Application Process
Graduate Record Examination (GRE)
What is the GRE?
- Taken by prospective graduate and business school applicants worldwide.
- Used for admission into master's, specialized master's in business, MBA & doctoral programs.
- Scores are used by admissions or fellowship panels alongside undergraduate records, recommendation letters, and other qualifications for graduate-level study.
When and where can it be taken?
- Available at more than 1,000 test centers in over 160 countries.
- Computer-delivered tests are available continuously through the year in most regions.
- The test can be taken once every 21 days, up to 5 times within any continuous rolling 12-month period (365 days).
- Even if you cancel your scores, this restriction applies.
- The paper-delivered GRE General Test can be taken as often as it is offered.
Who accepts it?
- Accepted at thousands of graduate schools, including business and law schools.
- Accepted by departments and divisions within these institutions.
For the entire list: ets.org/gre/revised_general/scores/send/aidi_fellowships
What does it include?
The GRE General Test measures four primary skills:
- Verbal Reasoning: Assesses reading comprehension, vocabulary usage, and the ability to analyze and evaluate written content.
- Quantitative Reasoning: Measures basic math skills, including arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and data analysis.
- Critical Thinking: Assesses the ability to think logically and evaluate arguments.
- Analytical Writing: Tests the ability to articulate and support complex ideas in writing, with a focus on clarity, coherence, and logic.
Verbal Reasoning measures the ability to…
- Analyze and draw conclusions from discourse — reason from incomplete data; identify the author's assumptions and/or perspective; understand multiple levels of meaning, such as literal, figurative, and author's intent.
- Understand the meaning of individual words, sentences, and entire texts; relationships among words and among concepts.
- Select important points — distinguish major from minor or irrelevant points; summarize text; understand the structure of a text.
Analytical Writing measures the ability to…
- Articulate complex ideas clearly and effectively.
- Support ideas with relevant reasons and examples.
- Sustain a well-focused, coherent discussion.
- Control the elements of standard written English.
Quantitative Reasoning
- Includes an on-screen calculator.
- Measures the ability to understand, interpret, and analyze quantitative information.
- Solve problems using mathematical models.
- Apply basic skills and elementary concepts of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and data analysis.
Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT)
Required for MBA admissions abroad. It judges the analytical abilities of the candidates.
When and where can it be taken?
Details for the GMAT Focus Edition:
- Structure: 3 sections (64 questions), completed in the order of your choosing — Quantitative Reasoning, Verbal Reasoning, Data Insights. All 3 sections are weighted equally towards your total score.
- Duration: 2 hours, 15 minutes.
- Exam Attempts: 5 attempts permitted in a rolling 12-month period and 8 attempts in a lifetime across both exam versions.
- Total Score Scale: 205–805.
Quantitative Reasoning
This section consists of 21 Problem-Solving questions which evaluate your foundational knowledge of algebra and arithmetic, focusing on your ability to apply this knowledge to solve problems.
Verbal Reasoning
Verbal Reasoning has 23 questions that assess your capacity to read and comprehend written material and your ability to reason and evaluate arguments. It comprises Reading Comprehension and Critical Reasoning questions.
Data Insights
This segment comprises 20 questions and evaluates your ability to interpret data from tables, graphs, and multi-source reasoning. It combines Data Sufficiency and Integrated Reasoning style questions.
Application Form and Other Relevant Documents
This is the key step — other steps don't make sense without this. An application form usually consists of the following sections:
Degree Program
This section asks for the program that you are applying to and the term that you are applying for (Fall/Spring semester).
Biographical Information
This section requires the basic details of the candidate, which include the name, family name, date of birth, guardian's details, contact details, citizenship details, ethnicity details, and languages spoken.
Academic History
Here you have to fill out the details about your education. This includes details about your institution, your major, your degree type, your performance parameters, etc. Some universities also ask for your GPA scaled down from out of 10.0 to out of 4.0. Other than that, it also asks about any disciplinary misconduct from your past.
Employment History
Here you are supposed to list down your employment history (jobs and internships) along with your designation and a brief description of your work.
Area of Interest
Here you enter the field that you are interested in and the research work that you are willing to pursue. Usually, you are supposed to enter three choices, ranked according to your preference. Apart from this, you are supposed to provide names of a certain number of faculty members whom you would like to make your master's advisor.
Financial Information
Here you are asked about your tentative mode of paying your tuition fees and other expenses. There might be a section for scholarships if they are offered by the program.
Essays
You are supposed either to upload files in one of the mentioned formats and follow all the other guidelines, or to write the essays in the provided text boxes, answering the respective questions.
Letters of Recommendation
In this section, enter the required information regarding your recommenders. Once you submit the details of a recommender, a link is sent to their email address.
Test Scores
Here you are supposed to enter your GRE and TOEFL scores. Please note that the scores entered by you are only nominal and do not carry any weightage in themselves. Your scores have to be sent via ETS to the university.
Additional Information
There is some miscellaneous information that universities ask, like whether you have been a student at the university earlier, or if some of your relatives have been associated with the university. You are also asked to name the other universities that you have applied to.
Review
This is where the information that you have entered is summarized for your review. Read it carefully to ensure that you haven't made any mistakes before submitting it. You can navigate to the previous sections to make necessary changes.
Payment and Submitting the Form
The application fee typically ranges from USD 75 (about INR 5,600) to USD 125 (about INR 9,300). This section shows the payment modes that a university accepts. This transaction involves international payments, so make sure that the account you are using has the service available.