Accepted by thousands of graduate schools and now more than 500 business schools worldwide, the GRE General Test can open up a world of opportunity for students looking to earn an MBA or other graduate degree. Prospective test takers have even more reason to take the test this coming August, when the GRE revised General Test makes its debut. Here are 10 things you should know about the GRE revised General Test: 1. Knowing when you need your test scores will help you decide whether to take the current GRE General Test or the GRE revised General Test. ETS reminds candidates to pay close attention to application deadlines. Candidates who need score reports before November should take the current test before August. 2. Test takers can save 50 percent on the GRE revised General Test if they take the test in August or September 2011. ETS is offering a limited-time 50 percent discount to all students who take the GRE revised General Test between August 1 and September 30, 2011. Scores will be sent by mid-November. 3. The GRE revised General Test will be more test-taker friendly. The GRE revised General Test will include new design features making it a friendlier test-taking experience. Featuring advanced technology that lets test takers move back and forth, edit or change answers, and skip and return to questions within a section, candidates will now have the freedom to use more of their own test-taking strategies. Candidates will also have access to an on-screen calculator for the Quantitative Reasoning section. 4. The GRE revised General Test will feature new question types. Questions in the Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning sections now more closely reflect the kind of thinking you’ll do in today’s demanding graduate and business school programs. New question types will better measure your ability to understand what you’ve read and how you apply your reasoning skills, and will put more emphasis on data interpretation and real-life scenarios. The Analytical Writing section will require more focused responses based on the tasks presented. 5. The Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning sections of the GRE revised General Test will be scored on a scale of 130-170. The new score scale will make it easier for schools to compare your scores with the scores of other candidates. The new score scale makes small differences in scoring look like small differences, while bigger differences will continue to stand out. 6. Students have access to free GRE revised General Test preparation materials from ETS. The GRE website offers free test preparation materials, including sample questions for the Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning and Analytical Writing sections of the test; free POWERPREP II Software, which is downloadable and gives students a simulated test-taking experience of the computer-based GRE revised General Test and more. Those who want additional practice can purchase The Official Guide to the GRE revised General Test from McGraw Hill. 7. Students can use Facebook or TaketheGRE.com to get information and learn more about the GRE revised General Test. The GRE page on Facebook gives those considering graduate or business school an opportunity to share advice and get clear information about the GRE revised General Test. The GRE Program also recently introduced a new TaketheGRE.com website, which provides information about the GRE General Test and the GRE revised General Test, plus access to free, official GRE test preparation software and materials. 8. Students can use their GRE scores for applying to both graduate and business school programs. As the most widely accepted graduate-level admissions test you can take, the GRE General Test has helped test takers get into thousands of graduate and business school programs all over the world. And GRE scores are valid for five years. 9. The GRE revised General Test takes 3 hours and 45 minutes to complete. The computer-based GRE revised General Test will last about 3 hours 45 minutes and consists of separately timed sections: Verbal Reasoning, two 30-minute sections, approximately 20 questions each; Quantitative Reasoning, two 35-minute sections, approximately 20 questions; and Analytical Writing, two separately timed 30-minute tasks. 10. Registration is now open for the GRE revised General Test. Students can register now or learn more about the GRE revised General Test.

Brigadier General David S. Elmo Deputy Commander, Southern European Task Force - U.S. Army Africa Hailing from Yonkers, New York, BG Elmo graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from Fordham University. He studied at the London School of Economics and later received Masters degrees in Real Estate Development from Columbia University, in Management from Webster University and, in Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College. He received his commission through the ROTC program and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Quartermaster Corps in 1984. His active duty assignments were: as Platoon Leader in the 600th Quartermaster Company (Airborne), Adjutant of the 46th Support Group, and Supply and Budget Officer with the 96th Civil Affairs Battalion (Airborne); all at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. In 1990, he joined the 353d Civil Affairs Command, The Bronx, New York. BG Elmo mobilized for Operation Just Cause in Panama, serving as the Deputy J-4 of the Civil Affairs Task Force. A year later he mobilized for Operation Desert Shield/Storm, serving first as a Joint Logistics Officer at the European Command headquarters in Vaihingen, Germany; and then as a Civil Affairs Officer during Operation Provide Comfort in Zakho, Iraq. Assigned as an administrator to a refugee camp in Northern Iraq, BG Elmo worked closely with the Kurds, providing relief supplies and logistics, and ultimately resettling them in their home territory. Next, he held a variety of positions within the 353d Civil Affairs Command, including three years as their HHC Commander. In 1996, he mobilized to Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina serving as Liaison Officer to Non-governmental and International Organizations during Operation Joint Endeavor. From 1997 through 2001, he served with the 353d as their Assistant G-5, and as Team Chief for Civil Affairs Operations and Plans with the U.S. Air Force, Europe. In 2001, for two and a half years, BG Elmo commanded the Southern European Task Force (SETAF) Augmentation Unit based in Vicenza, Italy. Near the end of his tenure, he mobilized with his unit in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, serving as the Deputy Chief of Staff for SETAF. After a brief assignment to the US Southern Command in Miami, in 2003, BG Elmo assumed command the 3220th Garrison Support Unit, in West Palm Beach, Florida. In 2006, he assumed command of the 4,500 Soldier strong 1st Mission Support Command headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico. There, during a three and a half year tenure, he mobilized over 2,000 Soldiers in support of the Global War on Terror. He now serves as Deputy Commander of United States Army Africa, based in Vicenza, Italy. BG Elmo’s personal awards include the: Legion of Merit Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters, Joint Service Commendation Medal, and the Army Commendation Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, Army Achievement Medal with 4 Oak Leaf Clusters. As a civilian, he is a United States Diplomat, assigned as the Management Officer of the United States Consulate in Milan, Italy.