GRE revision won’t affect UCLA graduate school admissions
By Stephen Stewart
Aug. 8, 2011 1:16 a.m.
Large-scale revisions to the Graduate Record Examinations went into effect Aug. 1, but the changes will not dramatically affect admissions at UCLA’s graduate schools, UCLA officials say.
The GRE, an exam required for applying to graduate schools, was changed to emphasize skills relevant to real world situations rather than memorization, said the Education Testing Service in a statement. The old exam version will no longer be offered.
The revised exam is longer, including changes to the content of the verbal and quantitative sections. It will also be scored on a different scale.
The highest possible score will also change, from 800 to 170, said Carlos Grijalva, associate dean of the graduate division.
Though UCLA graduate schools will see an influx of old and new GRE test scores, they do not favor either test, Grijalva said.
To compare the two different scoring scales, graduate schools will look primarily at students’ percentile rankings, Grijalva said.
“The number system is basically collapsed,” said Robin Garrell, dean of the UCLA Graduate Division. “One of the reasons for that is it really encourages people to look at the percentile rankings.”
A method will be used to compare the two scoring scales. New GRE scores will be converted to another score measurable on the old GRE scale, Grijalva said.
“(The scale) would give you some idea, so people can readjust their thinking,” Grijalva said. “It’s like going from metric to the system we have in the U.S.”
Abraham Chiu, a UCLA alumnus, will be taking the new GRE in September. He said he decided to hold off for the new test, hoping that the new format would be advantageous to him.
“I think admission officers might not know how to compare (the two scores),” he said. “Hopefully, the percentile scores will be a good indicator as to how I rank among other students.”
UCLA is prepared to receive a mix of new and old test scores this application season. However, even though GRE test scores are usable for five years, a complete transition to the new GRE by next fall is expected, Garrell said.
