All CoursesThe GRE Exam (Graduate Record Examination) is a standardized online exam that is conducted by ETS (Educational Testing Service). It is widely accepted all over the world for admissions into master’s and Ph.D. courses. These courses can be related to various fields like mathematics, psychology, education, computer science etc.
GRE test is computer adaptive. In this test, the difficulty of the next section depends upon your performance in the previous section. If you do well in the first verbal section, the difficulty level of the second verbal section will automatically increase. The difficulty level of questions within a section does not change. The scores for Verbal and Quant sections are between 130 to 170, in one point increments. Analytical writing is scored on a scale of 0 to 6, in 0.5 increments
GRE tests the competence of a candidate in areas like verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, analytical writing, and critical thinking skills. There are many students, who are not good at these subjects. So, they look for other options to get into the college of their choice. There are some colleges offering courses, which do not require you to appear for the GRE exam. GRE waiver is provided by some colleges, which generally require the candidates to have a GRE score for admission purposes.
What is GRE waiver?
The universities grant the waiver to a candidate under special conditions. These conditions may vary from college to college. The general conditions that are considered for granting waivers are as follows:
Academic Excellence
The academic background of a candidate must reflect his excellence in the subjects that are asked in the GRE exam. You must prove your efficacy in subjects like quantitative and verbal reasoning. You can also show your excellence in the subject, in which you want to pursue your master’s or Ph.D degree. It will enable you to justify your decision of not appearing for the GRE. You will be required to produce certificates to support your claim. So, make sure you have a stellar record in subjects related to GRE in order make a strong case for yourself.
Professional background
You can use your work experience to prove your expertise in the subjects, which are asked in the GRE exam. Working for a reputed firm in your field is an indicator that you are good at your job. It says a lot about the skills and the academic accomplishments you possess. For example, a computer engineer must be highly skilled in order to work for tech giants like Facebook, Google, IBM etc. A person with such an impressive work experience can afford to skip the GRE subject test in computer science.
Past GRE score
Candidates may want to use their previous GRE scores for admission purposes. GRE scores are valid for a period of five years. In case you want to put your expired GRE score to use, you can request the school admission committee to give you a waiver. Make sure that you have an excellent score for the admission committee to pay heed to your request.
Not giving the GRE exam may put you at a disadvantageous position, as you will be competing against candidates who have given the GRE exam. The top colleges will have applicants with top GRE scores, which can significantly affect your chances of getting selected into the course of your interest.
The GRE score can only be waived off by the college admission committee based on the criteria of selection for a particular course. The conditions for GRE waiver may vary between different universities and different courses at the same university. So, it is best if you directly contact the admission council of the college of your choice. Doing so will help you to be more confident about your chances of getting selected. Here are some of the top universities, which may give you GRE waiver for particular courses-
1. Yale University
2. Illinois Institute of Technology
3. Tufts University
4. University of Houston
5. Nanyang Technological University
Other exams
There are several masters and Ph.D. programs related to various fields that are covered under the GRE exam. The conditions for admission into these programs vary depending upon the department and university. There are some exams, which are more course specific than GRE and can be taken to get into a course in a particular field. Such as –
- LSAT for the Law programs
- GMAT for the Business programs
- MCAT for programs in the medicine and health departments
Some business schools also accept both GMAT and GRE scores. There are some good colleges which only consider past academic record, Statement of Purpose (SOP), Letters of recommendation (LOR) and work experience for admissions. But most of the top universities still require the applicants to appear for the GRE.
GRE preparation requires you to have a good mentor, who can bring a certain ease to the entire learning process. Experts at BYJU’S come up with innovative ways of learning, through years of experience. These methods aim at making learning easy and fun. Take mock tests provided by BYJU’S and get an in-depth analysis of your performance. Find out your weak sections and go through the video lessons delivered by the experts to improve upon your weak areas.
BYJU’S will be glad to help you in your GRE preparation journey. You can ask for any assistance related to GRE from us by just giving a missed call at +918884544444, or you can drop an SMS. You can write to us at gre@byjus.com.
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