GRE: all you should know

This guide covers the GRE General Test, administered by ETS. The exam currently in use was introduced on 22 September 2023, according to the GRE Information Bulletin 2026-27. It features a shorter testing experience than the previous version, which lasted about 3 hours 45 minutes and included an unscored section.

Learn does not offer GRE practice yet. If you are preparing for graduate, business, or law school, this page explains what to expect from the General Test. Please keep in mind that the GRE Subject Tests are entirely separate examinations, which evaluate specific academic disciplines rather than broad reasoning skills.

The GRE General Test consists of five sections and takes 1 hour 58 minutes of total testing time.

Analytical Writing is always the first measure. It requires you to complete one "Analyze an Issue" task within 30 minutes. The older "Analyze an Argument" task is no longer part of the test.

After the writing task, you will complete two Verbal Reasoning sections and two Quantitative Reasoning sections. These four sections can appear in any order. The timing and question counts are structured as follows:

• Verbal Reasoning: one section of 12 questions in 18 minutes, and one section of 15 questions in 23 minutes.
• Quantitative Reasoning: one section of 12 questions in 21 minutes, and one section of 15 questions in 26 minutes.

Both the Verbal and Quantitative measures are section-level adaptive. You will begin each measure with an initial section of average difficulty. The software then determines the difficulty level of your second section based on your performance in the first.

You have the freedom to move forward and backward across questions within any timed section, allowing you to review and change your answers before time expires. For Quantitative Reasoning, an on-screen calculator is built into the testing system. Personal calculators are strictly prohibited unless you have requested and received prior approval from ETS for a formal testing accommodation.

When you complete the GRE General Test, your results are reported as three separate scores rather than a single combined total. You will receive an individual result for Analytical Writing, Verbal Reasoning, and Quantitative Reasoning.

The scales, what you can see on test day, and which sittings you can send are on the GRE scores page.

The Subject Tests measure undergraduate work in a subject. ETS offers Mathematics, Physics, and Psychology. The Chemistry test stopped after the April 2023 administration. Since September 2023 these tests are given on computer.

They use their own dates and a different retake rule. Those are on the GRE dates page. Confirm a seat in your ETS account before you register.