How Hard Is The GRE & How Long Does It Take To Prepare For GRE?
How Hard Is The GRE & How Long Does It Take To Prepare For GRE? GRE stands for Graduate Record Examination, is a standardized test used for business and graduate school programs. The test is a multiple-choice answer exam that is computer-delivered and paper-delivered exam measuring various quantitative reasoning types.
Why is the GRE hard? GRE is one of the most difficult standardized tests used in comparing students joining the graduate school. What makes the GRE tricky is the reading and vocabulary sections. Math problems in the GRE will evaluate your critical thinking relative to math skills.
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Passing GRE with a Good Score
How hard is the GRE test? It depends on your preparedness. If you study and prepare yourself for exam day, you will be able to pass without a problem. You should first familiarize yourself with the format of the exam and answer practice questions. It is important to note that most vocabulary questions are repetitive, and in the math section, advanced math is not tested. Always take a practice test, and you can do this twice or thrice during studying.
How Long Does It Take To Prepare For GRE?
Over-studying or under-studying for the GRE can muddle with your mind, and make you even more confused than before. The amount of time that you would need to spend studying for the GRE varies from a mere 5-6 hours per week to 2-3 hours a day. Again, this obviously depends on your proficiency level across the 3 sections tested on the GRE.
The GRE preparation can take around 4 weeks to 20 weeks. If you include the mock tests that you would need to take, the preparation time can go from a minimum of 6 weeks to a maximum of 24 weeks.
What Makes the GRE Hard?
This is the most popular question asked by every graduate student looking to get into the top universities in US. To answer your question, here we have listed some of the GRE test components which make it difficult among the aspirants.
- Computer Adaptive
- Time Factors.
- Difficult Vocabulary.
- Tricky Wordings.
- The Content.
- Two Essays.
What are the methods of preparing for the GRE?
Students have different ways of preparing for the GRE, and each one takes different times based on the methodology of preparation:
- Coaching Centers: Mostly students prefer coaching centres to self-study to get the required guidance that will speed up and streamline the process of learning. Experienced faculty, and the facilities at good coaching centers can go a long way in achieving your target score.
- Self-study: Studying on your own requires following a schedule that is well orchestrated, and only those students who are extremely dedicated in their efforts can follow a plan with enough consistency to overcome the arduousness of the GRE.
How Hard Is the GRE Overall Compared to Other Exams?
Comparing it to the ACT and the SAT, the GRE is typically considered more difficult because, even though the math tested on the GRE is a lower level than the math tested on the SAT and ACT, the GRE has more challenging vocabulary and reading passages, and the math problems have trickier wording or require higher-level reasoning. The easiest and fastest way to get a general sense of the GRE’s difficulty level is to compare it to other standardized tests, one or more of which you’ve likely taken in the past.
1. GRE and TOEFL
If we talk about the comparison between TOEFL and GRE, the GRE is considered as much harder than TOEFL as it has more difficult questions of quantitative and reading passages with sophisticated wordings. The mathematics part of the GMAT is also of a lower level compared to other exams.
2. GRE and GMAT
The quantitative reasoning questions asked in the GMAT are harder than the GRE test for most of the applicants. GMAT has more challenging and tricky questions in comparison to the GRE test. If you are an aspirant with more expertise in solving logical questions, then the GMAT test suits you the most. It is because the GRE paper contains a lot of geometrical questions.
3. SAT And GRE
The types of questions asked in GRE are more logic-oriented, whereas the SAT are mostly calculation based. GRE paper has a little bit tougher structure than the SAT. The GRE contains many tricky questions that check the student’s critical thinking skills, whereas the SAT is somewhat more straightforward.
4. GRE and IELTS.
Between IELTS vs GRE, IELTS is perceived to be easier if you are an English aspirant, but it doesn’t assure you will ace the test. A dedicated practice and preparation are required to qualify for the IELTS test. While the GRE is comparatively difficult as it requires you to have a higher level of reasoning skills with a strong vocabulary.
What actually makes the GRE Hard for students?
1. It Requires Math Skills
For some GRE test-takers, it may have been years since they last took a mathematic class or had to exercise their algebra or geometry skills. But, equally, you may have always loathed math and assumed that after you completed your undergrad math courses, you were done with it. Either of these scenarios can make the GRE more difficult because you may need to make up a lot of ground to get your math skills up to par.
2. Demanding Essay Section
The GRE requires you to write two essays in the Analytical Writing part, more than most standardized tests: The first question will ask you to take a stand on a topic and back it up with facts, while the second will ask you to analyze a particular argument’s flaws. Each essay will take 30 minutes to finish. Many people are intimidated by the Analytical Writing part since they can’t just pick option “A” and pray for the best. You’ll have one hour to write two entire essays.
3. Challenging GRE Vocabulary
The GRE’s vocabulary in the verbal reasoning section is one of the more challenging exam components. The section evaluates your knowledge of some quite esoteric and advanced words for over half of the time. In addition, you’ll be prompted to choose words or groups of words to fill in sentences blanks throughout the section.
4. The GRE Test Format
GRE is a computer-delivered test, and that can throw the test take out of the loop if they are not used to taking tests on screen. This requires a change of test-taking approaches. The format of the GRE test is section-level adaptive for the quant and verbal reasoning section. The difficulty of the second section will be determined by how well you do in the first section. People not used to adaptive testing or computer-delivered test will struggle.
There are two sections each for Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning, and how well you do on the first section of each subject determines the overall difficulty of the questions in the second section. The better you did on the first section, the more difficult the questions will be on the second section.
5. Time Factors
Each GRE section is timed, which causes students a lot of problems. Because understanding the questions before answering them accounts for most of the GRE’s difficulty, many first-timers will waste a lot of time on single problems. As a result, students may receive lower grades and believe they were unprepared for the exam.
6. Difficultly worded questions or Tricky Wordings
Although vocabulary selections are challenging, the wording of several of the questions makes them considerably even more challenging. Many GRE questions need you to apply logical analysis abilities to identify the correct answer, separate the question, and then solving it instead of plain speaking. This slows you down and forces you to engage different parts of your brain at the same time.
To avoid this issue is to do so many practice problems that you begin to see through the GRE’s tricks and are no longer fooled by them. Take multiple practice quizzes and tests and, for each one, go through every question you answered incorrectly and make sure you understand what went wrong so you can avoid making those same mistakes in the future.
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