There are four ways to register for the GRE computer-based General Test.

• Online - Credit card required. Not available in Nigeria.
• Phone - Call the Regional Registration Center in your area. Credit card or voucher number required.
• Fax - Fax the International Test Scheduling Form (PDF) to the appropriate Regional Registration Center. Credit card or voucher number required.
• Mail - Mail the International Test Scheduling Form (PDF) with your payment to the appropriate Regional Registration Center.

You can register for the GRE paper-based General Test online or by mail. Paper-based administrations are only offered in areas of the world where computer-based testing is not available.

• Online - Credit card required
• Mail - Download and complete the GRE Registration Form. Mail it with your payment to the address printed on the form. Credit card, money order or certified check only.

You can register for a GRE Subject Test online or by mail:

• Online - Credit card required.
• Mail - Download and complete the GRE Registration Form (PDF). Mail it with your payment to the address printed on the form. Credit card, money order or certified check only.

The Verbal Reasoning section measures your ability to
analyze and evaluate written material and synthesize information obtained from it

• analyze relationships among component parts of sentences
• recognize relationships between words and concepts

The Quantitative Reasoning section measures your ability to

• understand basic concepts of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and data analysis
• reason quantitatively
• solve problems in a quantitative setting

The Analytical Writing section measures your ability to

• articulate complex ideas clearly and effectively
• examine claims and accompanying evidence
• support ideas with relevant reasons and examples
• sustain a well-focused, coherent discussion
• control the elements of standard written English (this factor plays a role only to the extent that poor writing skills impede readers' understanding of the argument)

The Analytical Writing section consists of two analytical writing tasks: a 45-minute "Present Your Perspective on an Issue" task and a 30-minute "Analyze an Argument" task.

The "Issue" task states an opinion on an issue of general interest and asks you to address the issue from any perspective(s) you wish, as long as you provide relevant reasons and examples to explain and support your views.
The "Argument" task presents a different challenge — it requires you to critique an argument by discussing how well-reasoned you find it. You are asked to consider the logical soundness of the argument rather than to agree or disagree with the position it presents.

Because the Analytical Writing section is a performance test, you must organize and articulate your own ideas as you discuss a complex issue, as well as explain the logical soundness of an argument you have just read. The Verbal section of the General Test measures reading comprehension, and verbal and analogical reasoning skills in a multiple-choice format.

The TOEFL® and GRE® Analytical Writing measures are very different. The TOEFL TWE is not designed to measure higher levels of thinking and analytical writing, but centers instead on command of English vocabulary, grammar, spelling, and syntax. Therefore, scores on the two tests are not at all comparable.

The General Test is

• US$140 for individuals testing in the United States, U.S. Territories, and Puerto Rico
• US$175 for individuals testing in China (including Hong Kong), Korea, and Taiwan
• US$170 for individuals testing in all other locations

The General Test is given year-round as a computer-based test in the U.S., Canada, and many other countries. Paper-based General Test administrations are offered in areas of the world where computer-based testing is not available.

The GRE® Program uses an elementary word processor developed by ETS® so that individuals familiar with a specific commercial word processing software do not have an advantage or disadvantage. The ETS software contains the following functions:

• Inserting text
• Deleting text
• Cutting and pasting
• Undoing the previous action

Your scores on the Verbal and Quantitative sections of the computer-based General Test depend on your performance on the questions given and on the number of questions answered in the time allotted.
Because both of these sections are computer-adaptive, the questions presented are selected to reflect your performance on preceding questions and the requirements of the test design. Test design factors that influence which questions are presented to you include

1. the statistical characteristics (including difficulty level) of the questions already answered
2. the required variety of question types
3. the appropriate coverage of content

For the Verbal and Quantitative sections of the paper-based General Test, a raw score is computed. The raw score is the number of questions for which the best answer choice was given.
The raw score is then converted to a scaled score through a process known as equating. The equating process accounts for differences in difficulty among the different test editions so a given scaled score reflects approximately the same level of ability regardless of the edition of the test that was taken.
The scoring of the Analytical Writing section is the same whether the test is taken on computer or paper. Each essay receives a score from two trained readers, using a 6-point holistic scale. In holistic scoring, readers are trained to assign scores on the basis of the overall quality of an essay in response to the assigned task. If the two assigned scores differ by more than one point on the scale, the discrepancy is adjudicated by a third GRE® reader.
Otherwise, the scores from the two readings of an essay are averaged. The final scores on the two essays are then averaged and rounded up to the nearest half-point interval. A single score is reported for the Analytical Writing section.
The primary emphasis in scoring the Analytical Writing section is on your critical thinking and analytical writing skills rather than on grammar and mechanics. (Read the "Issue" and "Argument" scoring guides.)

You may use any one of a variety of strategies to structure your essays. Readers are explicitly trained to accept any strategy in an essay that meets the essential requirements of the essay task, i.e., a response that provides the information required by the essay prompt.

Three scores are reported on the General Test:

• a Verbal Reasoning score reported on a 200-800 score scale, in 10-point increments
• a Quantitative Reasoning score reported on a 200-800 score scale, in 10-point increments, and
• an Analytical Writing score reported on a 0-6 score scale, in half-point increments

If you answer no questions at all in a section (Verbal, Quantitative or Analytical Writing), you receive a No Score (NS) for that section.

If you take the computer-based General Test, you can view your unofficial Verbal and Quantitative scores at the test center; however, because of the essay scoring process, you will not be able to view your Analytical Writing scores at that time. Verbal, Quantitative and Analytical Writing scores on the computer-based General Test will be sent to you and the institutions you designate within 10 to 15 days of your test administration.

The GRE® Board has developed Guidelines for the Use of GRE Scores, which summarizes the considerations for appropriate use of GRE test scores.

If your native language is not English (ESL) and you do not understand the task posed to you, your performance on all three sections of the General Test will be affected. The GRE Program advises score users to consider a variety of pieces of information about ESL applicants, including TOEFL® and TWE scores, to determine whether these students would be able to meet the department's requirements.

No. The GRE® Program does not recommend combining the scores on any of the General Test sections. Each section should be considered separately because it provides insight into a different aspect of your abilities.

The GRE® Board has long been concerned that examinee groups not be disadvantaged by any major changes in the General Test. In response to that concern, extensive analyses of group differences on the Analytical Writing section were performed before the test became operational in October 1999. These analyses have since been supplemented by data from those who have taken the Analytical Writing section as an operational test, and by data from a special research study conducted in April 2001.

Test takers whose native language is not English (ESL) naturally find the Analytical Writing section more challenging, on average, than do native speakers of English. Steps have already been taken to ensure that these performance differences are not due to differences in the cross-cultural accessibility of the topics.
Special fairness reviews occur for all topics to ensure that the content and tasks are clear and accessible for all groups of test takers, including ESL students. In addition, scorers are trained to focus on the analytical logic of the essay responses more than on spelling, grammar, or syntax. The mechanics of writing are weighed in their ratings only to the extent that these impede clarity of meaning. The analytical writing section taps into different skills than the multiple-choice measures so it may not be surprising that the performance of ESL examinees differs on this section.

The Verbal and Quantitative Reasoning sections of the General Test are adaptive tests. They are tailored to your performance level and provide precise information about your abilities using fewer test questions than traditional paper-based tests.
At the start of the test, you are presented with test questions of middle difficulty. As you answer each question, the computer scores it and uses that information, as well as your responses to preceding questions and information about the test design, to determine the next question. As long as you answer correctly, you will typically be given questions of increased difficulty. When you respond incorrectly, you will typically be given less difficult questions.
Because the computer scores each question before selecting the next one, you must answer each question when it is presented. For this reason, once you answer a question and move on to another, you cannot go back and change your answer. The computer has already incorporated both your answer and the requirements of the test design into its selection of your next question.
On the Analytical Writing section, the two writing tasks are delivered on the computer, and you must type your essay responses.
For the Issue task you will be able to choose one of two essay topics selected by the computer from the pool of topics.
The Argument task does not offer a choice of topics; the computer will present you with a single topic selected from the topic pool.

Each computer-based test meets established specifications, including the types of questions asked and the subject matter presented. The statistical characteristics of the questions answered correctly and incorrectly, including the difficulty levels, are taken into account in the calculation of scores. Therefore, it is appropriate to compare scores of different test takers even though they received different questions.

Yes. ETS® has conducted research studies indicating that these scores are comparable.

No. You can take the test even if you have little or no previous computer experience.

No. Test takers must take the Analytical Writing section first.

No. Scores on the General Test will not be reported to candidates or institutions until all three sections of the test have been completed. Scores for the General Test will be reported within six weeks after the paper-based administration is completed.

No. You will be required to type your essay responses. All test takers at computer-based test centers worldwide are required to type their essay responses on the GRE® Analytical Writing section in order to enable use of the Essay Similarity Detection (ESD) software.

The paper-based test session is a total of two and a half hours.

Rescheduling is allowed, but candidates must pay a US$50 fee if they reschedule a CBT and/or paper-based administration.

Candidates who cancel 10 full days prior to the Analytical Writing test date (not including the day of the test or the day of the request) will receive a refund equivalent to half of the original test fee (same as General Test). Candidates who take the computer-based Analytical Writing section and then cancel the paper-based test 10 full days before the paper-based date will receive a US$35 refund. Allow six to eight weeks for receipt of the refund after the test date. (Note that candidates will not receive their Analytical Writing scores if they cancel their paper-based test.)

It depends on whether or not you choose to report your scores or cancel them at the end of the test session. Only two complete sets of General Test scores can be reported during the 2007–08 testing year.
If you choose to report your scores at the end of the Analytical Writing session, you will be registered for the next paper-based test date. After you have completed the paper-based section of the test, your scores on all three sections of the General Test will be reported.
If you register to take the Analytical Writing section of the General Test a second time and choose to report your scores, you must take the paper-based section of the test on the next paper-based test date in this testing year. If you decide to take the Analytical Writing section a third time, you cannot take a paper-based test because there are only two paper-based test dates, and your test fee will be forfeited.
If you choose to cancel your Analytical Writing scores at the end of a test session, your registration for the paper-based test date will be canceled as well and your test fee will be forfeited. You may then register and pay to take the GRE® General Test again.