GRE

The GRE General Test is used for admission to master's and doctoral programmes, most often in the United States and increasingly in Canada, Europe and Asia. It measures verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning and analytical writing — the skills graduate study depends on — rather than knowledge of any one subject.

Many engineering, science, social science and humanities programmes consider it, and a large number of business schools accept it as an alternative to the GMAT. At the same time, a growing number of programmes have made it optional or stopped considering it altogether. Whether you need it, and how much weight it carries, is decided programme by programme.

The test was shortened in 2023 to just under two hours. It can be taken on a computer at a test centre or at home, with the same content and scoring in both. A strong Quantitative score is often expected for technical and analytical programmes, while Verbal and Analytical Writing carry more weight in the humanities and social sciences.

The shorter GRE General Test has three measures, taken in one sitting on a computer.

• Analytical Writing — one timed essay, the Analyze an Issue task, in which you take a position on a statement and support it with reasons and examples.
• Verbal Reasoning — two sections of reading comprehension, text completion and sentence equivalence, testing vocabulary in context and close reading.
• Quantitative Reasoning — two sections of arithmetic, algebra, geometry and data analysis, including quantitative comparison. An on-screen calculator is provided.

Verbal and Quantitative are adaptive by section: your performance on the first section of each measure decides the difficulty of the second. Within a section you may skip questions, mark them and return to them. Always check the current format on the official ETS site before you prepare.

The GRE General Test reports three scores.

• Verbal Reasoning — 130 to 170, in one-point increments.
• Quantitative Reasoning — 130 to 170, in one-point increments.
• Analytical Writing — 0 to 6, in half-point increments.

There is no combined total on the official score report, although some programmes add Verbal and Quantitative together when stating a requirement. Percentile ranks are reported alongside each score and show how you compare with other recent test-takers.

• Scores are generally reportable for five years from the test date.
• The ScoreSelect option lets you choose which test dates to send to institutions.
• Unofficial Verbal and Quantitative scores are shown at the end of the test; official scores, including Analytical Writing, follow later.

• Check whether each programme on your list requires, recommends or ignores the GRE before you commit months to it.
• Take an official practice test first. Your starting scores decide whether to focus on Verbal, Quantitative or both.
• Build vocabulary in context, through reading, rather than memorising long word lists in isolation.
• Revise school mathematics thoroughly. The Quantitative content is not advanced; the difficulty lies in careful reading and avoiding traps.
• Use the on-screen calculator only where it saves time — over-reliance slows you down.
• Practise the Issue essay to time, with a clear position, a planned structure and specific examples.
• Do your final practice tests in the same conditions as the real one, including the at-home rules if you plan to test at home.