How are GRE Scores Used by Grad Schools?

Let’s talk about who uses the GRE scores and how.

Very simply, if you are interested in graduate school in the US, a GRE score is most likely required for entrance into the program you are applying to. GRE scores are used by admissions officers and fellowship panels to supplement undergraduate records and other qualifications for graduate study. In other words, your score is considered as one important component of your entire graduate school application.

GRE scores provide common measures for comparing the qualifications of applicants. In other words, people’s undergraduate study is not homogeneous across all colleges and schools in the world (thankfully), so people will have had different experiences with instructors, course difficulty, and workload. They also will have come from a variety of different majors. Thus graduate schools need a way to evaluate applicant’s cognitive and academic skills given these differing backgrounds. The GRE will be of help in balancing other admissions considerations like GPA and recommendations.

So, in essence, the GRE is a tool used to gain a more circumspect evaluation of you the applicant.
So, the question we’re all wondering is… what is considered a good score on the GRE?

Well, what is considered a good score on the GRE really depends on your major and your intended course of study. And so comparison is not that useful. If you really want to know, across all majors and disciplines, the average score on the GRE is about 460 Verbal, 590 Quantitative, and 4.0 on the Writing. But this will not tell you much for the particular program you are interested in, as it includes ALL test takers, including people who do not get into graduate school.

The score that you will most likely be interested in will depend on your particular program. Schools will often post their required GRE scores on the departmental website, but they vary widely from program to program.

If you were applying to an engineering or computer science program, for example, you can expect the average math score to be upwards of 700, with the verbal not as high. If you were applying for an English or journalism program, though, perhaps you can expect the verbal to be approaching 700, while the math would be much lower.

What is important in terms of evaluating your score is to take a practice test and compare it to the department you are interested in applying to.

There is free software that ETS sends you once you register for the GRE called Powerprep. On the CD, you can find exhaustive scoring data regarding GRE scores as related to undergraduate GPA, and graduate field of study.

But, again, the most important GRE score you will be interested in will be the score for your prospective program. A school might have a minimum score required, or a listing of the average score of the incoming graduate students on their website.

Keep in mind that if you take the GRE more than once, you need to find out if your program will take your best scores or will take the average of your scores. There is no general practice for this, as each department is slightly different. Check your department’s details for more information.

What’s important to realize from this is that what is considered a good GRE score is very relative to who you compare it to. Your score may be higher or lower than a particular group, but what matters is the score you need to get into the progam you are aiming at.

So, go find your target score, write it down, and get prepping! :)

Posted on 22. May, 2011 by in Understand Your GRE Prep

Overview of the Format of the GRE

Now lets get into the format of the test.

Here are the sections of the test you will see on Test Day: You will start out with the analytical writing section, which is composed of two essays. In the first essay you will present your perspective on an issue. You’ll be able to choose among 2 topics what you would like to write about, and you’ll have 45 minutes to plan, write and proofread an essay based on your experience, reasoning, and observations. In the second essay, you will be given an argument prompt to write about, with the directions to demonstrate how well reasoned you find the argument. You will have only 30 minutes to complete this essay.

After the two essay sections, you will have an optional 10 minute break. During this time, you can get up and use the restroom before your next section but that’s basically about it. You won’t be able to go to your car or leave the testing center for any reason.

After you return from the break, you will sit down to the meat and potatoes of the test: you’ll have the Verbal section, which is 30 questions in 30 minutes, and the Math Section, which is 28 Questions in 45 minutes.

Now, after these two main sections you may or may not see a 3rd section which ETS refers to as the experimental section or the unscored section. Now, ETS says that this section could appear in any order after the writing section, and may or may not be identified.

What this means practically on Test Day is that you might not be able to tell which math and verbal sections are being scored and which sections are not being scored; there may be no way of telling. The point is, the unscored section will be either another verbal section or another math section which will test the same concepts that the other sections test, so you need to be ready for it.

At the end of the test there is a research section ETS uses for feedback about your testing experience. It is not a part of your GRE score and is completely optional.

So, this is the format of the GRE according to the official test maker, ETS. It is a good idea to be come familiar with it so you know what to expect. The basic form of it is the two writing sections, and then the Math/Verbal sections. The entire test will take roughly 3.5 hours.

Now, let’s discuss how each of these sections are scored.

For the writing section, each essay you write will be reviewed by 2 graders, who will each give a score from 0 to 6 in half-point increments. If the grades given differ by more than a point, a third grader will be brought in to review it once more. The average of these reviews is your essay score. And the average of your two essay grades is your overall writing score.

On the score report you receive in the mail, you will only see one writing score on the scale of 0 to 6, and that is your overall writing score. In other words, it is both of your essays combined.

For the Math and Verbal Sections, you will encounter a computer adaptive test, with your sectional scores to fall in a range of 200 to 800. Unlike a written test, where the questions are selected before you sit down and are not dependent upon your response, a computer adaptive test adapts to your level of ability while you take the test, and each question is weighed slightly differently based on difficulty.

In a computer adaptive test,  the computer adapts according to your responses. So if you get a problem correct, it will give you a slightly harder problem. If you get a problem incorrect, it will give you a slightly easier problem. This way, the computer tries to narrow in on your ability until, roughly speaking, you are getting every other problem correct.

As far as precise scoring goes, the internal algorithm that ETS uses for its computer adaptive model remains a secret. The testmakers do not say exactly how the computer adapts, but we know that it adapts roughly in this way.

Many prospective test takers want to know if certain GRE questions count more than others… This is a good question which would help us in our preparation if we knew the answer. But, again, it is an internal algorithm that the computer uses. The short answer is yes, some problems are weighted heavier than others based on difficulty and where you are in the test, but there is no way of knowing which problems count more than others.

Many people claim that the first 10 questions count more towards your score than the others. That is not quite true, as again, the computer has an internal algorithm which calculates how much weight to give to a certain question. But it is also true in the same sense as a GPA. Your freshman year grades weighed the most on your GPA until each year of your schooling was complete. But, in the long run, they counted similarly to your junior and senior years.

The basic thing you need to understand in terms of GRE scoring is that the computer will give you problems based on your responses to previous problems. That is what computer adaptive means. So, if you are finding the test a little bit hard, that probably means you are doing your best …and who would want anything other than that!

Posted on 01. May, 2011 by in Understand Your GRE Prep

Intro to the GRE: Cognitive Areas Tested

Welcome to this introduction to the GRE exam. It is surprising not only how many people fail to take seriously their preparation for this important exam, but also, how many people lack a practical understanding of how to prepare for it.

A practical understanding of the GRE will cover not only basic topics of the test format and the types of questions you’ll see on Test Day, but also how you can consciously optimize your score using training principles found in every field human performance. So, as you move forward, pay careful attention to this presentation to what you are studying in order to determine how you should study.

The philosopher Dallas Willard said, “Subject matter dictates method.” In other words, we have to discover what our subject matter is in order to determine the proper method to use for studying it. It will do us no good to lift weights or run sprints if what we will be tested on is English vocabulary. Similarly, if we intend to do well on the GRE exam, we need to know what it is and then we will know what the proper method is for gaining proficiency at it.

This is no small matter, because we don’t want to waste our time applying a method for preparing for the GRE that in the long run would not work for increasing our score. Also, we do not want to train and study for something that will not appear on the GRE exam.

So, let’s engage in a thorough overview about what the GRE actually is.

The acronym GRE stands for Graduate Record Examination, published by the Educational Testing Service, or ETS. When people speak of the GRE, they are most often referring to the GRE General Test which is a requirement for most graduate school programs.

The GRE also has specific subject area test that you may need to take if you are applying to study in certain areas, like psychology for example. But for most areas of study, you will at minimum need to take the GENERAL test.

The GRE General Test covers three main areas of cognitive ability:

First, the GRE will test your verbal reasoning skills. This covers your ability to analyze the relationships between words, concepts, and sentences. Not surprisingly, these abilities are covered in the portion of the exam called the “Verbal” section. In essence, these questions test how well you comprehend components of written English.

The second ability tested is quantitative reasoning. This covers your cognitive skills in the areas of arithmetic, geometry, algebra, and data analysis. This section covers many areas of math you probably took in high school.

The last ability tested is critical thinking and analytical writing skills. This tests your ability to think critically about a topic and to articulate your ideas clearly in essay form. In essence, this area tests how well you can think and express yourself in standard written English.

So, in a nutshell, these are the areas that will be tested. Now that you know what areas are tested on the GRE, in order to improve your score all you need to do is to study the various question formats and strengthen the specific skill areas that are tested!

Posted on 23. Mar, 2011 by in Understand Your GRE Prep

What You Need To Know for GRE Test Day and Score Reporting

So where and when can you take the GRE?

Well, the GRE comes in two flavors:

  1. the computer-based test
  2. the paper-based test

The computer-based test, which most people take, is offered year round in the US and Canada at local test centers, and you can take it once per calendar month. You must register with the local test center for the date which you want to take the test, and you can do this online at GRE.org.

Something important to know is that the fall, especially from October to January, is the time of year when many people are trying to take the test. Be aware you might need to schedule 6 weeks ahead to get your preferred date and time. Again, you can register at anytime by going to GRE.org and following the links.

The paper-based test is only offered 4 times per year, and in far fewer locations than the computer-based test. The test also contains more problems per section than the computer-based test. For these reasons, we recommend everyone simply plan on taking the computer-based test.

The cost of the GRE is currently $160 dollars. If you decide to reschedule anytime prior to 3 days before your test date, it will cost you 50 dollars.

You can send your score to up to 4 recipients at no charge the day of your test. You will need to designate them by code at the testing center. If you want to send your score to additional recipients, or designate the recipients at a later date, the cost is $23 per recipient.

So, those are some of the practical considerations of taking the test.

In terms of your score report, know that any score you receive on the GRE will stay on your record for five years. This is important to remember as many test takers will attempt the GRE “cold turkey” just to see how they do. They end up not doing as well as they had hoped. Nevertheless their score stays on their record.

On test day, after you have finished all the sections but before you see the scores, you will have the option to cancel and not see your scores. But, if you opt not to cancel your scores, your scores go on your record and stay there for five years.

This policy can work in your favor, however. For example, some students may take the GRE their junior or senior year of college, but don’t want to go to graduate school immediately and want to wait a few years before applying. This gives you a five year window in which you don’t have to take it again if you get a good score.

Also, know that schools will see all of the scores you have received within the last 5 years. This means you can’t pick and choose which scores to send (as you can now with the SAT). The schools will see a cumulative report with the scores you received on each testing date.

Thirdly, know that some schools will take your best GRE score, while others will take your average score. In other words, each admissions committee will have a certain policy regarding scores. Some may even combine your best math score and your best verbal score from multiple dates. It is important to find out what your prospective school’s policy is, especially since in any case they will see all of your scores.

So, keep these points in mind as you think about when to take the GRE.

You may have heard that the GRE is changing. ETS has indeed announced that the test will be changing in the fall of 2011. From the reports we hear, analogies and antonyms will be out, and the test concentrate more on critical thinking skills. Nothing super specific has been announced yet, though.

Since we have been following the GRE for several years now, it is important to note that ETS also announced major changes to the GRE occurring in the fall of 2007 and the fall of 2009, but they didn’t end up happening. So, what may end up happening is that ETS doesn’t change anything.

The important thing for you to do at this point is to decide if you need to take the GRE, and then prepare for the current version of the test. There is no real benefit to waiting around for the test change.

So stop lolly-gagging and get studying! :)

Posted on 13. Feb, 2011 by in Understand Your GRE Prep