GRE INFO CELL

How to nail TOEFL??

2010-09-23T13:44:00.000-07:00

For a person who filled his quiver with enough arrows for GRE there is a must-eat piece of cake and is termed as TOEFL.This is the actual status of this english proficiency test from a GRE aspirants point of view. It has been given the so called hype by the nurses community struggling to clear TOEFL. In that sense the exam is tough too.

Ok, there are only four sections in TOEFL viz, Reading, Listening, Speaking & Writing in the same order. The total duration of exam varies from about 3.5 to 4.5hrs. One amomg the reading or listening section can be long out of which some are only graded and rest kept for research purposes but in no way you know which question is graded and which is not. So you need to answer each question carefully.

My personal opinion is not to join any coaching classes for TOEFL. All you need to do is spend around 500 bucks to buy a textbook for TOEFL iBT. Many books are available the market but I feel that Kaplan is the best. Barrons for TOEFL comes only after Kaplan. I suggest you to mug this book to be in touch with the whole pattern. Also these texts are helpful in preparing reading and listening [CD contains listening material]. But what to do with other two sections?? just log on to youtube and then search notefulldotcom. You will come across some tutorial videos by Joseph ESL. They are marvelous. This is from my experience. He claims that we can score above 26 for speaking if we stick to his pattern.I myself thought that I will get around 23-24 [keeping in mind a loss factor]. to mky surprise i scored 27/30 for TOEFL speaking. JosephESL's tricks do work. You can also follow his pattern in attempting writing section. They are also helpful and i got 27 for writing too.

Another important thing to be kept in mind is that TOEFL is kind of a dirty exam measuring your temper. It is damn long more than enough to irritate you. So practice yourself sticking to that hectic time management and schedule.Once you overcome this difficulty you are fit for TOEFL. All the best. Go FIDA!!

Bookmarkable Websites

2010-07-22T04:43:00.000-07:00

Here is the list of very useful sites vouchsafing a good GRE score if utilised properly:

edulix.com [*****][Study materials, For preparation strategies, post GRE anomalies, University admissions, profile Evaluation, SOP, Financial statements, General queries- An all in one site/forum]
orkut GRE community [***][Polls, Profile evaluation]
grewordpower.com [****][Empowering your vocabulary - Barrons words with picture illustrations- Highly recommended]
greword.com[****] mainly for pre-GREmatters

Revised fee for GRE

2010-07-17T00:08:00.000-07:00

The fee for taking GRE has how been revised to $190 (INR 8730.5 for conversion rate 45.95) from $170 . The payment method is via credit card. Some extra commission charges are charged by the banks around INR 500 . Valid ID is a prerequisite during registration of GRE exam. Passport is probed for aspirants from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka to countercheck for fraudulent applications if any.

How to crack the nut, it's not a cakewalk for sure

2010-07-15T23:52:00.000-07:00

Here are some preparation strategies which proved its efficacy. First matter to be pondered is that which is the best material for the GRE? All forums and sites points with equal vigor to the mighty Barrons. There can be some fact if everyone ranks a book to the top. Yes, of course there is some truth in it. Next thing to be checked is whether this single book is just enough or not. It's not. Barrons is the best book for succesful outcome in GRE. If you can cover the whole words in Barrons, the job is almost complete say, about 60 %. Dont have a wrong feeling that it is all over by mugging all the words in Barrons. it is not an assurance but it is the required base. There are many other books too available in market like Kaplans wordlist, nova and blah blah blah.
As you know there are four subdivisions in the verbal section viz analogies, antonyms, sentence completion(SC) and reading comprehension (RC). The former two can be mastered for granted if you cover all the words in Barrons but the latter two needs word-knowledge as a base but experience in english as the leonine factor.
Assume the case of a beginner to GRE preparation. He will find RC and SC easier to tackle if he is used to reading english newspapers, novels, magazines, periodicals etc. Once he completes the wordlists, the job will be almost done. Now consider the case of a person not used to these stuffs and with a scarce vocabulary too. The thumb rule for him is to start from the plinth level itself, if you are so determined. He need to study at least half the words first, therby enriching his vocabulary. It is also assumed that he starts reading newspaper and periodicals atleast during the preparation. The rest half can be tackled once you attain some confidence after taking a diagnostic test. Such candidates find the antonyms and analogies easier to manage. If you can discover your strong area within the options you better sharpen those and then try to overcome the hurdles in your weak section.

PowerPrep Software

2009-10-08T21:17:00.000-07:00

Those who want PowerPrep software of ETS can mail me or leave your email address as comment.

2010 University Rankings- Electrical / Communication Engineering

2009-10-02T01:33:00.000-07:00

MIT, Cambridge,MA.
Stanford University,CA
University Of California, Berkeley,CA
University Of Illinois,IL
California Institute Of Technology Pasedana,CA
Georgia Institute Of Technology,Atlanta,GA
Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburg,PA
University Of Michigan,Ann Arbor,MI
Cornell University Ithaka,NY
Purdue University West Lafayette,IN
University Of Texas,Austin,TX
Princeton University,NJ
University Of Southern California, Los Angeles,CA
University Of Maryland,MD
University Of Wisconsin, Madison,WI
University Of California,San Diego,CA
Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore,MD
Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA
Columbia University, NY
Ohio State University, Columbus OH

USA Top 50 universities, Fees & Acceptance Rate

2009-10-02T00:05:00.000-07:00

1. Harvard University|Cambridge, MA
2008-2009 Tuition and Fees: $36,173
2007 Total enrollment: 19,257
Fall 2007 Acceptance rate: 9.2 %

2. Princeton University|Princeton, NJ
2008-2009 Tuition and Fees: $34,290
2007 Total enrollment: 7,334
Fall 2007 Acceptance rate: 9.7 %

3. Yale University|New Haven, CT
2008-2009 Tuition and Fees: $35,300
2007 Total enrollment: 11,454
Fall 2007 Acceptance rate: 9.9 %

4. Massachusetts Institute of Technology |Cambridge, MA
2008-2009 Tuition and Fees: $36,390
2007 Total enrollment: 10,220
Fall 2007 Acceptance rate: 12.5 %

5. Stanford University |Stanford, CA
2008-2009 Tuition and Fees: $36,030
2007 Total enrollment: 19,782
Fall 2007 Acceptance rate: 10.3 %

6. California Institute of Technology|Pasadena, CA
2008-2009 Tuition and Fees: $34,437
2007 Total enrollment: 2,133
Fall 2007 Acceptance rate: 16.9 %

7. University of Pennsylvania |Philadelphia, PA
2008-2009 Tuition and Fees: $37,526
2007 Total enrollment: 18,916
Fall 2007 Acceptance rate: 16.0 %

8 Columbia University |New York, NY
2008-2009 Tuition and Fees: $39,326
2007 Total enrollment: 22,655
Fall 2007 Acceptance rate: 10.6 %

9. Duke University |Durham, NC
2008-2009 Tuition and Fees: $37,525
2007 Total enrollment: 13,598
Fall 2007 Acceptance rate: 23.0 %

10. University of Chicago |Chicago, IL
2008-2009 Tuition and Fees: $37,632
2007 Total enrollment: 12,336
Fall 2007 Acceptance rate: 34.7 %

11. Dartmouth College |Hanover, NH
2008-2009 Tuition and Fees: $36,915
2007 Total enrollment: 5,849
Fall 2007 Acceptance rate: 15.3 %

12. Northwestern University|Evanston, IL
2008-2009 Tuition and Fees: $37,125
2007 Total enrollment: 18,028
Fall 2007 Acceptance rate: 26.8 %

13. Washington University in St. Louis|St. Louis, MO
2008-2009 Tuition and Fees: $37,248
2007 Total enrollment: 13,382
Fall 2007 Acceptance rate: 17.3 %

14. Cornell University |Ithaca, NY
2008-2009 Tuition and Fees: $36,504
2007 Total enrollment: 19,800
Fall 2007 Acceptance rate: 21.4 %

15. Johns Hopkins University |Baltimore, MD
2008-2009 Tuition and Fees: $37,700
2007 Total enrollment: 19,737
Fall 2007 Acceptance rate: 24.3 %

16. Brown University |Providence, RI
2008-2009 Tuition and Fees: $37,718
2007 Total enrollment: 8,167
Fall 2007 Acceptance rate: 14.0 %

17. Rice University|Houston, TX
2008-2009 Tuition and Fees: $28,996
2007 Total enrollment: 5,243
Fall 2007 Acceptance rate: 25.1 %

18. Emory University |Atlanta, GA
2008-2009 Tuition and Fees: $36,336
2007 Total enrollment: 12,570
Fall 2007 Acceptance rate: 27.2 %

19. University of Notre Dame |Notre Dame, IN
2008-2009 Tuition and Fees: $36,847
2007 Total enrollment: 11,733
Fall 2007 Acceptance rate: 24.5 %

20. Vanderbilt University |Nashville, TN
2008-2009 Tuition and Fees: $37,005
2007 Total enrollment: 11,847
Fall 2007 Acceptance rate: 32.8 %

21. University of California--Berkeley |Berkeley, CA
2008-2009 In-state: $8,932; Out-of-state: $29,540
2007 Total enrollment: 34,953
Fall 2007 Acceptance rate: 23.3 %

22. Carnegie Mellon University |Pittsburgh, PA
2008-2009 Tuition and Fees: $38,844
2007 Total enrollment: 10,493
Fall 2007 Acceptance rate: 28.0 %

23. Georgetown University |Washington, DC
2008-2009 Tuition and Fees: $38,122
2007 Total enrollment: 14,826
Fall 2007 Acceptance rate: 20.8 %

24. University of Virginia |Charlottesville, VA
2008-2009 In-state: $9,300; Out-of-state: $29,600
2007 Total enrollment: 24,257
Fall 2007 Acceptance rate: 35.2 %

25. University of California--Los Angeles |Los Angeles, CA
2007-2008 In-state: $7,034; Out-of-state: $26,102
2007 Total enrollment: 38,896
Fall 2007 Acceptance rate: 23.6 %

26. University of Michigan--Ann Arbor|Ann Arbor, MI
2008-2009 In-state: $11,111; Out-of-state: $32,401
2007 Total enrollment: 41,042
Fall 2007 Acceptance rate: 50.3 %

27. University of Southern California |Los Angeles, CA
2008-2009 Tuition and Fees: $37,740
2007 Total enrollment: 33,408
Fall 2007 Acceptance rate: 25.3 %

28. Tufts University |Medford, MA
2008-2009 Tuition and Fees: $38,840
2007 Total enrollment: 9,758
Fall 2007 Acceptance rate: 27.5 %

29. Wake Forest University |Winston-Salem, NC
2008-2009 Tuition and Fees: $36,975
2007 Total enrollment: 6,788
Fall 2007 Acceptance rate: 42.4 %

30. University of North Carolina--Chapel Hill |Chapel Hill, NC
2008-2009 In-state: $5,396; Out-of-state: $22,294
2007 Total enrollment: 28,136
Fall 2007 Acceptance rate: 34.8 %

31. Brandeis University |Waltham, MA
2008-2009 Tuition and Fees: $37,294
2007 Total enrollment: 5,333
Fall 2007 Acceptance rate: 34.4 %

32. College of William and Mary|Williamsburg, VA
2008-2009 In-state: $10,246; Out-of-state: $29,326
2007 Total enrollment: 7,795
Fall 2007 Acceptance rate: 33.7 %

33. New York University |New York, NY
2008-2009 Tuition and Fees: $37,372
2007 Total enrollment: 41,783
Fall 2007 Acceptance rate: 36.7 %

34.. Boston College |Chestnut Hill, MA
2008-2009 Tuition and Fees: $37,950
2007 Total enrollment: 13,723
Fall 2007 Acceptance rate: 27.3 %

35 Georgia Institute of Technology |Atlanta, GA
2008-2009 In-state: $5,272; Out-of-state: $21,386
2007 Total enrollment: 18,742
Fall 2007 Acceptance rate: 63.4 %

36. Lehigh University |Bethlehem, PA
2008-2009 Tuition and Fees: $37,550
2007 Total enrollment: 6,845
Fall 2007 Acceptance rate: 31.9 %

37. University of California--San Diego |La Jolla, CA
2008-2009 In-state: $8,911; Out-of-state: $28,932
2007 Total enrollment: 27,020
Fall 2007 Acceptance rate: 42.5 %

38. University of Rochester |Rochester, NY
2008-2009 Tuition and Fees: $37,250
2007 Total enrollment: 9,334
Fall 2007 Acceptance rate: 41.2 %

39. University of Wisconsin--Madison |Madison, WI
2008-2009 In-state: $7,568; Out-of-state: $21,818
2007 Total enrollment: 42,041
Fall 2007 Acceptance rate: 56.2 %

40. University of Illinois--Urbana-Champaign |Champaign, IL
2008-2009 In-state: $11,261; Out-of-state: $25,334
2007 Total enrollment: 42,326
Fall 2007 Acceptance rate: 71.0 %

41. Case Western Reserve University |Cleveland, OH
2008-2009 Tuition and Fees: $34,252
2007 Total enrollment: 9,844
Fall 2007 Acceptance rate: 74.7 %

42. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute |Troy, NY
2008-2009 Tuition and Fees: $37,990
2007 Total enrollment: 7,299
Fall 2007 Acceptance rate: 49.4 %

43. University of Washington |Seattle, WA
2008-2009 In-state: $6,802; Out-of-state: $23,219
2007 Total enrollment: 40,218
Fall 2007 Acceptance rate: 64.7 %

44. University of California--Davis |Davis, CA
2008-2009 In-state: $8,635; Out-of-state: $28,656
2007 Total enrollment: 29,796
Fall 2007 Acceptance rate: 58.6 %

45. University of California--Irvine |Irvine, CA
2008-2009 In-state: $7,556; Out-of-state: $27,176
2007 Total enrollment: 26,483
Fall 2007 Acceptance rate: 55.6 %

46. University of California--Santa Barbara |Santa Barbara, CA
2008-2009 In-state: $8,573; Out-of-state: $29,181
2007 Total enrollment: 21,410
Fall 2007 Acceptance rate: 54.4 %

47. Pennsylvania State University--University Park |University Park, PA
2008-2009 In-state: $13,706; Out-of-state: $24,940
2007 Total enrollment: 43,252
Fall 2007 Acceptance rate: 51.0 %

48. University of Texas--Austin |Austin, TX
2007-2008 In-state: $8,130; Out-of-state: $25,722
2007 Total enrollment: 50,170
Fall 2007 Acceptance rate: 50.7 %

49. University of Florida |Gainesville, FL
2008-2009 In-state: $3,790; Out-of-state: $21,400
2007 Total enrollment: 51,725
Fall 2007 Acceptance rate: 42.1 %

50. Yeshiva University |New York, NY
2008-2009 Tuition and Fees: $32,094
2007 Total enrollment: 6,358
Fall 2007 Acceptance rate: 69.4 %

GRE Verbal Ability Pattern

2009-09-29T20:11:00.000-07:00

The Verbal section consists of 30 questions (30 mins) :

8-10 Antonym Questions
6-8 Analogy Questions
5-7 Sentence Completion Questions
6-10 Reading Comprehension Questions (Two or Four Passages)

In general antonym section consumes less time, then analogies, Sentence completion and finally Reading Comprehension Questions.

GRE Quantitative Ability Pattern

2009-09-29T19:59:00.000-07:00

Totally there are 28 questions in the Quant Section which is subdivided into three main sections:

14 Quant Comparison Questions
4 Data Interpretation Questions
10 Discrete Quant Questions

Review: This section must not be a problem for those test takers budding from Engineering domain. The questions are just of plus-two standard. Its easier to score full marks in his section unless you are oblivious. Even an average person can score above 650/800.

Overview of the GRE test pattern

2009-09-29T19:39:00.000-07:00

GRE is a thoroughly designed multiple choice questions(MCQs) based examination to check your verbal, quantitative and analytical skills. GRE is basically a Computer Adaptive Test(CAT) nowadays though it followed Pencil-Paper pattern a couple of years ago.
The CAT GRE General Test will have three or four sections.
There will always be :

A Verbal Section (30 Questions- 30 Minutes)
Quantitative Section (28 Questions - 45 Minutes)
An Analytical Writing Section composed of two tasks (75 Minutes)

There may be (not always):

An undefined experimental section, which could be a second verbal or quantitative section.
An identified optional Research section.

The total score of first two sections viz, verbal & quant is out of 1600 (800 per section) while the analytical writing section is out of 6 marks.

Some Vocabulary Video-Tutorials

2009-09-29T00:47:00.000-07:00

The Princeton Review: Cracking the GRE

2009-09-29T00:26:00.000-07:00

Antonyms Software Download

2009-09-28T21:23:00.000-07:00

Download:

LINK 1

GRE BIBLE Download

2009-09-28T21:16:00.000-07:00

Contents:
1.Verbal Test Bank(20 Tests)
2.Quantitative Workout
3.Vocabulary Bible
4.Antonyms
5.Reading Comprehension
6.Sentence Completion
7.Analogy
8.Verbal Workout
9.Writing Assignments

Download:
Link 1
or
Link 2

Barrons Study Made Easy- Mneumonic Version

2009-09-28T19:59:00.000-07:00

Download link

If you encounter any problem with these links, leave your email-ID as comment. I will contact you via mail.

Barrons Audio Wordlist Download

2009-09-28T11:43:00.000-07:00

Part 1: Download
Part 2: Download
Part 3: Download
Part 4: Download

If you encounter any problem with these links, leave your email-ID as comment. I will contact you via mail.

Random GRE softwares Download

2009-09-28T09:39:00.000-07:00

1.GRE Practice Book
2.Powerprep GRE software
3.GRE Math Review
4.GRE Verbal & Math e-Book
5.Argument Essay Topics
6.Issue Essay Topics
7.GRE Essay tutorial E-Book
8.GRE Verbal made easy
9.GRE Bible Study Kit
10.GRE CBT Test
11.GRE Wordlist
12.Vocaboly 2.1
13.GRE Reading Comprehension
14.Wordhacker
15. Vocabulary Software
16.Math Refresher Diagnostic Test
17.Math Integer Arithmetic Tutorial
18.Math Decimal Arithmetic Tutorial
19.Math Fractions Tutorial
20.Math Powers Tutorial
21.Math Basic Algebra Tutorial
22.Math Equation Solving Tutorial
22.GRE Quantitative questions free

GRE exam Fee

2009-09-28T08:57:00.000-07:00

The Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) measures verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, and critical thinking and analytical writing skills. The GRE is conducted by Educational Testing & Service (ETS)[www.ets.org].

The cost of taking an exam is around $170 ($150 for some nationalities).

Some universities takes the average of scores (in case of repetition) while some others consider only the latest scores. TOEFL & IELTS are also required for seeking admission to some universities.

Barrons 12th edition Download

2009-09-28T08:40:00.000-07:00

Barrons is undoubtedly the No.1 book for GRE preparation. At the same time it is very hard to get the e-version for free. Here is the download link for the 12th edition of Barrons. The 3500-word rich Master wordlist if covered and revised points your chance for a good GRE score assuming the quant section is not a problem for you.
The original text costs around 400 INR (360 I suppose) which also provides with a CD for Computer Adaptive Preparation(CAT).

Download Barrons 12th edition

Is high GRE score a must??

2009-09-27T20:38:00.000-07:00

High GRE score is of-course an asset to all those seeking admissions to top universities in the US, Canada, UK & some other European nations. But the fact is that some universities do not give ample weightage to the score. Some gives importance to the academic gatherings only. Along with GRE score a couple of universities do inquire for TOEFL as well as IELTS performances. My advice is that you must first fix some of the universities of your choice and then prepare for the respective examinations. An underlying fact is that for those who are really prepared for the GRE, other exams like TOEFL or IELTS is not a nebulous task.

GRE Big Book Download

2009-02-17T04:53:00.000-08:00

GRE can be cracked if you are well prepared. The general trend is that aspirants do score better in Quantitative section and average performance in verbal section.Here is the list of all good downloads for clearing this Herculian task.

Download Big Book

http://www.freewebtown.com/loveanygirls7/bigbook_scanned_by_huy.zip
or
http://mihd.net/v62ixj
or
http://www.esnips.com/doc/48ba6c8a-43bb-47fd-84fb-2a467a259fc4/GRE-Books--Big-Book%28scanned%29
or
http://www.esnips.com/doc/1e3409ef-1f3f-44c1-9e1e-c6dd5e733a08/GRE-Big-Book-Word-List
or
http://www.esnips.com/doc/e0e839dd-06c3-462d-943a-3497e0d4c810/GRE-Big-Book
or
http://www.esnips.com/doc/5a1361f5-cee6-4b71-86e2-09a079cf2c9d/GRE-Books--BIG-BOOK
or
http://www.esnips.com/doc/37b307e2-65cc-4ec6-b547-e1d8c07880cf/Big_Book_GRE