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All you need to know to crack the NEW GRE

2011-11-01T08:16:00.000+05:30

GRE stands for Graduate Record Examination and is administered by Education Testing Service (ETS). It is a multiple-choice entrance test that graduate schools in English speaking countries

Students who are taking new GRE now on have an advantage of friendly design for the computer-based test. The test features advanced technology that allows students to freely move forward and backward, edit or change answers and skip questions, all within a section, and use an on-screen calculator. These features were not as a part of the earlier test. There are new types of questions in the Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning sections, many featuring real-life scenarios that reflect the kind of thinking of an individual.

ETS can send your GRE scores to a maximum of four universities chosen by you. The costs of sending these scores are in-built in the fees that you pay for appearing in the test.
Inside the new GRE 2011

In old GRE format, Analytical writing section was always first in the test, followed by Verbal, Quantitative and Research section. But in New Revised GRE either of the sections could be first. If there is a Research section mostly it always appears at the end of the test. The computer-based test takes about 3 hours and 45 minutes.

Test format for computer-based test:

Section	No. of Questions	Time Allotted
Analytical Writing (1 section with 2 separately timed tasks)	One "Analyze an Issue" task and One "Analyze an Argument" task.	30 minutes per task (30mins + 30mins = 60 mins)
Verbal Reasoning (2 sections)	Approximately 20 questions per section.	30 minutes per section (30mins + 30mins = 60mins)
Quantitative Reasoning (2 sections)	Approximately 20 questions per section.	35 minutes per section (35mins + 35mins = 70 mins)
Unscored	Vary from test to test	Vary from test to test
Research	Vary from test to test	Vary from test to test

There's a 10-minute break following the third section and a 1-minute break between the other test sections.

GRE Scoring pattern
With the new GRE, the most important change is the in the scoring system. Current day GRE has 10-point increments and new pattern will have to 1-point increments. According to ETS – the purpose for compressing the reporting metric is simple: to produce scores that don’t exaggerate small performance differences between examinees.

The new GRE pattern score scale for the GRE revised General Test:

New GRE Verbal: 130–170 score scale, in 1-point increments (current GRE pattern 200–800 in 10-point increments).
New GRE Quantitative: 130–170 score scale, in 1-point increments (current GRE Pattern 200–800 in 10-point increments).
Analytical Writing will continue to be reported on the same 0–6 score scale, in half-point increments.

Tips to crack the new GRE

Be aware of the type of questions that will appear in the GRE Test and how long each section is and the time limits. This will help you pace yourself through the test.
Devote just the right amount of time to each question. Maximising marks in a given period of time should be the aim. Do not rush. The questions at the beginning affect score more than those towards the end.
It is essential that you remain calm and relax before going to the test. A person who is relaxed usually does much better than a person who is tense during an exam. Get enough sleep before the day.
Getting to the test centre on time is vital. In fact you should try and get to the test center 15-30 minutes before time. Taking a test drive to your test center exactly a week before might be a good idea. This will give you a rough idea of the traffic conditions at the time and day of your GRE.
Students are not allowed to bring any sheets of paper to the GRE test centre but are provided scratch paper by the center. Make effective use of this to make quick notes or for solving math questions.
Keep your cool all the time, even when you don't know the answer. Once students panic, even answer to the easiest questions can be wrongly attempted.

How to register for GRE

The GRE exam registrations can be done in the following ways:

1. Online Registration | 2. Phone Registration | 3.Regular Postal mail

All the best for your GRE prep.

The new GRE 2011 - Video Overview

NASA’s latest game makes you a network admin… in SPACE!

2011-10-13T18:25:00.000+05:30

NASA has released a new browser-based game made to let you build a computer network that spans the globe and then orbits it with satellites in low earth orbit.

NetworKing, developed at the Ames Research Center’s Information Technology Office, lets players take on a role not unlike the one played by the real-world office

Once in space, it’s possible to achieve multiple levels of progress. Players begin with a Near Earth Network, which includes geosynchronous satellites like those used in the Global Positioning System (GPS). Later on, a Deep Space Network supports interplanetary communication. At the highest levels, missions culminate in actual NASA projects including the International Space Station and the Hubble Space Telescope.

The game uses 3D graphics, but is playable in a browser thanks to the popular Unity graphics engine plugin. A browser-based game also means that it is cross-platform, meaning it’s playable on your OS and browser of choice as long as Unity is supported. Players can get started playing the game right now.

NASA’s previous game release, Moonbase Alpha, was an MMO set on the moon. It was perhaps best known for a text-to-speech feature in its in-game chat channel that soon became something of a playground for trolls as the video below demonstrates:

IITK Nano Satellite JUGNU

2011-10-11T17:38:00.001+05:30

IITK to launch India's first nano satellite, Jugnu: IITK is working together with ISRO(Indian Space Research Organization) to launch its first nano satellite, Jugnu,by the end of september. On 6th of March president of India handed over the Engineering Model to ISRO for testing to ISRO.The satellite will be launched into a polar orbit of 700 - 800 km altitude from Sriharikota by ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). Jugnu is 1 foot long, 10 cm wide and will weigh less than 3 kg. It is equipped with near IR(Infra Red) camera and will transmit images to a base station at the IITK campus. It will also broadcast a beacon signal that HAM operators all over the globe will be able to pick up. The stipulated life time of the satellite is around 12 months. The high-resolution pictures and the data obtained from the satellite will be used for various applications such as drought monitoring, wasteland management, urban planning and flood-risk management. The nano satellite is being developed by a team of 50 students led by Shantanu Agarwal . A ground station is being built at IIT Kanpur for monitoring its activities and for data communication.

For website on Jugnu click here.