Cracking the GRE and Before Taking the GRE

Before Taking the GRE

Before you start preparation for the GRE exam, you must register for the test. This step should be taken at least 6 months before the day you plan to take the test so you have plenty of time to plan. Schedule your exam as per your convenience and time you think you need before the test for the preparation. The exam dates are limited, based on the number of centers in your city, number of students and the slots. So, book your exam as per your convenience, well ahead of time. In India, the exam costs about $190 and you must be in possession of a credit or debit card to make the online payment. The exam is conducted 5 times a week in all the major cities in the country. If you live in a smaller city or town where there is no prometric GRE test center, worry not; you can write the test in the nearest city. st important step is to secure a date to take the exam. However, you can write the exam only once in a month. So, if you’re not happy with your score, you can attempt the exam the next month.

The GRE Pattern

The GRE computer adaptive test lasts for two and a half to three hours. There are four different sections, the quantitative, the verbal, the essay writing and the experimental sections. All questions are of the type objective, with the exception of the essay section. The test will be graded on a scale of 130-170 with 1 point increments. Essays scores will be on a scale from 0-6 with 0.5 increments. There is no negative marking.

However, this test is not an accurate evaluation of your aptitude. The format is slightly tricky, so you must not fall for the well-set traps. You must be aware of what kind of questions will be asked and how to answer them in a smart manner. The key for this is ample practice. You must keep practicing tests and exercises to make yourself well aware of all sorts of questions that appear, especially the misleading ones so you’d know how to spot them and be careful while answering.

The Verbal Section

Most of the applicants who take the GRE assert that the verbal section is far more difficult than the quantitative section. One will have thirty minutes to answer 30 questions of types

1. Reading Comprehension

2. Sentence Equivalence

3. Text Completion.

Of the three, the reading comprehensive is challenging and takes a lot of time for answering. Vocabulary plays a major role in the exam, as most of the verbal section deals with complicated words. So, one has to learn a list of 3,500 words in order to score high. In addition to the vocab building, you should also develop the speed of reading quickly as it helps finishing the RC section faster and saves time for the rest of the exam.