Step-by-Step Relocation Guide

GRE: what it is, and whether you actually need it

A general graduate admissions test some German Master's programmes ask for — and many don't. Check before you spend the fee.

The test was shortened in 2023 — ignore older guides

Since 22 September 2023 the GRE General Test has been about 1 hour 58 minutes, down from roughly 3 hours 45 minutes. The unscored experimental section is gone, and the Analytical Writing measure now has one task instead of two — the “Analyze an Argument” essay was removed. A great deal of prep material still on the internet describes the old, longer test. If a guide mentions two essays or a 10-minute break, it is out of date.

Structure

Analytical Writing always comes first; the Verbal and Quantitative sections can follow in any order.

Scoring

• Verbal Reasoning: 130–170, in one-point increments.
• Quantitative Reasoning: 130–170, in one-point increments.
• Analytical Writing: 0–6, in half-point increments.
• A combined Verbal + Quantitative total therefore runs 260–340. Scores are reportable for five years after the test date.

The section-level scores are what programmes usually quote, not the total — a computer science department that mentions the GRE at all normally cares about the Quantitative score.

Registration

1. Create an ETS account and register through the GRE section of ets.org.
2. Register in the name exactly as it appears on the passport you will bring — a mismatch means being turned away at the centre.
3. Choose a test centre appointment or the at-home option, then a date. Book early; centre slots in Pakistan fill up around admission seasons.
4. Pay the fee — US$249 for all areas of the world except China. Confirm the current figure on the ETS fees page before budgeting; it is set in dollars, so the rupee cost moves with the exchange rate.
5. Choose your score recipients. Sending scores to universities at registration is cheaper than ordering additional reports later.

How to prepare

• Use current material only. Given the 2023 change, check any book or course describes the ~2-hour test with one essay. ETS publishes free official practice tests, which are the safest starting point precisely because they cannot be out of date.
• Practise under the real clock. The shortened test gives you less recovery time from a slow start — 18 minutes for 12 verbal questions is tight if you have only practised untimed.
• Target the section your programme reads. For an engineering or computer science programme that is almost always Quantitative; spending equal effort on Verbal may not change your admission chances.
• You can skip and return within a section. The test is section-adaptive, not question-adaptive, so answering easy questions first inside a section costs nothing.