Graduate Application Process
GRE: general and subject tests
All you need to know about the GRE.
The GRE is a graduate school admittance test composed of three parts that test your verbal, quantitative, and analytical writing skills. It is a computer adaptive test (CAT) meaning that the difficulty of the question given depends upon the accuracy with which you answered the previous question. The general GRE is a requirement for application to all graduate programs.
Sections:
Verbal: The verbal section is similar to that of the SAT: you will be required to answer analogies, sentence completions, reading comprehension, and an additional antonym section. A smart way to study for this test is to strengthen your vocabulary by referring to your handy dictionary or vocabulary study lists.
Quantitative: The quantitative section tests you on your high school math skills: geometry, arithmetic, algebra, and data analysis. It is quite manageable, especially for students with a science or math background. The best way to prepare for this section is refresh your memory with a quantitative GRE preparation book and to do timed practices with old GRE tests.
Analytical writing: The analytical writing section always appears first on the test and asks you to write two essays: one supporting or refuting an issue and another critically analyzing an argument. Each essay is given a grade from 1-6, and the final score is calculated from the average of these two scores. To receive the highest score, essays must be a decent length (5-7 paragraphs), organized, and well thought out. It is wise to checkout a book specifically on the analytical writing section (Kaplan has a great one). These guides will give you real essay examples and also provide practice essay questions.
For further details on the content of the general GRE visit the Educational Testing Services website:
- The summer before your senior year is an ideal time to take the GRE. Testing in July or August will allow you plenty of time to study and to retake the test in the fall if necessary.
- A lot of students take the GRE during the fall of their senior year and do perfectly well; it just depends on how you manage your time and what type of person you are.
- Your GRE scores are valid for five years after testing. If you decide to take a year or two off before applying to graduate school, you can still take the GRE when you are in college and have those scores count for your application. It is actually better to take the GRE while you are still in school rather than during your time off as it has been statistically proven that people out of school score lower than those still in school.
How should I prepare for the GRE?
- Kaplan and Princeton Review have various GRE preparatory classes: classroom, private tutoring, and online. However these classes are expensive and no more helpful than studying on your own. If you have trouble putting aside time to study and practice, then a GRE class would be helpful for you.
- If you decide to study on your own, you should obtain a few different GRE books. There are comprehensive books as well as ones specifically for verbal, math, and writing. Make vocabulary flash cards, and get your friends to test you. Also make sure to take a couple of practice tests. One option is to use the powerprep CD, which contains two computer based practice tests, that you are sent by ETS after you register for the test.
How important are GRE scores to admission committees?
- Scoring well on the GRE is important for admittance into highly ranked science graduate programs. That said, it is NOT the only important factor. Applicants with a strong background in research or a high GPA, but lower GRE scores are still considered competitive.
- Science graduate schools are most interested in your quantitative score. It is recommended to get a score of 750 or above, but you might as well go for the perfect 800. The analytical writing score is also important as you will need highly developed writing skills in order to succeed in grad school.
Do I need to take a GRE subject test? How important is scoring high on this test?
- Some graduate programs in the sciences require applicants to take a specific GRE subject test. Usually students applying to top schools in chemistry, physics, biology, biochemistry and molecular biology are required to take those specific tests.
- While programs maintain that you should score high on these tests, especially in the section that you are most interested in (ie. genetics in the cell biology/biochemistry test), your scores will not make or break your chances of getting in. Try your best to do well, but do not be discouraged if you score lower than you want to. These tests are paper based and tend to be really long so if you are not the best timed test taker, consider this when preparing.
- If the programs you apply to recommend but do not require a subject test, it is to your own discretion whether to report your scores. If you think or know that you did well, then these scores will only add positively to your application. On the other hand, if you did not score well, then don't feel bad about not reporting. You won't be rejected or viewed unfavorably because you did not report these scores.
Is it ok to retake the GRE? Should I retake it?
- If you didn't get the scores you wanted, you should retake the test. If you improve your scores significantly your second time around, schools are likely to acknowledge this improvement and focus on your new scores.
- If you are worried about retaking the GRE or just don't want to, ask your programs how they interpret GRE scores. It is likely that if you did really well in math and analytical writing, less focus will be placed on your verbal score.
- If you had extreme circumstances that influenced your performance (and you didn't cancel your scores before they were reported), retake the GRE, and indicate somewhere in your application what happened.