Monthly Archives: January 2013
Preparing for the Graduate Record Exam (GRE)
How to prepare for the GRE
The General GRE (Graduate Record Examinations) exam is similar to the SAT and ACT. It measures verbal and quantitative reasoning, critical thinking and analytical writing skills. (Or, in basic terms, it looks at vocabulary and reading, math skills and essays.) Some colleges use the General GRE as a base line for college acceptance, especially grad schools. Schools that favor the arts and humanities will look for higher scores in the verbal section (usually scores between 500-600) while schools that favor the sciences, math and engineering fields look more at the quantitative section (usually scores between 700-800). It is not a difficult exam to take or pass provided you prepare for it.
The first thing to do is to register to take the test (you can do this online at https://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/register?WT.ac=grehome_reg_c_121008 – be sure to register for the General exam, not the Single Subject. That is a whole different monster). This is important not only so that you know your time frame and how long you have to prep for the exam, but you also need to know where the exam will be held and in what format. Certain testing centers only offer the test electronically on a computer while other centers offer the test on paper with a scantron sheet.
The second thing to do is take at least one of the practice exams for the GRE. Your prep packet from ETS GRE will probably have a small practice test in the booklet they send, or you can find practice tests free online (like the ones found here http://www.princetonreview.com/grad/free-gre-practice-test.aspx). Taking practice exams at the start of your prep (and occasionally during your studying) will help you to figure out where you stand. Practice tests will also familiarize you with the structure of the exam. The computerized GRE, especially, has a habit of changing up directions and what the questions ask you to identify, so being prepared for that will keep you from making simple mistakes.
After the practice exam has been graded, you can establish what areas you need to spend the most time studying and reviewing. From there, you can work with your regular study habits and mix in various tools offered by ETS GRE or other free online sites, such as http://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/prepare or http://www.mygretutor.com/. These sites can offer generic study plans, examples of questions in the various test sections and general prep hints.
The most important thing to do is to not take the General GRE lightly. This exam costs upwards of $150 to take. You want to do your best to make sure you don’t have to take it again to get the score you desire. Using the practice exams and familiarizing yourself with the style of questions and grading expectations will help you be better prepared and help quell some of the anxiety of the exam.