Is there a future for the GRE?

Abstract

Each year about half a million people around the world with dreams of becoming graduate students take the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test. Many graduate schools require the standardized test, which assesses skills in critical thinking, analytical writing, verbal reasoning, and quantitative reasoning, as part of their application process. Some schools also require a subject GRE, which tests knowledge in a particular field. But in the past few years, a number of graduate programs, particularly in the biomedical sciences, have decided to drop the GRE as a criterion. The trend, known on social media as #GRExit, is starting to catch on in chemistry graduate programs. Last year, at least six chemistry departments jettisoned the GRE requirement for students applying for the 2019–20 academic year. These departments point to the exam’s high cost, as well as results from recent studies that suggest GRE scores are poor predictors of grad school