1. What is the GRE

The Graduate Record Examination is a standardised test that measures verbal, mathematical and analytical skills. It is intended to help graduate schools (of all fields other than business) assess the potential of applicants for advanced study. Nearly 2300 universities in the US require GRE scores from each applicant. The GRE tests those fundamental skills that are conducive to success in graduate study - reasoning and comprehension included - and does not require any subject-specific theoretical study. (This is true only for the General GRE test and not the GRE Subject test, which is required by certain universities. In this section we mean the General GRE test whenever we refer to the GRE)

The test is designed in such a way that it would be unlike any other test you would have taken at school or college. First, the test has no question paper or answer sheets, nor does it have the same set of questions for all the examinees. Further, it does not give you the option of not answering a question (unless, of course, you run out of time at the end). All this because the GRE is an entirely Computer based test - the keyboard and mouse do the work of a pen or pencil. The test is scored out of 1600 (in multiples of 10), and most scores fall in the range of 800-1300. Analytical writing scores fall in the range of 0-6. However, a score of even 1600 with a combined essay score of 6 is not unheard of!

The GRE is only one of several parameters that graduate schools look at to determine the selection of an applicant. A high score alone does not translate into an admission offer from a great school. But the test can be looked upon as the first major hurdle to be cleared in the process of getting admission into a graduate school of your choice.

2. Who administers the GRE?

The GRE is developed and administered by the US-based Educational Testing Service (ETS) under the direction of the Graduate Record Examination Board, a non-profit organisation of graduate schools worldwide. This implies that ETS sets the questions, conducts the test, and sends each examinee the score report. For the conduct of the test, ETS has appointed Testing Agencies in various countries, which act as franchisees for ETS. In Greece this agency is the Fulbright Foundation, which administers the test at two centres in the country: Athens, and Thessaloniki.

3. When is the GRE held?

4. Eligibility and Fees

Anyone and everyone is eligible for taking the GRE - there are no restrictions based on age or qualifications. The test scores are valid for five years, i.e., most universities accept scores up to five years old. But it is always better if your scores are recent (not older than two years).

Test fees for the GRE may vary according to the country in which you take the test. In Greece the current fee is US $160, payable at the time of registration. The fees have to be paid through a US Dollar denominated draft, payable to "ETS - GRE" Such a draft is usually available at the Main Branches of most banks (which have a foreign exchange counter) in most of the big cities for a nominal charge. Alternately, the payment can also be made through a credit card which has global acceptance. The credit card need not necessarily be yours - you can use a credit card belonging to your father, another relative, or a friend.

5. How to Apply

Obtain the "GRE Information Bulletin" available free of charge at the Fulbright Foundation and other private educational locations. The Test Scheduling Form comes with the bulletin. There are four ways you can register:

Web
Online Registration (credit card only) at http://www.ets.org

Phone
Call: 0031 320 239 540

Use American Express, MasterCard, VISA, or a voucher number.
Call the appropriate Regional Registration Centre (RRC) at least 2 business days before your preferred test date.
For Greece and Europe the RRC is in Region 12, which is situated in the Netherlands (Holland). A confirmation number, reporting time, and the test centre address will be given to you when you call.

Fax 
FAX: 0031 320 239 541

Use American Express, MasterCard, VISA, or a voucher number.
Fax the International Test Scheduling Form to the appropriate RRC.
The form must be received at least 7 days before your first-choice test date.
A confirmation number, reporting time, and the test centre address will be faxed or mailed to you.
If you do not receive a confirmation of your appointment, call the appropriate RRC at least 3 business days before your first-choice test date. If you missed your appointment and did not call the RRC, your test fee will not be refunded. If you provide an e-mail address, you may receive a confirmation by e-mail.

Mail
Mail the International Test Scheduling Form to the appropriate RRC, accompanied by the appropriate payment.
For all of Europe (and of course Greece) mail the form to the following address:

Thomson Prometric, Attn: PTC Registrations Europe
P.O. Box 2024
8203 AA Lelystad
Lelystad
The Netherlands

The form must be received at least 3 weeks before your first-choice test date.
A confirmation number, reporting time, and the test centre address will be faxed or mailed to you.
If you do not receive confirmation at least 3 business days before your first-choice test date, please call the RRC,
or the United States Educational Foundation (USEF) in Greece

Fulbright Program
6 Vas. Sofias Avenue
Athens 106 74, Greece
Telephone: + (30) 210-7241811, 210-7241812
Fax: + (30) 210-7226510
If you missed your appointment and did not call the RRC, your test fee will not be refunded.
If you provide an e-mail address, you may receive a confirmation by e-mail.

6. What is a Computer-Adaptive Test?

In a computer-adaptive test the computer screen displays one question at a time, which is chosen from a very large pool of questions categorised by content and difficulty. The first question is always of medium difficulty, and each subsequent question is determined by your responses to all the previous questions. In other words, the CAT adjusts itself to your ability level - you'll get few questions that are either too easy or too difficult for you.


Each question in the GRE CAT has five answer options, and you are required to select one of these five as the correct answer by clicking on it. A subsequent question is displayed on the screen only after you have answered the previous question, so you cannot skip a question. You cannot also go back to a previously answered question to change your answer. Thus, if you guess a correct answer or answer a question incorrectly by mistake, your answers to subsequent questions will lead you back to questions that are at the appropriate level of difficulty for you.

7. Content and structure of the GRE

The computer-based General Test has three distinct sections:
Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA), Quantitative, and Verbal.

The first section, Analytical Writing Assessment, measures critical thinking and analytical writing skills. It consists of two analytical writing tasks: (1) "Present your perspective on an issue", and (2) "Analyse an Argument".

The Quantitative section has Problem Solving questions, which test your mathematical skills and concepts of roughly the high-school level.

The Verbal section has four types of questions: Antonyms, Analogies, Reading Comprehension, and Sentence Completion. The questions of each type appear in no set sequence. There are a total of 58 questions, 28 in the Quantitative and 30 in the Verbal Section.

There is a one-minute break between each test section. Midway through the testing session, an on-screen message will inform you of the opportunity to take a 10-minute break. Section timing will not stop if you take an unscheduled break.

In addition, one unidentified pre-test section may be included, and this section can appear in any position in the test after the analytical writing section. Questions in the pre-test section are being tested for possible use in future tests, and answers will not count towards your scores.

An identified research section that is not scored may also be included, and this section would always appear in the final section of the test. Questions in the research section are included for the purpose of ETS research, and answers will not count toward your scores.

Total testing time is up to three hours and a quarter, not including the research section. The directions at the beginning of each section specify the total number of questions in the section and the time allowed for the section.

The analytical writing section is always first. For the Issue task, two topics will be presented and you will choose one. The Argument task does not present a choice of topics; instead, one topic will be presented.
The verbal and quantitative sections may appear in any order, (including the unidentified verbal or quantitative pre-test section). Treat each section presented during your test as a real section that counts

8. AWA

The writing assessment section requires you to type two short essays. The first is the Issue task, in which you need to analyse the issue presented and explain your views on it. For the Issue task, you will be able to choose 1 of 2 essay topics selected by the computer from the pool of topics. You will get 45 minutes to type this essay.

The second essay is Analysis of an Argument, in which a given argument has to be critically analysed and evaluated. For the Argument task, you are required to critique the logic of the given argument without expressing personal opinion. The Argument task does not offer a choice of topics; the computer will present you with a single topic selected from the topic pool. You will get 30 minutes to type this essay.

The primary emphasis in scoring both essays in the analytical writing section is on your critical thinking and analytical writing skills rather than on grammar and mechanics.

This implies that a concise essay with well-reasoned points written in simple English will be looked upon more favourably than an essay which falls short on the analytical aspects, even though it is high on writing skills.

9. Quantitative Section

The section tests you on a level of mathematics that is comparable to Class 10 mathematics (equivalent to between 1st and 2nd class of Lyceum in Greece), with questions on Number Systems, Percentages, Fractions & Decimals, Algebra (including Quadratic Equations), Geometry (including Basic Coordinate Geometry), Ratio & Proportion, Area & Volume of 2-D and 3-D figures, and Probability. This list is not exhaustive; questions from beyond these topics may also be asked.

The section has 28 questions to be completed in 45 minutes.

10. Verbal Section

The verbal section in GRE requires a good vocabulary level and the basic skills of correct English coupled with reasoning and analysis. The 30 questions, to be attempted in 30 minutes, consist of four types: Antonyms, Analogies, Sentence Completion, and Reading Comprehension. The four types are intermingled, with no fixed number for each type.

11. Reporting the Score

ETS sends score reports to you and to up to 4 institutions of your choice, the cost of which is built into the fee you pay, approximately 10 to 15 days after you take the test. These institutions must be designated on test day. However, you have to allow sufficient time for mail delivery from Princeton, New Jersey, USA. For reporting to each additional university ETS charges you $15, payable by an international credit card or a dollar denominated draft. 

12. The Scoring Pattern in GRE CAT

The GRE results include four different scores: a total score, and separate scores for Verbal, Quantitative, and Analytical Writing Assessment sections. The total score is reported out of 1600 and the sectional scores are out of 800. The Writing Assessment section is scored separately on a scale 0-6.

In addition to these scores, the score report also contains percents (%) below. These "% below" indicate the percentage of examinees who scored below you, based on the scores of the entire GRE testing population during the most recent three-year period. These percentages are important in considering how an applicant for admission to a particular graduate school compares with everyone in the specified period, with all other applicants to the same school, and with students already enrolled at the school.

Retaking the GRE

Even though an "I could have done better" feeling is inevitable after any test, taking the GRE again may not be helpful. Sometimes it is necessary to take the GRE more than once, in particular when a graduate school asks you for more recent scores than what you have. However, unless your scores seem unusually low compared to your performance in the practice tests, or if you have not been able to perform well because of a sudden illness or similar exceptional circumstances, it is advisable not to succumb to the temptation of repeating the test. This is so because given the nature of the test, it is unlikely that your scores can improve substantially. In fact, your scores may decrease.

If you repeat the test, your scores from the latest test date and the two most recent test administrations in the last five years will be reported to the institutions you designate as recipients. In any case, you cannot take the test more than once in the same calendar month, even if you have taken the test and cancelled your scores.

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