New GRE Pattern (August 2011 Onwards)

Hi i am JSPRINGS. Here i present you an opportunity to identify alterations made to the new GRE test pattern (introduced August 2011) in comparison with the old so as to prepare yourself to adjust changes upfront.

I am an Graduate Engineer.As like some few graduates i opted to continue my studies further to avail a masters degree. On the path the primary stumbling block became GRE. I started preparing for it way early  from Jan onwards. Wasn’t confident enough to attempt it before August.Then came the tragic news with a fun side to it. ‘GRE patterns change from August 1 2011.. those who write the test in the months of August and September get a “50% off” on the Test fee.’ It really was a tempting yet blind offer cause the results of all batches will only be released from Nov 13 onwards.. So clearly, anyone writing the test in these months were the ‘Lab rats’. Time was an other prime factor as i was planning to get my results by Nov15th to apply for the Fall 2012 intake. I started preparing on the new pattern and these were the observations i made:

VOCABULARY

•  The old pattern was kept simple; it had synonyms and antonyms sections; clearly anyone with less in depth  practical knowledge on the language could attempt it.

•  The new pattern focuses on real life scenario usage of words according to sentences; Questions on sentence completion demanded the test taker to figure if a synonym or antonym should be chose.This is achieved by 2 to 3 negatives in a sentence.One without prior knowledge of when and where to use such vocabulary could find it as IMPOSSIBLE.

• The old format had thicker vocabulary and easy usage.making it easy for the test taker to tackle the hardest of vocabularies.

• The new format uses less thicker vocabulary,but tediously difficult usage.

QUANTITATIVE

• The old pattern basically focused on Comparison with calculation.

• The new hasn’t changed the pattern much, but data interpretation has lesser importance.

• The new has tougher questions (in word) and simpler calculations..meaning the question itself is more important than the figures in it.

TIPS:

1. Practice..Practice and more practice:                                                                                                          As the new pattern is more similar to real life scenarios, you should prepare yourself learning to be in such scenarios.
2. ‘Mugging up’ wont work:.                                                                                                            Vocabulary has to be learnt through real-time usage.Cause its not only the word meaning that matters but the scenario also.
3. Learn when you are active:                                                                                                             Learning when you are active can be the most effective, especially vocabulary.Or else you would have the “Yeah, I’ve seen this”  attitude, which simply can drag the learning process.
4. Group Learning:                                                                                                                               Learning as a group can be the most effective way to learn especially vocabulary,As it can provide an active environment that lasts much longer. Friendly and mutual helping competition can add up too.this can save you some valuable time and make education enjoyable. 

I still find the grading system questionable comparing to scores on 1600 generated at the end of the test. I believe the newer format has to be given better weightage.Again i would say its better not to compare new format scores with the old.

So Guys..Have a great time preparing.

“God Bless You”