The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is your gateway to the American graduate life (many countries outside the US accept GRE too). It's not a tough exam at all, but not very easy either.

The right combination of hard work, common sense, patience and time management will get you through this exam with flying colours - all without attending any coaching classes. The GRE test norm-ally refers to the general test which is accepted by almost all departments except specialised areas like astro-physics, etc, which require the subject GRE test.

The general test consists of three sections - verbal, anal-ytical and quantitative. The verbal and quantitative secti-ons are 800 marks each which make the test a total of 1600 and the analytical writing sections are rated on a scale of 6.

The quantitative section consists of basic high-school level mathematics. Indian students generally find it simple and the exercises in the Barron's Guide or Princeton Review are more than enough to complete your preparation. The verbal section will require a considerable amount of effort in improving your vocabulary, reading and reasoning skills. Most students study the 3,000 words from the Barron's word list. All these exercises require only selfpreparation. The best time to take the GRE is during the summer vacation and preferably just before your college reopens. The GRE score is valid for five years, even second-year students can write it this year.

Aabha Verma,( final year BE, Anna University) who got admitted to Stanford University feels, "One can easily score above 1400 in GRE with proper planning and by working systema-tically.

The total preparation time for GRE should be six to eight weeks (4 hours a day). Quantitative reasoning takes three to five days of dedicated study. One should aim for a perfect score in the quantitative section as most Asian students score 800. Scoring below 770 puts you at a serious competitive disadva-ntage. If you are applying for a Masters in Science in Engineering, it is essential to have a very good score in the quantitative section."


"Learn the 3,500 words, improve your reading speed to tackle the comprehension exercises and you can score above 600 in the verbal section. The analytical writing section requires some amount of practice before taking the test. Students tend to overlook this section but all good colleges stipulate a minimum score of 4 on 6. The Princeton Review book offers good tips on analytical writing and verbal section," she adds.

Subhodeep Moitra (final year BE, NIT, Trichy), who got admitted to Carnegie Mellon University and Stanford University feels that, "There are many effective software that one can use to do well at the GRE. Also getting used to the computer interface is important as GRE is a computer-based test. One can do these things better if they study at home, making maximum use of the computer. The time saved on going for coaching classes is a huge plus too and I would say that hard work is a must to ace these exams."

Take your full-length practice tests at a stretch and only a week before your GRE to know exactly where you stand. Taking fulllength tests in between your preparation period will fetch you mediocre scores and only dishearten you. Learn to time yourself during these practice tests.

Finally, never leave your section incomplete at any cost because it ruins your score. Even if you run totally out of time, complete the section with random answers instead of leaving it incomplete. You cannot return to change your answers, so be sure while you answer it the first time itself. Also, practice the Powerprep tests that will be sent to you by ETS (Education Testing Service, the organisation that conducts the GRE) just a day before your exam and don't practice anything on the day of the exam.

It's very important to book your GRE well in advance to ensure the exam date of your choice. For booking the date and more information, log on to www.ets.org

Unlike in a conventional paper, with questions in the GRE exam, you can't skip a question thinking you will come back to it later.
You will see only one question on the screen.You must make up your mind and answer it.You will be asked the next question based on how you answer this.

Don't stick to one question for too long. If you do, you will waste valuable time, and that will leave you with little time for easy questions. Or you might even miss out on easy ones altogether.

The questions at the beginning are the most important. They make an impact on your scoring more than those you attempt at the end. You get more marks for difficult and correct answers. You will lose more marks for easy and wrong answers.