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GRE (Graduate Record Examination)

GRE stands for Graduate Record Examinations. It is a standardised aptitude exam with a pre-defined syllabus. It is one of the most widely accepted admissions tests for graduate and business school programs, and is used for admissions decisions for MBA, specialized master’s in business and doctoral programs.

GRE is divided into two categories. The GRE General Test that measures verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, critical thinking and analytical writing skills – the types of skills required for success in today’s demanding graduate and business school programs – and the GRE Subject Test that measures knowledge of a particular field of study helping students stand out from other applicants by emphasizing their knowledge and skill level in a specific area.

Preparation is key to getting a good score in the GRE. Investing time and effort in preparing for the exam is a critical element in the test taking strategy. AllianceAbroad offers quality GRE coaching that ensures students get the best possible preparation. Here are just a few of the reasons why students should choose to prepare for their GRE with The Alliance Abroad:

  • One of the largest and most successful global education companies in India with 21 years of experience in assisting students make informed decisions about their futures and guiding them about their education options both in India and overseas.
  • Vast experience in providing quality test preparation programmes for some of the most common standardized tests worldwide having helped several thousand students every year to successfully achieve their desired test scores.
  • Experienced, qualified and professional faculty drawn from some of the most elite institutions in India all of whom have undergone a rigorous training schedule and who are subject to a regular and thorough evaluation process to ensure that their subject knowledge and teaching practices continue to be among st the best in the industry.
  • Thorough understanding of university entry requirements and admission processes worldwide with a vast network of partner institutions across the globe where thousands of students are placed annually having successfully achieved their desired test scores.
  • Flexible and convenient schedules that suit students’ needs and requirements with small batch sizes that allows for personalized attention to ensure that every individual establishes realistic goals for score improvement, understands the key test concepts and is given comprehensive guidance on effective test taking strategies.

In addition, The AllianceAbroad also offers all its students a comprehensive 5 Point Study Plan built around their needs and requirements. Students enrolling for GRE preparation with Alliance Abroad will benefit from the ability to:

  • take a demo class before enrolling
  • monitor progress through personalized review sessions after class hours
  • improve test scores through extra tutoring and result orientated strategies
  • enhance aptitude levels through customized question pools and strategic quiz tools
  • revise from question banks that mirror the test exam

The Alliance Abroad GRE coaching centres adopt a number of powerful preparation methods:

Content: The Alliance Abroad  uses the most relevant and frequently tested content helping its students to fully familiarise themselves with the GRE and to organise their time in an effective manner to achieve the best scores.

Critical Thinking Strategies: Realizing that standardized tests rely on more than just the content, The Alliance Abroad constantly updates and customizes its study and reference material, along with practice test papers, to ensure that it is addressing students’ specific areas of concern. A personalized report which identifies areas of weaknesses and strengths is generated to help the student identify his or her testing patterns and work in a focused manner. All answer explanations are detailed and provide alternative approaches to answer a question. The Alliance Abroad result-oriented strategies enable students to increase both speed and accuracy.

Essential Practice: The AllianceAbroad collection of practice tests, other than basic content and timed drills, follow the same structure of the actual GRE. The realistic practice and extensive training, as well as test day tips and exam strategies provided by expert instructors, enhance students’ confidence in preparation for the actual test.

No Time Constraints: The AllianceAbroad classroom training programme lasts two months with an additional four months given to the student to use its centre resources. The class schedule is divided into modules, each of which concentrates on the topics tested on the GRE. Though two months of training is recommended, students may opt to complete the course faster or slower according to their needs. A combination of attending both weekday and weekend classes allows students to prepare for the GRE faster if necessary.

The GRE is a multiple-choice multi-stage test that measures verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, critical thinking and analytical writing skills. It has been designed in a way so as to calculate the student’s intellectual and logical abilities, adapting to performance by selecting questions based on previous answers. The test allows its takers to skip questions within a section, go back and change answers and have the flexibility to choose which questions within a section they want to answer first.

The GRE question types are designed to closely reflect the kind of thinking that students will be expected to do in graduate or business school and are based upon the following skills:

  • Verbal Reasoning – This section measures a student’s ability to analyze and evaluate written material and to synthesize information obtained from it. It measures the ability to analyze relationships among component parts of sentences and recognize relationships among concepts and words.
  • Quantitative Reasoning – This section measures a student’s problem-solving ability and focusses on basic concepts of algebra, arithmetic, data analysis and geometry.
  • Analytical Writing – This section measures analytical writing skills and critical thinking. It specifically measure’s a student’s ability to articulate and support ideas that are complex in nature both clearly and effectively.

Structure of the GRE General Test

Section Number of Questions Time
Analytical Writing Assessment (One section with two separately timed tasks) ‘Analysis of an Issue’ task and ‘Analysis of an argument’ task 30 minutes per task
Verbal Reasoning (Two sections) 20 questions per section 30 minutes per section
Quantitative Reasoning(Two sections) 20 questions per section 35 minutes per section
Experimental/Research Varies Varies

The Analytical Writing section will always precede all other test sections. The Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning and Experimental Section (the latter of which is not scored but which can be either Verbal or Quantitative) may appear in any order. An identified Research Section that is not scored may also be included in the test, but will always appear at the end.

GRE General Test Scoring Methodology

Section Score Scale
Verbal Reasoning 130 – 170 scale, in 1 point increments
Quantitative Reasoning 130 – 170 scale, in 1 point increments
Analytical Writing 0-6 score level, in half-point increments

The AllianceAbroad 10 key insights into the GRE:

  1. The GRE selects questions in groups, or stages meaning that it is critical to perform well section by section rather than question by question.
  2. The difficulty of questions is governed by performance in the preceding ones. Difficulty levels therefore alter in accordance with the student’s answers as they progress through the test.
  3. The first section is reflective of an ‘average’ difficulty level.
  4. The student has the provision to skip, navigate and return, and change their responses within a section. However, once they finish with a section, they cannot return to it.
  5. There is a ‘mark and review’ feature to mark questions the student may want to review later.
  6. The student will be scored on the basis of the number of questions answered, the number of correct answers and the difficulty level of the sections.
  7. The GRE can be taken once every 21 days, up to five times within any continuous 12-month period (365 days)
  8. Scores are valid for five years after the testing year in which a student was tested.
  9. There is an on-screen calculator for use in the Quantitative Reasoning section to reduce the emphasis on computation and to ensure that the student focuses more attention on reasoning skills.
  10. There is emphasis within the test on the student’s knowledge of vocabulary through reading.

Fees and Costs

The cost to take the GRE is US$195

To reschedule, test-takers need to pay an additional $50. Re-scheduling can be done up to seven days prior to the test day.

The GRE score can be reported to four schools of the applicant’s choice for free.

Does the GRE General Test measure knowledge in any specific disciplines?

The GRE General Test measures a student’s verbal and quantitative reasoning, critical thinking and analytical writing skills – disciplines that are relevant to every field of study and important in graduate or business schools.

How is the GRE scored?

The first sections of the Verbal and Quantitative Reasoning parts range from the levels of ‘Easy’ to ‘Difficult’. Each subsequent section is administered based on the student’s overall performance in the preceding section. A score of 130 – 170 per section is generated for the Verbal and Quantitative sections. Both scores are then added to give a total score of 260 – 340.

What kind of writing software does the AWA section employ?

Students will use a basic word processor developed by ETS. The basic word processor contains a number of functionalities: insert text, delete text, cut-and-paste and undo the previous action. Other tools such as a grammar checker or a spell checker and are not available in the ETS software. This makes essay writing fair in relation to handwritten essays of the students in the paper-based tests.

Is it advisable to re-take the GRE if the score received in the first attempt is low?

Students must make a concerted effort to prepare for the GRE the second time and retake the exam, if they feel that their GRE scores do not reflect their actual capabilities.

For what duration is a GRE score valid?

A GRE score is valid for five years. While a student can retake the exam to improve upon scores, Institutions will have access to all your scores registered in the last five years. Hence, candidates are advised to prepare thoroughly before appearing for the exam.

When do I consider myself ready to take the GRE?

Our 48-hour module is specifically customised and designed to make a candidate ‘exam ready’. However if a student is deemed to be under prepared, we offer a combination of extra tutoring, further mock tests and result-oriented strategic sessions to prepare the student to take the GRE.

Where can I get more information about the GRE?

Please fill in the enquiry form available on the webpage and we will get back to you at the earliest. Alternatively, you may walk into the nearest AllianceAbroad office or give us a call. Details of all our offices are listed on the ‘Contact Us’ page of the website. Our counsellors or faculty will be happy to assist with any GRE queries.