| The globally standardized Graduate Record Examination is an aptitude test and an entry requirement for some business schools. It was designed and is administered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS). |
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| The GRE has two main parts: The general test and the Subject test. The General part is not related to any particular field of study but instead tests your overall ability in verbal and quantitative reasoning, critical thinking, and analytical writing skills. The subject test can be taken in the following areas: |
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- Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Computer Science
- Literature in English
- Mathematics
- Physics
- Psychology
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| There is no specific subject test in business school related subjects. Thus if a business school has the GRE as an entry requirement they will usually only require a score from the general part. The following will thus only refer to the General test. |
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| The General Test |
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| The general test is available at computer-based test centres and at paper-based test centres where facilities for the computer-based test are not available. |
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| The computer test contains 3 main sections |
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| The first is the Analytical Writing section. This contains two sub sections. The first Analytical Writing section lasts 45 minutes and involves an 'Issue Task' in which you are allowed to choose between two essay titles and asked for your opinion of a particular issue. The second Analytical Writing section lasts 30 minutes and involves an 'Argument Task' in which you are given one topic to discuss. You must analyse an argument, finding its strengths and weaknesses and analysing them. There may also be a 'pretest' section included at any point during the Analytical Writing section which will not count towards your final score. It may take a verbal or quantitative form. They are only questions that are being tested for future tests. However it is very important that you treat each part of the test as if it were being counted. |
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| The second section is the verbal (adaptive) section and consists of the understanding of analogies and antonyms as well as sentence completion, and the reading of comprehension passages. It is a multiple choice test. It contains 30 questions and lasts 30 minutes. |
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| The third section is the quantitative (adaptive) section, and is also multiple-choice. The questions cover problem solving and quantitative comparison, including algebra and basic geometry. You are not allowed to use a calculator. It contains 28 questions and lasts 45 minutes. |
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| There may also be a 'research' section. These are questions where the answers will only be used for the purposes of ETS research. And will also not count towards your final score. The time these final two sections take up varies. |
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| GRE Format |
| (Computer Based) |
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| Testing lasts up to 3 hours |
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Section |
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Number of Questions |
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Time |
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Analytical Writing |
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1 Issue Task |
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45 minutes |
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Analytical Writing |
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1 Argument Task |
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30 minutes |
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Verbal |
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30 |
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30 minutes |
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Quantitative |
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28 |
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45 minutes |
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Research |
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Varies |
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Varies |
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Pretest |
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Varies |
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Varies |
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| The paper-based contains five sections |
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| The Analytical Writing section remains the same. |
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| The verbal test is spilt in 2 sections each lasting 30 minutes and containing 38 questions. |
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| The quantitative test is spilt in 2 sections each lasting 30 minutes and containing 30 questions. |
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| 'Pretest' questions may also appear but it is still very important that you treat each part of the test as if it were being counted. |
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Section |
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Number of Questions |
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Time |
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Analytical Writing |
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1 Issue Task |
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45 minutes |
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Analytical Writing |
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1 Argument Task |
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30 minutes |
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Verbal (2 sections) |
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38 per section |
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30 minutes per section |
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Quantitative (2 sections) |
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30 per section |
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30 minutes per section |
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Research |
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Varies |
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Varies |
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Pretest |
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Varies |
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Varies |
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| Scoring |
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| The computer based tests are adaptive. This means that the number of questions marked as being correct will be increased as the difficulty of question increases. This mean getting 10 questions out of 10 right will not always lead to the same score. |
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| In the adaptive parts of the tests the questions will also be set based on the testees performance on previous questions. |
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| The paper based test scores are adapted via 'score equalling'. This means that a score is not only based on the number of questions answered correctly but also on the number of questions answers. The level of difficulty in the paper based test is always roughly the same and thus the method used in the computer-based tests is not required. |
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- a verbal reasoning score reported on a 200-800 score scale, in 10-point increments
- a quantitative reasoning score reported on a 200-800 score scale, in 10-point increments
- an analytical writing score reported on a 0-6 score scale, in half-point increments
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| The General Test may be taken once per calendar month up to five times in a 12-month period. It is possible to cancel your scores immediately after the test if you think you could get a higher score. The cancelled grade will not be reported. However, if you cancel a grade you can not get the grade back at a later date and the test fee will not be refunded. |
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| The test fee for the General test is US$170 |
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| Where can I prepare for the GRE General Test? |
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| You can register for the GRE Genral Test by |
| - telephone |
| - fax |
| - mail |
| - online |
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| Thomson Prometric |
| P.O. Box 2024 |
| 8203 AA Lelystad |
| The Netherlands |
| Tel: +60 3 7628 3333 |
| Fax: +60 3 7628 3366 |
| Website |
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| Test Centres |
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| UK |
Thomson Parametric
2nd Floor
Pellipar House
9 Cloak Lane
London
EC4R2RU
Tel: +44(0)207 248 7311
Site Code: 8021 |
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| Ireland |
Hospitality House
16/20 South Cumberland St
Dublin 2
Tel: +353 16788216
Site Code: 8044
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