Hey AJYMERCED,
The GRE is the Graduate Record Examinations. It is a standardized test that is used as an admissions requirement for many graduate schools here in the U.S. It is created and administered by the Educational Testing service or ETS. The old test used (and the new one still does!) to measure Analytical Writing skills, Verbal skills, and Quantitative skills. The new 2011 revision of the GRE is significantly changed in comparison to the former version. They will now feature "fill in the blank" type questions, greater emphasis on reading (no more antonyms and analogies), more "real-life scenarios", and more focused and less generalized topics for the analytical writing. Depending on your schools of choice, and your application year, you may have to take the new or old GRE. See the PTCAS and school websites for specifications on which test to take.
The GRE is also a Computer Adaptive Test (CAT). Basically, the better you do, the harder it gets. The more questions you get right, the harder the next one is; however, if you get that harder question incorrect, the subsequent questions become easier until a question is answered correctly.
The best way to prepare for it? Some people don't prepare for it. Some people just buy a study guide (Princeton Review, Kaplan, Barron's, etc), others pay for prep classes. It's really up to you and your learning style.
The highest score both the Quantitative and Verbal parts are 800. The Analytical Writing section is scored from a 0.5 up to a 6. You get two separate scores on the AW section, and those are averaged to give you your official score. However, if the two scores are significantly deviated from one another, a third grader will be chosen to give the deciding score.
You take it at universities and such. Visit ETS's page for more details on testing sites in your location:
http://www.ets.org/gre/
The GRE General Test is $160 in the US (territories and Puerto Rico), $205 for Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Korea, and $190 everywhere else. This is for the old GRE that they will offer until August 1, 2011. See the Fees section:
http://www.ets.org/gre/general/about/fees/
The Revised GRE General Test is $80 in the US (territories and Puerto Rico) if you take the test during August or September 2011. After September 30, 2011, the price goes back up to $160. In all other locations, it is $95, then back to $190 after September 30, 2011. See the page:
http://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/about/fees/
Also, the GRE is good for only a certain number of years. Check with you school on specifics.
Hope that helped somewhat. I know I was pretty clueless about the GRE when I first learned about it. Good luck!
I am new to this forum and interested in becoming a PT. But what is a GRE? I know it's some kind of test. What is the best way to prepare for it? What's the highest score you can get? What are average scores? Where do you take it? How much does it cost to take the test?
I know it's alot of question but answers would be really helpful. Thank you!!
