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THE GRADUATE
RECORD EXAMINATION (GRE), TOEFL & TSE : AN INTRODUCTION
Indian Institute of Careers and Higher Education
(IICHE) has been established in view of the multidimensional problem of
unemployment & problems of unsatisfied employed personnel. IICHE
conducts systematic studies and research in different vocations &
higher education in India as well as in advanced countries. It imparts
career counselling and does career management of students. Congregation of
eminent professionals who have studied & worked in different countries
backs IICHE.
In its Overseas
Education consultation services for the United States, Canada, U.K.,
Germany, France, Australia, Singapore and Switzerland, consultation is
provided to students who wish to study abroad. Consultation for
study in undergraduate programs (Bachelors degree), graduate programs
(Masters degree) and Ph.D. program in all fields of study is provided. IICHE also conducts Graduate Record
Examination (GRE) coaching classes. IICHE has 100% admissions success
rate, and has about 600 students studying in various universities
around the world (80% in US universities) in undergraduate, Graduate &
Ph.D. program in Science, Engineering & Business Management. 75% get Financial aid before leaving India & rest
of them get aid on reaching United States. IICHE is renowned for
its consultation services for the entire
application process, for the GRE classes and for its high degree of
reliability & professionalism.
In year 2001, we have admissions with 100% financial support in
highly prestigious universities such as University of Illinois at Urbana
Champaign, Ohio State, U. of California, U. of Southern California, U. of
Minnesota, Twin city, Rutgers, NC- State, U. of Ottawa, etc. Except about
15 students who have scored between 1700-1900, IICHE's ALL STUDENTS till date have received a GRE
score of 2100 with 50% scoring above 2220. We have several
students scoring above 2300 with one scoring 2360. Almost 95% students
have scored above 600 in TOEFL, some scoring 667 too. We have facility for TOEFL, TSE & SAT also. Many
students from outside Indore & M.P. use our postal coaching also.
The POSTAL program can be joined any time.
DESCRIPTION OF THE
GRADUATE RECORD EXAMINATION
GRE is a test conducted by Educational Testing
Services (a company based in New Jersey, United States). GRE is conducted
in India also. Since the test is taken on computer, hence the test can be
taken on any day during the whole year. No computer skill is required for
giving the test. The score obtained in the test is sent by the student
through ETS to various universities, in which the student intends to take
admission. The admission committee of that university grants admission to
the student based on his GRE scores, past academic history, letters of
recommendation, statement of purpose, research experience, etc. The GRE
scores are required by all the US & few Canadian universities to
obtain admission in Masters or Ph.D. programs.
There are three kinds of GRE tests. General GRE is required by 98% of US universities for
admission. Subject GRE also called as Advanced GRE is required by
about 20% of the high ranked colleges particularly for admission into
MS-Computer Science program and by additional 10% universities, if a
student is applying into MS-Computer Science and his Bachelor degree is in
a non-computer science field. The subject GRE measures the subject
knowledge of the student and contains the entire syllabus of the Bachelor
degree. It is administered on the paper and is administered only on one
day in the month of December in India. The Writing Assessment test has recently been
introduced by ETS and is not required by any US university for admission
purpose. It measures the writing skills of a student.
We shall describe
General GRE Test in detail here. More information can be gathered by
visiting the web-site http://www.iiche.com. To get information on
GRE, TOEFL, etc, click on the respective buttons on the home page of
IICHE. GRE General Test measures verbal, quantitative and analytical
skills that have been acquired over a long period of time and that are not
related to any specific field of study. It is a multiple-choice test.
The VERBAL section
measures ability to analyze and evaluate written material and
synthesize information obtained from it, analyze relationships among
component parts of sentences, and recognize relationships between words
and concepts. The
QUANTITATIVE section
measures basic mathematical skills and understanding of
elementary mathematical concepts, as well as ability to reason
quantitatively and solve problems in a quantitative setting.
The ANALYTICAL section
measures ability to understand structured sets of relationships,
deduce new information from sets of relationships, analyze and evaluate
arguments, identify central issues and hypothesis, draw sound inferences
and identify plausible causal explanations. Each section has a maximum score of 800, totaling to
2400. Since students have wide-ranging backgrounds, interests and
skills, the verbal sections of the General Test use questions from diverse
areas of experience. The areas tested range from the activities of daily
life to broad categories of academic interest, such as the sciences,
economics, biology, social studies, humanities, etc.
The Verbal Sections (30
questions, 30 minutes) 800 marks
The verbal section contains four types of questions :
Sentence completion, analogy, reading comprehension and antonym. Although
the amount of time spent on each type of question varies from person to
person, in general, antonyms take the least time, then analogies, then
sentence completions, and finally reading comprehension.
Sentence Completion
Questions (No. of questions : about 6, Time per question : 20-45
seconds) : The Sentence Completion questions ask the student to
choose the best way to complete a sentence from which one or two words
have been omitted. These Questions test a combination of reading
Comprehension skills and vocabulary. The student must be able to recognize
the logic, style, and tone of the sentence so that he can choose the
answer that makes sense in this context. The student must also be able to
recognize differences in usage. The Sentences cover a wide verity of
topics from a number of academic fields. They do not, however, test
specific academic knowledge. The student may feel more comfortable if he
is familiar with the topic, the sentence is discussing, but he should be
able to handle any of the sentences using his knowledge of the English
language.
Analogy questions (No.
of questions : about 7, Time per question : 30-45 seconds) :
Analogy questions test the student's understanding of the
relationships among words and ideas. One pair of words is given and one
must choose another pair that is related in the same way.
Reading comprehension
Questions (No. of questions : about 8, Time per question : little above 1
minute): Reading comprehension questions test the ability to
understand and interpret what you read. Although the passages may
encompass any subject matter, one need not know anything about the subject
discussed in the passage in order to answer the questions on test passage.
The purpose of the question is to test the reading ability, not the
knowledge of history, science, literature or art. This is the most
difficult section not only in Verbal section but in the entire GRE.
Antonym Questions (No.
of questions : about 9, Time per question : 30 seconds): They are
the most straightforward vocabulary questions on the test. You are given a
word and must choose from the five choices that follow it, the best
antonym (Opposite). The vocabulary in this section may well include words
that are totally unfamiliar to you.
The Quantitative Section
(28 questions, 45 minutes) 800 marks
This is the easiest section particularly for students
with Mathematics background. The level of the questions generally does not
go beyond 8th class. It contains questions on Arithmetic, Algebra, basic
Geometry and very basic Statistics & Probability. There are no
questions on calculus, trigonometry, etc. There are three formats of GRE
math questions : problem solving, which have 5 answer choices each; graph
questions, which have 5 answers choices each and are based on one or more
graphs; and quantitative comparisons which have 4 answer choices each.
The Analytical section
(35 questions, 60 minutes) 800 marks
Analytical reasoning questions present a situation
and some conditions. Based on this information, you must draw logical
conclusions. Logical reasoning (the second most difficult part of GRE)
questions present an argument that you are asked to analyze. Questions may
require you to draw conclusion, to identify assumptions or to recognize
strengths or weakness in the argument.
Adaptive Nature of the
test
At the start of the test, you are presented with test
questions of average difficulty. As you answer each question, the computer
scores that question and uses that information, as well as your responses
to any preceding questions and information about the test design, to
determine which question is presented next. As long as you respond
correctly to each question, questions of increased difficulty typically
will be presented. When you enter incorrect responses, the computer
typically will present you with questions of lesser difficulty. Your next
question will be the one that best reflects both your previous performance
and the test design.
This means that different test takers will be given
different questions. Since the computer scores each question before
selecting the next one, you must answer each question when it is
presented. For this reason, once you answer a question and move on to
another, you cannot go back and change your answer. The computer has
already incorporated both your answer and requirements of the test design
into its selection of the next question for you. Difficult questions are
awarded more marks. So the key to getting high scores is to correctly
answer the first 6-7 questions. It might be possible that though you could
not attempt 3-4 questions in the end, still you might get a full score of
800.
The Actual Test
On the test day, at the test center, nothing is
allowed in. You sit on a computer terminal. The test starts with practice.
If you do not want to practice, you can directly start the test. Before
the test starts, the center staff will give you scratch paper for rough
work and pencils. If you require more in between the test, you can raise
your hand and ask for it. The test will start with any section. That is a
student might get Verbal or Analytical or Quantitative section first. A
student sitting on other terminal might get something else. But once a
section starts, it will continue till all the questions of that section
are not finished. Let us take a case when the first section which comes is
Quantitative. Whatever we explain further, applies to other sections also.
The first question, which comes on the screen can come from Problem
solving or can be a graph question, etc. One has to use the mouse to click
at one of the choices. Unless you do not do that, one can not move to next
question. So every question has to be solved. The time limit of 45 minutes
is for the entire section. One can spent the entire 45 minutes on 1
question. Once you make a choice, the computer asks whether you are sure
of the choice. If you confirm it, then next question comes on the screen.
One can not go back. Once an answer to a question is given and confirmed
it can not be changed. The next question can be any question within the
Quantitative section.
If one completes all the 28 questions in say 20
minutes then inspite of the fact that 25 minutes are still remaining, the
Quantitative section will finish and the next section will start. The time
left for one section (in this case 25 minutes) can not be used in other
section. So try to maintain balanced speed. In all, there will be 4
sections in the entire test. That is a student might get 2 Verbal, 1
Analytical and 1 Quantitative, or 1 Verbal or 2 Analytical and 1
Quantitative section, or 1 Verbal or 1 Analytical and 2 Quantitative
sections. The order in which they will come is also random. One of the two
Verbal or Analytical or Quantitative section which repeat will be an
experimental section and will not be scored. The student will not know
which is that section. So he has to give equal attention to all the 4
sections. In case of verbal section, in the questions related to reading
comprehension passage, the passage will remain displayed on the right
upper corner of the screen and can be scrolled up & down, till all the
questions related to it which come on the screen one after another are not
answered.
You will get a 1 minute break after each section and
an optional 10-minute break after the first or the second section. If you
want to use toilet, etc. in between the test, the test will continue and
will not stop. If you choose to take the 10-minute break, when offered,
you will asked to go out of the room and return back in time.
As soon as the test finishes, the computer will ask
you whether you want to view your scores or cancel them. If you cancel
then you cannot see your scores and no money will be refunded. If you
choose to see your scores then the scores for each section and the total
will be displayed on the screen. Now you cannot cancel them. One attempt
at GRE is registered. After the scores are displayed, the computer asks
you the name of 4 Universities where you want to forward your scores. A
list of all Universities around the world which require GRE scores for
admission will come on the screen, and then you can choose four out of
them.
Preparing For GRE
If you wish
to join IICHE GRE coaching classes for GRE preparation, then we suggest
you to come RAW or totally unprepared. However, if you still wish
to do some preparation, then read a lot. Start speaking in English.
Suggested readings are : Editorial of good English newspapers such as
Times of India, Economic Times, magazines such as US Newsweek, Times
magazine, National Geography, non-fiction novels such as Alvin Toffler,
etc.
Repeating
the Test
You can repeat the
test as many times as you want, if you get a low score. Almost 95% of the
Universities use the better or the new score. A score of 1800 is an
average and anything above 2100 is very good. However, at IICHE generally
the students do not repeat test. The students generally give large number
of computer tests at IICHE before they go forthe actual test. So about a
week before going they know in advance what they shall be scoring on the
actual test. In case, the student wants to postpone his test he has to
send a demand draft of US$ 40 to Sylvan Testing, Delhi. The Demand Draft
must reach 7 days before the test date.
Registering
for the test
A student can
register by mailing a one-page registration (form available with IICHE but
can also can be downloaded from the Web) to Sylvan Testing, New Delhi.
This form has to be completed and choice of dates and test centers has to
be given along with the fee of US$ 125. The Demand Draft can be easily
made from majority of banks. The test centers are in towns such as Delhi,
Mumbai, Chennai, Calcutta, Allahabad, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, etc. The
busiest season is in the month of November, December and January. Normally
the student should register about 1 month before the intended test date.
Registration can also be done via, phone & Fax but it requires
international credit card (VISA, American Express or Master, with a
facility to pay in dollars). To give the test, the only acceptable form of
identification is an Indian passport. No other form of identification is
accepted. Sylvan sends the admission letter in about 10-15 days.
Score
Validity
GRE scores
are valid for 5 years. However, a student can give GRE as many times as he wants and every
new score will be valid for 5 years starting from the test date of that
score.
Eligibility
There is no
eligibility requirement to give the test. Anyone, with any background, of
any age, can take the test.
When to give
the test ?
The best time to
give the test is immediately after the first year and before the beginning
of the second year. One can give the test as late as in the beginning of
the I semester of the IV year, but then the student shall have to make lot
of compromises.
The logic behind
giving the test early is that, then one can concentrate on improving his
academics, work on projects, gain computer skills, if possible write
research / technical papers, get some teaching experience, improve
communication skills. These things are all required for getting admissions
in very good universities and very essential for getting financial
assistance from the university, in form of teaching & research
assistantships. Giving GRE early removes the fear & burden of GRE.
Also one can prepare for Subject GRE, if he / she wishes to and can also
concentrate on appearing for campus interviews for placement. Basically,
giving GRE early improves your chances and allows you to have more career
options open.
Profile of
Students attending IICHE GRE classes
70% of the students
who attend our GRE classes are I, II, III & IV year Engineering
college students. Another 30 % of the students are students doing their
Masters degree from various Science streams (Microbiology, Applied
Chemistry, etc.) or are from B. Pharma, MCA, MCM MBBS, etc. Almost 60%
have an average ability in English, 10% have a higher proficiency &
30% are below the normal. 25% of the students come from different parts of
M.P. such as Jabalpur, Raipur, Bhilai, Gwalior, Bhopal,
from Rajasthan such as Jaipur, Ajmer, from
Maharashtra such as Sangli, Jalgaon, Pune, Nagpur,
Dhulia, from Gujarat, U.P., etc.
Batch
Timings
The classes are held
in the evening. The whole GRE coaching program is of 3
months. 100 lectures (approximately 2 months) of classroom
teaching (with fixed timings) & 1 month dedicated intense practice on
Paper & Computer tests (flexible timing, i.e. you can come at any time
during the day). The Quantitative section finishes in 15-20 lectures &
the Analytical section in other 25-30 lectures. The Verbal section takes
about 50 lectures. There are two classes in the evening, 6 days a
week. The 6-7 p.m. (or 6.30 - 7.30 ) class is on Verbal, followed
by first Quantitative (15 lectures) & then Analytical section from 7-8
p.m. (or 7.30 - 8.30). The teaching is also done on the Over Head
Projector to save time. Normally the students arrive at 6.00 &
leave at 9.00.
GRE Batch
Generally 2 batches
run together. There are batches running through out the year. One batch
consists of maximum 30-35 students or fewer in order to have maximum
personal attention. If one wishes, one can repeat a whole batch (though
nobody does that). One can continue to practice CAT's, etc. for unlimited
time. One can take a break after the 100 lectures and start
with the testing part later. Our fee is taken once only.
Teaching
Methodology at IICHE
We strongly
believe that classroom teaching and interaction is the best way to get
high scores on GRE. We have excellent, highly experienced and highly
qualified (Ph. D.) faculty who are very friendly and helping. In the
Verbal section we emphasis on lot of reading, developing your
reading comprehension & remembering words in context. In the
Analytical & the Quantitative sections, the emphasis
is on basic fundamentals, shortcuts, tricks & problem identification.
The Quantitative
section finishes in 15-20 lectures & the Analytical section in other
25-30 lectures. The Verbal section takes full 50 lectures. The classes (2
hours) are in the evening 6 days a week. Sometimes the teaching is done on
Over Head Projector to save time. In Quantitative section there are 10-20
minute tests whose duration increase as course gets completed +
Explanations + Solving of Difficulties. During these 100 lectures (i.e.
about 2 months, six days a week, in all 100 lectures) the students are
also exposed to CATs on computers.
After 100
lectures there is intense testing on paper & on computer, which goes
on for about 20-30 days depending on the time a student can spend each
day. However, the timing to come at IICHE depends on individual. There is
no fixed timing & duration. Also several students because of
semester examination, etc. generally take a break after the class-room
coaching & then after their semester exam, return after about 10 days
of revision at their home to start with the testing program. We design the
testing program for each student differently. During the whole program we
guide you for the application process, when to give GRE, centers to choose
for TOEFL. How to prepare for TOEFL & TSE ? Should you change your
branch or not ? How you should select universities ? Should you take
subject GRE or not ? What kind of jobs you can get ? How to get Financial
aid ? In case you do not get Financial aid, what to do ? How to plan the
entire admission process ? When to start ? Should you give TOEFL first or
GRE first ?, etc., etc.
Course
Material
As far as course material is concerned,
we promise you EVERYTHING POSSIBLE UNDER THE SUN regarding GRE,
TOEFL, etc. We have got every imaginable computer & paper
tests. We give photocopied notes everyday in the class. Since GRE
is changing fast, so we do get the notes printed, as then it is difficult
to make changes. The course material changes with every batch but about
40% remains the same.
TEST OF
SPOKEN ENGLISH (TSE) (20 minutes)
Required for
granting of Teaching assistantships to Masters degree students. The aim is
to test the proficiency of the student in spoken English. The test not
only measures that but also tests the ability to think in English, the
extemporary ability, etc. It is probably the most important test after
GRE. On the test date, the student has to speak under different
circumstances and his voice is recorded and sent to ETS for evaluation.
For e.g. the student might be asked to speak for 1 minute on how he would
converse with a salesman in a store to buy a pen. He shall be shown 3-4
pictures in a series and ask to speak for 1 minute on what is happening in
those pictures. The score on a scale of 60 comes by post in approximately
2 months. Majority of the universities require a score of 50. Detailed
information can be obtained by clicking TOEFL on the web-site
http://www.iiche.com. It is administered only once in a month
& 12 times in a year. TSE score is valid for 2 years &
the test fee is US$ 125. The test bulletins are available at
IICHE. The test should be given at the end of the I or II semester of the
third year of B.E. Passport is required to give the test. The
registration process is different from TOEFL & GRE. To prepare for the
test, one must start communicating in English and try to practice
extempore speeches.
TEST OF
ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE (TOEFL)
The purpose of the
TOEFL test is to evaluate the English proficiency of people whose native
language is not English. TOEFL scores are required for purpose of
admission by more than 2,400 colleges and universities in the United
States and Canada. A score of 213 is required on the computer test of
TOEFL by 80% of the universities, while some universities require a score
250. TOEFL is a minimum eligibility requirement for admission and a
student will not be admitted if he has a low TOEFL score inspite of the
fact that he might have very high GRE score & a very strong academic
background. The test is administered in India similar to GRE at the same
centers throughout the year and the fee is US$ 110 and the registration
process is same as GRE. The score is valid for 2 years. The test
bulletins are available at IICHE. The test should be given at the end of
the I or II semester of the third year of B.E. Passport is
required to give the test. To prepare for the test, one must start
communicating in English and watch English T.V. channels & Hollywood
movies. More information is available at http://www.iiche.com. The
test has four section, all of which are mandatory.
Listening
measures the ability to understand English as it is spoken in
North America. This section tests comprehension of main ideas, supporting
ideas, important details, and inferences. You will both see and hear the
questions before the answer choices appear. Structure
measures the ability to recognize language that is appropriate
for standard written English. The language tested is formal, rather than
conversational. Reading measures the ability to
understand short passages. You will read a variety of short passages on
academic subjects and answer several questions about each passage.
Writing measures the ability to write in English on an
assigned topic. You must compose an essay. In the TOEFL
computer-based test, the Listening and Structure section are adaptive. In
these sections, you will be able to change your answer as often as you
like until you have made your final choice, confirmed your answer, and
moved on to the next question. You will not be allowed to go back to a
previous question, because your answers to all previous questions help
determine the difficulty level of the next question you will be given. The
Reading section of the test is not adaptive. You will be allowed to omit
items or go back to previous questions. In the Writing section, you will
be assigned a topic selected by the computer preferably from a pool of
topics given in TOEFL bulletin of information. You will be given the
choice of handwriting your response or typing it on the computer.
In the computer-adaptive TOEFL sections—Listening and
Structure—your scores are based on your performance on the questions
presented, the difficulty of the questions presented, and the number of
questions you answer. You must answer at least one question in
each section and compose an essay to receive an official score report.
Your score from the Structure section will be combined with your essay
rating from the Writing section to form a Structure/Writing scaled score.
The scores will come on the computer screen after the test and will be
shown in a range because your essay will not yet have been read and rated.
Similar to GRE you will have a choice to cancel your test before viewing
the scores. For the computer-based test, you will receive four scaled
scores: Listening (0 to 30), structure/Writing (0 to 30), Reading (0 to
30), and a total score (0 to 300). The score on essay section will be
written as TWE and will be given out of 6. The scores generally come after
1 to 2 month of the test date. Facility for TOEFL preparation is
available at IICHE free of cost for students of IICHE GRE classes.
IICHE ADDRESSES
& TIMINGS : Indore Office : IICHE, 11-C, Ratlam Kothi, Near Air-Tel
Building, Indore 452001, M.P., India Phone : 91-731-522929, 265265, 265981 Open
On : Monday – Saturday Timings : 7.00 a.m. – 11.00 p.m. URL : http//:www.iiche.com & http://www.planyourcareer.com
Email : info@iiche.com
For further details mail at neeraj@planyourcareer.com
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