The GRE's

Just like the ETS website says "Taking a GRE® test is an essential first step toward a graduate or business degree.". Most grad schools won't consider your application without them. So what are they, when should you take them, and what's a good score to get on them? Well I did some research so I've got the answers to those questions and more!

What are the GRE's?

GRE stands for Graduate Records Examination. It's a computerized or paper exam that tests your verbal, quantitative, and analytical skills. Sound familiar? It should. The GRE's seem to be nothing more than a college level SAT. The GRE's are administered by the same company and are scored in a similar way. The ETS has designed the test to "evaluate your readiness for graduate level coursework". Normally I would argue as to how they could effectively do this but as most of us know whether the test is effective is not really the point. More than 80% of college bound teenagers take the SAT's not because they feel it will accurately measure their aptitude but because they don't really have a choice. You want to go to college, then take the SAT's. You want to go to graduate school, then take the GRE's.

What subjects do they cover?

Like I said the GRE's are divided into three section, analytical (writing), verbal (vocab and comprehension, and quantitative (math). The analytical section is divided into two parts, the issue and argument task. For the issue task you are given 45 minutes to choice an essay that will present an opinion. It is then your job to write your perspective of the given opinion in any way you see fit. You should be able to use examples that support your perspective. In the argument section which is 30 minutes, you're expected to critique an argument, its validity and how logically sound it is. After that you'll take the verbal reasoning section. This is a 30 minute section where they test your vocabulary by asking analogy, sentence completion, antonym, and reading comprehension questions. The final scored section is a 45 minute quantitative analysis section. They'll test your deductive reasoning with quantitative comparison, problem solving and data interpretation (graph) questions. All the math covered on the test is basic arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and data analysis so don't worry, you don't have to be a math genius to pass the test. Overall the computerized test is a little over 3 hours, and there may be unscored and research sections on your test.

How is the Test Scored?

The score is broken into three parts, one for each section. The scoring for the verbal and quantitative sections range from 200-800 each. The scores are given in increments of 10, just like the SAT's. The analytical section is scored from 0-6, with 6 meaning the test taker crafted well developed and skilled arguments for both essay sections. The scores are reported in half increments.

How to Prepare

Although everyone should know most of the material covered on the test by the time they graduate, it's never a bad idea to study up just in case. There are many books, flashcard systems and even podcasts that will help prospective test takers brush up on the basics. For starters, the ETS website has some study material and practice test that might help. Just go to the "Prepare for the Test" section and under sample questions are links to a full length test, and software provided by ETS. For those that need a little more help, like me, I've researched study guides that my friends and I have found effective.

Books
Barron's GRE
Sharon Weiner Green
0764142003

Essential Words for the GRE
Philip Geer Ed.M.
0764144782

Cracking the GRE with DVD, 2009 Edition
Princeton Review
037542864X

Kaplan GRE Exam Math Workbook
Kaplan
141955221X

Audio
McGraw-Hill's PodClass GRE Vocabulary (Mp3 Disk)
Steven Dulan
0071624848

Just Vocabulary Podcast (iTunes)

VerbaLearn Podcast (iTunes)

I take my first crack at the GRE's later this month. If I don't do well this time, I'll take it again in October. Good Luck to everyone taking the GRE's. I've decided that in addition to my regular posts, every Tuesday I'll give a profile of each school I'm applying to. Hopefully this will force me to really do my research. My next adventure post will be on painting and photoshop!! Later day :-)