Once upon a time, people who wanted to take the GRE (Graduate Record Examination) and go to graduate school had to take a paper-and-pencil test much like the SAT they had to take to get into college. They had to show up at a test center early on a Saturday morning with dozens of other prospective grad students, all with their number 2 pencils sharpened, ready to fill in a lot of answer sheet bubbles and spend pretty much the entire morning slogging through the test.

That was before the CAT (Computer Adaptive Test) came along and changed everything. . .

No more number 2 pencils, no more answer bubbles; the GRE world changed. Like anything new, of course, the GRE CAT takes some getting used to. Most students have taken countless paper-and-pencil tests, but few have taken a high-stakes standardized test in a computerized format. In this chapter, we’ll help you get a grip on the world of computer adaptive testing.

Why the GRE CAT Rocks!

No one likes taking a big test and having to wait, and wait, and wait for the results. The time between finishing the test and getting your score fills you with conflicting emotions. You might be confident one moment and filled with despair the next. The doubt and uncertainty won’t go away until you finally get your scores in the mail, so the issue goes unresolved for about a month.

With the GRE CAT, waiting for your score is a thing of the past. Once you finish your test, you have the option to cancel your score. If you decide not to cancel, your Quantitative and Verbal scores appear on the screen. Voila! A wait of six weeks reduced to the time it takes to click one button. (Note: You don't receive your Analytical Writing score immediately, since the two essays must be graded by professional readers. You should get those results back in about three to four weeks.)

This immediacy is the prime advantage of the GRE CAT. It lets you know where you stand in terms of the application process and allows you to plan accordingly. Most schools release information about the average GRE scores of their incoming graduate students, and some also include an idea about the range of scores by releasing factoids like, “Over 90% of the incoming class of psychiatry students scored more than 600 on the GRE.” If you wanted to go to that school, and you just received a combined Quantitative and Verbal score of 750, then you know your GRE score is good enough to get into that program.

If your GRE scores are not as high as you wanted, the immediate feedback gives you a chance to shift to Plan B right then and there. You might decide to take the exam again, although you won’t be able to do so for at least one calendar month. (You can take the GRE up to five times in a single year.) If you were only considering extremely competitive schools, you might decide to broaden your search and look at some schools with more inclusive admissions standards. When your Analytical scores arrive, you will also receive a form you can use to report your scores to additional schools. (You can download this from the GRE Web site.) Knowing your scores right away gives you a chance to react to them right away.

The second big advantage to the GRE CAT is that you can schedule it for a convenient time. Other big standardized tests, like the business school exam (GMAT) and the law school entrance exam (LSAT), are given at fixed times on fixed dates at fixed locations. If any one of these three factors poses a problem for you, tough luck.

This rigidity is not a problem for the GRE CAT. Most test centers are open during regular business hours, and all you have to do is call one up and decide on a time that works well for you.

In addition to the flexible schedule and immediacy of the test results, you can also send your scores to schools automatically by filling out the proper computer form before the test.

Why the GRE CAT Doesn’t Rock

No matter what the standardized test is, one fundamental truth always holds true: The more familiar you are with the test format, the better your score will be. Familiarity with the test design allows you to focus more attention on the questions themselves and expend less mental effort just figuring out the test itself. This axiom holds true whether you are taking the MCAT (medical school exam) or a third grade math and reading exam.

Now, answer this question: How many computer adaptive tests have you taken in your lifetime?

Most people would answer “none” or “one or two” to the above question, but the real answer is, “not enough to be comfortable with them.” The adaptive format is unusual, and this can work against your score. Most people are already a little nervous about taking the GRE, and the added stress of having to tap dance with the three-legged wonder that is the GRE CAT only makes matters worse.

In addition to being stranger than a paper-and-pencil test, the GRE CAT is riskier. Here’s why:

If the GRE CAT were a pencil-and-paper test, you could begin with the easy questions and skip over any questions that were too tough for you on the first pass. On a second pass, you could review your work to catch any careless mistakes, and devote time on those problems you skipped. This sound strategy is no longer available to you, because of the adaptive nature of the test. Instead, you are thrown into the middle of the fray, and how well you answer the first half of the questions posed to you goes a long way toward determining your score.

This doesn’t mean the adaptive nature will invariably lead to an unfairly low score. You could be given an initial set of questions that plays right into your hands, like a hard antonym that you just happen to know the definition of or a particular type of math problem you’ve always been good at. If that’s the case, the weighted nature of the GRE CAT works to your advantage. Either way, the GRE CAT is a riskier test because many of the fail-safes you have on other standardized tests—getting easy problems first, being able to go back over the entire section and not just one question—are not present on the GRE CAT.

So, yes, you get your score back super early, but if you’re not ready for the adaptive format, it might not be the kind of score you want to get back super early.

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