What is the GRE? Who has to appear for it?
Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is the exam required (for admission to most Graduate / Doctoral programs – except MBA) by most of the universities in the United States of American and a few in Canada and Australia countries for any Masters or PhD course except MBA.

Does one have to be a graduate for taking the GRE?
Not necessarily.

What qualification should one have to do a Masters?
One has to be a graduate in any stream.

What is the syllabus?
The course consists of Mathematics, English and an AWA Section (Writing). The AWA Section consists of an Issue Analysis ( 45 minutes) and an argument Analysis(30 minutes). The Issue Analysis has a choice between two topics; the argument has only one prompt.
45 minutes: Mathematics section - 25 questions (Problem Solving, Quantitative Comparison and Data Interpretation)
5 minutes: break
30 minutes: Verbal Section- 30 questions (Reading Comprehension, Analogies, Antonyms and Sentence Completion)
These sections do not appear in any fixed order. In addition, there is an unidentified Verbal, Quantitative or Writing Section that does not count toward the final score. Students have to attempt the Experimental Section because they would not know which one will eventually count towards one's score.
The total exam is nearly 3 hours long

What is the scoring system?
The total marks are 1600 of which 1300 and above is considered good. Different questions carry different marks depending on its difficulty level. Both English and Mathematics carry 800 marks each. The AWA Section (Writing) is scored on a score range of 0-6. Most Universities consider a score of 4 and above as acceptable.

What are the rules of the exam?

• One can't leave a question
• One can't go back to a previous question
• The first 5 questions per section carry more weightage.
• There is no direct negative marking
• The level of difficulty of the next question depends upon the accuracy of the previous question.

How often can one appear for the exam?
GRE can be taken 5 times in a calendar year.

Which score will the college consider?
Universities consider the best score.

How does one register?
On http://www.ets.org

What is the cost of the exam?
The exam fee is U.S.$160.

What happens if one postpones one's exam date?
If one postpones the exam at least 7 days before the scheduled date, then one can reschedule the exam for an additional fee of $48 to reschedule. in all other cases, the fees are forfeited.

How soon does one get one's score?
Students can see their score the moment they finish the exam but official scores will take 21 days to reach them.

What happens if one cancels the exam?
After taking the exam, one is given the choice of canceling one's score without seeing it. If one chooses to do so, the score is lost forever but it will be reported on all subsequent score charts that one had cancelled an exam.

Are there scholarships available for Graduate students?
GRE Scores help many Graduate students to gain scholarships

How much score should one get to obtain scholarship?
Usually a score of 1300+ is required to get a scholarship. It is up to the University as to how much scholarship it decides to grant to a student.

Does it have any effect if a student has done a graduation through correspondence?
No.

What is percentile?
If a student gets 85 percentile, it means that 85 % of the students taking the exam in the past 5 years are below him/her and 15% are equal to or above him/her.

What are the GRE Subject test?
The GRE subject tests are specialized tests, to be taken only if your university asks for it. Check with them. In India, Subject GRE is offered only once a year, in November.

Beginning in November 2007, two new question types will be included in the Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning sections of the computer-based GRE® General Test. Test takers may see ONE new Verbal question or ONE new Quantitative question or no new questions at all. No test taker will receive more than ONE new question. The new question types are part of the first phase of the General Test improvements that will be introduced gradually over time.

How many new test questions will I see on my test?
You may see one new Verbal question or one new Quantitative question or no new questions at all. No test taker will receive more than ONE new question.

Will this question affect my score?
Initially, the new question types will not count towards a test taker's score. However, the GRE Program will begin counting these question types as soon as an adequate sample of data from the operational testing environment is available. If you receive a new question type, you are advised to treat it as if it counts.

What is the GMAT ?
A standardized test, the Graduate Management Admissions Test measures the Verbal, Mathematical and Analytical skills. The test primarily intends to aid graduate schools of business assess the potential of the applicants for advanced study in business and management. More than 900 management institutes all over the world require GMAT scores from the applicants.

The GMAT is different from most other traditional examinations. This exam is entirely computer-based, and no two students get identical sets of questions. Also, students cannot skip questions. The test is scored on a maximum of 800. The GMAT Score alone cannot guarantee admission into a school. The test is only one of the major factors taken into consideration in the long process of an applicant getting admitted into a Business School he/she desires.

The US-based "Pearson VUE”, which is under the directions of the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) develops and administers the GMAT. Pearson VUE is responsible for setting questions, conducting the test and sending score reports to each examinee. In India, GMAT is presently administered in cities : Ahmedabad, Allahabad, Bangalore, Calcutta, Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai, New Delhi and Cochin.

Does one have to be a graduate for taking the GMAT?
Not necessarily. However, to do a master's course, one has to be a graduate in any stream.

What is the syllabus?
The course consists of Maths and English with the following pattern:
30 min: Analysis of an issue
30 min: Analysis of an argument
5 min: break
75 min: Maths section- 37 questions
5 min: break
75 min: Verbal section- 41questions (reading comprehension, critical reasoning and sentence correction)

The total exam is about four-hour long.

What is the scoring system?
The maximum score is 800, out of which 600 and above is considered good. Different questions carry different marks, depending on its difficulty level. There is no fixed break up for Maths and English.

How often can I take the exam?
You can take the exam a maximum of five times . You can also take it only once in a calendar month.

Which score will the college consider?
Though Pearson reports the scores of all the GMAT attempts, universities usually accept the best score.

What is the cost of the exam?
The fees for registering for GMAT is $250 payable to Pearson VUE-GMATTM in US dollars.

How do I register for the GMAT ?
You can register online or by phone or by mail. The detailed information about registering for the GMAT can be found at www.mba.com

What happens if I postpone my exam date?
If you postpone the exam at least seven days before your scheduled date, you would have to pay an additional $48 to reschedule else the entire fees is forfeited.

How soon do I get my score?
You will see your score for the maths and verbal section the moment you finish the exam but official scores (with scores for AWA) will take 21 days to reach you.

What happens if I cancel the exam?
After taking the exam you are given the choice of canceling your score without seeing it. If you choose to do so the score is lost forever but it gets reported on all subsequent score charts that you had cancelled an exam.

How do I pass on my score to the college?
The universities only accept official scores sent directly by Pearson VUE. Scores to five colleges can be sent free of cost while taking the exam. Subsequently, for each score report sent to a college, you would have to pay $28.

GMAT is accepted by a few of Indian Business schools like ISB, IIMA (PGPX), IIMC (PGPEX), SP Jain, Great Lakes, etc.

Is GMAT valid only for going abroad or it has some relevance in India also?
GMAT is accepted by a few Indian Business schools like ISB, IIMA (PGPX), IIMC (PGPEX), SP Jain, Great Lakes, etc.

Is work experience necessary to get admission in universities?
It is not necessary to have work experience to get admission in MBA colleges abroad. However, it is recommended to have at least two years work experience to get into good MBA programs. However, very high GMATTM scores, combined with exceptional college record and extra curricular achievements can compensate. In some universities, work experience is a must.

What is percentile?
If you secure 85 percentile it would mean 85 % of the students taking the exam in the past five years are below you and 15% are equal to or above you.