The GRE certificate is one of the most widely accepted documents to enter universities or other institutions of higher education in English-speaking countries. It tests the ability of the participants to reason, analyze and criticize. Those capabilities are not tested in relation to a specific area or domain.

The GRE's new version was introduced in August 2011 and consists of four parts. The first is a writing segment, and the three others are multiple choice questions. GRE and GMAT are comparable because they are both requested for graduate studies in American universities. The GMAT is more focused on mathematics, whereas the GRE focuses mainly on vocabulary.