What is the GRE?
The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) consists of two separate tests: the General Test
and the Subject Test in psychology. The General Test is composed of three parts--verbal,
quantitative, and analytical--each of which yields a separate score from 200-800. It may
take as long as 4.5 hours to finish and is required by almost all graduate psychology
programs. The Subject Test, only required by some programs, measures knowledge of
psychological concepts that are essential to graduate study, and also yields a score of
from 200-800. The Subject Test may take as long as 3.5 hours to complete. The book,
Graduate Study in Psychology, will tell you whether schools require the GRE as well as
the minimum scores they require for admission.
More than anything else, your admission to graduate school will depend on your scores
on the verbal and quantitative sections of the GRE (not the Subject Test). It is essential
that you do well--at least 550 on each test (600 is even better)—to get into most doctoral
programs. Master's programs are less competitive, so lower scores (450-500 on each of
the tests) are less of a problem. You will probably have trouble being admitted into any
program with scores less than 450 on one of the tests. SAT scores are generally good
predictors of GRE scores.
To ensure that you score as high as you can, it is important to prepare for the GRE. Buy
one of the review books and develop a systematic plan that will enable you to brush up
on your skills in vocabulary, reading comprehension, analogies, algebra, and geometry.
Don't think that you can "cram" in these areas the week before the test--you will simply
need more time (months) if you are serious about doing well.
There are three things that will improve your GRE score: Practice, PRACTICE and
P R A C T I C E ! I strongly recommend that you take at least five (5) practice exams
under fully-timed administration conditions. After each practice test, go back through
each item you missed and determine what you did wrong and what you should do the
next time you are faced with a similar problem. Work on improving your test-taking
efficiency and developing a focused, yet non-anxious, test-taking style that allow you to
maximally concentrate. If you are prone to high test anxiety, go to the university
counseling center and go through a workshop that is designed to reduce test-anxiety.
These workshops are based on systematic desensitization procedures (that you should
remember from Intro Psychology) that have proven to work with a high percentage of
students. The more you practice, the more you will develop automatic routines for
certain types of problems, and the more familiar and relaxed you will become with
testing pressure.
Plan to take the GRE in the spring of your junior year. Before you go through all the
work of gathering graduate school application materials--and getting your heart set on
going to the best program in the country--you better take the GRE to get a realistic idea
of where you stand. Your score will put you in one ballpark or another. There is nothing
more disheartening to a student than to have invested enormous time, emotional energy,
and money in applying to top rung graduate programs only to find out at the eleventh
hour that there lowish GRE strong make them non-competitive at those schools. You are
much better off taking the test early, coming to grips with where you stand, and then
creating an application strategy that fit your profile of interests and strengths.
At the absolute latest, you need to take the GRE in November of your senior year. This
will ensure that your scores will be available to meet any admissions deadline. (For the
General Test--taken on computer--you will receive unofficial scores as soon as you
complete the test; official scores will be sent to you and to the institutions to which you
will be applying within 10 to 15 days after the test. Scores for the Subject Test are usually
reported about six weeks after you take the test.) Also, if you do poorly on your first try,
you should have enough time to re-take the test in December to try to improve your
scores. (Note that you are permitted to re-take the General Test only one time per
calendar month; you may re-take the Subject Test as often as it is offered.) Remember,
though, that you have a 50-50 chance of doing worse on the next try, and that both sets of
scores will be reported to the schools to which you apply.
Prior to 1999, the General Test used to be given in both paper-and-pencil and computer-
based formats; however, now it is given exclusively via computer. (Note that the Subject
Test is still only given in paper-and-pencil format--on selected dates in November,
December, and April.) Thus, before taking the test, you should familiarize yourself with
the "rules" of the computer-based format--e.g., you may not omit answers, and once you
confirm that your answer is the correct one, you can't return to it.
You must register to take any GRE. It is given at specific testing sites in each state (check
to see if your school is one of the testing sites). For the General Test, it is important to
register early to get your choice of test dates in the busy testing months of November,
December, and January. For the Subject Test, you need to register at least six weeks in
advance. You can register online (as well as take sample tests and order review books) at
GRE Online. You can also register by mail by completing the registration form in the
GRE Information and Registration Bulletin. You can obtain the latter by downloading it
from GRE Online or by writing to: GRE, CN 6000, Princeton, NJ 08541-6000. You may
also be able to obtain a copy from the Testing Office on your campus.
APA-style reference for this page: Lloyd, M. A. (1999, November 29.) What is the GRE
(Graduate Record Exam)? [Online]. Available:
http://www.psywww.com/careers/gre.htm.