The new test will focus less on vocabulary and more on complex sentence completion. The mathematical portions will be less geometry-focused, and will instead shift towards data interpretation and extended word problems. While a new scoring scale will be introduced, Kaplan says it will not affect those who have taken the older version of the test. However, once the changes are implemented, test dates will no longer be as flexible. “There will be a total of about 30 administered tests a year, but that will vary a little depending on the demand in certain areas,” says Kaplan.
The two leading test preparation programs are developed by Kaplan and the Princeton Review, but as usual help comes with a price. For a typical eight-week course, which includes materials and a number of practice tests, expect to plunk down slightly more than $1,000. While the initial cost can be hard to accept, with much larger loans possibly looming in the near future, Kaplan urged those thinking about testing to look at the payment as an investment. “The GRE is still used as one of the most important tools to decide what level of school you end up at,” she says. “There are also lots of merit-based financial aid programs that are determined by the test, so a great score can pay off down the line.”
Although some people know exactly what program they want to head into, others find that taking some time of from school and testing out different professions is a better way to decide which path is the best when it comes to continuing their studies. Ricardo Gotla, 30, a housing organizer, worked in three separate jobs before he decided to return to school for a degree in public policy.
Studying for the GRE while working full-time was not so simple. “I took a Kaplan course and it helped me to learn how to identify the different question types you see on each test,” Gotla says. “It’s tricky. There are deliberate traps to make you fail and make sure that you are thinking through entire question. There is an element of the test that sees how well you operate under pressure.”
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