The GRE exam, explained.

What the GRE is, and what it takes

GRE stands for the Graduate Record Examinations, a standardized test owned by ETS (Educational Testing Service) and used by graduate and business schools, mainly across the United States and Canada but increasingly worldwide, as one part of an application. Almost everyone takes the GRE General Test, which measures three things: Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning, and Analytical Writing. It is a general aptitude test, not a subject exam, so it asks how well you reason with words, numbers, and arguments rather than what you memorised in any one field.

In its current form the test runs about 1 hour 58 minutes and has five sections: one Analytical Writing essay, two Verbal sections, and two Quantitative sections, with 27 Verbal and 27 Quant questions in total. Verbal and Quant are each scored on a 130 to 170 scale, and the essay on a 0 to 6 scale in half-point steps. Scores stay valid for five years, and you can take the test at a test center or at home year round. For the full section-by-section breakdown, including timing and every question type, see the exam pattern and syllabus.

How hard is the GRE, really?

The GRE has a reputation for being hard, but the difficulty is rarely in the content. The maths sits around a high-school level, and the vocabulary, though wide, is finite and learnable. What actually makes the test demanding is the pacing (a little under two minutes per question), the section-adaptive design that raises the difficulty of your second Verbal or Quant section when you do well on the first, and format traps like quantitative comparison that punish rushed reading. In practice, most people find the GRE very manageable after a few weeks of timed practice. The most reliable way to judge how hard it will be for you is to sit a full-length mock and study where your points and minutes actually leak.

How long should you study, and how many times can you take it?

There is no universal answer, but one to three months of consistent study is typical for most test takers, often somewhere around 40 to 100 hours in total. The right length depends on the gap between your current baseline and your target, which is why we always suggest starting with a diagnostic mock and letting the result set the schedule. From there, our study plan gives you ready-made 4, 8, and 12 week routes.

As for retakes: you can take the GRE once every 21 days, and up to five times in any rolling 365-day period. Because ETS ScoreSelect lets you choose which scores programs see, retaking to improve is common and usually carries no penalty at admissions, though the fee applies each time. Rules can change, so confirm the current retake policy on ets.org before you book, and read our guide to test dates and registration for how scheduling works.