For the first time since the test's inception in 1936, more Indians than American students took the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) in 2022-23. China was the third country on the list after the other two. According to Amit Sevak, CEO of Education Testing Service (ETS), this demonstrates the test's growing popularity among Indians.
GRE is a standardised test which tests critical thinking, analytical writing, verbal reasoning skills and quantitative aptitude of students who wish to take admission to colleges US or other countries, as per livemint.
According to the research, 113,304 Indians took the test from June to July 2022-23, followed by 97,676 Americans and 57,769 Chinese.
It also stated that the number of US residents who took this test fell 61% from 250,274 in 2019-20. At the same period, the number of Indian students taking the GRE has increased by 62% from 69,835.
One of the primary reasons for the increase in the number of Indians taking this test is because GRE scores are accepted at over 100 business schools in the country.
According to Sevak, these institutes hope to attract more international students and "internationalise" the country's higher education system. ETS is a non-profit education testing and evaluation company that administers the GRE.
Another reason is the growing interest among Indians in STEM disciplines. Physical sciences were the most popular subject among GRE test takers, followed by undecided and engineering.
Furthermore, the GRE provides additional flexibility because its scores are valid for five years. During these years, a student can pick whether to study in India or overseas based on their score.
