Graduate Record Exam (GRE) Overview

The Graduate Record Exam (GRE) is taken by students seeking admission to most non-management post graduate programs in the US and some other countries. Note that students seeking admission to law and medicine need not appear for GRE. GRE is conducted by Education Testing Service (ETS).

GRE is a computer adaptive test. It has three sections: quantitative section, verbal section and a writing section. There will be a short break after each section.

Scoring

Verbal score on a scale of 200-800
Quantitative score on a scale of 200-800
Analytical writing score on a scale of 0-6

The GRE combines verbal and quantitative scores to give a total score on a scale of 1600. A score above 1400 would be considered by top universities.

Quantitative section (45 minutes)

This section tests your knowledge of the basic concepts of arithmetic, algebra and geometry. You should have excellent knowledge of mathematical formulae. This section also includes questions based on data interpretation (graphs).

Verbal Section (30 minutes)

The section on verbal ability measures your ability to analyze and evaluate written material and synthesize information obtained from it. You should have a strong vocabulary. Types of questions asked in this section are analogies, antonyms, sentence completion and reading comprehension.

Writing section (75 minutes)

Skills needed

Excellent command of English language
Ability to express complex ideas clearly and effectively
Ability to take a stand and support it with arguments
Ability to present an argument by analyzing both sides of an issue