You want to give your best shot at the Graduate Record Examination for admission to a good college in the US.

How must you prepare for the test?

Overseas education counsellor Karan Gupta has this advice to offer: "For a self-study course for GRE, I recommend that you use Practicing To Take The General Test by ETS along with the Big Book by ETS again. These two books will give you sufficient practice for your GRE."

"You should also use the Powerprep software along with the Kaplan computer tests for a more exhaustive study."

"www.majortests.com is a good web site for free GRE questions."

• Study Abroad: Tips, strategies... more 

Karan, who has been working as a professional counsellor since 1999, is the honorary study abroad counsellor at Jai Hind College, Mumbai, and manages his own firm, Karan Gupta Consulting. He studied at Ithaca College, New York, USA, and the University of Texas, Austin, USA. While pursuing his education, he worked in the office of admissions, the financial aid office and the international office on these college campuses.

• Do you have a question for Karan Gupta? Write to us!

I am an MBBS  graduate doing and internship. I will be appearing for GRE. I am going to prepare on my own. Will you please tell me whether studying 3-4 hours daily for two months will be sufficient to get a good score? I have completed all the word lists from Barron's and solve all problems from the same up till now. Can you please guide me regarding the minimum number of mock test I need to take to judge my performance? Also please guide me regarding the test material, web sites which allow us to take mock tests. Please guide me regarding how to improve in Maths and Reading Comprehension.

-- Gauri  Shevatekar

For a self-study course for GRE, I recommend that you use Practicing To Take The General Test by ETS along with the Big Book by ETS again. These two books will give you sufficient practice for your GRE.

You should also use the Powerprep software along with the Kaplan computer tests for a more exhaustive study.

www.majortests.com is a good Web site for free GRE questions.

I am on the F-I visa and I had completed graduate diploma in international marketing from Boston University. My questions are:

1) I have five year student visa valid till 2008. Is it possible to go back to India and return to the US for further course?

Considering my graduate programme, I will be able to finish my Master's in one semester itself. Can I join any other university and come back next year on the same visa? Or do I need to apply for visa again?

2) Will I get my Optional Practical Training again, if I come back for further studies?

3) Can you tell me about assistantships? What all is required to obtain an assistantship in universities?

-- Nitin Takiar

Your best bet is to stay in the US itself and apply for a new course. Your visa should be valid for the new course as long as you get a new I-20 in time. You are allotted an additional year of OPT if you pursue a higher degree. For example, if you pursued a Bachelor's degree and then used your OPT and then applied for a Master's degree, you will get one more year of OPT after your Master's degree. For assistantships, you need to convince faculty members that you can teach or research for them.

I have completed my BE in mechanical engineering this year. Now, I am preparing for GRE to get admission into one of the US' 100 best colleges. I want to know what GRE score I need to get into these collges. I got a GPA of 3.9. Can u please help me to find out the requirements of these colleges?

-- Chintan Patel

Is your GPA 3.9 on 4.0? If yes, you have an excellent GPA and, with a GRE score of 1400 and above, you can apply for admissions to top US universities. Besides the GRE, you will also need the TOEFL for admissions.

I read your article regarding the preparation of IELTS examination. Could you please let me know, where can find the Macmillan IELTS test-builder material? 

-- Rajesh pore

You can contact the Sterling Book Depot in Mumbai for information on IELTS test preparation material. Alternatively, you can also check out Crossword Bookstore and any other good as well as smaller bookstores across the country.

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