Table of Contents
- What is GRE Exam?
- Why take the GRE Test?
- GRE Test Scores
- Importance of GRE Practice Tests Online
- How many GRE mock tests should you take?
- What type of GRE mock tests should you take?
- The overall approach to GRE mock tests
- What Makes a Good GRE Practice Test?
- The Best Free GRE Practice Tests
- How to Use Free Practice Tests in Your GRE Prep
- The Best Free GRE Practice Tests Online
- FAQS on GRE Mock Test
Graduate applicants who put off preparing for exams shouldn't try to cram for the Graduate Record Exam, or GRE, because doing so will make it impossible for them to achieve a high score on this graduate school admission exam, according to experts.
One of the most crucial resources for GRE preparation is sample exams, but sadly, many of the online practice tests are of poor quality. By studying things you don't need to and ignoring the real abilities, you should be learning, using a low-quality GRE practice exam can actually lead to you reducing your GRE skills.
Fortunately, you may use the greatest free GRE practice exams that we have compiled in this guide. We go through the benefits and drawbacks of each practice test in addition to what constitutes a good GRE practice test and offer advice on how to use practice exams when preparing for the GRE.
Exam GRE: Administered by ETS, the GRE is one of the most well-liked graduate admissions exams for applicants planning to pursue MS or Graduate courses abroad. The ETS GRE exam is offered numerous times throughout the year, and applicants can take the test in a recognised GRE test centre or from the comfort of their homes using the "GRE at Home" option.
What is GRE Exam?
The GRE test, often known as the GRE General test, is administered by ETS and is one of the most widely acknowledged graduate admissions assessment programmes in the world for law or business schools. The GRE exam is a standardised examination used to assess a candidate's overall intellectual preparedness for graduate school. A candidate's analytical writing, numeric aptitude, and verbal thinking abilities are assessed by the GRE General Test.
According to the official ETS GRE website, the GRE results are accepted by law schools, business schools, and other organisations worldwide. Candidates would also get access to sample GRE tests in this post and a personalised GRE study schedule. Candidates who wish to take the GRE must pay a $213 US examination fee.
GRE Test Scores
After passing the GRE general test, candidates may anticipate receiving three scores, including verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, and analytical writing scores. Verbal and quantitative scores are always whole numbers and range from 130 to 170. Writing scores are denoted by numbers between 0 and 6, and they are given in increments of 0.5.
The range of GRE subject exam scores is 200 to 990. On the biology and psychology subject exams, test takers are given a total score as well as a number of subscores, which range from 20 to 99 and indicate how well-versed they are in specific subject areas.
According to experts, candidates for graduate school should base their objective GRE score on the competition of the programmes to which they are applying and the highest score they think they are capable of obtaining.
According to Yim, a GRE score must be higher than average at the target institutions for a prospective graduate student in order to have a favourable effect on that student's chances of admission. You are an ordinary student if you achieve that score. Thus the score doesn't actually assist you.
Importance of GRE Practice Tests Online
Regular practice in a setting similar to the GRE is essential for success when studying for the GRE general test. The greatest method to be ready for test day is by taking GRE to practise exams, which provide you with the opportunity to:
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How many GRE mock tests should you take?
- Remember that the GRE practise exams are just one aspect of your GRE preparation and shouldn't be your only source of information.
- You can take as many practice exams as necessary to get comfortable with the examination.
- Taking four GRE to practise exams is recommended, not including the diagnostic test you take to establish your baseline if you have a 1- to 3-month practice window.
What type of GRE mock tests should you take?
- The GRE test is computer adaptive. This implies that your performance in the first sub-section determines the level of difficulty in both the verbal and quantitative sections' second sub-parts.
- Students should practice GRE sample papers. Therefore, begin by taking the GRE practise examinations that are not adaptive. When you have finished most of your studying, switch to the adaptive GRE practise test.
- As you begin your preparations, this will help you more accurately pinpoint your areas of strength and weakness and give you a taste of the testing environment.
The overall approach to GRE mock tests
- Take practise GRE exams online to become accustomed to the testing environment.
- To enhance your time management and increase speed and accuracy in each part, take GRE verbal and GRE quantitative practice exams individually.
- Once you have finished the GRE course, take full-length non-adaptive practice exams.
- As your GRE preparation draws to a conclusion, take full-length computer-adaptive practice exams.
- The greatest strategy to build endurance for the 4-hour GRE is to take practice exams.
What Makes a Good GRE Practice Test?
Before looking at the greatest free GRE exams, let's first examine what constitutes a fantastic practise test. There are several free practice GRE tests available, with quality ranging from very good to bad. We discuss the four characteristics that all the best-practice GREs have in this section.
High-Quality Questions
Above important, your free GRE exam should have practise questions that are as similar to those on the real GRE as is feasible. This implies that they have similar wording, test the same ideas, are of a comparable level of difficulty, etc.
High-quality practise GRE problems are difficult to routinely produce, and many of the free GRE preparation materials feature questions that aren't really representative of the ones you'll face on test day. You could study the incorrect topics for the GRE if you utilise them for practise.
The finest free GRE practise tests to use are official practise exams because of this. You may be confident the questions are of a high standard because they were created by the same team that created the actual GRE.
Similar to the Actual GRE Format
Numerous low-quality GRE practise exams are brief quizzes with 10 or 20 questions rather than actual examinations. GRE quizzes can be a great study aid, but they shouldn't replace full-length GRE practice exams.
The GRE is a fast-paced, 3.5-hour examination, so you should be fully aware of how a test of that length and intensity will effect you before you take it. The format of your practise GRE exams should be the same as the actual GRE. This indicates that there will be an equal number of questions, sections, and other exam components.
Analytical Writing will always be the first portion of the GRE. You will have two 30-minute blocks to write each of the two essays, "Analyze an Issue" and "Analyze an Argument." The sequence of the next five sections is flexible. There will be two parts each of verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, and an ungraded component (you won't know which one this is, so give all of the GRE questions your best effort).
You have 30 minutes to respond to 20 multiple-choice questions for each Verbal Reasoning segment. You will have 35 minutes to complete 20 multiple-choice and write-in questions for each Quantitative Reasoning segment. Your practise GRE exams should roughly resemble this structure.
The GRE is furthermore section adaptable. This implies that the difficulty of the second Verbal and Quantitative portions is determined by your performance on the first Verbal and Quantitative sections. Because it requires more work for the test designers, many practise GREs, especially free ones, don't have section adaptive questions. However, those that do offer you somewhat more accurate results because they are that much more like the real GRE.
Strong Answer Justifications
Having excellent GRE practise questions is not enough; the questions must also be supported by thorough answer explanations. It may be challenging for you to comprehend what you're doing incorrectly and make amends if the response explanations are sparse or nonexistent.
The greatest answer explanations will make it crystal apparent how to arrive at the right response while also discussing typical errors students might make that result in an inaccurate response.
The Best Free GRE Practice Tests
The top free GRE practise tests may be found below. We provide a summary of the exam(s) for each of them along with advantages and disadvantages. Even the imperfect examinations are valuable to use, albeit they are broadly arranged from highest to lowest quality.
PowerPrep II
These should be the sole practise GRE examinations you take if you only have time for one or two. One of the greatest GRE study guides available is PowerPrep II. To access two full practise GREs, all you have to do is download the programme. They were created by the same individuals who created the actual GRE you will take on test day as legitimate practice tests. The best practise exams to take are the official ones since you can be sure they will follow the same structure, topics, time, and degree of difficulty as the real GRE.
These tests are still an excellent resource despite the fact that they don't provide answer explanations, which is their biggest flaw.
Pros:
- The UI and questions presented are the most similar to those you can receive on the actual GRE.
- Section adaptive testing ensures that your final score is more accurate than it would be on a non-adaptive test.
- The computer-based interface is exactly like what you'll see on test day so you can get used to how the GRE test will appear and function.
PowerPrep tests
Many of the questions on these examinations are also on the PowerPrep tests, therefore we advise taking the PowerPrep tests first and utilising them to practise any questions you haven't encountered before.
Pros:
- They will closely resemble the actual GRE as they are official examinations.
Manhattan Prep Free GRE Practice Test
One of the top unauthorised free GRE tests is offered by Manhattan Prep. To access the practise exam, you must first sign up for a free account. For an unauthorised source, the practise questions are of a good calibre, and the exam's format is remarkably like to that of the real thing. Additionally, if you're having trouble understanding why you answer some questions incorrectly, this test contains some of the most thorough answer explanations of any online GRE test.
Pros:
- The questions resemble the GRE's actual questions extremely closely.
- Exam sections are adaptable.]
- Explanations of the answers in detail.
- The computer interface is comparable to the GREs itself.
- identical to the GRE's real format.
Kaplan Free GRE Practice Test
Kaplan offers a further free GRE practise exam that you may take online. This test is comparable to the one offered by Manhattan Prep, and it does a decent job of simulating the structure and kinds of problems seen on the GRE. Its response justifications aren't as thorough as Manhattan Prep's, though.
Pros:
- Format is the same as the GRE itself.
- The computer interface resembles what you'll see on exam day extremely closely.
- After finishing the exam, you'll get feedback on which sections/topics you performed well on and which you need to work on.
Princeton Review Free GRE Practice Test
On its website, Princeton Review provides a single free GRE practise exam. To access the exam, you must first register a free account, and once you do, the test is only available to you for a limited time (14 days). This practise test has the same scheduling and format as the real GRE, much as the exams from Manhattan Prep and Kaplan, and the computer interface is remarkably close to what you'll encounter on test day.
However, you won't be allowed to look at the questions again, and there are no explanations for the answers. Instead, you'll receive a score sheet after reading the material that lists the question numbers you answered correctly and incorrectly. It is incredibly challenging to learn from your mistakes when you are unable to revisit the questions you missed. If you feel quite confident in your GRE abilities and want a practise exam to only get a sense of how well you're scoring, without answer explanations, then we recommend this test.
Pros:
- The questions resemble those on the actual GRE.
- Similar to what you'll see on exam day, the computer interface.
- Following the exam, you'll receive a short analysis of the areas you did well on and those you need to work on.
McGraw Hill Free GRE Practice Test
Additionally, McGraw Hill provides five extra practise tests along with a free diagnostic GRE test (which consists of a Verbal and a Quantitative component). We suggest reserving them till after you've done the other GRE practise exams since although the questions are of quite high quality, the structure is different from the actual GRE. When you want to prepare for the GRE but don't have time to take a full practise exam, you may also take one portion at a time.
Pros:
- Many accessible practise questions
- No account is required to access the questions.
- Really good explanations for the answers. They could go into more detail, but you'll understand how to answer their questions well enough.
How to Use Free Practice Tests in Your GRE Prep
How can you maximise your use of the finest GRE free practise tests now that you are aware of them? To get the most of your practise GREs and obtain the results you desire, use the three suggestions below.
Spread the Practice Tests Throughout Your Study Period
You ought to take at least two practise GREs, and if you have the time, three to four are advised. Take a practise exam at the start of your studies to get a sense of how much you need to learn and where you should concentrate your studying the most, and another test at the conclusion to get a sense of how well you'll perform on the actual GRE.
If you have time, spread out by taking more practise exams across your study time so you may get regular feedback on how you're doing. Since these PowerPrep tests are the most accurate, we advise taking one at the start and another at the conclusion of your studying. Take an unauthorised practise test like the Manhattan Prep exam in the middle of your study session.
Take the Test With Correct Timing, and in One Sitting
You may choose whether to take the timed or untimed versions of many of these free GRE examinations. Always take the practise exams in a single session and under time constraints, just like you would on the real GRE. By getting acclimated to taking a lengthy exam under stringent time constraints, this will help you become ready for the test.
Your practise test score won't be a reliable indicator of how well you'll perform on the actual GRE and you won't be adequately preparing yourself if you take long breaks between sections or give yourself additional time to complete questions on the practice exams. If there is a timed option, always choose it and follow it while taking the test.
Review Your Mistakes
Your job is not finished once you have taken the free GRE test. You should look through each of the questions you got wrong on each practice exam you take so you can figure out what you did wrong. The greatest approach to raising your GRE score is doing this, albeit it can be difficult and time-consuming. Otherwise, you won't realise what you're doing poorly and will keep making the same mistakes.
You can examine certain areas in GRE study guides or supplementary study resources if you realise that you're making mistakes on many questions on those topics.