GRE is the required standardized test that students have to take to get into grad school. It is often a daunting prospect for many to take the GRE because of its reputation as a complicated exam. Most beginners think that they need to know advanced math to ace the test when all GRE math topics are high-school level. However, this is not to say that the test itself is not difficult because the contents pertain to a high-school curriculum. A test can be challenging due to many other reasons.

So why is GRE considered a difficult test? Let’s explore some of the factors that contribute to GRE’s notorious reputation.

Forgotten Math Knowledge

Math is such a tricky subject in terms of difficulty because different people have different preferences. Objectively speaking, I would say that Math on the GRE is not that difficult. However, what makes it difficult is people’s unfamiliarity with it.

Think about it. When you take the GRE, you have been out of high school for four years at the very least. Not to mention if you have been working after college for many years and decide to join grad school. The time between your last math class and GRE is often so long that you forget the math concepts you once knew.

Conversely, if your major was a STEM subject in college, you will find GRE math prep monumentally easy. I think the main factor here is time and not the math topics. GRE doesn’t have any trigonometry, or Calculus. Instead, it only tests you on basic arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and data analysis.

Hence, if you are a humanities or arts major, I understand why you dread GRE math. However, countless books and online courses can get you back on track, given that you put in the time.

Vocabulary Knowledge

Another dreaded aspect of GRE prep is learning hundreds of difficult words. This can seem like a grueling task, especially if you are not a native English speaker. GRE emphasizes elevated vocabulary because it wants to make sure that you are ready for graduate-level prose. Graduate school textbooks, especially in humanities, contain heightened prose that might challenge someone who isn’t used to “academic” English.

Conversely, an avid reader of literature and non-fiction would find it easy to comprehend GRE passages and understand the vocabulary due to their reading habits. Again, GRE verbal is a measure of your skills you have attained throughout your life. It all depends on your personal preferences leading up to the test.

However, the good thing about the GRE is that anyone can prepare for it. Even if you haven’t read that many books, you can still memorize vocabulary and practice passages, and improve your English.

Devious Language

One of the main reasons GRE verbal is notorious for being difficult is the use of tricky language. ETS is extremely crafty at coming up with passages that say one thing but mean the other. GRE contains questions that are deliberately designed to trick you into choosing an incorrect answer. This is how they delineate between those who can think critically and those who cant.

You need to have strong comprehension skills to pick out small nuances in the passages that give away the answer. Almost all the answer choices are so close to being correct that you’d be dumbfounded. You’d think two or more of these choices answer the question, but in reality, only one answer choice is the correct one.

Again, if you have been reading journal articles, newspapers, and novels most of your life, you’d have a considerably easy time tackling the verbal section. On the other hand, if you are more of a watcher than a reader, it will take you some time to get to that level of comprehension.

Shortage of time

This is perhaps the biggest culprit when it comes to GRE’s difficulty. Three hours and 45 mins may look plenty on the surface, but there are six sections on the test. Take-away an hour for the essay portion, and you are left with 2 hours and 45 mins. The remaining five sections contain 20 questions each, which amounts to only a minute and a half per question.

Now consider all the complex passages and the math questions that you have to answer in such a short amount of time. This shortage of time is what causes test-takers the most stress during GRE. The only way to get good at managing time is by practicing. There is no other way around it.

Hard to evaluate your writing for AWA

A significant hurdle in GRE is the AWA section, where you are given two writing tasks. You have to argue in one task and analyze an issue in the other. This sounds straightforward on paper, but the real challenge is evaluating your writing without knowing what the examiners are looking for. Unlike the verbal and quant sections, there is no one-word correct answer for the AWA section.

This can result in a lot of frustration, and if you want someone to look at your writing, you’d probably have to sign up for an expensive online course. However, thankfully, ETS provides sample essays along with rater commentary for you to understand what the examiners want.

Moreover, ETS has a fixed pool of issue topics that it uses in all of its tests. You can see these issue topics here beforehand. They do the same for argument topics, too, which you can see here.