How Hard is the GRE?

The GRE (Graduate Record Examination) is considered to be more challenging than exams like SAT and ACT, but less demanding than GMAT, LSAT, and MCAT. It assesses the higher-level reasoning skills, critical thinking and advanced vocabulary of students. Are you planning to take the GRE? Then, you might think how hard is the GRE in 2025. Worry not, we will answer this question in this article. It all depends on how well you are prepared and how familiar you are with the test format.

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This Story also Contains

1. Overview of GRE Format
2. What is the Reason for the Difficulty of the GRE?
3. Is GRE Harder than GMAT?
4. Is GRE harder than IELTS?
5. How Hard is the GRE Compared to the SAT?

Overview of GRE Format

There are three main sections of the GRE examination, which are as follows:

• Verbal reasoning: This section tests the reading comprehension, vocabulary, and analytical ability of students.

• Quantitative reasoning: This section covers math, data analysis, and problem-solving abilities of students.

• Analytical writing: In this section, the test takers have to write two essays: in the first essay, the students have to analyze an issue, and in the second essay, they have to analyze an argument.

How hard is the GRE? These sections have their own set of challenges that make this examination tough for students.

What is the Reason for the Difficulty of the GRE?

Here are the things that make GRE (Graduate Record Examination) difficult for students:

Complexities involved in the vocabulary and reading comprehension

The first section of the GRE is specially known for its challenging vocabulary. Even the students who are native English speakers find it difficult to deal with the high level of English. This is because there are several obscure words used in this section that we don’t use commonly. In addition to this, the section also involves test takers to demonstrate skills in comprehending complex passages and draw logical conclusions.

Tricky quantitative section

How hard is the GRE math? While the GRE math consists of basic high school algebra, geometry, and statistics, there can also be a lot of tricky questions in this section. Most of the questions in the quantitative section are designed to assess the critical thinking abilities of students. Also, students face a time-constraint to solve all the questions and recheck them.

Time management

GRE is a timed test, which means that managing the time is a big challenge for students. Test-takers find it difficult to manage all the sections within the given stipulated time. The exam is a computer-adaptive test that adds to the challenge as the difficulty level gets adjusted depending on the performance of the students.

Analytical writing challenge

A lot of students think that the analytical section doesn’t involve any complexities. However, in reality, they find it difficult to structure two coherent essays within a short period of time. Therefore, it requires a lot of practice to deal with this section.

Read more:

• GRE preparation tips

• GRE eligibility criteria

Is GRE Harder than GMAT?

How long is the GRE? The duration of the GRE is 1 hour 58 minutes, while GMAT is 2 hours 15 minutes long. Both of these examinations are widely used for graduate admissions, but they have different format, purpose, and difficulty.

GRE vs GMAT

Is GRE harder than IELTS?

The table below gives a GRE vs IELTS comparison:

GRE vs IELTS

How Hard is the GRE Compared to the SAT?

The table below shows the comparison of GRE and SAT:

GRE vs SAT

How hard is the GRE general test? The difficulty of the GRE is subjective. Some test-takers find it manageable with adequate preparation, while others struggle with time constraints, vocabulary, and tricky math questions. However, with a well-structured study plan and consistent practice, anyone can improve their performance and achieve a competitive score.