GRE to test personality

Posted on July 10, 2009 by GRE Tutor

GRE (Graduate Record Examination) has started to give a glimpse of the student’s personality by examining how they handle stress, respond to criticism and when they are friendly. This addition will give the colleges a more personal snapshot of the applicant and thus they can best choose who to admit.

GRE test is taken by more than 630,000 people every year and this new section has been introduced on July 7 with the name Personal Potential Index (PPI). The index will reveal more about the character of graduate school applicants and is intended to complement GRE scores & letters of recommendations. The PPI will be based on an online evaluation which is not to be taken by the students but by their faculty members, mentors, employers or other references who have worked with the student wherein they will be asked to rank the personal attributes of the applicant on a scale of 1 to 5. Questions range from whether the applicant can produces novel ideas, works well in groups, meets deadlines and “speaks in a way that is interesting.”

The questionnaire will have around 24 questions and the higher education officials expect that PPI could become a common part of the GRE test.