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Considering going back to school to get your master’s degree? As you may know, the graduate record exam, or GRE, is the gateway to being accepted into almost schools’ graduate program.

The test, which is computerized and given at various test sites around the country, and is generally offered year-round, is broken down into the following sections: the essay part, the quantitive reasoning part and the verbal reasoning part.

Each section is scored differently: the essay part is scored on a scale of zero to six; and both reasoning portions are scored on a scale of 200 to 800.

While there is no way to fail the exam, it’s important to aim for the highest score possible, and just as with any test, preparation is key to high performance.

The following are a few tips to help you do well on the GRE:

• Study guides are essential. There are several on the market and each one touts itself as the study guide for the GRE; however, many tend to emphasize preparing for one part of the test over the other parts. For instance, one guide may be more math-based, while the other focuses more on verbal reasoning.
• Take practice tests. These tests can be found in the back of the study guides and online. Taking these mock tests in a timed setting will give you an accurate idea of what the test will be like when you actually take the test.