About the GRE® General Test
One Test for Graduate and Professional School, Including Business and Law. More Opportunities for Success.
Getting an advanced degree can create many opportunities. In fact, recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development illustrates how education pays in higher earnings and lower unemployment rates.
Whether you are planning to go to graduate school, including business or law — or just exploring your options — you are taking an important step toward your future. It is a smart move to show schools your best and with the GRE® General Test, you can!
The GRE General Test helps you do your best on test day. With the GRE General Test, you decide which scores to send to schools. If you feel you didn’t do your best on test day, that’s okay. You can retake the test and then send only the scores you want schools to see. It’s all part of the ScoreSelect® option, only available with GRE tests.
Plus, the GRE General Test is the only admissions test for graduate and professional school that lets you skip questions within a section, go back and change answers, and have control to tackle the questions within a section you want to answer first.
The GRE General Test features question types that closely reflect the kind of thinking you’ll do in graduate and professional school, including business and law.
- Verbal Reasoning— Measures the ability to analyze and draw conclusions from discourse, reason from incomplete data, understand multiple levels of meaning, such as literal, figurative and author’s intent, summarize text, distinguish major from minor points, understand the meanings of words, sentences and entire texts, and understand relationships among words and among concepts. There is an emphasis on complex verbal reasoning skills.
- Quantitative Reasoning— Measures the ability to understand, interpret and analyze quantitative information, solve problems using mathematical models, and apply the basic concepts of arithmetic, algebra, geometry and data analysis. There is an emphasis on quantitative reasoning skills.
- Analytical Writing— Measures critical thinking and analytical writing skills, including the ability to articulate and support complex ideas with relevant reasons and examples, and examine claims and accompanying evidence. There is an emphasis on analytical writing skills.
Learn more about the content and structure of the GRE General Test.
Who Takes It?
Prospective graduate and business school applicants from all around the world who are interested in pursuing a master’s, specialized master’s in business, MBA, J.D. or doctoral degree take the GRE General Test. Applicants come from varying educational and cultural backgrounds and the GRE General Test provides schools with a common measure for comparing candidates’ qualifications.
GRE scores are used by admissions or fellowship panels to supplement your undergraduate records, recommendation letters and other qualifications for graduate-level study.
When and Where Do People Take It?
The GRE General Test is available on computer at more than 1,000 test centers in more than 160 countries. In most regions of the world, the test is available on a continuous basis throughout the year. In Mainland China; Hong Kong, China; Taiwan, China; and Korea, the test is available up to three times per month.
See Test Centers and Dates for all regions.
In areas of the world where the General Test is not available on computer at physical test centers, the GRE General Test at home option may be offered. The at home test is identical in content, format and on-screen experience to the GRE General Test taken at a test center. It is taken on your own computer at home and is monitored by a human proctor. Learn more about the at home test and how to register.
Who Accepts It?
The GRE General Test is accepted at thousands of graduate schools, including business and law, as well as departments and divisions within these schools. View a listing of institutions and fellowship sponsors approved to receive GRE scores.
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