The GRE Exam (Graduate Record Examination) is a standardized test conducted by the Educational Testing Services. The GRE Exam scores are accepted by most of the top level institutions across the world for their various masters and doctoral programs. It is one of the world’s largest assessment programs for college admissions.
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Eligibility
There is no specific eligibility criteria for the GRE Exam. While anyone can register for this exam irrespective of age or educational qualifications, one will be required to produce their original passport as proof of identify at the exam centre. Thus, you’ll need a valid passport. You’ll have to get your original passport (not photocopies) which clearly shows your full name, photograph and signature.
While the GRE Exam itself does not have any eligibility specifications, there will be a range of eligibility criteria set by universities that accept GRE scores. For each of their programs, they may have minimum age, experience and qualification related filters.
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GRE Exam Fees
The application fee for the GRE Exam is $205 worldwide. However the ETS also provides the option of being flexible on the exam fees, provided one can prove their financial constraints.
In addition to the exam fees, there are several other charges such as:-
- Late registration fee: $25
- Standby testing: $25
- Changing the test centre: $50
- Rescheduling Fee: $50
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Important Dates
Unlike other exams, there is no specific date for GRE Exams. According to the ETS website, one can take the GRE Exam once every 21 days, up to five times within any continuous rolling 12-month period (365 days)
However one most also take into account the fact that during peak application season, which generally goes on from August to December, it can be difficult to get your preferred date, slot and centre. Thus in order to ensure to get a slot and centre of your choice, one must plan their GRE Exam preparation schedule and test dates in advance.
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GRE Exam Syllabus
While there is no specific syllabus for the GRE Exam, it is divided into 3 sections, namely Quantitative Reasoning, Verbal Reasoning, and Analytical Writing.
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Quantitative Reasoning
The section assesses basic high school level mathematical knowledge and reasoning skills in two sections. This section mainly aims to test the level of understanding of the candidate’s quantitative information. This section tests basic mathematics and concepts of arithmetic, algebra, geometry and data interpretation. It does not include advanced-level mathematical concepts such as integration, differentiation, the Chi-Square Test etc.
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Verbal Reasoning
The section assesses reading comprehension, critical reasoning, and vocabulary usage in two sections. The verbal reasoning section measures the candidate’s analysing skills, the ability to come to a conclusion, summarizing, breaking down word meanings, and more. Some of the topics mainly tested during the GRE Exam’s verbal section are Basic Sentence structure, Nouns, Pronouns, Adjectives, Verb Tense, Idioms & Idiomatic Expressions, Pronoun Agreement, Subject-Verb Agreement, Modifiers, Parallelism, etc.
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Analytical Writing
Analytical Writing aims to test the candidate’s skills and ability to tackle complex ideas with logic and clarity. In this section, the candidate is required to articulate and understand ideas both simple and effectively. In this section, the candidate is also expected to support his arguments with relevant examples and arguments through two essays.
