Most students who decide to apply to graduate programs are required to take the Graduate Record Examination Test. The scores of this test are supposed to provide "essential" information to help the university make a decision about the student's admission. Educational Testing Service (the company that administers most of the exams used to test academic skills - LSAT, GMAT, GRE, etc.) gives the student the opportunity to decide whether to take a paper and pencil or computer-based GRE test.

The difference between the two ways of giving the test are explained quite clearly in the free bulletin copy that ETS provides to GRE applicants. The paper and pencil test is given on specific dates five or six times a year. It takes about six weeks to receive the results, and the price is around $64. On the other hand, the computer-based test, called the CBT GRE, can be taken on six different days of any month of any year. The results are given to the student immediately after the test, and are sent 10-12 days after the test has been taken to the schools of the student's choice. The price for the CBT GRE is about $94.

When it came time for me to take the GRE, I decided it would be more convenient to take the computerized version. I spent my summer studying the books provided by ETS and one of those private organizations that guarantees the student full satisfaction on the day of the test. The most important information that is given to the student by the sources of information, is the structure of the test. By practicing, the student learns to utilize the GRE structure in order to cope with one of the most castrating aspects of the GRE, TIME! Each section of the paper and pencil GRE is 30 minutes long. So what the student ends up studying is to decipher the level of difficulty of each question based on the question # (e.g. in quantitative comparison section question #1 is easy and question #15 is difficult) and how to manage to answer those questions in the expected time (30 minutes).

The day of my computer-based test, I realized that the two types of tests differ more than ETS led me to believe. It is true, the questions are basically the same for both tests; but the timing is not the same, and the ordering of the level of difficulty of the questions is different. The questions tend to get easier if you score wrong and vice versa if you score right. This can have a negative effect on the student's sense of direction. It is hard to have a sense of where you are going also because the computer does not give you an overall picture of the section. The student can see on the screen only the question he is supposed to answer; s/he cannot know if the answering of a certain question could help him/her for later questions. Imagine yourself having to read a paragraph of the verbal section without knowing if you are supposed to answer one or seven questions about that paragraph. Realizing all this while taking the test, I was taken by panic. I chose to press the unfortunately tempting button, QUIT.

If you feel comfortable about your skills required to score well on the GRE, then go ahead, you shouldn't experience any cultural shock between choosing either test. However, if you do not feel comfortable about taking the GRE and decide to use the ETS materials t prepare yourself for the test, then be careful. They are preparing you for the paper and pencil test! Good luck.

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updated 7/12/96