“Sir, is GRE required for MS in USA or not? One consultancy says yes, one says no.”
We hear a version of this in the Putalisadak office almost weekly, and both consultancies are telling the truth about different universities. That is the actual answer: there is no single rule any more. There is only the rule of the specific programme you are applying to, in the specific year you apply.
Ten years ago the GRE was near-universal for American master’s admissions. Then test-optional policies spread through the pandemic years and, as of early 2026, the landscape is split — some departments dropped the GRE permanently, some brought it back, some never left it. Anyone giving you a blanket yes or no is saving themselves the work of checking.
The test-optional reality, university by university
Here is how the split actually falls, in rough strokes.
Many large public universities have gone GRE-optional or GRE-free for most engineering and science master’s programmes. Several of the programmes our students join at partner universities like the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and Wichita State University admit strong applicants without GRE scores. Meanwhile, plenty of top-30 computer science departments, many statistics and economics programmes, and a good share of PhD tracks still require or “strongly recommend” it — and in admissions English, strongly recommend means send it if you want funding.
The only method that works: open each programme’s own admissions page — the department’s page, not the university’s general one — and read the current requirement. Policies flip year to year. A 2024 forum post about a university’s GRE policy is archaeology, not advice.
So when a student asks us “is GRE required for MS in USA”, we translate it into the answerable version: is it required, optional or ignored at the eight programmes on your shortlist, this cycle? That check takes an afternoon and settles the argument.
When the GRE still helps a Nepali file
Optional does not mean useless. For Nepali applicants specifically, a good GRE score does quiet work that applicants from better-known education systems do not need.
Admissions committees see thousands of files and cannot calibrate every grading system. A TU bachelor’s with 68 per cent is a solid result — but an American committee member may not know that, because TU percentages run lower than the GPAs they are used to. A GRE quant score of 165 says, in a currency they trust, that this student’s mathematics is real. The test translates your transcript.
It matters most in three cases. If your percentage or GPA is modest — say below 3.0 equivalent — a strong GRE is the cheapest repair available for your file. If you are chasing an assistantship, funding committees often rank candidates with numbers even when admission itself is test-optional. And if you have a three-year bachelor’s or a gap of several years, the score adds recent, standardised evidence that you are ready for graduate coursework.
A student from Pokhara we counselled two intakes ago had a 58 per cent TU bachelor’s and four years of NGO work — a file most agents would have steered to a lower-tier admit. She spent ten weeks preparing, scored 318, and it changed the tier of university that would look at her; she is now funded at a state flagship. The GRE did not erase her percentage. It reframed it.
For bachelor’s applicants the SAT plays the same role, with the same logic: widely optional as of early 2026, still useful for scholarship consideration at many universities, and worth taking if your +2 grades undersell you. Check each university’s current policy, because several have reinstated requirements in recent cycles.
The tests you cannot skip
Whatever happens with GRE and SAT, the English test is not optional for Nepali applicants. IELTS and TOEFL are both accepted essentially everywhere; Duolingo English Test acceptance has grown but remains patchier for funded master’s admissions, so confirm per university before relying on it.
Kathmandu has established IELTS and TOEFL test centres, with IELTS also administered in cities beyond the valley. Book two to three weeks ahead in normal months and earlier in the post-Dashain rush, when half the country’s applicants seem to sit the test at once. Scores take a few days (computer-based IELTS, TOEFL) to nearly two weeks (paper IELTS). Most master’s programmes want IELTS 6.5 or equivalent; funded and competitive programmes often want 7.0 with no low bands. Scores are valid for two years — sit the test early enough that it covers your intake, but not so early that it expires before your visa interview.
Planning tests backwards from your intake
Work the calendar in reverse. For an August intake with funding, applications close December to March — so tests should be finished by November at the latest. That means GRE preparation through the monsoon, an English test sat by October, and a buffer for one retake, because roughly a third of our students retake something.
For a January intake, deadlines cluster around August to October, which pushes testing into the first half of the year — comfortably clear of Dashain, which is exactly why organised students like that lane.
Budget honestly too. As of early 2026 the GRE costs around USD 220 and IELTS around NPR 32,000–35,000 in Nepal; confirm current fees when you register. Add score-reporting fees for extra universities. A retake doubles the line item. Families planning loans down to the lakh should put testing in the budget rather than treating it as pocket change.
One warning we repeat until students are tired of it: do not let a consultancy decide your test plan based on what is easiest for them to process. The right answer to “is GRE required for MS in USA” for your file depends on your grades, your funding needs and your shortlist — three things a five-minute sales conversation never examines.
Our current, programme-by-programme requirement notes for US universities are part of every shortlisting session, and the wider process is on our USA study page.
Before you decide anything expensive
Before you pay for a GRE seat, a test-prep course, or an application fee, get your shortlist and your test plan checked against this cycle’s actual requirements. It takes one sitting.
That sitting is free at Start Education — Putalisadak, Butwal, Banepa or Ghorahi, walk in or book a session, or call +977 01-4012658. Bring your transcripts and your target intake. We have planned test calendars for thousands of the 4,000+ students we have placed since 2018, and the cheapest test is always the one you only sit once.