5 Ways to Keep GRE Costs Down

By Christine Ascher on June 12, 2017

Applying for grad schools is stressful enough on its own, between getting recommendations, writing personal statements, and studying for entrance exams. When you add in the monetary cost that comes with applying, you might start feeling overwhelmed.

One major cost that you can expect to pay is the test fee, which typically costs $160 for the General Test if you live within the United States. On top of that, there are also fees involved in the preparation if you decide to take a prep class and those charged when you send out score reports.

Fortunately, if you’re worried about the cost, there are a few ways that you can make the GRE process more affordable.

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1. The GRE Fee Reduction Program

The GRE Fee Reduction Program is offered by the Educational Testing Service, or ETS, which administers the test. It’s available for people who “demonstrate financial need and for national programs in the United States that work with underrepresented groups.” These are offered on a first come, first-served basis so if you feel that you might want to take the GRE and need some help paying for it, apply as soon as you can.

If you meet the eligibility requirements, the ETS will cover half of the full test fee. In order to apply, you must be either a college senior or an unenrolled college graduate. As a college senior, you must be “receiving financial aid through an undergraduate college in the United States, American Samoa, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, or Puerto Rico” and be either “a dependent, who has an Institutional Student Information Report (ISIR) that shows a parental contribution of not more than $2,500 for their senior year” or be “self-supporting and have an ISIR that shows a contribution of not more than $3,000 for the senior year.”

If you’ve taken some time off from school after graduating college and are deciding to now apply for graduate school, you must “have applied for financial aid” and “have an ISIR that indicates self-supporting status and a contribution of not more than $3,000.”

You can also apply for the Fee Reduction Program if you are unemployed and receive unemployment compensation. To apply, you can do so either at the financial office of your undergraduate school or at that of the graduate school that you hope to attend.

2. National programs for fee reductions

In addition to receiving fee reductions through the Educational Testing Service, there are a number of other organizations that offer opportunities for fee reductions as well. These include the Gates Millennium Scholars Program, GEM: National Consortium for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering and Science Program, PREP: Postbaccalaureate Research Education Program, the Project 1000 Program, and the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program.

Most of these organizations offer fee reductions for specific groups, for instance to minority students. Most, like the ETS, offer a fee reduction of 50 percent, meaning you’ll still have to pay half of the registration fee. However, when it comes to keeping GRE costs down, this can still make a fairly significant difference.

3. Be sure of the date before you register

Though you do have to register for the GRE well in advance, especially if you’re planning to take the paper version, wait until you’re sure when you want to take it before you register. If you cancel or reschedule four or more days before your test date, you’ll receive a refund for half of your original test fee; if, however, you wait until less than four days to cancel or reschedule, you’ll forfeit the full fee.

The last thing that you’d want to do is to pay for a test that you end up not being able to make – if, for instance, you register to take the test in August but aren’t fully prepared by then and decide to wait, you’ll end up having to pay the test fee twice.

4. Use your free score reports

When you take the GRE, you’ll have the opportunity to send your scores to up to four schools for free. After that, it’ll cost $27 for each extra score report that you send out. While that may not sound like a lot, it can certainly add up depending on how many different schools you want to apply to. Take advantage of the free score reports that you’re given to avoid letting the costs get out of hand.

5. Prepare on your own rather than through a prep course

You may think that an expensive GRE prep course is the only way to properly prepare for test day. However, if you’re motivated enough to do well, you can prepare just fine on your own at a much lower cost.

The Educational Testing Service, for instance, offers free prep materials including overviews of each section, a 100-page math review, and practice tests. Kahn Academy offers free videos to help you review math for the GRE as well. You might also be able to find a GRE prep book at your local library or to borrow one from a friend and save the cost of buying one of your own.

Set a study schedule for yourself as you prepare, and that way you’ll be as well-prepared for test day as you would have been if you had been enrolled in a formal prep class.

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