Who Needs the GRE
For over 65 years the GRE General Test has been used to measure preparedness for graduate studies (masters and Ph.D.) in many fields.
In the United States people usually think of it like this:
SAT – For undergraduate (S1)
GMAT – For business school/MBA (S2)
LSAT – For law school (S2)
MCAT – For medical school (S2-S3)
GRE – For everything else (S2-S3)
Recently, however, the GRE has begun to compete with the GMAT. Which means GRE is a global exam, accepted by top MBA programsaround the world.
Please keep in mind, when people ask about your GRE score they’re referring to the GRE General Test. The subject tests (biology, chemistry, literature, math, physics, psychology) are entirely separate.
What’s the GRE Like
The modern GRE is a half-day computer-based competition, not a document. So it’s hard to describe what your test-taking experience will be like. The official demo software from ETS will give you a good idea what the GRE feels like. But on test the exam may be a little easier or harder. The sections of the test will also be in a different order. And there will be one extra, unscored section, making the test longer that what you’ve been practicing for.
The GRE may be called a reasoning test because the focus is on critical thinking. Whether it’s a literature passage or a geometry problem, all the information you absorbed in college is somehow never quite enough to get the right answer on the GRE — unless you think logically about why the right answer is right (according to the ETS) and the others are wrong (according to ETS).
Note that the mathematics section is Quantitative Reasoning and the verbal section is called Verbal Reasoning.
GRE Scores The GRE is scored on a scale of 130 (worst) to 170 (perfect), although there are actually two scores: One for quant and one for verbal. Most recently, the average GRE score for Indonesia-based test-takers was 145 for verbal and 154 for quant.
As an example, the University of Washington’s GRE requirement for admission to the masters in engineering program is:
- Quant: Above 155
- Verbal: Above 142 (if English is not your native language)
Another example, the masters program at UC Berkeley Engineering and Computer Sciences department reports that the average GRE scores for Berkeley admitted students is as follows:
- Quant: Above 165
- Verbal: Above 155
One last example from the MBA program at Oxford. They recommend as follows:
- Quant: Around 161
- Verbal: Around 160
The GRE is usually required for admission into competitive (high quality) graduate-level (S2-S3) programs in USA and Canada.
GRE versus SAT
Yes, they’re quite similar, although GRE is harder. Both are standardized, computer-based multiple-choice exams completed under significant time pressure. Similar to the SAT, the GRE breaks down into math and verbal. It also begins with an essay-writing task that is scored separately (won’t affect your actual GRE score). Finally, you can repeat both tests again and again, to achieve a higher score.
