What is GRE?

GRE (Graduate Record Examination)

The GRE, like the SAT, is an aptitude exam designed to measure basic skills and knowledge in English and Mathematics. Both exams are developed and administered by the same company, Educational Testing Service (ETS). Among all the factors graduate schools consider for admission, your GRE score and your GPA are perhaps the most important. Just as you need to take the SAT to get into college, you need to take the GRE to go to graduate school. The math and verbal portions of the two tests are virtually identical; however, the GRE also includes a logic section that the SAT does not have. The general test measures verbal, quantitative, and analytical skills that have been acquired over a long period of time and that are not related to any specific field of study. The test is divided into three sections:

• Verbal: 30 minute section (30 questions). The questions in this section deal with the following categories:
  • Analogies
  • Antonyms
  • Sentence Completions
  • Reading Completions
• Quantitative: 45 minute section (28 questions). The questions in this section deal with the following categories:
  • Quantitative Comparison
  • Problem Solving
  • Data interpretation
• Analytical: 60 minute section (35 questions). The questions in this section deal with the following categories:
  • Analytical Reasoning
  • Logical Reasoning

The verbal section tests your ability to analyze and evaluate written material and synthesize information obtained from it, analyze relationships among component parts of sentences, and recognize relationships between words and concepts. The quantitative section tests your basic mathematical skills and your understanding of elementary mathematical concepts, as well as your ability to reason quantitatively and solve problems in a quantitative setting. The analytical section tests your ability to understand structured sets of relationships, deduce new information from sets of relationships, analyze and evaluate arguments, identify central issues and hypotheses, draw sound inferences, and identify plausible causal explanations.

The content areas included in the quantitative section of the test are arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and data analysis. Questions in the analytical section measure reasoning skills developed in virtually all fields of study. No formal training in logic or methods of analysis is needed to do well in these sections. You can be assured of doing your best on the test you take by paying careful attention to the wording of each question as it appears in your test.

Starting on October 1, 2002, the General Test will be composed of verbal, quantitative, and analytical writing sections. The verbal and quantitative sections will be unchanged from their present content. The analytical writing section will be identical to the stand alone test we now call the Writing Assessment, which was introduced in October 1999. The current analytical section will no longer be part of the General Test.

In addition, you will now be able to provide valuable new information that graduate departments can factor into the admissions decision: your score on the new GRE Writing Assessment. This test will provide you the opportunity to demonstrate in a controlled testing situation the kinds of high level thinking and writing skills generally recognized as essential for success in most graduate programs. The addition of this new writing assessment substantially expands the range of skills assessed by the GRE General Test and the GRE Subject Tests, including your ability to:

• Articulate complex ideas clearly and effectively
• Examine claims and accompanying evidence
• Support ideas with relevant reasons and examples
• Sustain a well focused, coherent discussion
• Control the elements of standard written English

The assessment consists of two analytical writing tasks: a 45 minute "Present Your Perspective on an Issue" task and a 30 minute "Analyze an Argument" task.

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