Indians put in 1-4 hours a week for GRE, Chinese 20

Most Indian students preparing for GRE study for one to four hours a week, when their Chinese counterparts put in over 20 hours. While Indians prefer studying late at night, students in China choose weekday evenings. Such trends were revealed by a study conducted by the Education Testing Services, which surveyed nearly 20,000 GRE applicants across the world. 

While Indian students and their counterparts in the US, China and other regions in the world share certain routines, there are some noteworthy differences as well. Most Indian students, 44.1% of them, seem to prepare for the test for one to three months, but the world average of such students is much lower at 37.8%. Chinese pupils, around 36% of them, study over 20 hours a week, while around 30% Indians, those putting in the longest hours, put in only one to four hours a week. 

According to Association of Indian Management Schools president Apoorva Palkar, in any competitive exam, students are evaluated on their ability to respond on the spot. "It is also driven by the basic education system in the country. Chinese candidates have to invest more time and efforts in learning the language, while Indians have an advantage there," said Palkar. One cannot decide a student's competence level based on the time spent in studying, one just need to learn the right math and logic at school to be good, she added.