L.D.College of Engg. -  Information about  GATE

What is GRE?

The Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) Program provides tests, publications, and services that assist graduate schools and departments in graduate admissions activities, guidance and          placement, program evaluation, and selection of fellowship recipients. The GRE Program also assists students in their transition to graduate education through a variety of services and publications. Admissions tests offered include the GRE General Test, which measures verbal, quantitative, and analytical reasoning skills, the GRE Writing Assessment, and the GRE Subject Tests, which measure achievement in 14 different fields of study.

These tests are necessary for admission in any US engineering college. The General Test is suitable for any discipline, while the Subject Test are important if you want to choose any particular field. The Writing Assessment Test is not compulsory, but it is better to check the website of the University or college you are seeking admission for. This document provides information on General Test as well as Writing Assessment Test.

How to apply?

The GRE Test fees are $125 for the General Test and $60 for Writing Assessment Test. You can apply for GRE via either regular mail or online. Online registration needs an international credit card. For the simple mail application, forms are available at

Sylvan Testing Services Ltd.                                                                                                          202, Shiti Ratna Building,                                                                                                   Panchvati ,Ambavadi,                                                                                                        Ahmedabad

At the time of examination you need your passport as your primary ID and your driving license (not necessarily four wheeler) as your secondary ID.

You need to specify preferred test dates, and the date is allotted on first come first serve basis. If in any case, you need to reschedule your test date, it will cost $40 for General Test and Writing Assessment Test each.

Information about computer based General Test

The General Test measures verbal, quantitative, and analytical skills that have been acquired over a long period of time and that are not related to any specific field of study. The test consists of three scored sections:

• Verbal:               30 minute section (30 questions)

• Quantitative:       45 minute section (28 questions)

• Analytical:          60 minute section (35 questions)

This three sections are of 800 marks each, making 2400 total.

The verbal measure tests your ability to analyze and evaluate written material and synthesize information obtained from it, analyze relationships among component parts of sentences, and recognize relationships between words and concepts. The quantitative measure tests your basic mathematical skills and your understanding of elementary mathematical concepts, as well as your ability to reason quantitatively and solve problems in a quantitative setting. The analytical measure tests your ability to understand structured sets of relationships, deduce new information from sets of relationships, analyze and evaluate arguments, identify central issues and hypotheses, draw sound inferences, and identify plausible causal explanations.

Information on Writing Assessment Test

This test was introduced last year only. Not every University does require this test to be taken. But if you are seeking admission in a particular University, you should check the website of that University.

The assessment consists of two analytical writing tasks: a 45-minute "Present Your Perspective on an Issue" task and a 30-minute "Analyze an Argument" task. The "Issue" task states an opinion on an issue of broad interest and asks you to address the issue from any perspective you wish, providing relevant reasons and examples to explain and support their views. The "Argument" task presents a different challenge: it requires you to critique an argument by discussing how well reasoned you find it. You will need to consider the logical soundness of the argument rather than agree or disagree with the position it presents.

How to Prepare?

For preparation of GRE many books are available. Among them "Barron's How to prepare for the GRE" and the "GRE Big Book" are more popular. There are many software available too. Among them Caplan's, Revieware, Princeton's etc. are popular. You can use these books and software to master the skills as well as for practice tests. Remember: Practice Tests are very Important. You can also take practice test online.

Tips: 

• Remember the directions for each section and all types of question during practice tests. This will save your time during the actual test.

• Try to answer all the questions.

• Learn effective management of your time during practice tests. Since you can't go back to previous questions, you will have to be aware that you do not make haste, nor do you run short of time.

• When you do not know the right answer confidently, try to eliminate the wrong answers.

• For more information, visit the official GRE website www.gre.org