Haven’t booked your GRE appointment yet?
Well, getting a GRE appointment certainly isn’t rocket science, but if you are a first time test taker, it might seem like a tediously long process. Nothing to worry about, though. You can avoid all the hassle if you know what you are doing.
Booking a GRE slot is simple and easy, and there are quite a few things you need to keep in mind before you do register, so you can get the job done faster.
A lot of students get bemused when they see the huge list of form fields and a whole bunch of screens before they can even see if the test slots are available. There is also no tutorial both on the official ETS website or anywhere else on the internet to help you. Hence, this post is supposed to be a one stop resource where you will find everything you should know in order to book a GRE slot.
We’ve created a comprehensive checklist for the same, so you have everything in place before you register for the GRE. It is a simple step-by-step process that any beginner can easily follow.
Every year, hundreds of thousands of students ponder over one of the most intriguing questions of the recent past – What is a good GRE score?
Well, 330 is a good score, isn’t it?
But do you really need 330?
Not at all. A vital fact that many students forget is, graduate admissions do not solely depend on your GRE score. Admissions officers look at your overall profile, including your undergrad scores, work experience, research work, and extracurricular activities among a few other parameters, and then decide if they should let you in or not.
As you can see, you don’t need a 330+ score to get into your dream school, even if it is in the top 10. So, what does a good score actually mean?
There is really no straight answer for a question as vague as this. But, we thought we should give you our perspective on this frequently debated question among the GRE multitude.
There is one question on the minds of everyone who’s planning to take the GRE: When to take it? While there is so much information out there about how to study for the GRE or how to take the GRE, there is not much information about when is it ideal for you to take the GRE.
Don’t take this lightly; when you take the GRE is probably as important as how to take it. A significant number of students take the GRE in the wrong time, and end up paying the price. If you want to make sure you score high on the GRE and don’t want any hassles during admissions, you will have to learn when it is ideal to take the GRE. And this article is precisely about that. Let us find out when to take the GRE, and why.
In an ideal world, when you are taking your GRE test, you expect things to be simple and straightforward. You are presented with one section of analytical writing, two sections of quant and two sections of verbal alternatively, and you receive appropriate score based on how well you perform on these sections. Seems fair enough, doesn’t it?
But, unfortunately, we don’t live in an ideal world. So, things tend to be a bit more complicated than they appear. In addition to all the aforementioned sections, the GRE presents you with an additional section for which you are not awarded any score. Even if you answered all 20 questions correct in the experimental section, you won’t receive a single increment in your final score. Sounds weird, right?
Well, technically there is no exam in the world that doesn’t reward it’s test takers with score when they get a question right and GRE is the exception. In fact, GRE has a whole section of about 20 questions that come under this exception. Yes, it might seem a bit unfair to you, as a test taker. Known as the experimental section, this section on the GRE is of late causing a bit of discomfort among the student community. After all, of all the worries that the test takers experience, the GRE experimental section is probably the worst. So, all you can do is learn more about it before you take the test.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few years, chances are you wouldn’t have missed the news about the latest GRE test pattern change. On August 1st, 2011, the GRE test had undergone a huge makeover. For anyone who took the GRE test prior to that or is planning to take the test in the near future, this means a lot of significant changes.
Fret not, however, as you don’t have to investigate those changes yourself. Whether you are a first timer or a repeater, knowing the new GRE test format would help you learn not only about the test, but also about yourself: your strengths, and weaknesses. Here’s a brief summary of the changes, followed by a holistic assessment of the new GRE exam.
Most students know that the GRE test fee is $195. But that is not the end. If you’re talking GRE costs, you need to factor in a lot of other expenses, which eventually will cost you much more than the actual test fee. So, if you are asking “How much does the GRE cost?” well, there is no universal answer to that. It all depends on how you are going to prepare, what all are you going to purchase as a part of your preparation, and ultimately, where you live.
We, at CrunchPrep, have consolidated all the costs that a student can expect while preparing for the GRE.
