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According to a new Kaplan Test Prep (www.kaptest.com, 2010) survey, 30 percent of top graduate schools don't feel sufficiently informed about the new GRE test, which went into effect this week. While 83 percent say they'll give equal consideration to applicants regardless of whether they submit GRE scores from the new test or the old one, 12 percent say applicants who submit a score from the old GRE test will have an advantage, and 5 percent say applicants who submit a score from the new exam will have an advantage.

"Given that the new GRE is now first-time test takers' only option, graduate programs will likely work diligently to better understand the new exam and how it can help them evaluate applicants," Liza Weale, executive director of pre-business and pre-graduate programs at Kaplan Test Prep, said in a statement.

Key changes in the new GRE exam, according to Kaplan [PDF file], include the following:

• The new exam is about an hour longer than the old exam--four hours compared to three hours.
• The new scoring scale of 130 to 170 points, in one-point increments, replaces a 200 to 800 point scoring scale in 10-point increments.
• The Verbal section replaces antonym and analogy questions with in-context questions that test reasoning skills in addition to vocabulary.
• The new exam contains content similar to that of the GMAT, such as new strengthen/weaken reading comprehension question types.
• The new format is adaptive at the section level--the better a test-taker performs in one section, the more difficult the next section will be.
• The new format also allows test-takers to skip questions within a section and come back to them.

"While test-takers will find some of the new GRE's features to be plusses, overall Kaplan Test Prep believes the exam's more complex question types and increase in length will make it more challenging," Weale said.

Other survey findings include the following:

• 68 percent of admissions officers said that compared to last year, the amount of financial aid they were able to provide students increased.
• 65 percent of admissions officers said it's inappropriate for applicants to reach out to them via social media like Facebook.
• 29 percent of admissions officers, permitted to visit applicants' social networking pages, have discovered something that made them reject the applicant.

The survey was conducted over the phone in May 2011 with 123 of the top 200 graduate schools in education, engineering, psychology and public administration, as designated by U.S. News & World Report (www.usnews.com, 2012).

For related news and other information from Schools.com, see:

• How facebook is reshaping college admissions (infographic)
  
• Princeton Review: top 10 colleges for financial assistance
• More money for school: 5 tips for appealing your financial aid award
• New test prep app for iPhone, iPad, Android