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The Graduate Record Examination (GRE): Fully Updated for {YEAR}

The Graduate Record Examination (GRE): Fully Updated for 2024

What Is the GRE?

The Graduate Record Examination is the world’s most used admissions test for graduate and professional schools.

It has been created by an independent, non-profit organization, which means that the results can be used as part of the entry criteria for a wide range of further education opportunities including prestigious destinations like Harvard and Yale.

The GRE is one of the tests that has been developed by Educational Testing Service – a conglomerate consisting of members of the American Council on Education, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the College Entrance Examination Board.

ETS was established back in 1947. Alongside the GRE, ETS offers other testing and development materials, and is responsible for 50 million tests used in 180 countries every single year.

While the group did not create the GRE – that was a group effort between four of the Ivy League universities and Carnegie – ETS is responsible for developing, administering and scoring the GRE.

The GRE is taken by students who are looking to gain entry to a number of different educational establishments, including Ivy League universities, graduate placements and law studies, as well as a number of professional schools.

Test-takers will use their score from this assessment as part of the entry requirements for their chosen course.

Educational establishments rely on the results of the GRE because the aptitudes that are tested demonstrate whether a candidate would be a good fit for accessing further education, and whether they will be able to cope with the academic rigors of the course.

Structure of the GRE

The GRE can only be administered by ETS, and you can decide whether you want to take the assessment at one of the 9,000 testing centers or whether you would prefer to take it from the comfort of your own home.

There is a charge for completing the assessment; currently this is $220 but there is financial support available to help students who might struggle to make this payment.

The GRE was updated in September 2023, and this guide follows the requirements and structure of the latest assessment.

There are three subtests in the GRE. The whole test is timed and takes just under two hours to complete. Each subtest is timed separately, and you need to complete each section before you can move on to the next.

The GRE is designed to be section adaptive. This means that in both the Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning subtests, your performance in the first section will impact the difficulty of the questions that you will face in the second section.

If you perform strongly on the first 12 questions of the Quantitative Reasoning subtest, then you will be presented with more challenging questions in the second part. The same applies in the opposite scenario – if you are struggling with the first section, then the questions in the second section will be easier.

This also means that you can move around within a section – you can go back and edit your answers, and mark a question for review at the end if you are struggling and want to move on.

There is no credit given for partial answers, so you should try and answer every question as fully as possible.

Analytical Writing

The first part of the assessment is always the Analytical Writing section.

This is the part of the assessment that has been updated most recently; prior to September 2023, there were two parts to this subtest, one on creating an argument, and one on analyzing an argument.

The Analytical Writing section of the assessment has a 30-minute time limit, and you will be expected to respond to a prompt in a task called Analyze an Issue.

There is only one question in this section, and that will take the form of a prompt which is usually an opinion on an issue, followed by some instructions on how to respond.

You are not expected to have any specific knowledge on the subject you are discussing, but you will be expected to show that you can form a complex argument, articulate it clearly and provide relevant reasons and examples to support it.

To answer this question, you will be provided with a basic piece of word processing software – you will be able to type, delete and copy and paste, but there is no spelling or grammar checking available.

Example Analytical Writing Prompts

ETS offers test-takers a bank of prompts that are used in the GRE. The actual prompt used will be at least similar to these.

  • The surest indicator of a great nation is represented not by the achievements of its rulers, artists or scientists, but by the general welfare of its people.
  • Governments should offer college and university education free of charge to all students.
  • In any situation, progress requires discussion among people who have contrasting points of view.

Verbal Reasoning

The Verbal Reasoning section is designed to:

  • Evaluate your ability to analyze and understand written information
  • Understand the relationship between words and concepts
  • Understand the basics of the English language, how sentences are constructed and the meanings of words, in sentences and even in whole passages

This stage of the GRE is split into two sections.

  • Verbal Reasoning Section 1 consists of 12 questions, which you will have 18 minutes to answer.
  • Verbal Reasoning Section 2 consists of 15 questions, which you will need to answer in 23 minutes.

There are three types of questions in this assessment.

Reading Comprehension

First, reading comprehension questions are based on passages of text. Some passages might only be one paragraph long, while others might consist of several paragraphs.

The passages can be based on both academic and non-academic texts, and you are not being evaluated on your previous knowledge of the material provided.

There is often more than one question based on each passage, and you might be asked to reach a conclusion about the given information, find the relevant detail in the passage or make a reasoned deduction based on the information given.

Text Completion

The text completion questions ask you to complete sentences using multiple-choice answers. You will have a one to five-sentence question, with one to three blank spaces per section.

You will need to choose the correct words to fill the spaces. Each blank will have a single correct answer.

Sentence Equivalence

In the sentence equivalence section, you will need to select words from the multiple-choice options to fill in the blanks of two sentences, but this time you will need to choose the words that will make both sentences have the same overall meaning.

Example Verbal Reasoning Question

Example Question

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in sustainable practices within the business world. Many companies are adopting environmentally friendly policies, not only to comply with regulations but also to appeal to a more environmentally conscious consumer base. These practices include reducing carbon emissions, implementing recycling programs and sourcing materials responsibly. However, critics argue that some companies engage in "greenwashing", where they exaggerate or falsely claim to be environmentally friendly for marketing purposes without making substantial changes to their operations.

Question: According to the passage, why do some companies adopt environmentally friendly policies?

a) To increase profits
b) To comply with regulations
c) To appeal to a more environmentally conscious consumer base
d) To engage in greenwashing

Quantitative Reasoning

The Quantitative Reasoning section of the GRE is about your knowledge and application of quantitative information – using math skills that are taught at a high school level.

This is more about how you can use math and analytical skills to solve problems rather than a math test.

There are two sections in the Quantitative Reasoning subtest. There are 12 questions in the first part, which you will have 21 minutes to answer. In the second part, there are 15 questions that you will need to complete in 26 minutes.

Some of the things that will be evaluated within the Quantitative Reasoning subtest include:

  • Arithmetic – Prime numbers, divisibility, estimation, percentages, decimals, sequences and ratio
  • Algebra – Factoring and simplifying expressions, solving linear and quadratic equations, graphs of functions
  • Geometry – Lines, circles, polygons, area, perimeter, volume, 3D figures, angles and Pythagoras
  • Data analysis – Mean, median, mode, range, standard deviation, probability, normal distribution

There are three types of questions that you will be asked in this subtest. They may be presented as simple sums but are more likely to be word problems.

There will be data interpretation sets, where several questions will be grouped together and refer to the same table or graph.

The first type will be quantitative comparison, where you will have to decide whether Quantity A or Quantity B is greater.

The second is multiple choice, some of which will need you to make one selection while others will have more than one answer to be found. The final type is numeric entry where you will have to enter the answer into the box provided.

Example Quantitative Reasoning Question

Example Question

In a box of colored marbles, there are 80 marbles — 25 blue, 18 green, 15 yellow, 10 red and 12 orange.

If a marble is to be chosen at random, what is the probability that the marble will be neither red nor orange?

a) 0.30
b) 0.40
c) 0.50
d) 0.60

Scoring on the GRE

Your score report will be available to you about zero to 15 days after you have completed the GRE, and you can find this in your ETS account.

When you set up your account, prior to arranging your test date, you can select the organizations that you want to send your scores to – these will usually be the graduate or professional colleges that you are applying to.

They will also receive a copy of your score report when it is ready.

Your score report will show your scores and your percentile, which will demonstrate your performance in comparison to other test-takers.

The Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning subtests are scored between 130 and 170 in one-mark increments, and the Analytical Writing is scored between zero to six in half-point increments.

To get the best score, you need to be sure to answer every question on the assessment as fully as you can. Partial credit is not given for incomplete answers.

What Is a Good Score on the GRE?

Typically, the average score on the GRE falls to about 150 for the Quantitative and Verbal Reasoning, and 3.5 for the Analytical Writing.

However, the score you need to get into the institution of your choice may need to be higher than this, so it is important to know what you are aiming for when you get started.

Most people will want to score as highly as possible, placing themselves in the range of 75th to 80th percentile or even more – and this is what you should try to achieve to give yourself the best chance of success.

If you do not get the score you are looking for in the GRE, you can retake it. You may take a test once every 21 days, up to a maximum of five times in a 12-month rolling period. Scores are reportable for five years following your test date.

Top Tips for Success on the GRE

Preparation

Like any test, preparation is key. The more you know about the GRE, the structure of the test and what the content of each section will be, the better prepared you will be to answer the questions.

Make sure that you take advantage of articles like this to give you an idea of what you need to know, what you need to improve on and how you are expected to demonstrate your skills and abilities.

Start preparing early so that you have time to build in a study plan and you are not trying to cram. Organization is key.

Practice Tests

Practice tests are a great way to start your preparation. Even if you haven’t had much of an opportunity to do any research on the content of the GRE, a good practice test will point out where your strengths lie, and the areas that you might need to improve on.

Use your results to build a plan of revision and learning so that you can build your weaknesses into strengths.

Practice tests will also provide you with some idea of what to expect in the assessment itself, including working to a time limit and under exam pressure, which will be really helpful to you when you come to take the real thing.

Here are some of the top GRE courses for your prep:

  1. StellarGRE
  2. Magoosh
  3. ExamPAL
  4. Princeton Review
  5. Manhattan Prep
  6. Kaplan
  7. Target Test Prep
  8. Achievable GRE
  9. PrepScholar

Revision

There is plenty of material available to help you prepare for the GRE, including practice questions, study tips and even a mentor scheme from ETS.

You can find out all about what ETS can do to help you prepare for your GRE on its website.

Remember the areas that are covered in the assessment are based on things that you should have learned in high school.

Read the Questions Thoroughly

Even if you have completed multiple practice tests, it is good practice to make sure you read the questions properly – you don’t want to assume you know what you are doing and miss easy marks because you answered the question in the wrong way.

Take the extra few seconds to make sure you know what you are doing.

Take Your Time

Time pressure is one of the most critical issues when it comes to assessment, but if you rush through the assessment, you risk missing something important.

Take enough time to give each question your full attention.

Answer Every Question

This might seem obvious, but the only way to get the marks you need is to fully answer every question. Remember that there is no credit offered for partially answered questions.

The GRE offers you the opportunity to mark questions for review at the end of each section, so if there is a question that you are struggling with, mark it, move on to the next, and come back to it at the end.

Frequently Asked Questions

The GRE test is used to evaluate whether a potential student has the skills and abilities needed to meet the academic requirements of a graduate or professional school placement. It evaluates verbal and numerical skills, as well as analytical writing.

The GRE is designed to be challenging as it is used as part of the entry requirements for some of the top schools in the US and the world. With the right preparation you can give yourself the best chance for success.

Most UK schools do not require a GRE as part of their entrance requirements, but there are a few notable exceptions – such as studying for an MBA at Oxford University, for example.

The GRE and the SAT are vastly different assessments, but most would say that the GRE is more challenging because of the more complex problems that you are being asked to solve.

When you are looking into the right graduate school for you, the entrance requirements will highlight whether you need to take the GRE to be considered. With many topflight institutions requiring it, it is highly likely that you will need a good score for entry.

The average GRE score for Verbal and Quantitative Reasoning is 150, in a range of 130 to 170. The score you need to be considered for a place on a course depends on a number of factors, including entrance requirements – so a ‘good’ score is whatever score the institution requires.

Some of the top schools in the US and beyond use GRE results to evaluate potential students, including:

  • Harvard
  • Yale
  • Oxford
  • Berkeley
  • Northwestern

Final Thoughts

The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is a test that is designed to evaluate students on their readiness and ability in relation to taking graduate, professional or law courses. The test looks at verbal reasoning skills as well as quantitative reasoning and includes an analytical writing section – covering the essential aptitudes needed to succeed in a highly academic institution.

Although the GRE is designed to be challenging, with the right preparation and practice you can give yourself the best chance for success and entry into the school and course that you want.

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