GRE: Graduate Record Exam, General Test
Test Takers with Disabilities should obtain the Bulletin Supplement for Test Takers with Disabilities and follow registration instructions at the ETS GRE website.
Fee: $150.00
Scheduling an Appointment: To schedule an appointment to take the test at our center, you may register on-line, call 1-800-GRE-CALL, or call the Testing Services office at 805-756-1551. You must pay the test fee at the time you make your appointment, either with a credit card or an ETS voucher.
Fee Reduction: A limited number of GRE Fee Reduction Certificates are offered on a first-come, first-served, basis that are available for college seniors and unenrolled college graduates who meet eligibility requirements. To apply for a GRE Fee Reduction Certificate, contact your financial aid office to see if you qualify. Once your eligibility is established, the financial aid office will issue you a Fee Reduction Certificate and a copy of your ISIR. Follow the instructions on the certificate. Allow up to three weeks for processing and mail delivery.
Once you've been approved by ETS, you may schedule an appointment with us. Visit the ETS website for more information.
Canceling or Rescheduling: Please call 1-800-GRE-CALL.
CAL POLY TESTING SCHEDULE
FALL QUARTER 2009:
Tuesdays and Wednesdays as well as some Saturdays and evenings.
WINTER QUARTER 2010:
Tuesdays and Wednesdays as well as some Saturdays
SPRING QUARTER 2010:
Tuesdays and Wednesdays as well as some Saturdays
For actual dates and times, consult the GRE website.
For more information, you may pick up a copy of the GRE Information Bulletin in the Cal Poly Testing Services office, or visit the official GRE website.
TEST CONTENT:
The GRE General Test measures verbal, quantitative, and analytical writing skills that have been acquired over a long period of time and that are not related to any specific field of study.
The verbal section measures your ability to analyze and evaluate written material and synthesize information obtained from it, to analyze relationships among component parts of sentences, to recognize relationships between words and concepts, and to reason with words in solving problems. There is a balance of passages across different subject matter areas: humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences.
[30 questions - 30 minutes.]
The quantitative section measures your basic mathematical skills, your understanding of elementary mathematical concepts, and your ability to reason quantitatively and solve problems in a quantitative setting. There is a balance of questions requiring arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and data analysis. These are content areas usually studied in high school.
[28 questions - 45 minutes.]
The analytical writing section is a new section introduced beginning in October 2002 that tests your critical thinking and analytical writing skills. It assesses your ability to articulate and support complex ideas, analyze an argument, and sustain a focused and coherent discussion. It does not assess specific content knowledge.
[The two writing tasks are: Present Your Perspective on an Issue - 45 minutes; Analyze an Argument - 30 minutes.]
SCORE REPORTING:
Score reports are mailed to you and up to four institutions approximately 10 to 15 days after you take the test. These institutions must be designated on the test day. If you do not select score recipients on the test day, you must pay $20 per recipient to have scores sent at a later date. Please allow sufficient time for mail delivery from Princeton, New Jersey, USA. Allow additional time for receipt and processing time, as institutions have the option of receiving scores in a format that is distributed approximately twice a month.