Graduate Record Examination or GRE is carried out and conducted by ETS (Educational Testing Services) on selected dates of a month throughout the year. Thousands of aspirants appear GRE daily for admission into a graduate school in USA. GRE is the preliminary and mandatory test to qualify for admission to colleges and universities in USA and Europe to pursue their masters in Science, Engineering and Commerce. Apart from USA and Europe, GRE scores are widely accepted in many reputed institutions present in several countries across the globe.

GRE is available in the following 2 formats.

1. GRE General test.
2. GRE Subject test.

GRE subject test measures the skills of aspirants in specific subjects such as physiology, biology or chemistry.

GRE general test evaluates the analytical and verbal skills of the students. GRE general test is the most sought test rather than the subject test. Students who wish to pursue their masters should attempt and submit their scores to the respective universities.

GRE revised general test is the latest pattern of GRE general format which is revised after August 2011. Earlier GRE general test is for a score of 1600 and now it isvery difficult to accomplish. Considering the requests from many, GRE general test pattern was revised to a much intuitive and transparent format.

Students can attempt the GRE general test in the following two modes.

1. Online test- which is most prevalent and easily accessible.
2. Offline test - which is rare and available only at few test centres.

The following are the 3 sections present in GRE general test.

1. Quantitative Reasoning
2. Verbal Reasoning
3. Analytical Writing.

Quantitative reasoning aims to measure the problem solving skills of the candidate. Basic concepts of Algebra, Arithmetic, Trigonometry, Geometry and general aptitude are covered in this section. There are two sections, 35 minutes of each in the computer based online test.

Verbal reasoning targets to test the vocabulary of the candidate in English. One should be able to evaluate and synthesize the information from a written material. There are two sections, 30 minutes each in the computer based test.

Analytical writing tests the writing skills of the candidate when there is a particular given argument or a situation . Test taker is expected to analyse and judge the argument or situation.

Apart from these three sections, candidate may receive a surprise section to attend either in verbal or in quantitative. This surprise section doesn't add score to the test which is optional.

ETS has the following eligibility criteria for students who appear GRE and plan their masters abroad.

1. Student must possess a bachelor's degree in any discipline.
2. To obtain science and engineering programs, candidate should complete 16 years of education.

Computer based GRE can be applied through the following ways.

1. Phone
2. Mail
3. Fax
4. Online

Applying online is the most easiest and comfortable method to all the candidates. One should have a 'My GRE' account to apply online. The link to apply GRE online directly is https://mygre.ets.org/greweb/login/login.jsp. Candidate should have a valid passport and a credit card in order to apply GRE.

Application fee for GRE is $140, in USA and Puerto Rico. In India and other locations, the cost is $195.

GRE is conducted for a total score of 340. Verbal section is of 170 and the remaining 170 is of quantitative aptitude with an increment in 1 point. However, analytical writing section is scaled on a band of 0-6 and this aggregate is summed to the total of 340. A student can score 130 even if no question is answered. Total test time is around 3 hour 45 minutes with one minute break between each section.