- The Graduate Entrance Exam, commonly known as the GRE, is used to determine the suitability of students for graduate studies. The performance on the quantitative portion of the exam will demonstrate whether students have mastered the fundamentals of mathematics as taught during the high school and undergraduate years. Many Masters programs include statistics and other higher level areas of mathematics as part of its degree requirements. Most universities want to be sure that admitted students are prepared for advanced studies in math and will not need remedial work.
- Students who have done well in math throughout their academic careers, especially those who have pursued Bachelor of Science degrees in related fields, will most likely not experience difficulty with the quantitative section of the GRE. Students who have geared their studies more toward English or the arts, may find it a bit more challenging. The quantitative section includes questions from algebra, geometry, trigonometry, analytic geometry and calculus. Students that have taken only the basic requirements for their high school diplomas and Bachelors degrees, may find that the questions are ones that they have forgotten how to answer or have never seen.
- The best way to prepare for the GRE is to purchase a study and practice guide that includes an interactive CD-ROM with sample tests. These materials can greatly aid students in reviewing forgotten concepts from high school geometry and algebra. Fortunately, the GRE questions are basic enough that anyone who missed taking trigonometry and calculus, for example, can teach themselves how to solve these types of problems with the use of the study guide.
