What
is the GRE? Who has to appear for it?
Graduate Record Examination. GRE is the entrance exam
for US, Canadian and Australian countries for any
Masters
or PhD course except MBA.
Does
one have to be a graduate for taking the GRE?
Not necessarily.
What qualification should one have to do a Masters?
One has to be a graduate in any stream.
What
is the syllabus?
The course consists of Mathematics, English and an AWA
Section (Writing). The AWA Section consists of an Issue
Analysis ( 45 minutes) and an argument Analysis(30
minutes). The Issue Analysis has a choice between two
topics; the argument has only one prompt.
45 minutes: Mathematics section - 25 questions
(Problem Solving, Quantitative Comparison and Data
Interpretation)
5 minutes: break
30 minutes: Verbal Section- 30 questions (Reading
Comprehension, Analogies, Antonyms and Sentence
Completion)
These sections do not appear in any fixed order. In
addition, there is an unidentified Verbal,
Quantitative or Writing Section that
does not count toward the final score. Students have
to attempt the Experimental Section because they would
not know which one will eventually count towards one's
score.
The total exam is nearly 3 hours long
What
is the scoring system?
The total marks are 1600 of which 1300 and above is
considered good. Different questions carry different
marks depending on its difficulty level. Both English
and Mathematics carry 800 marks each. The AWA Section (Writing)
is scored on a score range of 0-6. Most Universities
consider a score of 4 and above as acceptable.
What
are the rules of the exam?
- One can't leave a question
- One can't go back to a previous question
- The first 5 questions per section
carry more weightage.
- There is no direct negative
marking
- The level of difficulty of the next question depends
upon the accuracy of the previous question.
How
often can one appear for the exam?
GRE can be taken 5 times in a calendar year.
Which
score will the college consider?
Universities consider the best score.
When
is the exam held?
The exam is held in Delhi at Sylvan Prometric (which
has been given the worldwide contract) on all working
days. There are 3 time slots in a day( 9am,2 pm
and 6pm).For details, contact: Sylvan Prometric,
160-A,Gautam Nagar, Yusuf Sarai.
How
does one register?
One can register by phone or drop off the form physically
at the centre. Keep your passport and international
credit card number ready along with the expiry date
What
is the cost of the exam?
The charges are $ 140 payable to ETS-GRE in US
Dollars.
How
much in advance does one have to apply for a date?
Students have to apply 21 days in advance. However with a
credit card, one can even apply 2 business days in advance
(subject to availability).
What
happens if one postpones one's exam date?
If one postpones the exam at least 7 days before the
scheduled date, then one can reschedule the exam for an
additional fee of $48 to reschedule. in all other cases,
the fees are forfeited.
How
soon does one get one's score?
Students can see their score the moment they finish the exam
but official scores will take 21 days to reach them.
What
happens if one cancels the exam?
After taking the exam, one is given the choice of canceling
one's score without seeing it. If one chooses to do so,
the score is lost forever but it will be reported on
all subsequent score charts that one had cancelled an
exam.
How
should one register for the exams?
One can apply online or pay through a Dollar draft
at Sylvan Testing Centre.
How
does one pass on one's score to the college?
The universities only accept official scores sent directly by ETS. Scores to four colleges can be sent free of cost. while taking the exam. Subsequently, for each score report sent to a college, you would have to pay ETS a token amount.
How
much does the graduate school cost?
The two years can cost anywhere between 15-20 lacs
on an average, if one hasn't been awarded a scholarship
or a fee waiver.
Does
one's educational background matter in taking admission
in universities?
Yes, Colleges stress on a good academic background.
However one can compensate by having a higher GRE score
Are
there teaching or research assistantships available?
Yes there are. This is where one's TOEFL score plays
a part.
Are
there scholarships available for Graduate students?
GRE Scores help many Graduate students to gain
scholarships
How
much score should one get to obtain scholarship?
A score of 1350 and above entitles one to a
scholarship. It
is finally up to the University as to how much scholarship it
decides to grant to a student.
Is
it necessary to have 16 years of education?
If applying to the topmost colleges, then yes. If one
is willing to compromise on the top 50 Universities, then 16
years is not that important. However one can compensate
by having a higher score on the GRE.
Does
it have any effect if a student has done a correspondence
graduation?
No.
What
is percentile?
If a student gets 85 percentile, it means that 85 % of the students
taking the exam in the past 5 years are below him/her and
15% are equal to or above him/her.
What are the GRE Subject test?
The GRE subject tests are specialized tests, to be taken only if your university asks for it. Check with them. In India, Subject GRE is offered only once a year, in November.
Beginning in November 2007, two new question types will be included in the Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning sections of the computer-based GRE® General Test. Test takers may see ONE new Verbal question or ONE new Quantitative question or no new questions at all. No test taker will receive more than ONE new question. The new question types are part of the first phase of the General Test improvements that will be introduced gradually over time.
How many new test questions will I see on my test?
You may see one new Verbal question or one new Quantitative question or no new questions at all. No test taker will receive more than ONE new question.
Will this question affect my score?
Initially, the new question types will not count towards a test taker’s score. However, the GRE Program will begin counting these question types as soon as an adequate sample of data from the operational testing environment is available. If you receive a new question type, you are advised to treat it as if it counts. |
