When Should I Take The GRE Exam?

Students planning on applying for a graduate program in the United States are usually required to take the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). If you would like to take the test in its current format--which takes about 2.5 hours to complete--you must sit the exam no later than 31 July 2007, before the GRE is expanded. The new version will last up to 4 hours and will include more questions and new sections. If you would prefer to take the new test, you may register for this after 1 July 2007.

The reason the Educational Testing Service (ETS) is redesigning the GRE is because it came to the organization's attention that some of the question posed in the current test have been circulated on the internet. Additionally, the ETS wants to ensure that the GRE continues to be an accurate indicator of how suitable a student is for graduate studies.

Some educators do, however, question whether standardized tests are, in fact, accurate indicators of student peformance in postgraduate programs. Nevertheless, most American graduate schools still require applicants to take the test.