THE GRE & TOEFL EXAM

May & June

Preparation for GRE starts sometime during April. During May it picks momentum, by the end of June one is ready for the exam. This is for two reasons. First, you don’t want any kind of disturbance during the final phase of your preparation. Secondly, you should have the final list in hand before you go for the exam. You can forward your GRE results to four universities for free. Same for TOEFL. If you take advantage of this option then you can save 100 dollars, that is, 5000 rupees. It takes $25 minimum to forward ur GRE and TOEFL scores.

You have to remember the names of the universities. During the exam you are not allowed to take any rough paper or something where you can write down the names of the universities. Remembering the names is not a big deal since you will be spending so much time on these universities you will remember them anyway. But note that there is no way you can write down the names on a piece of paper and keep it with you during exam.

The verbal section is the toughest part of the GRE. You may have to remember around 3000 words and their synonyms and antonyms. So start memorizing words as early as possible. Spend around half an hour everyday. Rest of the GRE is comparatively easy.  

TOEFL needs very less preparation compared to GRE. A two weeks preparation for TOEFL is sufficient for many. I will keep this section short as its not a “how to prepare for GRE” type of a guide. Keep visiting the USEFI if its near to your place. You may get materials there which are not available outside, also you may get huge set of questions banks, updated information about the universities. They conduct various seminars from time to time which are very helpful for international students.  You will get in touch with other students who are also preparing and you may suddenly come across one of those guys who will actually take your visa interview and get some vital tips from him