Would-be grad students face longer, revised GRE

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Applicants to graduate schools will soon face a new hurdle in their bids for admission: a longer and revamped GRE.

The revised Graduate Record Examination will be given at test sites across the country beginning Monday, Aug. 1. It will take about four hours instead of three, and the scoring system will change.

The new version eliminates a verbal section featuring antonyms and analogies. Also, one set of math questions will require numerical entries instead of picking from multiple choice. A calculator will now be provided.

Officials at Education Testing Services, which developed the exam, say the revised version more accurately reflects the skills needed to succeed in graduate and business schools.

About 675,000 people took the exam last year.