GRE vs. No GRE

Chapter 5

GRE vs. No GRE (Chapter 5)

There are a number of advantages to taking the GRE, but if you don’t do well on standardized tests, then having to take one can be discouraging, to say the least. There are master’s degree programs that don’t require you to take the GRE (or any standardized test), so do some research and see what the requirements are for the types of programs you’re interested in.

GRE Revised General Test:

The GRE has three sections: verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, and analytical writing. In August 2011, the GRE General Test was replaced by the GRE revised General Test. The revised exam’s new format is more test-taker friendly. There are also new kinds of questions that supposedly better reflect the kind of thinking you’ll do as a graduate student. Along with the new format and new kinds of questions, the GRE revised General Test also has a new scale of scoring. Although GRE scores are valid for five years (including those taken prior to the revision), verify with the individual programs to which you’re applying as to which GRE exams they accept.

  • GRE Basics

    The cost of the GRE revised General Test is $160 in the U.S. and its territories. Outside of the U.S., it is $190. There are a variety of fees for late registration ($25), location changes ($50), and rescheduling ($50). The GRE is widely offered as a computer-based test, but you may also take a paper-based test, depending on your location. There are hundreds of test centers in the U.S. where you can take the GRE, where it’s offered year-round on a first-come, first-serve basis. You can register for the exam here. Test-takers with disabilities can request accommodation, but make sure to give yourself extra time to make the request and receive the decision, as you cannot register for the GRE before receiving the accommodations. The form to request accommodations can be found here.

  • Verbal Reasoning

    The Verbal Reasoning section assesses your ability:

    • to analyze and evaluate written material
    • to synthesize the information you get from the material
    • to analyze relationships between parts and concepts

    These abilities are tested through three types of questions:

    • reading comprehension
    • text completion
    • sentence equivalence

    Study tips for the Verbal Reasoning section:

    • start early, create a schedule, and stick to it
    • familiarize yourself with the verbal reasoning questions, especially the new multiple choice questions in which you must choose ALL correct answers
    • improve your vocabulary; it will help in all Verbal Reasoning sections
    • for the reading comprehension section, read the questions and answers before reading the passages
  • Quantitative Reasoning

    The Quantitative Reasoning section assesses your ability:

    • to demonstrate basic mathematical skills
    • to understand elementary mathematical concepts
    • to reason quantitatively and to model and solve problems with quantitative methods

    These abilities are tested in four sections:

    • arithmetic
    • algebra
    • geometry
    • data analysis

    Study tips for the Quantitative Reasoning section:

    • start early, create a schedule, and stick to it
    • familiarize yourself with the quantitative reasoning questions, especially the new multiple choice questions in which you must choose ALL correct answers
    • use scratch paper to work out problems
    • spend more time on the harder questions
  • Analytical Writing

    The Analytical Writing section of the GRE revised General Test is scored separately from the Verbal and Quantitative Reasoning sections, meaning that it stands alone and that admissions committees will see (and judge) it alone.

    The Analytical Writing section assesses your ability:

    • to think critically and write analytically
    • to articulate and support complex ideas
    • build and evaluate arguments
    • sustain a focused and coherent discussion

    These abilities are tested in two types of essays:

    • analyze an issue
    • analyze an argument

    Study tips for the Analytical Writing section:

    • familiarize yourself with the skills being tested and how the essays are scored
    • review sample topics
    • write practice essays
  • Subject Tests

    The GRE offers eight subject tests, which can be taken to demonstrate content knowledge in specific disciplines. Some schools and programs require you to take these subject tests while others do not. Even if they’re not required, subject tests can provide admissions committees with an additional dimension to your application. Unlike the GRE revised General Test, the GRE subject tests are offered at paper-based test centers three times per year in October, November, and April. The base fee for a subject test is $140, though there are additional fees to change the date and/or place of the test. GRE subject tests are offered in:

    • Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology

      This subject test has approximately 175 multiple-choice questions based on three fields: biochemistry, cell biology, and molecular biology and genetics. Many of the questions focus on problem-solving skills, methodology, and data interpretation. Because undergraduate curricula in these topics can vary, few test-takers will have knowledge of every topic covered in the test. In addition to the overall score, each field will generate a subscore.

    • Biology

      This subject test has approximately 200 multiple-choice questions based on three fields: cellular and molecular biology, organismal biology, and ecology and evolution. Many of the questions are grouped in sets and based on descriptions of laboratory and field situations, diagrams, and experimental results. In addition to the overall score, each field will generate a subscore.

    • Chemistry

      This subject test has approximately 130 multiple-choice questions and covers four fields of chemistry: analytical, inorganic, organic, and physical. Test-takers are provided with a periodic table and some conversion factors for SI units. Although this exam covers four fields of chemistry, some questions may address more than one field. There are no subscores for this exam.

    • Computer Science

      This subject test has approximately 70 multiple-choice questions and covers four fields of computer science: software systems and methodology, computer organization and architecture, theory and mathematical background, and other related topics. Some of the questions are grouped in sets and based on diagrams, graphs, and program fragments. There are no subscores for this exam.

    • Literature in English

      This subject test has approximately 230 multiple-choice questions on poetry, drama, biography, the essay, the short story, the novel, criticism, literary theory, and the history of language, with an emphasis on authors, works, genres and movements. The test breaks down into four fields: literary analysis, identification, cultural and historical contexts, and the history and theory of literary criticism. There are no subscores for this exam.

    • Mathematics

      This subject test has approximately 66 multiple-choice questions based on several fields of mathematics. About 50% of the questions cover calculus and its applications, while 25% covers elementary algebra, linear algebra, abstract algebra, and number theory. The remaining 25% of the questions covers, among other subtopics, an introduction to real analysis, discrete mathematics, geometry, and probability and statistics. There are no subscores on this exam.

    • Physics

      This subject test has approximately 100 multiple-choice questions and is meant to determine the extent of the test-taker’s understanding of the fundamental principles of physics and their ability to apply these principles to problem solve. The questions are designed to cover curricula typically learned in the first three years of undergraduate physics. The fields tested include: classical mechanics, electromagnetism, optics and wave phenomena, thermodynamics and statistical mechanics, quantum mechanics, atomic physics, special relativity, laboratory methods, and specialized topics. There are no subscores on this exam.

    • Psychology

      This subject test has approximately 205 multiple-choice questions and covers the core knowledge learned in undergraduate psychology in three fields: experimental or natural science, social or social science, and general knowledge. The experimental or natural science field focuses on learning, language, memory, thinking, sensation and perception, physical psychology, and behavioral-neurological psychology. The social and social science field emphasizes clinical and abnormal psychology, personality, and social psychology. In the general field, the history of psychology, applied psychology, psychometrics, research design and statistics are covered. The first two fields generate subscores for this test, but the general field only counts toward the overall score.

  • GRE Scores

    GRE scores are just another way for graduate admissions and fellowship and scholarship committees to measure you against other candidates. Depending on what the rest of your application looks like, the GRE can help, hurt, or make no difference in whether or not you will be accepted into a program. Unfortunately, a lot of funding opportunities are based on your GRE scores; so if you’re dependent on outside funding for school, start studying for the GRE.

    For the GRE taken prior to August 2011, the Verbal and Quantitative Reasoning sections are scored on 200-800 point scale in 10-point increments. For the GRE revised General Test taken in August 2011 and after, the Verbal and Quantitative Reasoning sections are scored on a 130-170 scale in 1-point increments. The Analytical Writing section is scored on the same scale for both tests. That scale is from 0 to 6 in half point increments. ETS provides a helpful conversion chart for scores of the old GRE and the revised GRE ( http://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/scores/understand).

    It’s difficult to determine what makes a good GRE score, especially since different schools and programs have different admissions standards. However, the averages from 2007 to 2010 are:

    • Verbal: 456 (revised GRE conversion: 151)
    • Quantitative: 590 (revised GRE conversion: 159)
    • Writing: 3.8 (same score for revised GRE)

    Check with the schools you’re applying to and see if they list an average or a minimum score for admitted students. That may give you a good benchmark to aim for.

    GRE subject tests are scored on a scale from 200 to 990 in 10-point increments. Subscores range from 20 to 99 in 1-point increments. As with the general test, it’s difficult to determine what makes a good score. Each subject test has a different average and scores from different subject tests should not be compared with each other. For example, a 600 in biology is not the same as a 600 in physics.

    You can take the GRE revised General Test once every 60 days and no more than five times in a calendar year. You may cancel your test scores at the test-taking facility (computer-based only), but if you decline that option, you cannot cancel your scores later. You cannot cancel one section’s scores (say, quantitative reasoning) and keep another’s (verbal reasoning); it’s all or nothing. That said, you do not have to report all sets of your scores to the schools you are applying to. You may retake the GRE subject tests as often as they are offered, and again, can report to schools only the test scores you are happy with.

  • Test Preparation

    There are several ways in which you can prepare for the GRE revised General Test. If learning independently works for you, the GRE website has free preparation guides available for download on their website ( http://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/prepare/). You can also purchase test prep guides from bookstores, or take them out from libraries. Make sure these books are for the newly revised test! Test preparation courses (for the GRE and other standardized tests), like those offered by Kaplan and Princeton Review, can be very expensive, but are also very effective. Alternatively, some colleges and universities offer similarly styled GRE prep courses but at a much lower cost. Regardless of which method of test prep you choose, you should start studying as early as possible and take at least one full practice exam before taking the actual test.


The Necessity of the GRE:

For a lot of schools and programs, the GRE is a required part of the application. For others, the GRE requirement will be waved if you have a certain undergraduate GPA or better. There are even some schools and programs that do not require the GRE at all. The necessity of the GRE really depends on the schools and programs to which you’re applying, and whether or not you need outside funding. Once you have determined those things, you can decide if the GRE is necessary for you to pursue a master’s degree.

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