Antonyms Tips

Antonym questions test knowledge of vocabulary more directly than do any of the other verbal question types, the purpose of the antonym questions is to measure not merely the strength of your vocabulary but also the ability to reason from a given concept to its opposite. Antonyms may require only two thing, one, general knowledge of the word, or, second, they may require you to make fine distinctions among answer choices
Antonyms are generally confined to nouns, verbs, and adjectives; answer choices may be single words or phrases.

Some tips to remember in answering antonyms:

1. Remember that you are looking or the word that is the most nearly opposite to the given word; you are not looking for a synonym. Since many words do not have have a precise opposite, you must look for the answer choice that expresses a concept most nearly opposite to that of the given word.

2. In some cases more than one of the answer choices may appear at first to be opposite to the given word. Questions that require yo to make fine distinctions among two or more answer choices are best handled by defining more precisely or in greater detail the meaning of the given word.

3. It is often useful, in weighing answer choices, to make up a sentence using the given word or words. Substituting the answer choices in the phrase or sentence and seeing which best "fits," in that it reverses the meaning or tone of the sentence or phrase, may help you determine the best answer.

4. Remember that a particular word may have more than one meaning.

5. Use your knowledge of root, prefix, and suffix meanings to help you determine the meanings of words with which you are not entirely familiar.

GRE Requirements according to field of study

AGRICULTURE

TOEFL213

GRE Required Writing sample for PhD Applicants

ARCHITECTURE

TOEFL 213

GRE Required; emphasis on quantitativescorePortfolio. Sometimes interview

AREA STUDIES

TOEFL213+

GRE Required Writing sample for PhD Applicants

ART HISTORY

TOEFL250+

GRE Required Writing and/or work sample; depends on specialization

BIOLOGY

TOEFL230+

GRE Required with combined verbal &quantitative score 1500GRE Biology subject exam (Required for PhD applicants,recommended for Master`s). Writing sample for PhD

BUSINESS

TOEFL213+

GMAT required with score of 550+; 4+ years workexperience; university application completed by student withheavy emphasis on essay questions; sometimes interview; workstyleresume; often early deadlines

CHEMISTRY

TOEFL 213+

GRE Required with combined verbal &quantitative score 1200; minimun of700 on quantitativeGRE Chemestry subject exam with score of 700+

COMMUNICATIONS

TOEFL250+

GRE Required with verbal minimumscore of 500Writing sample required; sometimes TSE exam

COMPUTER SCIENCE

TOEFL250+

GRE Required with combined verbal &quantitative score 1200; quantitativescore should be in 85%GRE Computer Science subject exam

DANCE

TOEFL213+

GRE RequiredWriting sample: will vary by specialization and specificuniversity requirements but, in general, a video of soloperformance with brief written descrption is the minimum.

ECONOMICS

TOEFL 213+

GRE Required with combined verbal &quantitative score 1200 forcompetitive programsWriting sample is often required

EDUCATION

TOEFL 213+

GRE Required with combined verbal &quantitative score 1100. All PhD and all degrees in Education administration require awriting sample; TSE recommended for those seeking a teachingassistantship; prior teaching experience

ENGINEERING

TOEFL230+

GRE Required with combined verbal &quantitative score 1200+; emphasison quantitative scoreWork experience is helpful

ENGLISH

TOEFL250+

GRE Required with verbal score weighed heavily GRE literature in English subject exam and writing sample

FILM/CINEMA

TOEFL213

GRE RequiredWritten work sample; sometimes original screen play; someprograms require a video (not to exceed 30 minutes);professional resume; generally early application

FINE ARTS

TOEFL 213

GRE RequiredPortfolio required- Slides presented in plastic holder sheets;work-style resume

FOOD SCIENCE

TOEFL 213

GRE Required

GEOGRAPHY

TOEFL213+

GRE Required; Writing Sample

GEOCIENCES

TOEFL213+

GRE RequiredDepending on specialization GRE Chemestry, Mathematics,and/or Physics Subject may be required

HISTORY

TOEFL 230+

GRE Required Writing Sample required, especially for Ph.D.INT.

RELATIONS/POLITICALSCIENCE

TOEFL250

GRE RequiredUndergraduate coursework in Economics. Most programswould like to see at least 2 years of relevant work experience(particularly for IR programs). Some competitive programs arebeginning to request the TSE

JOURNALISM

TOEFL 250+

GRE Required Writing Sample required

LAW

TOEFL250+

Work experience is desired; Need to have very articulate study objective.

LIBRARY/INFORMATION SC.

TOEFL 213+

GRE RequiredTOEFL & GRE Requirements by Field of Study

LINGUISTICS

TOEFL 250+

GRE Required; Verbal score should be in90th percentileWriting sample required; TSE required for teachingassistantships

MATHEMATICS

TOEFL 213+

GRE Required with a minimun of 700 onquantitative sectionGRE Math Subject exam

MUSIC

TOEFL 213+

GRE RequiredLive audition or tape/video required-varies by program. May berequired to complete university music exam

NATURAL RESOURCES

TOEFL 213+

GRE Required with combined verbal &quantitative score 1200 - emphasison quantitativeWriting /work sample, e,g. Thesis abstract; focus is on the kindof research that student have done

NURSING/HEALTH SCIENCE

TOEFL 213+

GRE Required with emphasis onquantitative scoreGRE Biology and/or Chemestry subject exams

PHILOSOPHY

TOEFL250+

GRE Required Writing sample

PHYSICS/ASTRONOMY

TOEFL 250+

GRE Required with combined verbal &quantitative score 1300GRE Physics Subject exam. TSE for assistantships

PSYCHOLOGY

TOEFL 250+

GRE Required with high scores in allsections GRE Psychology Subject exam. Early deadlines

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

TOEFL230+

GRE RequiredMid-career programs will require 5-10 years or relevant workexperience. TSE may be required

PUBLIC HEALTH

TOEFL213+

GRE Required

SOCIAL WORK

TOEFL 213+

GRE Required Writing sample; resume; phone interview

SOCIOLOGY

TOEFL 213+

GRE Required Writing sampleTESOL 237+ Required Writing sample; prior teaching; TSE recommended

THEATER

TOEFL 213+

GRE Required Work sample-Video or portfolio, depending on specialization

THEOLOGY

TOEFL 213+

GRE Required Writing sample

TRANSLATION/INTERPRETATION

TOEFL250+

GRE Required Translation writing sample

URBAN REGIONAL PLANNING

TOEFL250+

GRE Required. Portfolio if specialization is in architecture; sometimes writingsample

VET. MEDICINE

TOEFL 213+

GRE Required

WOMEN´S STUDIES

TOEFL237

GRE Required; Writing sample

Analogy Strategy - 1

Analogy questions test the ability to recognize the relationship thatexists between the words in a word pair and to recognize when twoword pairs display parallel relationships. To answer an analogyquestion, you must formulate the relationship between the words inthe given word pair and then must identify the answer choice containing words that are related to one another in most nearly the sameway. Some examples of relationships that might be found in analogyquestions are relationships of kind, size, spatial contiguity,or degree.Some approaches that may be helpful in answering analogyquestions:

1. Before looking at the answer choices, try to establish a preciserelationship between the words in the given pair. It is usuallyhelpful to express that relationship in a phrase or sentence. Next,look for the answer choice with the pair of words whose relationshipis closest to that of the given pair and can be expressed in asimilar fashion.

2. Occasionally, more than one of the answer choices may seem atfirst to express a relationship similar to that of the given pair. Tryto state the relationship more precisely or identify some aspect ofthe relationship between the given pair of words that is paralleledin only one choice pair.

3. Remember that a single word can have several different meanings.Check to be sure you have not overlooked a possible secondmeaning for one of the words.

4. Never decide on the best answer without reading all the answerchoices.

5. Practice recognizing and formulating relationships between wordpairs.

Soon To come Posts

A Month Before Your GRE
800 in Math
Analogies Strategies

Keep visiting....

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How to Ace in Verbals????

Well for verbal’s everyone considers the wordlist to be the whole-n-soul of GRE verbal section. Its nothing like that. There are plenty of students who do very well in RC’s and mess up their antonyms or analogies and still come out with an awesome score. Why so? Well sometimes the RC’s have more value than other questions. It’s all on your luck. Practice strategies on analogies and sentence completions. This is a very important part of your verbal. There are many occasions when you don’t even need to know the word but with strategies you can answer the question. You might not be able to study all the words for GRE but you can apply strategies to all the words you come across. Another thing, keep revising your words. You might be able to read the entre wordlist once, but how much will you remember of the first 50 words, when you finish your entire wordlist- the answer is Nothing - the solution is Revise. The trick is to read the words on one day but revise them the next day. Revise your wordlist so much that even while u sleep and close your eyes you can remember the words. Actually recollecting the wordlist while sleeping can really give you a sound sleep. As it is most of us consider the wordlist very boring.

Read newspapers, not your own country newspapers. Newspapers like the NYTimes and other US newspapers should be helpful, especially the editors section. Listen, put some common sense, you are giving and American exam, the language they expect is the language they use. From where can you find it. Their own newspapers of course, it helps alot. You will surely find atleast 3 GRE words in each article, also you will get used to the language. For people who find RC’s tough this is an ideal way to practice. Maybe you can even time yourself.

The best book to practice verbal is GRE Big Book, although the RC’s are quite outdated. But you will find it useful for sentence completion, analogies and antonyms. You will find exactly the same kind of questions on the actual exam.

Hope this is helpful. Check out other articles too, on this site. They will help you in your exam.

Leave comments if you found this helpful. Thank you and All the best.

There will be more posts on verbals and the actual strategies later. Keep visiting.

Guide For Choosing A University

Ask yourself these questions when u are choosing a university.Make notes of these answers in a book to help you shortlist the universities.

Programs Offered
· Does the university offer the program you want?
· Does the university have varied majors and can you change majors easily?
· Are there any special programs such as study abroad that would interest you?

Level of Competitiveness
· How difficult is it to get into this institution?
· How many students applied last year and how many got in?
· Are some majors easier to get into as compared to others?
· Are your GRE scores comparable to the average of the admitted students?

Money
· Does the availability of financial aid or scholarships influence your decision?
· Is the institution in a major city where the cost of living is high?
· Are there any special scholarships or financial aid for foreign students?
· Can you afford to attend this institution if no scholarship is offered?

Student Body
· What are the average GRE scores of the students admitted?
· How many international students are admitted each year?

Size
· What is the total enrollment of the institution?
· What is the average class size? What is the faculty ratio?

Faculty
· How many professors are PhD?
· What research or subject is the faulty specialized in?

Ranking and Accreditation
· Is the institution well know?
· How important and easy it is to secure a job after passing from the university of choice?

Location
· Do you want to be away or near to the city?
· What are the climatic conditions?
· Is the institution in a safe environment?

Campus Life
· Does the institution offer extra-curricular activities?
· Are the facilities like gyms, computer labs, recreation rooms, etc?
· Students currently studying reviews.


Hope its helpful...

GRE Fee Waiver

GRE Fee waivers are available for students based on their financial needs. GRE Fee waivers are available for both GRE General Test and GRE Subject Test. Students who intend to get a GRE Fee waiver must contact Central Financial Aid at 757-226-4125. There are eligibility conditions for the GRE Fee waiver. Contact Central Financial Aid for more information on eligibility conditions for GRE Fee Waiver

GRE HOUSE COMMUNITY

Hi guys I have just made a community in Orkut, "GRE HOUSE" for all those who like this site and are interested in receiving quicker updates.

If you like this site, have suggestions, discussions then plzzz join the community so we can communicate faster.

Thank you!!!

NEW SYLLABUS FOR NOVEMBER - QUESTIONS TYPE

NEW MATH QUESTIONS FOR NOVEMBER (NEW SYLLABUS)

New Quants Sample Questions



NEW VERBAL REASONING QUESTIONS FOR NOVEMBER (NEW SYLLABUS)

New Verbal Sample Questions

ISSUE AND ARGUEMENT TOPICS

1. Laws should not be rigid or fixed. Instead, they should be flexible enough to take account of various circumstances, times, and places.
2. Success, whether academic or professional, involves an ability to survive in a new environment and, eventually, to change it.
3. The purpose of many advertisements is to make consumers want to buy a product so thatthey will ‘be like’ the person in the ad. This practice is effective because it not only sellsproducts but also helps people feel better about themselves.
4. Money spent on research is almost always a good investment, even when the results of that research are controversial
5.The most effective way to communicate an idea or value to large groups of people is through the use of images, not language.
6. The primary goal of technological advancement should be to increase people’s efficiency so that everyone has more leisure time
7. The study of an academic discipline alters the way we perceive the world. After studying the discipline, we see the same world as before, but with different eyes
8. The most essential quality of an effective leader is the ability to remain consistently committed to particular principles and objectives. Any leader who is quickly and easily influenced by shifts in popular opinion will accomplish little
9. The surest indicator of a great nation is not the achievements of its rulers, artists, or scientists, but the general welfare of all its people
10. With the growth of global networks in such areas as economics and communication, there is no doubt that every aspect of society—including education, politics, the arts, and the sciences—will benefit greatly from international influences
11. Scholars and researchers should not be concerned with whether their work makes acontribution to the larger society. It is more important that they pursue their individual interests,however unusual or idiosyncratic those interests may seem
12. The arts (painting, music, literature, etc.) reveal the otherwise hidden ideas and impulses of a society
13. In many countries it is now possible to turn on the television and view government at work.Watching these proceedings can help people understand the issues that affect their lives. Themore kinds of government proceedings—trials, debates, meetings, etc.—that are televised,the more society will benefit
14. One can best understand the most important characteristics of a society by studying its major cities
15. The best way to understand the character of a society is to examine the character of the men and women that the society chooses as its heroes or its heroines
16. It is a grave mistake to theorize before one has data
17. While some leaders in government, sports, industry, and other areas attribute their success toa well-developed sense of competition, a society can better prepare its young people forleadership by instilling in them a sense of cooperation
18. The video camera provides such an accurate and convincing record of contemporary life that it has become a more important form of documentation than written records
19. The greatness of individuals can be decided only by those who live after them, not by their contemporaries
20. Government should place-few,if any restrictions on science research and development

GRE Changing in November

Educational Testing Service® (ETS®), in consultation with the Graduate Record Examinations® (GRE®) Board, announced today plans to include two new question types in the computer-based GRE General Test beginning in November.

The new question types are part of the first phase of improvements endorsed by graduate school educators. Plans for launching an entirely new test all at once were dropped, and ETS decided to introduce new question types and improvements gradually over time.
"These question types have already been through extensive field trials, and the results indicate that the questions are functioning as intended,” explains David Payne, Associate Vice President of Higher Education at ETS. “We will begin counting these question types toward examinee scores as soon as we have an adequate sample of data from the operational testing environment."
Test takers may encounter one of these new questions in the Verbal Reasoning or Quantitative Reasoning sections of the computer-based GRE General Test. The new Verbal question type is a text completion question that requires the test taker to fill in two or three blanks within a passage from separate multiple-choice lists. Currently, the Verbal section contains text completion questions that require test takers to fill in one blank within a passage from a single multiple-choice list. The new Quantitative question type will be a numeric entry question that requires test takers to type their answer as a number in a box, or as a fraction in two boxes.

"This is an important step towards revising the General Test to offer improved measurement of the skills and knowledge required for graduate study," says Suzanne Ortega, Dean of the Graduate School and Vice Provost, University of Washington, Seattle, and Chair of the GRE Board.

I WILL BE POSTING THE SAMPLE QUESTIONS BY TOMM.......KEEP VISTING....

Check Out the Techniques You Can Make Your Own Mnemonics

When to Use It:

Technique:

Example:

Acronym - an invented combination of letters with eachletter acting as a cue to an idea you need to remember.

BRASS is an acronym for how toshoot a rifle-- Breath, Relax, Aim, Sight, Squeeze.

For information involving key words

Acrostic - an invented sentence where the first letterof each word is a cue to an idea you need to remember.

EVERY GOOD BOY DESERVES FUN is an acrostic to rememberthe order of the G-clef notes on sheet music-- E,G,B,D,F.

For ordered or unordered lists

Rhyme-Keys - a 2-step memory process:

Memorize key words that can be associated with numbers (one-bun);

Create an image of the items you need to remember with key words.(A bun with cheese on it will remind me of dairy products.)

Food groups:D

airy products: one-bun-cheese on a bun.

Meat, fish, and poultry: two-shoe-livestock with shoes.

Grains: three-tree-sack of grain hanging from tree.

Fruit and vegetables: four-door- opening a door and walkinginto a room stocked with fruits and vegetables.

For approximately twenty items

Loci Method- Imagine placing the items you want to rememberin specific locations in a room with which you are familiar.

To remember presidents:

Place adollar bill (George Washington) on the door. Walk into the room andsee Jefferson reclining on a sofa and Nixon eating out of the refrigerator.

For foreign language vocabulary

Keyword Method- Select the foreign words you need to remember,then identify an English word that sounds like the foreign one.Now imagine an image that involves the key word with the Englishmeaning of the foreign word.

In Spanish, the word "cabina"means phone booth. Invent an image of a cab trying to fit in a phonebooth. When you see the word "cabina," you should be ableto recall this image and thereby retrieve the meaning "phonebooth."

For remembering names

Image-Name Technique- invent a relationship between thename and the physical characteristics of the person.

Shirley Temple - her curly (rhymeswith "Shirley") hair around her temples.

For ordered or unordered lists

Chaining- Create a story where each word or idea you haveto remember will cue the next idea you need to recall.Napoleon, ear, door, Germany

Story:Napoleon had his ear to the door to listen to the Germans in his beer cellar.

Hey News For All Visitors.....

In the past couple of months I have been researching on many GRE sites.It is sad to say that so many of them are misleading.Especially the sites with maths and visa material.When you go to download 1 ebook u will get 30 ads for them.

I am not aginst any website, but I would like to advice my readers to be careful of whom they listen to on the web. After all it is the internet. There are a very few people who actually care.

I have decided to put something new on this site so that atleast in one month all my regular readers will complete their wordlists and atleast a part of their Math.

If you have any Suggestions then you can please leave it here as a comment

Thankyou.

Which Book To Study From????????

At one point or the other you have done the GRE portion in school. Its times like this you feel you should have listened to your parents when they used to pester you to practice your Math. The only thing you have to do, with regard to Math is just brush up with your school portion.
This might sound a little silly but you can just buy some second-hand Math school books and brush up your portion. This is for those people who are not going for classes. The only thing classes really do is just give you all the material. The worst thing is that every classes has its own material with different modifications, so you have to refer to tones of material just to be sure if you have covered up everything.
Well here are a simple suggestions on which book to refer for your studies.
1. The best for vocabulary wordlist learning is Barron’s Text book.
2. To study for RC’s you can refer to TOEFL textbooks.
3. The Official GRE Big Book is a good source to practice analogies, sentence completions and antonyms.
4. Please do not use the GRE Big Book to practice Math. The questions out there are very outdated. Don’t expect any Math like the GRE Big Book to come in your exam.
5. Barrons is usually preferred by Indians, Chinese, etc., mainly Asians.
6. For other people I would suggest Kaplan’s wordlist.
7. On the level of the Best content to practice, Kaplan’s content is the toughest, then Princeton Review, Cambridge GRE and then last Barron.
8. Barrons should mainly be used for wordlist and comprehensions.
9. For Math please use Princeton Review to begin with then you can shift to Kaplan questions.
Many people try to use the audio version of the wordlist but when you use such thing you have to make sure to read the words from a paper as you hear them. Only hearing does not solve the problem.
Mnemonics should be helpful with remembering the vocabulary. But there are hardly few good sites that offer mnemonics properly.

Essay Topics

1. Tradition and modernization are incompatible. One must choose between them
2. Many people know how to attain success, but few know how to make the best use of it
3. In most professions and academic fields, imagination is more important than knowledge
4. Public figures such as actors, politicians, and athletes should expect people to be interested in their private lives. When they seek a public role, they should expect that they will lose at least some of their privacy
5. The concept of 'individual responsibility' is a necessary fiction. Although societies must hold individuals accountable for their own actions, people's behavior is largely determined by forces not of their own making
6. Many of the world's lesser-known languages are being lost as fewer and fewer people speak them. The governments of countries in which these languages are spoken should act to prevent such languages from becoming extinct
7. It is the artist, not the critic,* who gives society something of lasting value.
8. The chief benefit of the study of history is to break down the illusion that people in one period of time are significantly different from people who lived at any other time in history
9. How we teach our kids socialization highly influences the future society. We need to adopt better ways to make sure that we have a good society in future
10. Technology creates more problems than it solves, and may threaten or damage the quality of life
11. As people rely more and more on technology to solve problems, the ability of humans to think for themselves will surely deteriorate

What To Expect On The Exam

Many people are so busy revising math and by-hearting the last bit of words just before their exam that they forget to plan their way during the exam. This post will be extremely helpful for those giving their exam. I will be explaining how to go about the test is a stepwise fashion. The secret of getting a good score is not the last second mug-up but giving the exam with a calm mind.

When you start with your exam you will come across 4 sections. The first will be the Analytical writing section, the second, third and fourth will be shuffled between your verbal, math and dummy section. You don’t have to alarmed aout the dummy section. You can ask the exam conductors before you start your exam about the dummy section. They will tell you when to expect the dummy section.

The Analytical writing is not that important with Science students. Although it is very important for those involved in courses directly involving English. One important thing is don’t take this setion lightly. There is a very good chance your TOEFL essay scores will be compared with your analytical writing. Not only that, even if you have a hi-fi Statement Of Purpose (SOP) and a low analytical score, you will be investigated.

Then you will mostly start with a verbal section. Majority will start with a verbal section while few also get Math. It is very unlikely to start with your dummy section first. Although there are few unlucky ones who get the dummy section first.
Remember to time yourself from the very beginning. This is very crucial. Timing yourself does not mean rushing with the questions. Remember the key is to give it calmly. Allot the most time for your RC’s followed by analogies and sentence completion. Antonyms should be done as quickly as possible.

On Math, everyone will come across the graphs as some point, mostly around the 20th to 25th questions. Remember to score in your graphs, it will be very easy to increase your score there. Some people might even get 2 graphs, well you are the lucky ones. Do them well.

Thatz about it.

All the Best!!!!

Tips On GRE Preparation

You see there is nothing in the GRE exam that you haven’t done before. The Math’s is at the basic level, check out the syllabus in the other post, you will understand what I mean by basic. You don’t have derivatives and integration, which is dreaded by many people. Well as usual the simply rule of improving in Math is practice. Every single day, just how you eat fod daily, you should practice your Math.

The vocabulary maybe a little tough because many of us have not come across such English words. But in reality, such words are quite often used. The best way to improve your vocabulary is just read the newspaper everyday. I’m sure you will come across atleast 2 GRE words per article. Better than that, start reading the NY times. Since you are planning to go to US learn the style of writing Americans use. There too you will find plenty of GRE words.

Reading newspapers will not only help you in improving your vocabulary but also help you with writing essays. Read on the “Tips on Essay Writing” post. You will find this on www.houseotoefl.blogspot.com . A simple way of further improving yourself is by making a summary of every article you read in 3-4 lines. This should help you in your Reading Comprehension. Time yourself in every article you read, this should improve your reading skills. Try to add some points of your own in every article which makes you feel you can make the authors views stronger or weaker.

Summary Of RC Questions

1.The order of the passage questions roughly corresponds to the order in which the issues are presented in the passage.

2. The six questions are
Main Idea
Description
Extension
Applicative
Tone

3. The main idea of a passage is usually stated in the first few sentences of the first paragraph. If it’s not there, it will probably be at the end of the entire passage.

4. If after the first reading, you don’t have a feel for the main idea, review the first and last paragraph.

5. The answer a description question must refer directly to a statement in the passage, not to something implied by it. Exact quotes are used with these questions to bait wrong answers.

6. When answering a description question, you must find the point in the passage from which thequestion is drawn.

7. If a description question refers to a particular line then the answer might be few lines before or after that line.

8. In extension questions, any answer choice which is exactly stated in the passage will mostly be incorrect.

9. Application questions are slightly different from extension questions. Entension questions ask you to apply what you have understood to a particular pasrt of the passage, while application questions ask you to apply the answer to a particular hypothetical situation.

10.Application questions are a bit tougher.

11. To answer an application question, take the perspective of the author. Ask yourself: What is the arguement about?

12. For tone questions, decide whether the writer’s tone is positive, negative, or neutral

13. Beware of answer-choices that contain extreme emotions they maybe detractors. If an author’s tone is negative, it may be disapproving. Or if her tone is positive, it may be approving.

14. The answers must be indisputable.A correct answer will always be in the passage.Do not assume.

5 Rules to Success in GRE

This is a 5 step guide which no 1 tells you about studying GRE

1. Don’t Be Scared
Everyone has their own experience regarding the GRE. Just because someone comes and says that it was very tough or its very easy does not mean the same applies for you. The GRE questions change every month atleast once every 15 days. All students giving the exam on the same day maybe having different questions. So for you to get intimidated by someone else’s experience is not right. Also don’t take it lightly because someone else says its easy. Maybe it was easy for him or he must have prepared really well for it.

2. Set Your Priorities
You know better than anyone where you are weak. Some people find verbal tough while some find Maths tough. The syllabus for GRE is posted on this blog. Check the syllabus and see where you feel you are weak. Do not directly jump to a decision. Practice some of the questions and see how much you are getting right. You should know what your strengths are and what your weaknesses are. To help you doing this you can also give diagnostic tests which also assist you.

3. Practice
This is a decision maker. The best way to do well in GRE is by practice. You cannot learn 3000 words from the vocabulary list in 1 or 2 months. You have to practice and revise each topic regularly. Make it a point to revise whatever you have studied during the day in the night. Revision is the best way to remember what you have studied.
Make a weekly schedule and stick to it. There is room for flexibility but try your best to stick to it. Don’t wait until test day to stat revising or practicing. You can start studying well before your test day or even before your tuitions begin.
During practice you should always concentrate on the process of solving or answering a question, not the performance. Getting a question right today is not the most important thing. What matters is wether you can get a similar question right on test day.

4. Focus On Your Weakness
To get a god score you should always give more attention to your weaknesses. Some students give the exam with the intention of score 800/800 in Maths but in the process neglect Verbal. On the whole, the students score comes down then. It is more important to practice verbal than to practice Maths. Although this should not be done if the student is very weak in Maths. If weak in Maths then practice Maths more.
You should focus on quality here. Don’t get excited if you have started getting many answers correct. You should focus on developing a strategic and productive approach here.

5. Give Practice Test
You should give practice tests usually 2-3 weeks before the day of your exam. Keep the ETS practice test CD for last. The idea of giving more practice test is to get mentally set for your actual exam. You should get yourself in the mood so on exam day your mentally prepared. Once that’s done, bring your attention to timing. Try solving each answer efficiently in the time allotted. Don’t be in a hurry and concentrate while solving.

Follow these 5-steps and your can easily expect a score of 1400 in your GRE exam.

GRE Syllabus

There is no declared syllabus for the GRE. This is a very big obstacle that makes studying the GRE difficult. Although there is no syllabus, ETS does state that the test makes up the following parts

The syllabus can be broke up as follows :

· Analytical Writing

· Verbal Sessions
1. Reading Comprehensions
2. Sentence Completions
3. Antonyms
4. Analogies

· Maths Sessions
1. Arithmatic
2. Algebra
3. Word Problems
4. Geometry
5. Data Interpretation
6. Quantitative Comparisons

Verbal and Maths syllabus will both be discussed in detail in separate posts.

Choosing A Counselor

Most students fail to understand that the best counselor is not the most popular counselor. Just because a counselor is famous does not mean he should be your first choice. Every counselor is a specialist in a particular department. For example, 2 counselors can be equally famous but 1 must be a specialist in Science courses and the other in Commerce.

When you search for a counselor atleast meet 3 counselors and then accept which ever counselor you like. There are some counselors who are very good in MBA but still counsel students for science courses. Please do not go to such counselors. Do a proper research of which course you want to do, how much the counselor is helping and the main part, how much he is charging.
Instead of counselors you can also contact some agents you are affiliated to universities abroad. They will help you submit your applications to the university for free. They are very useful but only help you with respect to the universities they are affiliated to. These agents get a commission for every students who accepts admission via them. They also have a consortium (quota) of their own so there are more chances of getting admissions that way. One of the most renowned places where students apply via agents is UK.

There are some counselors themselves who have a contact in getting students to a particular university. But remember, good universities don’t require people to represent them via counselors.
Counselors are sometimes not even required if you have a sibling or a friend who is willing to guide you with everything. You just need a little guidance, most counselors do only that, they only guide you. What you can do is ask your seniors, relatives or search the web for the prospects of the course you like and the university you prefer. You can also borrow their documents for guidance and prepare your own. But please be careful about plagiarism. Please do not copy thing word-2-word. The universities abroad scan the documents and use software’s to see if they are original or copied.

There are some counselors who help you entirely from A-Z from choosing a college to getting your visa done. Its choice if you want such counselors. Its better if you don’t go to such counselors because your entirely at their mercy. You will not have a clear picture of whats happening and will always be nervous.


To end, please choose your counselor according to the subject he is a specialist in and not how famous he is. Also please check the review of his previous clients.
All best with your selection!!!

Which Date Should I Take

Well choosing a date for your exam is a very important decision to make. Somtimes it can predict the entire outcome of your exam. Choosing an exam date is entirely your decision but here are a few pointers which you should consider and should help you choose the date.

· Choose the beginning of the month and preferably morning.
· Keep atleast 4 months for studying and 1 month additional as a safety if u want.
· For those studying can take 1 yr to 6 months time to study
· Take it atleast 3 months before the deadline of your university
· Since the GRE is valid for 5yrs, take it when you have had enough of time to study for it. You can give it around 4yrs even before you want to apply abroad.

This applies to those people who are not confident that they will do well. Please give the GRE as early as possible. If your score is low, don’t get disheartened, you can always give it again the very next month.

GRE can be given once a month and total 5 times in a year.

Registering For GRE

Well registering for GRE is not very tough, but can get a little confusing at times. Registration can be done in 3 ways, via, online, phone or mail.The most fastest and preferable is online registrations .The only problem with online and phone registration is that a credit is necessary. For those who do not have a credit card they can apply via mail and send a demand draft (DD) of the amount to ETS.


My advice – Register online. There are a few advantages of registering online:
· It’s the fastest.
· Its easy and safe.
· You can see all the dates available for the span of 3 months, unlike the phone where you tell them the date and they will inform you if its available or not.
· You know what is happening, if you are not confident of what you have done, simply don’t enter your credit card number and start all over again.
· If you are not from US, no commotions of making international calls.

Now how to go about it?
Well I will explain the online procedure first.

You have to visit the ETS link for GRE (http://www.gre.org/). Once your in the website, search for the title Test Takers in which you will find the option of registering for the test. Click on it. Then you will get the option for General GRE Test or Subjective GRE Test. Choose whichever test applies to you. The registration procedure for both are the same. After you have chosen the test you want to give, you will have the details on registering via mail, phone or online. Choose online which brings you to scroll down bar giving 2 options GRE General and GRE Subjective Test. Select the test you want and proceed .Now this is where it gets a bit different.I shall explain the General Test first.

Select your location which will then transfer you to Thomson Prometrics Home link.You will have 4 options – Locate a Test Site, Schedule an Exam, Reschedule or Cancel an Exam and Exam Confirmation.

If you do not know where is the location of your test center, first find that out and then proceed to scheduling an exam..Once you click on schedule an exam you will get some formality conditions, just accept all of them and proceed ( read if you want). You choose your location and schedule an appointment by clicking on Schedule Appointment . Now is the most important part Choose the Date you prefer. You can see the dates available in a 3- month pattern or directly on a specific day.Once you click on the date you will see the time available for that day.If the dates are not highlighted then there is no vacancy for those dates .

NOTE - Once you click on the time you are directly accepting the date.So do not click on the time until you are sure you want that date and time for your exam.

Fill the information form, once done, you fill the credit card details and make the payment. Once all is done you copy the receipt and the details of your exam (e.g. confirmation number).
Your confirmation letter is very important because you will have to present it to your exam center. Thats it, you better start preparing now.

The procedure is almost the same for paper-based GRE Test and the Subjective GRE test.


NOTE
To reschedule you will have to pay 50$
You must reschedule or cancel no later than 10 working days of your appointment

To register via phone you will have to contact your ETS center according to your country.
To register via mail you have to mail ETS atleast 1-2 months previous to the exam date that you want. Please refer to the site for exact details to register via mail. My advice, do it online.


Cheers!!! All the Best for your exam.