the test and the application process. If you are targeting fall 2018 intake, it is highly recommended to follow the below timelines:
- June to October 2017- Prepare for GRE and Take the Exam
- November to December 2017- Complete the application process (Choosing Colleges, Writing SOP, Getting Recommendation Letters and getting the transcripts)
Starting early also allows you to retake the exam if you happen to be dissatisfied with the score.
- Practice makes perfect
Your study programme may be cleverly designed, and you may be preparing most studiously, but you still need to be familiar with the actual test conditions. Practice with GRE level questions and build an error log for the topics in which you consistently make mistakes and review the error.
- Target Your Weaknesses
Any preparation needs you to focus primarily on addressing your weak spots. You’ll see the biggest point improvements by focusing on topic areas and question types that you currently struggle with.
- Take mock tests
It is important to take mock tests before starting the GRE prep, as it’ll help you identify your weak areas. Mock tests should be taken on a regular basis as this will help evaluate your actual test performance and make you accustomed to test pressure. It is also important to understand the traps in answer choices. As your ability to get a question right will not only depend on the right choice but also on negation of the wrong options.
- Study resources
You can also refer to a list of books and study material while preparing for GRE.
| The Official Guide to the GRE Revised General Test by ETS, 2nd Edition |
| ETS’s Official GRE Verbal Reasoning Practice Questions |
| Official GRE Quantitative Reasoning Practice Questions |
| http://byjus.com/gre/ |
| https://www.ets.org/s/gre/pdf/practice_book_GRE_pb_revised_general_test.pdf |
| https://www.ets.org/gre |
Following are the few of the leading universities accepts GRE score:
| 1 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | www.mit.edu |
| 2 | Stanford University | www.stanford.edu |
| 3 | University of California- Berkeley | www.berkeley.edu |
| 4 | University of Illinois – Urbana Champaign | www.uiuc.edu |
| 5 | University of Michigan Ann Arbor | www.umich.edu |
[Article is written by experts of BYJU’S – The Learning App]
