What is the test good for?

What is it like?

How is this test administered in Romania?

How much does the test cost?

How do I register for the test?

When do I get the official scores?

How do I request additional score reports?

How long are scores valid?

How can I prepare for the test?

What is the test good for?

The GRE revised General Test is one of the admission requirements to graduate program in the U.S. It is used in evaluating the applicant’s readiness for graduate-level work.

Introduced on August 1, 2011, the GRE revised General Test features, according to the official website http://www.ets.org/gre, new types of questions that more closely reflect the kind of thinking and skills you need to succeed in today's demanding graduate and business school programs. It is designed to provide a friendlier, more flexible test-taking experience.

What is it like?

The GRE revised General Test is available in the computer- and paper-based format. Overall testing time for the GRE revised General Test is about three hours and 30 minutes (paper-based test) and three hours and 45 minutes (computer-based test). There are six sections with a 10-minute break following the third section.

According to the information available on the official website http://www.ets.org/gre, the GRE revised General test includes the following scored sections:

• Analytical Writing: this section features two separately timed writing tasks: “Analyze an Issue” and “Analyze an Argument”. You’ll have 30 minutes to solve each task. The analytical writing section will always appear as the first section of the test.

• Verbal Reasoning: two 30-minute sections consisting of about 20 questions each;

• Quantitative Reasoning: two 35-minute sections consisting of approximately 20 questions each.

In addition, an unidentified Verbal or Quantitative section that does not count toward your score may be included and may appear in any order after the Analytical Writing section. Be sure to do all sections presented, since you will not know which one will be scored. An identified research section that is not scored may also be included in the computer-based GRE revised General Test – this section is always at the end of the test.

The Analytical Writing section will always be first, while the other five sections may appear in any order.

Three scores are reported on the GRE revised General Test:

• A Verbal Reasoning score reported on a 130 – 170 score scale, in 1-point increments;

• A Quantitative Reasoning score reported on a 130 – 170 score scale, in 1-point increments;

• An Analytical Writing score reported on a 0 – 6 score scale, in half-point increments.

In terms of test design, according to the official website http://www.ets.org/gre, the GRE revised General Test allows you to freely move forward and backward throughout an entire section. Specific features include:

• Preview and review capabilities within a section;

• A "mark and review" feature to tag questions, so you can skip them and return later;

• The ability to change/edit answers within a section;

• An on-screen calculator for the Quantitative Reasoning section;

• New answer formats, including tasks such as numeric entry and highlighting a sentence in a passage to answer a question.

Visit the How can I prepare for the test section for online practice materials for the GRE revised General Test!

How is this test administered in Romania?

According to the information available on the official website http://www.ets.org/gre, in Bucharest the GRE revised General Test is currently offered in the computer-based format by RTS, Centrul de Formare in Informatica (http://prometric.trainingit.ro/). The testing center is located at 1B, Expozitie Blvd., inside the Romanian-American University building, on the semi-basement floor (arcade between Buildings A & B). The test is administered Wednesdays (12:00 noon session), Thursdays (9:00 and 13:30 sessions), as well as every two Sundays (9:00 administration). For more information on the testing center and available test dates, please call 0372-120 250, or send an e-mail to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Please be advised that office hours are Wednesday 12:00 – 17:00 and Thursday 9:00 – 17:00.

The GRE revised General Test is also administered in the paper-based format in Iasi (test center: Euroed Foundation) and Arad (test center: Facultatea de Stiinte). The paper-based test dates are mentioned on the official website in the “Test Centers and Dates” section. In the 2011-12 academic year, you may take the paper-based test on October 22, November 19, 2011 and on February 11, 2012.

How much does the test cost?

According to the information available on the official website, in the “Fees” section, the GRE revised General Test costs $190. This fee entitles you to one printed score report and up to four official score reports that ETS will send directly to the institutions you designate when you finish the test. If you do not select score recipients at the testing center, you will have to pay a $23 fee for each institution you want scores to be sent to.

Important: If you are planning on taking the test between August 1 and September 30, 2011, you can register with a 50% discount (test fee of $95 instead of $190)! Details at http://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/register/discount.

How do I register for the test?

First you pick a test date and location and decide on the payment type: mainly, by credit/debit card or by bank check. See the official website http://www.ets.org/gre to explore all the available payment methods.

Note: the card doesn't need to be in your name, so you can use the cards of family or friends.

Registration procedure for the computer-based version of the test

If a credit/debit card is available (Visa, Master Card, American Express, Discover, JCB), you may register:

• Online on the official GRE website, in the “Register for the Test” section http://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/register/cbt/ (scroll down to the information on registering to test outside the United States): create a free online My GRE Account and follow the steps outlined on the site to complete your registration. You will get your confirmation by e-mail.

• By phone: call the telephone number for the Regional Registration Center (RRC) for the country in which you plan to test (see http://www.ets.org/s/mygre/rrc.html and the GRE Bulletin for details) at least two business days prior to the desired test date. Romania is included in Region 12, which is serviced by a Prometric center in The Netherlands (registration phone: 31-320-239-540; fax: 31-320-239-541; e-mail: www.prometric.com/TestTakers/ContactsUs/email.htm). You will be given an appointment confirmation number. Be sure to write it down. You will also get a test date, reporting time, and test center address when you call. Check the International Test Scheduling form available on pages 29-30 of the GRE Information and Registration Bulletin (available on the GRE website and in paper format at FEAC), for the information you will be asked for when you call.

• By fax: complete the International Test Scheduling Form available on pages 29-30 of the Bulletin and send it to the appropriate Regional Registration Center at least seven working days before your first-choice test date. See page 26 of the Bulletin or check the GRE website for the fax number of the RRC - Region 12 for Romania. Follow the instructions given on the back of the form. Include credit card information. The RRC will schedule your appointment based on the information you provide. If none of the dates you requested is available, the RRC will try to schedule you for a test date as close as possible to your choices. If the date assigned to you does not meet your needs, please contact the appropriate RRC within 24 hours of receipt of your registration confirmation.

If a credit card is not available, you may pay by bank check and register by mail.

• In order to be issued a bank check you need to pay the fee to any bank that conducts hard-currency transactions. The beneficiary of your bank check will be ETS-GRE, as mentioned on page 15 of the 2011-2012 GRE Information Bulletin.

• You fill out the GRE International Test Scheduling Form on page 29 of the Bulletin.

• The check and the scheduling form need to be received by the Regional Registration Center for Region 12 at least 3 weeks prior to the requested test date. The relevant address is available on page 26 in the Bulletin.

Full info on accepted forms of payment is available on the GRE site in the About/Fees section and in the GRE Bulletin 2011-12, page 14.

Useful tips:

• Photocopy the scheduling form as well as the bank check and keep the copies for reference.

• Send your test registration by registered mail (scrisoare recomandata cu confirmare de primire).

• Usually, you will receive a confirmation letter - by e-mail or regular mail - which includes information on the test date as well as the coordinates of the testing center. The RRC will schedule your appointment based on the information you provide. If none of the dates you requested is available, the RRC will try to schedule you for a test date as close as possible to your choices.

• If you don't receive the confirmation letter, you must call the RRC at least three full business days before your first-choice test date. See page 26 in the Bulletin or the GRE website for updated contact information of RRC.

Registration procedure for the paper-based version of the test

Online: you will need to create a My GRE Account to register online. On the official website, go to the “Register for a Test” section and follow the steps. MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Discover and JCB credit/debit cards, as well as PayPal Services and Western Union Quick Pay are accepted. For a full list of preferred paper-based registration payment methods, please consult page 14 of the GRE Bulletin or the official website.

Late registration applies solely to online registration for paper-based administrations of the test. It closes a week after regular registration and incurs a $25 fee.

By mail: you can pay by bank check, as well as credit/debit card (MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Discover, and JCB)

• In order to be issued a bank check you need to pay the fee to any bank that conducts hard-currency transactions. The beneficiary of your bank check will be ETS-GRE, as mentioned on page 15 of the 2011-12 GRE Information Bulletin.

• You fill out the Paper-based GRE revised General Test and Subject Tests 2011-12 Registration Form available on pages 31-34 of the bulletin and on the official website.

• The check and the scheduling form need to be mailed to the U.S. address printed on the registration form. The documents must be received at ETS by the registration deadline (listed on page 39 of the Bulletin and on the official GRE website). Allow four weeks for processing. You should receive your admission ticket approximately three weeks after you register. You can also view and print your ticket online.

• If you miss the registration deadline please see below the "Standby testing" section.

REGISTRATION FORMS FOR THE PAPER-BASED TEST CANNOT BE FAXED!

Useful tips:

• Photocopy the scheduling form as well as the bank check and keep the copies for reference.

• Send your test registration by registered mail (scrisoare recomandata cu confirmare de primire).

• If you do not receive your admission ticket at least 10 days before the test date, please print your ticket from your online MyGRE account or contact ETS immediately (see page 9 of the Bulletin for contact information) to confirm your test center assignment.

Standby testing

If you missed the registration deadline, you may still be able to take the test on the desired date.

Standby testing may be available if sufficient space, test materials and staff are available at the test center. If you'd like to attempt to test as a standby, report to the test center by 8:15 a.m. with:

• a completed GRE Paper-based General Test and Subject Tests 2011-12 Registration Form (available on pages 31-34 of the bulletin and on the official website)

• $50 standby testing fee (in addition to test fee)

• acceptable photo ID (see page 17 of the Bulletin or the official website for details)

In case you do not show up on your assigned day and hour for taking the test, the registration fee will not be refunded.

Changing the date or location of your test

Rescheduling is permitted within the same testing year (July 1 – June 30).You must reschedule or cancel your test registration no later than three full days before your test date (not including the day of your test or the day of your request) or your test fee will be forfeited. For computer-based testing, you can cancel or reschedule online. To change your test center, contact the GRE Program by the registration deadline. For more details please check the official website of the GRE test.

Retaking the GRE revised General Test

According to the official website, you can take the GRE revised General Test (computer-based and paper-based) only once every 60 days, and no more than five times within any continuous rolling 12-month period. This applies even if you canceled your scores on a test taken previously. If you take only the paper-based GRE revised General Test, you can take it as often as it is offered.

IMPORTANT:

The Fulbright Educational Advising Center is not involved in the administration of the GRE. Therefore, please contact Thomson Prometric that administers the test throughout Europe for any problems you may experience concerning registration, receipt of the admission ticket, etc. The information bulletins include all the contact addresses and telephone numbers. They can be downloaded from the official GRE website.

If you do not have the required Internet access, you can pick up the GRE Information and Registration bulletin free of charge from the Fulbright Educational Advising Center during public hours.

If you live outside Bucharest you can send the Center a large, self-addressed stamped envelope (A4), with a note in which you mention the registration bulletin you need. You will receive it promptly.

When do I get the official scores?

Computer-based test

According to the information available on page 22 of the Bulletin, the official score reports will be mailed to you within 10 to 15 days after you take the test.

Important: Testing in the GRE revised format began August 1st, 2011 with scores available starting November 8. Score reporting for the computer-based test will return to the regular 10-15 days reporting period for test administrations beginning November 29, 2011.

For a detailed score reporting schedule, please visit http://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/scores/get. 

Note: at the end of the test, you will view unofficial scores for the Verbal and Quantitative sections. The test center doesn’t provide printed copies of score reports.

Paper-based test

Official scores will be sent to you and the score recipients you designated within six weeks after you take the test. at that date, you’ll also be able to access your scores for free in your online MyGRE account. To get scores sooner, you can call ETS at least a month after the test date ($12 fee) to find out how much you scored.

All scores earned during the five testing years (June 30 – July 1) following the year in which you tested will be reported to each institution you designate.

Comparing scores on the GRE General Test administered prior to August with scores on GRE revised General Test

According to the official website, as part of the transition effort, the GRE program is providing institutions with concordance information to help bridge scores from the previous score scale (200 – 800) to the revised score scale (130 – 170). The concordance information is designed to help institutions compare scores on the GRE General Test administered prior to August 2011 with scores received on the GRE revised General Test. This new information will be available to institutions in November 2011 after the completion of statistical analyses required for transition to the new score scale.

Concordance information will also be included on your GRE revised General Test score report. A sample score report is available on the GRE official website.

Canceling scores

At the end of the test, you will be given the option to cancel your scores. You cannot cancel your score for one section of the test and have the scores for the remaining sections reported. Although you have the option to cancel your scores, consider very carefully before doing so. For $30, scores canceled by you can be reinstated if your request is received at ETS within 60 days after your test date. Details on the official GRE website.

How do I request additional score reports?

You can order additional score reports online, by phone, fax or mail up to five years following your test date. The fee is $23 for each report you order.

Further instructions on how to order such scores are detailed on page 23 of the GRE Bulletin and on the GRE website.

How long are scores valid?

GRE scores are valid for 5 years.

How can I prepare for the test?

Online GRE current preparation, some free, some for a fee

Recommended starting point for GRE general - registration, test structure, background information, etc.: http://www.fulbright.ro/educational-advising-center/49-testing/98-gre-general.html.

Online GRE revised General Test preparation

1. http://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/prepare/: includes general advice, sample questions with rationales, scoring guides and tips for answering question types to become familiar with each of the sections of the revised test, as well as POWERPREP II, a free program designed to replicate the GRE revised General Test, and downloadable prep materials;

2. http://www.kaptest.com/GRE/Home/gre-test-change.html - features detailed info on the new GRE, as well as a series of very useful free recordings of past Kaplan webinars on successfully preparing for the new GRE;  

3. http://www.princetonreview.com/grad/free-gre-practice-test.aspx;

4.http://testprep.about.com/od/Revised_GRE_Exam/Revised_GRE_Exam.htm;

5.http://learnwordlist.com/blog/vocabulary-for-revised-gre/2011/04/gre-word-list-test-blog-barrons-vocabulary:features vocabulary practice for the new GRE.

Resources for the original GRE General test (administered prior to August 1, 2011)

The following preparation materials are still useful for online GRE General prep purposes. Please note the differences between the two test formats:

Verbal Reasoning

• Antonyms and analogies are no longer included in the new test, so there are no questions that test vocabulary out of context;

• Text completion questions have been added to test your ability to reach a conclusion about how a sentence should be completed;

• There are more reading comprehension questions.

Quantitative Reasoning

• New multiple-choice questions, some of them with more than one correct answer, that require you to select all the correct answers provided;

• New numeric entry questions that will prompt you to enter your answer in a box instead of selecting it from a list;

• An on-screen calculator.

Please also note the new scoring scale:

• Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning scores are now reported on a 130 – 170 score scale, in 1-point increments (prior version: 200 – 800 score scale, 10-point increments);

• No changes in the way Analytical Writing scores are reported: 0 – 6 score level, in half-point increments.

1. http://www.greexplorer.com/Free-Practice-Tests.html: free sample questions.
2. http://www.petersons.com/testprep/default.asp?id=880&path=gr.pft.gre: info + free practice test.
3. http://www.4tests.com/exams/examdetail.asp?eid=11: free practice test.
4. http://www.princetonreview.com/grad/free-gre-practice-test.aspx: free practice test.
5. http://www.kaptest.com/Graduate/GRE/Practice-for-the-GRE/GRE-Practice-Questions/GR_gre_qsentence.html: free sample questions + option to sign-up for a free practice test.
6. http://www.ultimatevocabulary.com/gre-vocabulary.html: work on vocabulary – 90-day trial version – you still need to pay $67, but it appears it’s refundable.
7. http://www.west.net/~stewart/gre/: test yourself.
8. http://www.syvum.com/gre/: free online testing + practice.
9. http://www.number2.com/exams/gre/companion/index.cfm?s=0: sign up for practice and tests.
10. http://www.microedu.com/: free GRE test.
11. www.800score.com: download tests, practice for a fee; one free test.
12. http://www.english-test.net/gre/: for practice.
13. http://www.greprepinfo.com/: with a downloadable test for free.
14. http://www.greguide.com/: free practice test and practice material.

To learn more about the free GRE General prep materials – books and software - available at our center, please check the Test preparation section.