Preserve your GRE and TOEFL score sheets with you. These are one of the
important documents that you have to carry for your Visa Interview. In
case you don't get it, email ETS to send them again.
The best way to get familiar
with the GRE format and the look and feel of the test is to take the free GRE Litmus Test at
http://greio.com. Its a mini GRE exam of 5 questions
per section, takes less than 30 minutes and even
calculates your projected GRE score.
GRE (Graduate Record Examination) is a Computer Adaptive Test (CAT).
In a Computer Adaptive Tests, the difficulty (and the marks) of the questions depend on your performance. This means that the questions that are served to you are easy or difficult based on your performance till that
moment in the test.
GRE is conducted round the year. Educational Testing Services (ETS) conducts GRE. GRE is conducted at various prometric
centers around the globe.
Generally, most Universities require students to write GRE General Test. The GRE
Subject Test is a special requirement for Ph.D or for students who want to
change their Undergraduate stream.
Reading Comprehension, Sentence Equivalence, Text Completion
Quantitative Reasoning Section
20 questions in 35 mins.
Score range: 130 – 170
Quantitative Comparison, Numerical Entry, MCQs
Total score range for the test: 260 – 340 (Verbal + Quantitative); 0 – 6 (AWA)
The GRE® scores are technically valid for five years
However, most of the top universities do not consider scores more than two years old
In India, the test is conducted in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Allahabad, Ahmedabad & Trivandrum
Being a Computer Assisted Test(CAT), it is conducted throughout the year, on all weekdays
You can register for the test online at ETS website
The test fees are US$195
This includes sending your scores to 4 universities of your choice, on the day of the test
If you want to report your scores to additional universities (or if you do not report your scores to any university on your test day, and would like to do so later), the fee is US$27 per university
Tip
Make sure that you give your best in the first section
of verbal and quant. The revised GRE general test is section wise adaptive.
Doing bad in the first section will result in an easier second section being asked -
which lessens your chances to score good (or a perfect 170).
Tip
Make sure you have short-listed at least 4 Universities that you'll be
applying to before you appear for GRE.
During the time of exam, you'll be asked for 4 Universities where your
scores can be sent for free. If you do not specify the Universities at
that point, you'll lose chance to send scores to 4 Universities for free.
Sending scores after the exam costs $27 per score report.
Preparation for GRE :
In my opinion, Barron's GRE is enough to get you a
great score.
If you have learnt all the words in the 50 word-lists, you are adequately
prepared for the vocabulary sections.
Similarly, the quant section and the essays sections of the Barron GRE guide
are excellent and obviate the need of any other reference material/guide.
It is rather important to revise Barron regularly rather than experimenting
with other guides.
There is a Free practice software called "GRE Powerprep® Software" that is
available for download for free at the GRE website. Make good use of that. It
will help you acclimatize with the actual test screen and layout.
Remember, the quant questions asked in GRE are not very difficult, you only
require practice of those type of questions to solve them in time and
accurately.
Tip: Good Online Resources for daily reading
Apart from a study schedule based on a timetable, you should
form a daily habit to devote some time to read up more
on GRE format, questions types, tips/tricks and also solve a few random
GRE questions. The following two are good resources:
GRE IO Facebook Page: They post a new verbal and
quant question everyday along with helpful tips. Subscribe
to that page and make it a habit to solve their everyday
question. Magoosh
Blog:
Magoosh posts some good
blogs/questions. Bookmark their blog page and try to visit
it regularly. They have a lot of free content/videos on
their website. Make full use of it.
How much time should the preparation for GRE take? This is a much asked question, and the answer remains much elusive. Lets
do a calculation here:
Ideally if you learn 1 list in a day, 50 word list will require you 50 days.
Other verbal sections of Barron's GRE will require you 8-9 days to complete.
The quant section should require not more than 8-10 days and preparation of AWA
should again require 4-5 days.
All in all its a 75-80 days as per our calculation.
But again, your time may differ vastly based on the amount of time you can
devote. For a working professional, it should take longer and for a student
(especially if you have been preparing for CAT and other MBA entrances), it
should take less than the estimated 75 days.
What is a good GRE Score? Again one of the most frequently asked questions. In case you are
targeting top 4-5 Universities, you need to be up there at 325-340. The GRE
Quant scores are slightly more important than the verbal score. For MS, you
should try to get a 160+ score in quant. A 315+ score is a pretty decent
score and should be fine so far as your academics are good.
How much does the GRE Score matter in the overall application package? GRE score is only one of the parameters that will determine your
application outcome.
Differently Universities give different weightage to the GRE Score. Some (like
NCSU) are very much academic centric and won't let you in unless you have a
good academics (no matter how good your GRE score is). Others give a fair
weightage to GRE scores. But yes, your academics, papers (if any), projects
generally have more significance than the GRE score.
Yes, good GRE scores are a necessity when you have average or below average
academics. In such a case, you need to get a great score to have their
attention.
Universities like MIT, Stanford will anyways not let you in unless you have a
excellent academic record.
The Barron Word Tool (that I made
for myself) :
I made a word list memorizer tool for myself. It maybe pretty raw in
appearance but it works GREAT !!
It is ideally suited for working people who cannot open a book on the office desk. This can be installed and played
around with in office. The best part is that its a self-learning tool. The more time you spend on it, the more it
recognizes your weak words and puts it more often before you so that you may remember it.
What is the tool and how it works?
The tool will ask you a word (one word out of lists that you choose from Barron
word lists).
You'll have to recall the meaning of that word. Once done you'll ask it to
show you the meaning.
Based on whether you answered correctly or incorrectly, you'll tell the
application by clicking on the appropriate button (Basically you are yourself
judging your response and letting the tool know it).
Now comes the interesting part: Of all the words you answer incorrectly,
it keeps increasing the priority of these words. Which means that they'll be
asked more often than the other words.
Gradually after you have spent a considerable amount on the tool, the
words that you have a tendency to forget will be asked more frequently than
others.
Basically it keeps on dynamically rating each word based on your responses
and keeps changing each word priority based on your responses at runtime.
In a nut shell, it behaves similarly as our KG teacher would recite us
words, reciting our weak words more than the ones we know. This process
continues until we have seen our weak words enough time to remember them.
I am putting the tool free for download. If you use it very often, I am sure
you find it beneficial.
Download the GRE Barron Word Tool here:
(Note: During Installation, 'Ignore' any errors if they come. It will just install.
fine)
TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language):
TOEFL is a English
Proficiency test conducted by ETS.
The cost to register for TOEFL is $170 in India.
Structure of
the TOEFL iBT (Source: TOEFL website)
Section
Description
Testing
Time
Questions
Score
Scale
Reading
3-5 passages from academic texts; approximately 700
words long; 12-14 questions per passage.
60-100 minutes
36-70 questions
0-30
Listening
4-6 lectures, some with classroom discussion; each
3-5 minutes long; 6 questions each. 2-3 conversations; each 3 minutes long;
5 questions each.
60-90 minutes
34-51 questions
0-30
Break
-
10 minutes
-
-
Speaking
2 tasks to express an opinion on a familiar topic;
4 tasks to speak based on what is read and listened to.
20 minutes
6 tasks
0-4 points converted to 0-30 score scale
Writing
1 task to write based on what is read and listened
to; 1 task to support an opinion on a topic.
50 minutes
2 tasks
0-5 points converted to 0-30 score scale
Total score
-
-
-
0-120
Where to register for TOEFL? You will require to register for the TOEFL at the official TOEFL website
http://www.toefl.org. Unlike
GRE, TOEFL is not administered on all days. You'll need to make a iBT login at
the website. Your iBT login is where you'll have to keep coming to see your
results (after 14 days of your test) and to order additional test reports.
4 reports are ordered free with the test. Make sure your avail this at the time
of registering for the test.
How much time should the preparation for TOEFL take?
TOEFL is a exam that may not need any specific training. Given that you have
already spent a lot of efforts for the GRE verbal section preparation, the same
preparation will come in handy here. The new sections are listening and
speaking.
If you have a decent English, I guess the only preparation you may require to do
is to solve a few practice test papers before you go for the exam.
I bought Barron TOEFL guide. I did not even see the written text in the book. I
just went through some practice tests on the CD. They helped to
acclimatize with the actual test screen and layout.
In the CD, there was a picture of a person depicting how to wear the headphone.
I was actually amazed to see the same picture in the actual test :-)
I took my TOEFL 3 days after my GRE, so the effective time of preparation for me
was 3 days (and I got a decent 108/120). Since you cannot drastically improve
your spoken English, writing and listening skills in a matter of some days,
TOEFL is more of a candid test.
What is a good TOEFL Score? Some universities have a minimum cut-off in various sections in TOEFL.
Some even have a overall cut-off. Refer to the University admission site for
such information.
Anything above 105 in TOEFL iBT is a good score.
How much does the TOEFL Score matter in the overall application package? Since MS is concerned more with science/technology aspect than with
literature programs, the Universities will normally expect a basic criteria
fulfillment in various sections of TOEFL. The basic idea is that you need to
clear the cut-off limits of TOEFL for various Universities. While a great TOEFL
score will not turn an average application to a promising one, a low score will
not hamper your prospects either (so far as it is above the cut-off specified by
the University).
Having said that, you should never ignore the importance of TOEFL exam. A good
score in TOEFL will benefit you for your TA (Teaching Assistantships)
applications and other positions where English proficiency is required. TOEFL is
a reflection of your complete English command, so make sure you give it
sincerely.
You can ask questions in comments below.
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