GRE Test, GRE Tips And Techniques

Be Aware

By the time you have finished your GRE preparation, you should be aware of the type of questions that will appear in the GRE Test. You should also be aware of how long each section is and the time limits. This will help you pace yourself through the test.

Know the directions for each question

Knowing the directions for the questions beforehand will save you valuable time. But remember the directions for the questions in the GRE Test might be slightly different from the ones in your study material. So always read the instructions but do it quickly.

Don't stick to one question for too long

By the time you have finished your GRE preparation, you should have a good estimate of how much time you can give to a particular question. Don't get stuck on one particular question for too long. This might cause you to lose precious time and miss questions you could have easily done.

Don't Rush

The GRE Test is about optimizing. Finishing the paper first is not what is important. You should devote just the right amount of time to each question. Maximizing your marks in a given period of time is your aim. So don't rush it as that might cost you valuable marks.

The questions at the beginning are the most important

The questions at the beginning affect your score more than those towards the end. Take your time with those questions. It is vital that you get those questions right. Getting these correct will dramatically improve your score.

Selection by Elimination

When you don't know the answers to some questions, try and use the method of elimination. You may have a very good idea of which option cannot be the answer. Eliminate such options. It narrows down your guess to just maybe two options and sometimes down to one.

Don't leave any question

The GRE Test does not penalize you for wrong answers. So never leave any question unanswered.

Be very sure of your answer before proceeding

With the Computer-Adaptive Test (CAT) for GRE, you cannot return to a question once you have attempted it. You cannot leave the difficult questions for later nor can you check your answers towards the end even if you have extra time. So pace yourself properly and be very certain of your answers.

Get adequate rest the night before

Before the test, relax. Research shows a person who is relaxed usually does much better than a person who is tense during an exam. Get enough sleep before the D-Day. Also if your GRE is in the morning, take a light breakfast. A heavy one might make you drowsy.

Do a test drive exactly a week before your test

Getting to the test center on time is vital. In fact you should try and get to the test center 15-30 minutes before time. Taking a test drive to your test center exactly a week before might be a good idea. This will give you a rough idea of the traffic conditions at the time and day of your GRE.

Wear Comfortable Clothes

Wear comfortable clothes to your GRE test center. It might be a good idea to carry a sweater or a jacket, in case you start feeling cold. Also make a check list well in advance of what all you need on the D-day and keep everything ready the night before. One of the things you need is a chronometer. (In case you don't know what that means, start preparing for the GRE vocabulary ;-)

Use the scratch paper the test center provides

You are not allowed to bring any sheets of paper to the GRE test center but are provided scratch paper by the center. You should make effective use of this to make quick notes for yourself or for solving math questions.

And lastly DON'T PANIC

No matter what happens, DON'T PANIC. Keep your cool all the time, even when you don't know the answer. Once you panic, you might even answer the easiest questions wrongly. If you feel yourself getting tense, take a short break, ask for a glass of water, close your eyes, take deep breaths and calm yourself down.

GRE VIDEO, GRE TRAINING

A GRE student Vs A Normal Student

A GRE STUDENT            All articles that coruscate with resplendence are not truly auriferous.

A NORMAL PERSON    All that glitters is not gold.

A GRE STUDENT            Sorting on the part of mendicants must be interdicted.

A NORMAL PERSON    Beggars are not choosers

A GRE STUDENT            Male cadavers are incapable of rendering any testimony.

A NORMAL PERSON      Dead men tell no tales

A GRE STUDENT              Neophite's serendipity.

A NORMAL PERSON       Beginner's luck

A GRE STUDTENT          A revolving lithic conglomerate  accumulates no congeries of small, green,

biophytic plant.

A NORMAL PERSON      A rolling stone gathers no moss

A GRE STUDENT             Members of an avian species of identical plumage tend to congregate.

A NORMAL PERSON      Birds of the same feather flock together

A GRE STUDENT             Pulchritude possesses solely cutaneous profundity.

A NORMAL PERSON        Beauty is only skin deep

A GRE STUDENT               Freedom from incrustations of grime is contiguous to rectitude.

A NORMAL PERSON        Cleanliness is godliness

A GRE STUDENT               It is fruitless to become lachrymose of precipitately departed lactile fluid.

A NORMAL PERSON         There's no use crying over spilt milk

A GRE STUDENT               Eschew the implement of correction and vitiate the scion.

A NORMAL PERSON       Spare the rod and spoil the child

A GRE STUDENT              The stylus is more potent than the rapier.

A NORMAL PERSON :     The pen is mightier than the sword

A GRE STUDENT              It is fruitless to attempt to indoctrinate a superannuated canine with innovative

aneuvers.

A NORMAL PERSON        U can't try to teach an old dog new tricks

A GRE STUDENT                Surveillance should precede saltation.

A NORMAL PERSON         Look before you leap

A GRE STUDENT               Scintillate, scintillate, asteroid minim.

A NORMAL PERSON       Twinkle,twinkle, little star

A GRE STUDENT          The person presenting the ultimate cachinnation possesses thereby the optimal chinnation.

A NORMAL PERSON     He who laughs last, laughs the best

A GRE STUDENT           Exclusive dedication to necessitous chores without interludes of hedonistic diversion renders John a hebetudinous fellow.

A NORMAL PERSON    All work and no play makes jack a dull boy

A GRE STUDENT   Individuals who make their abodes in vitreous edifices would be advised to refrain from catapulting petrious projectiles.

A NORMAL PERSON    People who live in glass housesshould not throw stones

A GRE STUDENT      Where there are visible vapors having their provenance in ignited carbonaceous materials, there is conflagration.

A NORMAL PERSON    Where there's smoke, there's fire.

GRE Word List, Top GRE Words, Top 100 GRE Words

Top 100 GRE Words

abyss hole so deep as to appear bottomless

acquiesce agree, accept without protest

affable polite and friendly, easy to talk to

affliction distress, suffering

affluent wealthy, abundant

agitate move, shake, stir up

ambiguous having more then one meaning

annex take possession of

aqueous of or like water

arduous demanding great effort, strenuous

aroma quality or surrounding atmosphere considered typical

atone make repayment

avarice greed

bellicose inclined to fighting

calisthenics exercises to develop strong bodies

captor person who takes smb captive

concoct invent, prepare by mixing together

dangle hand or swing loosely

deprive take away from, prevent from using

diligent hard-working

disrobe undress

docile easily trained or controlled

doleful dismal, mourful

drought a long period of dry weather

dubious feeling doubt

dumbfound astonish

efface rub or wipe out, obliterate

elucidate to make understandable

enchant charm, delight

endeavor to make an effort, to try very hard

endorse approve, support a claim or statement

enthral take the whole attention, enslave

exploit to use for selfish advantage or profit

extensive far-reaching

extol to praise highly

flimsy lacking solidarity, strength

fraud a fault, a deception

gaudy too bright and showy

ghastly death-like, pale and ill

grumble to complain

harass worry, trouble

heretic very busy; active

impediment smth that hinders (esp in speech)

indigenous native

insatiate never satisfied

intrepid fearless

irate angry

jeopardy danger

leash control

loafer an idle, lazy person

lucrative profitable

lustrous bright; shining

malign to slander

meddle to interfere, to intrude

mend to repair

mirth being merry and happy

nausea feeling of sickness

neglect pay no attention to

nocturnal of or in the night

obese very fat

obsolete no longer useful, outdated

perch take up a high position

pervade spread through every part of

petulant unreasonably impatient or irritable

pillage plunder (esp in war)

presumptuous too bold or self-confident

quashed annuled

quenching satisfy, put an end to, put out

refurbished make clean, as if like new

rejoicing happiness, joy

reticent in the habit of saying little

reverberate be sent back, again and again

rigor sternness, strictness, severe conditions

rotundity state of being round

salvage the saving of property from loss

scattered not situated together

shatter to break into many pieces

shunned avoided, kept away from

sketchy shortly, roughly, quickly

sporadic happening from time to time

stifled suppressed, kept back

strive to make great efforts, to struggle

subsequent following

succumb yield, die

taciturn unspoken, silent

tantalize raise hopes that cannot be realized

tentative uncertain, probable

torpid dull and slow

treacherous not to be trusted, perfidious

tremor thrill

tyro a beginner

uproar noise and excitement

vanity a foolish pride

vehemence forcefulness; intensity; conviction

vigilance watchfulness

vindicate prove the truth

voluptuous arousing sensual pleasures

wan looking ill, not bright

wile a trick

wrinkle make small lines (eg forehead)

GRE Computer Based Test

Computer-Based General Test

Structure of the Computer-Based General Test

The computer-based General Test contains four sections, one of which is an unidentified pretest section that can appear in any position in the test after the analytical writing section. Questions in the pretest section are being tested for possible use in future tests and answers will not count toward your scores. An identified research section that is not scored may also be included and this section would always appear in the final section of the test. Questions in the research section are included for the purpose of ETS research and answers will not count toward your scores.

Total testing time is up to 3 1/4 hours, not including the research section. The directions at the beginning of each section specify the total number of questions in the section and the time allowed for the section. The analytical writing section will always be first. For the Issue task, two topics will be presented and you will choose one. The Argument task does not present a choice of topics; instead, one topic will be presented. The verbal and quantitative sections may appear in any order, including an unidentified verbal or quantitative pretest section. Treat each section presented during your test as if it counts.

Typical Computer-Based GRE General Test

Section                                     Number of Questions                 Time

Analytical Writing                        1 Issue task                              45 min.

                                                   1 Argument task                       30 min.

Verbal                                              30                                       30 min.

Quantitative                                        28                                      45 min.

Pretest                                            Varies                                     Varies

Research                                          Varies                                    Varies

For the Issue task, two essay topics will be presented and you will choose one. The Argument task does not present a choice of topics; instead one topic will be presented.

 An unidentified verbal or quantitative pretest section may be included and may appear in any order after the analytical writing section. It is not counted as part of your score.

An identified research section that is not scored may be included and it will always be at the end of the test.

Modified Versions of Verbal and Quantitative Questions

The test you take may include questions that are modified versions of published questions or of questions you have already seen on an earlier section of the test. Some modifications are substantial; others are less apparent. Thus, even if a question appears to be similar to a question you have already seen, it may in fact be a different question and may also have a different correct answer. 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.

The GRE Program is currently investigating the feasibility of reusing questions that have been published in GRE practice materials. As part of that investigation, you may see questions from these materials on a test you take.

GRE Application, GRE Application Procedure

Gre Application Guider.

When applying to a University, you need to include certain items as part of your application package. Each college has its own set of requirements, but the sample list given below should satisfy the needs of most colleges.

1. Bank Draft :

Prepare a bank draft in favor of the University that you are applying to, for the required application fee (e.g. $50).

2. Admission Forms :

Include the right number of copies of your admission form (e.g. 3). Make sure you've included all the forms required by looking up the college's application checklist.

3. Official Transcripts of Undergraduate Coursework (2 copies) :

Prepare transcripts of all undergraduate coursework completed at the time of applying to the US, and have all copies sealed and stamped by your undergraduate university to make them 'official'.

4. Three Letters of Recommendation :

Get recommendation letters from Professors who are familiar with your undergraduate academic work. Many Univs also ask you to include a 'Student Evaluation Form' along with your recommendation letters. Learn how to write a good recommendation letter by following the tips given here - Recommendation Letters

5. Personal Statement :

Your mark-sheets & score reports speak for themselves, therefore a 'Personal Statement' is the only means you have to communicate to the admissions officer why you deserve to be admitted to their University. Go through the Personal Statement section for detailed information.

6. Financial Certificate :

At the time of applying, you need to indicate sufficient funds to support your education. Request your bank to issue a certificate as proof of the same.

7. Letter of Support : 

If a relative or friend is sponsoring your education, then you have to include a signed letter of support from them, indicating their willigness to fund your study in the US.

8. Copy of GRE & TOEFL score reports :

You can include a copy of your GRE & TOEFL score reports, but you should also make sure that you pay ETS to send your scores directly to the Universities you are applying to.

9. Additional Certificates :

Most colleges don't value certificates for extra curricular activities unless they are directly related to your chosen field of study. But, if you have work experience or have completed projects in your intended field of study, you should definitely include a letter/certificate from your employer or supervisor.

GRE Information, What is GRE ?

The Graduate Record Examination is held by the Educational Testing Service and is required for admissions into graduate programmes in universities in the United States of America and Singapore.

Being a Computer Adaptive Test, it can be taken any time of the year.

All one has to do is book a date with the ETS to write the GRE.

The GRE has three sections:

1 Quantitative Reasoning: This mainly includes basic mathematics questions -- 28 questions to be attempted in 45 minutes. One can score a maximum of 800 in this section.

2 Verbal Ability: 30 questions in 30 minutes is acknowledged by most to be the toughest section in the examination, especially for non-native English speakers. The highest score possible in this section is also 800.

3 Analytical Writing Ability: This requires students to write two essays -- one expressing your opinion on a topic, and another in which you are expected to analyse an argument. This section is scored out of 6.

Got tips to crack the GRE?

When to start

This is the question that plagues most students during their pre-final year.

Many believe the GRE requires close to six months of intensive preparation. This, I think, is a fallacy.

The GRE is not a particularly difficult examination. Really!

As an engineer/ engineering student, the Quantitative Reasoning section of the GRE shouldn't be too difficult, especially after spending four years in the company of engineering mathematics.

But if you are like most engineers and have had a healthy disdain for English through school, Verbal Ability is unlikely to be a cakewalk.

Taking everything into consideration, cracking the GRE does not require more than a couple of months of hard work.

Pre-final year students have the advantage of having a summer break before the final year. This summer break can be put to good use, especially if you manage to cloister yourself in a room, away from distractions.

The best time, in my opinion, to book a date for writing the GRE is in the month of June or early July. After that, academic pressures may put a damper on your preparation for the exam.

If you postpone taking the exam to September, you could suddenly find yourself pressed for time. This is mainly because the official GRE scores do not arrive until three weeks after you take the examination.

More important, writing the GRE is merely a small part in the entire application process.

Booking a date

1 The easiest way to book a date to write the GRE is to call Prometric India on (011) 2651 1649.

Writing the examination will put you back by $140 (Rs 6,115 approximately).

2 You need an international credit card to book your seat.

3 Monday is a good day to choose to write the GRE because Saturday and Sunday are likely to be holidays, and so you miss fewer classes (or days of work).

Study material

The GRE guides on the planet are probably outnumbered only by the number of institutions claiming to give you a passport to the Indian Institutes of Management.

Choosing the right mix is not very easy and involves trial and error.

A few books and CDs that I, and a few of my acquaintances, found helpful are:

1 Barron's How to Prepare for the GRE: Graduate Record Examination, 14th edition.

This is a book every GRE aspirant is undoubtedly aware of.

It is most famous for its 50 word lists, containing arcane words the testers at ETS love to ask.

Read the book. You will totally believe that the people at ETS do not speak normal English like the rest of us.

2 GRE Big Book, published by the Educational Testing Service.

The Big Book is little known. But it is one I found extremely useful.

It contains 27 question papers culled from the paper and pencil avatar of the GRE over several years, and is published by the same people who set the tests, ETS.

Unfortunately, it is out of print and is very difficult to find.

With a little perseverance, you can get hold of a photocopy of the same. If you are decent at Quantitative Reasoning, you can safely skip those sections here.

This book is a must-have!

3 Kaplan Higher Score on the GRE CD

This CD contains a diagnostic test, three full-length Computer Adaptive Tests and six sectional tests, in addition to a few nifty tools.

The Verbal Ability Section is much tougher than what one is likely to find elsewhere (and in the actual exam as well). The Quantitative Reasoning section is tougher as well.

So do not be surprised if you witness a terrible dip in your performance when you try this out.

4 The Princeton Review CD

The Princeton Review CD has quite a few Computer Adaptive Tests which are a lot easier than the actual GRE, in my opinion.

Attempt to score a minimum of 1,450 or so in these tests. For a sample test online, click here.

5 The PowerPrep CD

When you book your date to write the GRE, you will receive this CD from ETS.

This CD does not have as much information as one might expect (shocking, especially when one looks at how much ETS charges the test taker!).

I strongly recommend preserving one of the two diagnostic tests on the CD for the day before the GRE. This is because repeated experiments with several people I know seem to indicate that what you score in the actual GRE will hover around your score in the PowerPrep test.

There are lots of other test prep CDs and books you can avail of. (Cambridge and Peterson's crop to mind), but it is best to stick to these.

If you have the time, inclination and money for the others, do give them a shot.