gre quantitative reasoning

Understanding the GRE Math

Dilip Oak's Academy

When preparing for an exam, it is important for us to understand the format, structure and syllabus of that exam. So, in this blog, we will try to understand every aspect of the GRE Math Section, which will help us develop a very focused approach to ace this section. It will also answer the frequently asked questions (FAQs) that students ask while preparing for this section. So, let’s begin!

What does the Quantitative Reasoning section of the GRE evaluate?

The Quantitative Reasoning section of the GRE mainly evaluates:

  • Your basic understanding of the mathematical concepts
  • Your ability to interpret and analyze quantitative information
  • Your application skills in solving the questions within the given time limit

What is the scope of the syllabus for the Quantitative Reasoning Section?

  • The GRE broadly tests you on four main topics: Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry and Data Analysis. The Math Review (PDF) file provides detailed information about the scope of the syllabus.
  • To summarize, it tests you on all your high school math concepts.
  • Good news: No trigonometry, no calculus!

What is the format of the Quantitative Reasoning Section?

  • The Test comprises two Quantitative Reasoning sections with 27 questions to be completed in 47 minutes.
  • The section-wise break-up is as follows:
    • Section I: 12 questions to be completed in 21 minutes
    • Section II: 15 questions to be completed in 26 minutes
  • The following question types are asked:
    • Multiple Choice (Single Correct):
    • Multiple Choice (One or more correct)
    • Numeric Entry Questions
    • Quantitative Comparison Questions
  • An on-screen calculator is available for the Quantitative Reasoning Section. (It is not a scientific calculator.)

What are the sources for preparation?

The following ETS GRE Resources would be the most authentic prep material as they include practice questions straight from the source.

A myriad of publications is available in the market, and a vast resource of material is on the net. But while choosing material, it would be wise to choose GRE-oriented material as it would cater to the format of the exam. At Dilip Oak’s Academy, our books and online practice material have been designed keeping the Test in mind, thus ensuring your focused preparation.

What is the best way to get a good score in the Quantitative Reasoning Section?

To get a good score in the Quantitative section of the GRE, ensure that your preparation involves the following steps:

Concept building:

  • Get a good grasp of the fundamental concepts
  • Memorize your formulae and computational tables to quickly and accurately solve questions.
  • Get familiar with the Question Types.

Practice, practice, practice:

  • Strengthen your concepts by solving a large number of practice questions specifically designed for the GRE.
  • Practice using tricks, shortcuts and time-saving strategies
  • Focus on increasing your accuracy and time management.

Testing:

  • Testing yourself at regular intervals will familiarize you with the format of the exam.
  • Review/feedback will help you understand your strengths and weaknesses, which can be worked upon.
  • Taking at least two tests under simulated testing conditions would be a good approach as it would make you comfortable with the testing environment with time restrictions.

What if I have ‘Math Phobia’?

Many students are always scared of math and thus experience ‘math phobia’, which probably has no cure. Maybe you are not good at math naturally, but don’t give up. Remember, the GRE covers only the basic mathematical concepts studied at your school level, so your math skills are not being tested in this exam. Your application skills are put to the test, along with your logical and analytical thinking. Focus on your strong areas, not the troubled areas that haunt you. Lingering on these may only increase your anxiety and thus affect your preparation and, consequently, your performance.

What should be my approach if I have a strong Math background?

If that is the case, you may find the questions on this exam very simple. But beware! You may be caught off guard! Instead of becoming complacent, a good strategy would be to brush up on your concepts and use the simplicity of this exam to your advantage. Overdependence on your mathematical abilities may affect your score adversely, narrowing your chances of securing admission to a good university. 

What Next?

  • Now that you have understood the focus of the exam and its format, start preparing according to the three steps mentioned above.
  • Ensure that you have a very good understanding of the fundamental concepts.
  • Completing 12 and 15 questions in 21 and 26 minutes respectively is one of the main challenges you will face while answering the Math section. Remember, your speed and accuracy should go hand in hand. You cannot afford to compromise one at the cost of the other.

To summarize, a dedicated and focused approach will surely enhance your test-taking skills, which will guarantee a good score. It’s not necessary to study hard; study smart. Wishing you all the BEST!!!

At Dilip Oak’s Academy, we understand the significance of this journey. Thus, we offer comprehensive GRE coaching in Pune, both online and classroom, to support you in this crucial aspect of your academic journey. Further, our admission counseling services can guide you through the entire process from Shortlisting Universities to Visa Counseling. With our expertise, we have successfully sent 32,000 students to various prestigious American universities like MIT, Stanford, Cornell, and Carnegie Mellon. To enroll in our comprehensive services, book a free consultation or call us at 91-020-67444222.

We offer GRE, TOEFL, and IELTS coaching, GRE Self Prep and guide students with university selection, application essays, and visa counseling under our Admission Counseling Services for USA, Germany and Canada.  

Explaining the New Shorter GRE and Its Implications for Test-Takers

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For many years, the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) has served as a crucial first step for students planning to pursue graduate study in the United States. This year, the GRE will be shorter thanks to a series of reforms. The test will have shorter versions of each section, but will still accurately assess test takers’ verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, critical thinking, and analytical writing skills. If you plan to take the GRE General Test after September 2023, you should familiarize yourself with these changes and prepare accordingly. The following is a comprehensive summary of all the key modifications to the new, shorter GRE:

Change 1: Reduced Number of Questions and Shorter Testing Period

The length of the GRE General Test has been reduced from 4 hours to 1 hour and 58 minutes. This is a significant change aimed at improving test-takers’ concentration and decreasing test fatigue. The reduced time has been achieved by implementing the following changes in the test.

Reduced number of questions: The number of questions in the Quantitative Reasoning and Verbal Reasoning tests will be reduced. The number of questions in each section will drop from 40 to 27. These 27 questions will be broken up into 12 and 15 for for Section 1 and 2 respectively. This change applies to both quantitative reasoning and verbal reasoning. Despite the reduction in total number of questions, the average time allotted for each question has remained unchanged.

Removal of ‘argument’ section: “Analyze an argument” task has been removed from the analytical writing section. Moving forward, the AWM section will only have the “analyze an issue” task. As a result, you’ll only have to write only one essay.

Removal of the Unscored section: The GRE currently has an unscored section that is used for evaluation of questions by ETS. This section will be removed from the new, shorter GRE, as it does not affect the test taker’s final score.

No Scheduled Breaks: The current 10-minute break after the two hours of the test will be eliminated because the new test time will be less than 2 hours.  Those taking the GRE at a testing center can still take unscheduled breaks; however, the clock will not stop. Exemptions to this policy will be made for test takers with disabilities or health-related needs.Online examinees are not permitted to take unscheduled breaks during the exam.

Change 2: faster Reporting of Test Results

Official GRE scores will be reported to test takers within 8-10 days after the exam. This is a significant improvement over the previous time frame of ten and fifteen calendar days. In the long run, this will save time for those filling out applications.

What won’t change as the GRE moves from its current format to a shorter one?

Despite the fact that the GRE General Test will be shorter, many features will remain unchanged. Given below are the important aspects of the test that won’t be changing:

  • The basic structure of the GRE, including the presence of Analytical Writing, Verbal Reasoning, and Quantitative Reasoning sections, will remain unchanged.
  • Scoring: All three sections will use the same scoring procedure, and the shorter test will use the same performance scales as the current test.
  • The shorter GRE will still be section adaptive I. e., the difficulty level of the second section will be based on your performance in the first section.
  • Although the GRE has been shortened, testing fees have not changed.
  • Graduate and professional schools will use scores from the GRE General Test similarly, regardless of the length.
  • As before, you can retake the GRE General Test up to five times in any rolling 12-month period (365 days), with a maximum of one attempt every 21 days.
  • Your GRE scores will be considered valid for five years after your test date.

Why the ETS is changing the test format

These changes are based on feedback from previous test takers and are the result of expert analysis about how a better experience could be introduced for test takers while retaining the strong validity and reliability that universities expect.

Applying to graduate and professional programs is time-consuming. While you want to show your potential in a comprehensive way, you also want to get through your application checklist ASAP. Shortening the test will help students to stay focused and reduce fatigue. The shorter test will also allow ETS to deliver GRE scores faster. Students can complete their applications sooner as well.

What is yet to be announced?

Verbal and Quantitative Reasoning have had their total number of questions cut down to 27, but how those questions will be distributed among the subsections such as sentence equivalence, text completion and  reading comprehension in verbal section, remains to be seen.

We also don’t yet have details on how the scoring algorithm might adapt to the reduced number of questions.

Which version of the test should you take- Shorter GRE vs. Current GRE

You should weigh your application deadlines against your personal preferences when deciding between the shorter GRE and the current GRE. The current GRE will be phased out on September 22, 2023, in favor of the shorter GRE. If your application deadline is early October or earlier, you should probably take the current GRE. However, if you have more time and your application deadlines are not pressing, you may want to take the shorter GRE because of its streamlined format.

At Dilip Oak’s Academy, We also provide detailed guidance on these processes under our Admission Counseling Services, including a selection of universities, documentation process and visa counseling, and mock visa interviews. In addition, as India’s leading Study Abroad Consultants, we have helped more than 33,000 students to secure their dream admits for various universities in America including MIT, Stanford, Cornell, Carnegie Mellon and other top-ranked universities.

We also offer GRE, TOEFL, and IELTS coaching, GRE Self Prep and guide students with university selection, application essays, and visa counseling under our Admission Counseling Services for USA, Germany and UK.  To enroll, call us on 91-020-67444222, 91-8007878495