A wave of students is anxious to take the last of the old Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) before changes come into effect in August 2011.

GRE the widely accepted American entrance examination for most graduate degrees, takes on a new form next fall, as it undergoes the biggest reform in 60 years. The reform will affect an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 Chinese test takers. The sudden change leaves many applicants little time to prepare themselves for the transition.

Zhao Xin, a 21-year-old student who is studying at the Beijing New Oriental School, said he felt lucky to be taking the old GRE test next June. Zhao said that he wants to take the old test before it is too late. He has been going to a preparation class for the old GRE.

"I do not want to take the new GRE. Few schools offer courses that target the new GRE," Zhang said. "I would feel like a little laboratory mouse taking the new test."

Zhang Hongwei is a specialist working for the New Oriental Education and Technology group. Zhang is responsible for the school's North American department. According to Zhang, since the students have heard about the GRE reform, the number of people applying for the school's old GRE preparation classes has soared, soon filling the 11 specialized GRE courses.

"Many students feel that they are more comfortable and confident with the old GRE and many are rushing to take the test before it is replaced," Zhang said. Zhang also told METRO that few vacancies are left for the tests this October.

Traditionally, a general GRE test comprises three sections: analytical writing, verbal reasoning and quantitative reasoning. The new Revised General Test, is adopting some revolutionary conceptual changes for all of the three sections. On its official website, GRE has published the details of how these changes will affect the applicants.

There will be four big changes.

GRE is going paperless. GRE is converting all its paper-based exams to computer-based; it will also provide a calculator on the test screen for test takers' convenience.

GRE is also canceling its analogies and antonyms, which means there will be no more questions that test isolated vocabulary out of context. Instead, new questions will challenge more of the students' reasoning skills.

Heavier emphasis on cognitive skills. GRE will add more questions based on real-life scenarios. These questions aim to test whether applicants have the skills to deal with more practical real-world problems.

The math section is also changing focus. The quantitative section will pay more attention to the test takers' analytical skills. It will challenge the ability of applicants to understand, analyze and interpret quantitative information.

Critics said that the computer-based format will be a lot harder to read, compared to the paper-based one. Zhang said computer-based exams are a global trend and students will have to learn to get used to the new format.

The new GRE aims to divide students into more score categories and help top students stand out, Zhang said. This means the new GRE will have more difficult exam questions. The introduction of the reforms shows that ETS, the agency, which writes the GRE, is posting a challenge to GMAT, its competitor in the field for business schools.

"Students need not be afraid of the new GRE," Zhang said. He suggested students with weaker English pass the TOEFL test first, because this comparatively simpler test would prepare the students for the more difficult material.