GRE 2020: Everything you need to know

The Graduate Record Examination or GRE is the largest assessment test for admission to graduate programs. About half a million students appear for the GRE every year in about 160 countries over the world. The GRE scores are accepted by thousands of graduate programs, for doctoral and masters degrees. Along with this, around 1,200 B-schools, including the top business schools of the world accept the test scores. In addition, a few premier law schools in the US like Harvard, Georgetown, Columbia and Northwestern take the GRE score into consideration too. So, we have rounded up everything you need to know about GRE 2020.

The GRE Test

A mandatory test for students willing to pursue master’s, Ph.D. or MBA, students also take the test to get eligible and obtain a merit-based scholarship. The GRE test is primarily of two kinds: The General Test and the GRE Subject Test. 

The GRE General Test

For admission to various MS courses in different fields in various countries around the world, students take the GRE General Test. The test judges the candidates on the basis on his quantitative ability, analytical writing and verbal reasoning skills. Conducted all year round, this score is accepted by a majority of the universities around the globe. Students have the convenience of appearing for the test according to their convenience.

The GRE Subject Test

Unlike the general test, the subject test evaluates the ability of candidates on specific subjects. It is conducted in the areas of Mathematics, Physics, Literature (English), Psychology, Chemistry, Biology and Biochemistry (Molecular and Cell Biology). This test is primarily required for getting into specialized courses and are given at paper-delivered test centers worldwide three times a year, in the month of September, October and April.

GRE 2020: General Test at Home

To take up arms against the Corona crisis and lockdown, ETS, the conducting body of GRE is temporarily offering an option of General Test at Home to the aspiring candidates. Here are its major highlights:

• It will have the same on-screen experience as the test-center
• There will be no changes in the content and format
• It will be conducted on your computer system at home
• The GRE 2020 General Test at Home exam will be monitored by a human proctor online through ProctorU
• Candidates can register for it anytime till September 30, 2020
• Final appointments can be available as early as 24 hours after the registration

Eligibility

There is no doubt that with no specific eligibility criteria, anyone can sit for the GRE test irrespective of their age. The only mandatory criteria to appear for the exam is the availability of a passport. It must have a validity of about 6 months at least. Apart from this, students can sit for the exam 5 times in a year. Each attempt must have a gap of at least 21 days.

However, to be eligible for GRE 2020 General Test at Home, one must be able to see the “at home” option at the beginning of the registration. All the equipment requirements including the installation of the ETS browser must be fulfilled. On top of everything, the candidate must have an acceptable environment for taking the test.

Key Details

• The candidates can register for the exam either online or over phone. Candidates can also register via email or fax.
• The GRE general test costs around $205 while the GRE subject test costs $150. 
• The test scores are valid for 5 years after the year you take the exam in. 
• The test consists of three sections, namely, Analytical Writing, Quantitative Reasoning and Verbal Reasoning. Students get about 3 hours and 45 minutes to complete the test.
• There is no blanket cut-off for GRE but colleges and universities have their individual cut-offs.
• The GRE exam, in India, is conducted in 22 cities. 
• The results are made available on the candidates’ online GRE account. Within 6 weeks of the test date, the test scores are sent to the candidates’ choice of universities. 
• The GRE general test score lies between 260-340.

The Exam Pattern

The exam consists of three sections of Analytical Writing, Quantitative Reasoning and Verbal Reasoning. The first section is always the Analytical Writing section. The other sections can appear in any order. Sectional analysis of the test is as follows:

Hard work and rigorous preparation can help you clear this exam with flying colours. It is time to set afloat on your journey to success. Find more articles related to competitive exams here:

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All the best!