TRYING TO GET INTO GRADUATE SCHOOL?

We can help. ESL Instruction offers preparation courses on both GRE verbal and GMAT verbal sections. Essentially, we help you with all aspects of the verbal test plus the vocabulary of the math sections. See our Schedule & Pricing link for specific class information.

INTRODUCTION TO THE GRE

The Graduate Record Examination General Test, or GRE, is designed to test fundamental verbal, mathematical and logical skills that a student is expected to have learned in the course of his or her college education. The vast majority of graduate programs require that students submit GRE scores in order to be considered for admission.

The GRE has been administered exclusively as a Computer Adaptive Test, or CAT. The GRE is taken on computer at special testing centers located throughout the U.S. and around the world. The GRE CAT consists of about 3 hours of multiple-choice testing.

Here's how the sections of the GRE CAT break down.

Verbal Section: 30 questions in 30 minutes
Antonym Questions
Analogy Questions
Sentence Completion Questions
Reading Comprehension Questions

Quantitative (Math) Section: 28 questions in 45 minutes
Quantitative Comparison Questions
Problem Solving Questions

Analytical (Logic) Section: 35 questions in 60 minutes
Logical Reasoning Questions
Logic Games Questions

In addition, the GRE includes one unscored experimental section. This section is used by the test maker to try out questions for future use. It could be a Verbal, Quantitative or Analytical section. It will look exactly like a scored section of the same type, so on test day don't spend time trying to figure out which section is experimental.

Scoring

The GRE score report will contain three scaled scores, one each for each of the scored sections. Each of these will be between 200 and 800. All scaled scores will be accompanied by a corresponding percentile ranking. The percentile rankings allow schools to quickly judge your performance relative to other test takers.

INTRODUCTION TO THE GMAT

The Graduate Management Admission Test, or GMAT, is a standardized test designed to assess skills relevant to graduate studies in business and management. Most schools require submission of GMAT scores with applications to their graduate business programs.

Since October 1997, the GMAT has been administered exclusively as a Computer Adaptive Test, or CAT. The GMAT is taken on a computer at special testing centers located throughout the U.S. and around the world. The GMAT CAT consists of 150 minutes of multiple-choice testing, plus two 30-minute essays that you write on the computer. (Test takers are required to type their essays.)

Here's how the sections of the GMAT CAT break down.

Analytical Writing: two 30-minute essays
Analysis of an issue essay
Analysis of an argument essay

Verbal Section: 41 questions in 75 minutes
Reading Comprehension Questions
Sentence Correction Questions
Critical Reasoning Questions

Quantitative Section: 37 questions in 75 minutes
Data Sufficiency Questions
Problem Solving Questions

Scoring

Your GMAT score report will include four scores: three determined by your performance on the multiple-choice Quantitative and Verbal sections and a separate score derived from your performance on the Analytical Writing sections.

Most important is your overall scaled score which is calculated from your performance on the Verbal and Quantitative sections. This overall score ranges from 200 to 800. In addition to this overall score, you'll receive Verbal and Quantitative sub-scores, both ranging from 0 to 60. All scaled scores will be translated into corresponding percentile rankings. These percentile figures allow business schools to quickly see where you fall in the pool of applicants. An overall score of 590, for instance, corresponds to the 80th percentile, which means that 80 percent of test takers scored 590 or less.