If you want to go to graduate school (not counting business or law school), chances are you will have to take the GRE or Graduate Records Exam. This test is designed to measure how much you have managed to absorb in four years of college but in reality, the math portion tests heavily on high school level math! The only difference between GRE math questions and the type you saw in high school is the level of trickiness or problem solving you are expected to do. From the GRE’s website:

The content in these areas includes high school mathematics and statistics at a level that is generally no higher than a second course in algebra; it does not include trigonometry, calculus or other higher-level mathematics

Alright, so no calculus or trig – then what can you expect?

• Arithmetic – can you find percentages? add fractions? know how to work with absolute value and a number line? Can you simplify ?
  Specifically you should be familiar with:
  • the properties of integers: divisibility, prime numbers, prime factorizations, basic arithmetic, exponents, radicals, ratios and percents, using absolute value, the number line, and decimal representation.
• Algebra – You find the usual stuff here such as simplifying expression and solving linear equations but also a couple of surprises as well.
  • rules of exponents, factoring and simplifying, relations and functions, solving both linear and quadratic equations, solving systems of equations, word problems (big!), dealing with the graphs of functions and inequalities.



• Geometry – There are quite a few geometry questions on the GRE and since most people take this in high school, you should really take the time to brush up on this topic. However, you will NOT have to worry about constructing proofs – only problems such as:
  • congruence, similarity, special triangles, properties of parallel and perpendicular lines, polygons and quadrilaterals, area, perimeter, volume, the Pythagorean theorem, and angles.
• Statistics and Data Analysis – If you recently took statistics, don’t worry. There is no hypothesis testing or linear regression on the GRE. Instead it focuses on the basics such as:
  • mean, median, mode, range, standard deviation (not calculating it!), quartiles, percentiles, reading from graphs and tables of all types, probabilities including compound events (like “or”, “and”), independent events, random variables, probability distributions, counting methods including combinations and permutations, and Venn Diagrams.

  A high score on the quantitative section of the GRE can mean the difference between getting into graduate school and making other plans – even if you are planning on majoring in a non-quantitative field. Don’t neglect this section, and start studying early. You can get a great score even if you aren’t a math whiz!

  GRE, test prep

Anyone taking the general GRE in August (or later) will be taking a brand new version with some major changes to the test question types and overal design of the questions. This means that if you have been studying with some of the older review books or classes, that you should take the test BEFORE August if possible!

If you are studying the new format and haven’t registered for the test yet, ETS (the company that runs the GRE) is offering a 50% discount on the test fee if you take the test between August 1 and September 30. The only catch is that your scores won’t make it out until mid-November. Considering that the regular fee is a whopping $160, this is something to seriously consider taking advantage of!

What are some of the changes on the new test? Well among some general test format changes like the ability to skip around on the computer based test and an on screen calculator, there are also some major changes to the question types.

• Math Questions are More “real life” – It seems as though they are trying to get away from mindless calculations and focus more on questions that test your reasoning abilities. HOWEVER, they still say about 100 times on their own site that you still must have the same math skills as you would have on the old test.
• New Math Question Types – There are two new types of math questions: numeric entry, where instead of choosing an answer, you type it in and “multiple select” questions where there may be more than one right answer that you need to choose. You can also expect to see more data interepretation.
• No More Antonyms and Analogies – It has been many years since I took the GRE but I am jumping for joy as I read this! ETS says they will no longer test vocabulary “out of context” and instead will have more reading comprehension questions and new question types such as text completion and questions that have you determine if two sentences have the same meaning.

You can read more about the revised GRE here: http://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/know