GRE Subject Tests - Physics

The test consists of approximately 100 multiple-choice questions, some of which are assembled in sets and based on such materials as diagrams, graphs, experimental data, and descriptions of physical situations. Most questions can be answered on the basis of a mastery of the first three years of undergraduate physics. The International System (SI) of units is used mainly in the test. A table of information representing various physical constants and a few conversion factors among SI units is presented in the test book.

The approximate distribution of questions according to content categories is indicated by the following outline:

              I.      CLASSICAL MECHANICS — 20%

           II.      ELECTROMAGNETISM — 18%

         III.      OPTICS AND WAVE PHENOMENA — 9%

        IV.      THERMODYNAMICS AND STATISTICAL MECHANICS — 10%

           V.      QUANTUM MECHANICS — 12%

        VI.      ATOMIC PHYSICS — 10%

      VII.      SPECIAL RELATIVITY — 6%

   VIII.      LABORATORY METHODS — 6%

        IX.      SPECIALIZED TOPICS — 9%

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Passive vs. active vocabulary

Even if we learn a word, it takes a lot of practice and context connections for us to learn it well. A rough grouping of words we understand when we hear them encompasses our "passive" vocabulary, whereas our "active" vocabulary is made up of words that come to our mind immediately when we have to use them in a sentence, as we speak. In this case, we often have to come up with a word in the timeframe of milliseconds, so one has to know it well, often in combinations with other words in phrases, where it is commonly used.

Types of vocabulary

Reading vocabulary

A person's reading vocabulary is all the words he or she can recognize when reading. This is the largest type of vocabulary.

Listening vocabulary

A person's listening vocabulary is all the words he or she can recognize when listening to speech. This vocabulary is supported in size by context and tone of voice.

Writing vocabulary

A person's writing vocabulary is all the words he or she can utilize in writing. Differing to the previous two vocabulary types, the writing vocabulary is encouraged by its user.

Speaking vocabulary

A person's speaking vocabulary is all the words he or she can use in speech. Due to the impulsive nature of the speaking vocabulary, words are often misused. This misuse, though minor and unintended, may be compensated by facial expressions, tone of voice, or hand gestures.

Focal vocabulary

"Focal vocabulary" is a specific set of terms and distinctions that is mainly important to a certain group; those with a particular focus of experience or activity.

What is "VOCABULARY"?

A vocabulary is the set of words people are familiar with in a language. A vocabulary usually grows and evolves with age, and serves as a useful and fundamental tool for communication and obtaining knowledge.

Vocabulary is the study of:

1. The meanings of words: Many words have several different meanings. It is the study the meanings of the words and the part of speech.

2. How the words are used: It is the study of the words in context and their application by writing sentences with your words.

3. Root words, prefixes, suffixes: The study of root words, prefixes, and suffixes will aid in the study of vocabulary.

4. Analogies: This is comparing two pairs of words and choosing the pair that goes together.

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GRE Subject Tests - Mathematics

The test consists of approximately 66 multiple-choice questions. Approximately 50 percent of the questions involve calculus and its applications. About 25 percent of the questions in the test are in elementary algebra, linear algebra, abstract algebra, and number theory. The remaining questions deal with other areas of mathematics presently studied by undergraduates. The percents given are approximation; actual percents may differ fairly from one version of the test to another.

I. CALCULUS — 50%

II. ALGEBRA — 25%

III. ADDITIONAL TOPICS — 25%

GRE Subject Tests - Literature in English

The test consists of approximately 230 questions on poetry, drama, biography, the essay, the short story, the novel, criticism, literary theory, and the history of the language. Some questions are based on short works reprinted in their total, some on passages from longer works. It also contains a few questions on major works, including the Bible, translated from other languages. The test emphasizes authors, works, genres and movements. The questions may be to some extent randomly classified into two groups: factual and critical.

The approximate distribution of questions according to content categories is indicated by the following outline:

I.Literary Analysis (40 – 55%)

II.Identification (15 – 20%)

III.Cultural and Historical Contexts (20 – 25%)

IV.History and Theory of Literary Criticism (10 – 15%)

GRE Subject Tests - Computer Science

The test consists of approximately 70 multiple-choice questions, some of which are based on such materials as diagrams, graphs, and program fragments. The estimated distribution of questions in each edition of the test according to content types is indicated by the following outline. The percentages given are approximate; actual percentages may vary slightly from one edition of the test to another.

I. SOFTWARE SYSTEMS AND METHODOLOGY — 40%

II. COMPUTER ORGANIZATION AND ARCHITECTURE — 15%

III. THEORY AND MATHEMATICAL BACKGROUND — 40%

IV. OTHER TOPICS — 5%

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GRE Subject Tests - Chemistry

The test consists of approximately 130 multiple-choice questions. Test questions are created to simplify mathematical manipulations. As a result, neither calculators nor tables of logarithms are needed. A periodic table is printed in the test booklet as well as a table of information presenting various physical constants and a few conversion factors among SI units.

The content of the test puts emphasis on the four fields into which chemistry has been conventionally divided and some interrelationships among the fields.

I. ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY — 15%

II. INORGANIC CHEMISTRY — 25%

III. ORGANIC CHEMISTRY — 30%

IV. PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY — 30%

GRE Subject Tests - Biology

The test consists of approximately 200 multiple-choice questions. Many of which are grouped in sets toward the end of the test. They are generally based on descriptions of laboratory and field situations, diagrams or experimental results.

The content of the test is structured into three major areas: cellular and molecular biology, organismal biology and ecology and evolution. Approximately equivalent significance is given to each of these three areas. In addition to the total score, a sub score in each of these areas is reported.

The approximate distribution of questions by content category is shown below.

I. CELLULAR AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY (33–34%)

II. ORGANISMAL BIOLOGY (33–34%)

III. ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION (33–34%)

GRE Subject Tests - Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology

The test consists of approximately 175 multiple-choice questions, which are based on descriptions of laboratory situations, diagrams, or experimental results. The content of the test is structured into three major areas: biochemistry, cell biology, and molecular biology and genetics. Besides the total score, a sub score in each of these subfield areas is reported. Because these three disciplines are basic to the study of all organisms, test questions encompass both eukaryotes and prokaryotes. The three sub score areas are interrelated.

I. BIOCHEMISTRY — 36%

II. CELL BIOLOGY — 28%

III. MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND GENETICS — 36%

GRE Subject Tests

In addition to the General Test, there are also eight GRE Subject Tests. They test knowledge in the specific areas of Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology; Biology; Chemistry; Computer Science; Literature in English; Mathematics; Physics; and Psychology. The duration of the exams are 170 minutes.

Earlier, subject tests were also offered in the areas of Economics, Revised Education, Engineering, Geology, History, Music, Political Science, and Sociology. But in April 1998, the Revised Education and Political Science exams were discontinued and in April 2000, the History and Sociology exams were discontinued. The other four were discontinued in April 2001.

 The GRE Subject Tests can help the candidates to be noticeable from other applicants by laying emphasis on their knowledge and skill level in a specific area.

GRE - Tips and Tricks

Be Aware: You should be aware of the type of questions that will appear in the GRE Test and the time limits of each section.

Know the directions for each question: You should be aware of the directions of each question, as this will save your valuable time.

Don't stick to one question for too long: You shouls have a good estimate of how much time you can give to a particular question. Sticking to one question for too long can cause you to lose precious time and miss questions you could have easily done.

Don't Rush: To finish the paper first is not important, but maximizing your marks is your aim. So, you should not rush and try to devote only the right amount of time to each question.

The questions at the beginning are the most important: The questions at the beginning can dramatically improve your score.

Selection by elimination: When you don't know the answers to some questions, but you have a very good idea of which option cannot be the answer then you should use elimination method and eliminate such options. This will contract you guess.

Don't leave any question: There is no negetive marking for wrong answer so never leave any question unanswered.

Be very sure of your answer before proceeding: You cannot leave the difficult questions for later nor can you check your answers towards the end, so be sure of your answer.

Get adequate rest the night before: You should relax and get enough sleep before the test day.

Do a test drive exactly a week before your test: You should try and get to the test center atleast 15-30 minutes before time. Thus, you should take a test drive to your test center to get a good idea of the traffic conditions and all. 

Use the scratch paper the test center provides: You should make effective use of the scratch paper for solving math questions.

And lastly DON'T PANIC: No matter what happens, you should not PANIC. Once you panic, you might even answer the easiest questions wrongly.

What is a Good GRE Score?

There is no official minimum score. In theory, any score above 550 for verbal and 700 for Quantitative can be considered acceptable. An examinee can miss one or more questions on a multiple-choice section and still receive a perfect score of 800. Similiarly, even if no question is answered correctly, 200 is the lowest possible score. In case you get a lower score, but the rest of your application offers good competitive features (professional career, secondary studies, etc.), you should not waste time working on your GRE. There is also no point in retaking GRE to go from 550 to 570 (verbal).

Both the verbal and quantitative sections on GRE can earn you between 200-800 points. The writing section can get you somewhere from a 0-6. Most universities do not consider the writing GRE score as much as the verbal and quantitative scores for admittance.

Scaled score percentiles

The percentiles of the current test are as follows:

Scaled score	Verbal Reasoning %	Quantitative Reasoning %
800	99	94
780	99	89
760	99	85
740	99	80
720	98	75
700	97	71
680	96	66
660	94	62
640	92	57
620	89	52
600	86	48
580	82	44
560	77	39
540	72	35
520	67	31
500	62	28
480	57	24
460	52	21
440	46	18
420	40	16
400	35	13
380	29	11
360	24	9
340	19	7
320	13	6
300	8	4
280	5	3
260	2	2
240	1	1
220	0	0
200	0	0
mean	457	586

Analytical Writing score	Writing %
6	98
5.5	92
5	81
4.5	63
4	41
3.5	23
3	10
2.5	3
2	1
1.5	0
1	0
0.5	0
mean	3.9

GRE Registration and Test Fees

There are four ways to register:

Registering by Phone: You can register for the computer based GRE online, by phone (call 1-800-GRE-CALL).

You may call up Prometric Delhi office until 12:00 noon to register. Make sure to call at least THREE BUSINESS DAYS before the test date.

Registering Online: You may now also register only from the GRE site: www.gre.org.

You can register for GRE test by visiting to the ETS site:

http://www.ets.org/gre/general/register

Registering by Fax: If registering by fax, you must send your fax at lest SEVEN DAYS prior to your first choice of a test day.

Registering by Mail/Courier: Fill the form, get the draft made (if not paying by credit card), and submit these to the Prometric Centre by hand or courier. The documents must be send at least 3 weeks before the test day.

Test Fees:

The GRE test fee for US territories is $115 USD for general test and $130 for subject test.

The Indian students are required to pay around 7000 rupees for taking the test.

Fee Waiver:

The students need to contact Central Financial Aid at 757-226-4125 for fee waiver.

GRE- General Test Taking Tips

1. As you start the test, be calm and read the question and ALL its options carefully even if you think you know the answer.
2. If you know the correct answer, attempt the question and move on. If you are not sure, still mark your best guess and move on. If it is a linear test, you should also bookmark the question so that you can return to it afterwards.
3. Sometimes related questions help you get the right answers for the questions you were unsure of, so it is always a good idea to bookmark the question.
4.  If you are unsure of the correct answer, read all the options and eliminate the options that are obviously wrong. Then choose from the options left.
5.  Once you have finished answering all the questions, check the time left. If you have time, review the book marked questions.  

The GRE General Test is changing: No More Antonyms & Analogies.

Starting August 1, 2011, the GRE revised General Test will replace the current GRE General Test. It will give candidates the advantage of a better test experience and new types of questions that help show the candidate's inclination for graduate-level work. New types of questions are introduced in the Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning sections. They feature real-life scenarios that reflect the kind of thinking a candidate will perform in today's challenging graduate and business school programs.

Antonyms and analogies have been removed from the test. There are new Text Completion questions and Sentence Equivalence questions. The new Text Completion questions will test the candidate's ability to interpret, evaluate, and reason from what he had read. The new Sentence Equivalence questions will test the candidate's ability to reach a conclusion about how a sentence should be completed while focusing on the meaning of the whole sentence. More reading comprehension questions are added that includes new types of questions, such as selecting multiple correct answer choices instead of just one, or highlighting a sentence within a reading passage to answer the question.

Present GRE Test Format

GRE General Test checks the fundamental skills including reasoning and comprehension. It does not require any subject-specific theoretical study. The test has three distinct sections:

• Quantitative Section
1. Quantitative Comparison
2. Problem Solving
3. Data Interpretation

This section contains 28 questions on Mathematics to be attempted in 45 minutes. The difficulty level of questions is comparable to Class X. Major topics include Number Systems, Percentages, Fractions & Decimals, Algebra (including Quadratic Equations), Geometry (including Basic Coordinate Geometry), Ratio & Proportion, Area & Volume of 2-D and 3-D figures, and Probability.

• Verbal Section 
1. Analogies
2. Antonyms
3. Sentence Completion
4. Reading Comprehension

This section contains 30 questions to be attempted in 30 minutes. The verbal section requires a good vocabulary level, and fundamental skills of grammatically correct English in addition to reasoning and analysis. The questions consist of above four types (i.e. Antonyms, Analogies, Sentence Completion, and Reading Comprehension). The four types are intermingled, with no fixed number for each type.

• Analytical Writing Section
1. "Issue" task- contains the collection of Issue topics from which your Issue task will be selected.
2. "Argument" task- contains the collection of Argument topics from which your Argument task will be selected.

The writing assessment section requires you to write two short essays. The first is the Issue task, in which you need to analyze the issue presented and explain your views on it. You can choose 1 of 2 essay topics selected by the computer from the pool of topics. The time allotted is 45 minutes.

The second essay is Analysis of an Argument, in which a given argument has to be critically analyzed and evaluated. You are not offered a choice of topics; the computer will present you with a single topic selected from the topic pool. The time allotted is 30 minutes.