Getting the Most from the Interactive Practice Tests: Download the Premium Practice Test App to your tablet or smartphone or visit the companion website for extensive test-taking practice.You’ve made the right decision to study for the GRE using this guide from McGraw-Hill Education, America’s leading educational publisher. You may know us from many of the textbooks you used in college. Now we’re ready to help you take the next step—and get into the graduate school program of your choice.
This book gives you everything you need to succeed on the test. From expert author Erfun Geula, you’ll receive in-depth instruction and review of every topic tested, tips and strategies for every question type, and plenty of practice tests to boost your test-taking confidence.
In addition, in the following pages you’ll find special sections on:
Getting the Most from the Interactive Practice Tests: Download the Premium Practice Test App to your tablet or smartphone or visit the companion website for extensive test-taking practice.
Information for International Test-Takers: Find out what you need to know if you plan to take the test outside of the United States.
ABOUT McGRAW-HILL EDUCATION
McGraw-Hill Education: GRE Premium gives you a number of options to practice for the exam. You can practice using this book, your tablet or smartphone, or your laptop or home computer. Whether you use a PC or Mac or a tablet or smartphone with the Apple, Android, or Windows platform, you’ll be able to practice on the device of your choosing.
The diagnostic test in this book is also available in a digital version as part of the Premium Practice Test App and on the companion website, MHE Practice Plus. In addition to the diagnostic test, you will find five more practice tests on the app and companion website.
The interactive practice tests found on the mobile app and the companion website offer a number of features that will help you meet your study goals:
The app and the companion website include the diagnostic test from the book, allowing you to take advantage of the digital version of this test.
The app and website include five additional practice tests that will enhance your preparation for the exam.
You can choose whether to take a test section timed or open-ended, depending on your practice goals.
When you finish a section of the test, you’ll immediately receive a score that shows the percentage of correct answers.
Your scores will be saved so you can refer back to them and follow your progress.
Review mode allows you to see your answer and the correct answer together. (We hope they’re the same!) Here you’ll find a concise and clear explanation for the answer. Moreover, you’ll still be able to see the original question for reference.
If you exit a test section before finishing it you can simply return to where you left off at a later time.
If you take the diagnostic test and six additional practice tests on your tablet or smartphone, you will find the Premium Practice Test App to be the ideal companion to your study plans. Depending on the device you have, go to one of the following:
Once you’re at the appropriate app store, search “McGraw-Hill Education’s GRE Premium Practice Test App” and download.
Visit MHPracticePlus.com/GRE to access the online version of the practice tests. Click on “begin practice tests” and you’ll have access to the diagnostic test and six additional practice tests to use on your laptop or home computer.
Every year, more and more international students take the GRE General Test. Of the more than 655,000 tests administered in 2012, the biggest growth among test-takers during the peak testing period was among international students. If you are an international student who is planning to take the GRE in order to pursue graduate or business school studies in the United States, these pages will provide some information that can help make the process easier for you. We also suggest that you visit the official GRE website, www.ets.org/gre, for further details and updates. The site is maintained by Educational Testing Service (ETS), the organization that creates and administers the test.
The GRE General Test is currently offered as a computer-based test in the United States, Canada, and many other countries. The test is offered in a paper-based format in areas of the world where computer-based testing is not available.
With permanent testing centers located in countries all around the world, most applicants should not have trouble finding a place to take the test. If there are no centers near your home, you will need to travel to one. When you register for the GRE, you will need to schedule a test appointment at a specific testing center. Go to www.ets.org/gre for a complete listing of testing centers worldwide.
Register early to get your preferred test date and to receive your test preparation material in time to prepare for the test. Remember that testing appointments are scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis. There are four ways you can register for the computer-based General Test: on the Internet, by phone, by fax, and by mail. Major credit cards are accepted to pay for registration. To register visit www.ets.org/gre.
Standby testing is available at permanent test centers on a first-come, first-served, space-available basis in the United States, American Samoa, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and Canada only. It is not available in Mainland China, Hong Kong, India, Iran, Korea, or Taiwan.
If you must cancel or reschedule a testing appointment, contact the GRE Program by mail or phone no later than four full days before your appointment (not including the day of your test or the day of your request). Keep in mind that you cannot reschedule between sites served by different Regional Registration Centers. See the ETS website for details.
You can register for the paper-based General Test either online or by mail. Use a money order or a certified check when registering by mail. Download and complete the registration form and mail the completed form with payment to the address printed on the form. ETS must receive your registration form by the registration deadline, which can be found at www.ets.org/gre. Allow at least four weeks for processing.
It is your responsibility to bring an acceptable form of identification to the testing center. The following documents can be used in the country in which you are a citizen:
Passport
National ID card
State or Province ID card
Official driver’s license
Military ID card
See the ETS website for further details.
ETS is very careful to make sure that the GRE is not biased against international test-takers. All questions are pre-tested by being included in unscored “experimental” test sections given to both U.S. and international test-takers. If statistics prove that any of the new questions put the international test-takers at a disadvantage, those items never appear on the test. Still, international test-takers face certain challenges.
The biggest and most obvious difficulty for international test-takers is the language barrier. Many people residing outside of the United States who sign up to take the GRE are non-native English speakers. The entire test, including instructions and questions, is in English. One part of the test is focused on verbal skills and another part is a writing test, which requires not only an understanding of the language but a command of it. Your English writing, reading comprehension, and grammar skills are directly tested on the GRE. If you are a non-native English speaker, to improve your understanding of the language in the months leading up to the test, you are encouraged to:
Read as much in English as possible, especially newspapers or journal articles
Create flash cards with difficult English words on them
Practice your English by speaking with others who speak the language—preferably better than you do!
Watch television shows featuring native English speakers
Your goal should be to practice presenting evidence in a cohesive and interesting way to support your arguments in the writing section of the exam. When you read items from English-language publications, pay particular attention to how the writers gather evidence and present it because there are often subtle cultural differences at play. Remember that the quantitative part of the GRE is also in English so it’s a good idea to review math formulas and glossaries in English.
Getting acquainted with standardized tests is another must-do for international test-takers. This type of exam is a part of the average American’s educational experience but is not necessarily a cultural norm in other parts of the world. Some people outside the United States may be unfamiliar with multiple-choice questions. These are questions in which you are given several choices from which to choose for the correct answer. There are strategies for choosing the best one when you’re not sure. For example, you can eliminate answers that you know are incorrect and then choose among the remaining choices. This is called “taking an educated guess,” and it can improve your chances of picking the correct answer. Timing is a very important part of standardized tests. Keeping calm is the first step to overcoming the pressure. Taking practice tests is key to learning how to pace yourself to maximize your performance in a limited time period. Taking practice tests will also help you become familiar with the test format. Understanding the instructions for each part of the test in advance can save you time during the exam because you won’t have to spend time on the instructions in addition to the other reading you have to do.
If you received your undergraduate degree from an institution in a country whose official language is not English, the graduate program to which you are applying will likely require you to submit proof of your English proficiency along with your GRE scores. Most institutions accept scores on either the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) or the IELTS (International English Language Testing System); many now also accept scores on the newer PTE (Pearson Test of English). Check with the programs to which you are applying for information about their test requirements. There is no specific passing score on these tests; graduate institutions set their own requirements.
TOEFL: The TOEFL iBT is an Internet-based test administered more than 50 dates a year at more than 4,500 sites around the world. A paper-based version (TOEFL PBT) is still used but only in a few locations where Internet access is not reliable. For more information including the format of the test, scoring, and registration, visit www.ets.org/toefl. The TOEFL iBT captures the test-taker’s speech and uses this to measure English-speaking ability in a standardized manner. Multiple-choice questions are used to measure reading and listening abilities. Two essay questions are used to measure writing abilities.
IELTS: The IELTS is a paper-based test created at Cambridge University in the UK. It consists of four modules—Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking. Question types include multiple choice, sentence completion, short answer, classification, matching, labeling, and diagram/chart interpretation. The Speaking test is a face-to-face interview with a certified examiner. IELTS has two versions: Academic and General Training. The Academic test is for those who want to study at a tertiary level in an English-speaking country. The General Training test is for those who want to do work experience or training programs, enroll in secondary school, or migrate to an English-speaking country. For more information, visit www.ielts.org.
PTE: The PTE was developed by Pearson, an international educational testing and publishing company. Like the TOEFL iBT, it is administered at testing centers on a computer (there is no paper version). Visit www.pearsonpte.com for more information about the PTE and updated lists of the schools that accept it and the locations where it is given. Like the TOEFL, the PTE uses multiple-choice questions plus essay questions to measure reading, listening, and writing skills. A 30-second audio clip of the test-taker’s speech is sent to schools along with the test scores.
Nonresidents of the United States need to obtain a visa to live in the United States. Once you have chosen a graduate program and have been accepted, you will need to begin the process of obtaining your student visa.
Getting a student visa to study in the United States is not as difficult as getting an H1-B visa to work in the country after graduation. Experts, including the U.S. government, suggest that students begin the student visa process as early as possible. Besides needing the time to complete the required forms, you will also need to schedule an appointment for the required embassy consular interview, and the waiting times for this vary and can be lengthy.
During the student visa process, you are expected to prove that you have adequate financing to study in the United States, ties to your home country, and a likelihood that you will return home after finishing your studies. In addition, you will have to participate in an ink-free, digital fingerprint scan and provide a passport valid for travel to the United States and with a validity date at least six months beyond your intended period of stay.
Your U.S. school will provide you with an I-20 form to complete. The school will use this to register you with the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), an Internet-based system that maintains accurate and current information on nonimmigrant students and exchange visitors and their families. If you have a spouse and/or children who will be joining you, you must register them with SEVIS as well. You’ll also need to submit a completed and signed nonimmigrant visa application with form DE-160. To download this form and for more information on the visa process, go to the U.S. Department of State website, http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/study-exchange/student.html#overview.
Transcripts, diplomas from previous institutions, scores from standardized tests such as the TOEFL or IELTS, and proof you can afford the school (income tax records, original bank books and statements) are things you should have on hand when applying for your visa. If you have dependents, you will also need documents that prove your relationship to your spouse and children, such as a marriage license and birth certificates.
Good luck with your application process!
