Whoever decided the GREs were a good idea should be shot

[biodork]

Because I REALLY use words like diatribe and inchoate and vituperative on a daily basis along with all other normal people in the world.

As you can probably tell, I'm currently going through this nice GRE study book. This test is so stupid. It's exactly the same format as the SATs. Only harder (possibly). If they want to know about what I learned in undergrad they should only have the ones according to subject. That makes more sense. And writing? STUPID IN A 30 MINUTE PERIOD. It takes me more than half an hour to put together any good piece of writing. I'm not the type of person who is able to write quickly! Maybe short answer questions, ok, but this is supposed to be off the top of your head! Whatever.

The GREs are dumb. They really don't show what you actually know, just how well you can take a test.

[heatherf]

True. True. and True.

My brain does not work like a standardized test, and eff those people that have brains that do (namely my father and brothers). I'm pretty sure I received an "F" on both the SAT and the GRE. Why didn't I get the standardized test genes? Hopefully they just skipped me and my baby will ge them! :rolleyes:

[cornflakegirl]

today is the first day that i have ever even considered taking the GREs. i have spent the morning checking out info online & have to say that, if i decide to take them, it is going to suck.

how long do people study for them beforehand?

[biodork]

I have no clue. Although I know there is an extremely high percentage rate of procrastination beforehand... :rolleyes:

[coll214]

Yes, the GRE definitely sucks ass. and having to start studying all over again for a ridiculous standardized test that doesn't mean sh*t after years of not being in school, makes you realize exactly how much you've forgotten, at least IMO. I've always done hideously awful on those things.

[cornflakegirl]

elyse - what would you like to go to grad school for?

[coll214]

For me, I started about a month before taking the damn thing; I procrastinated a bit and it probally showed...

[biodork]

elyse - what would you like to go to grad school for?
Genetics Counseling :) It's great, only a master's program, which is all I want to do, and I would prob work in a clinical setting, with some research on the side.

[biodork]

I'm scheduled to take it at the end of july...and i scheduled it so early because im pretty much counting on having to take it again.

I wish the only math included was algebra. I aced that portion when I did a practice test. Geometry sucks ass.

[summergold]

I took it last year. Oh, it bit my ass nicely. The verbal was fine, but that's never been a big deal for me. I've also usually been a really good test-taker. The math section was evil. Just one giant mind fuck. You don't just get a problem and figure it out. There are two problems you have to figure out and then the answer choices are not like regular multiple choice. They're choices like, A) problem 1 is greater than problem 2 B) problem 2 is greater than problem 1 C) problem 1 is equal to problem 2 D) this cannot be solved.

I put D a lot :redface:

[biodork]

They need an answer E) I don't care.

[summergold]

They need an answer E) I don't care.

I think the computer would have melted if they had that choice when I took it. Either that or it would have given me the result of mentally retarded, and choked me with the mouse cord. Of course at that point I wouldn't have minded since I just wanted to get the hell out of there.

[week2week]

If I may offer my point of view on the matter...

Yes, the GRE does suck donkey nuts! Summergold, kudos to you for feeling comfortable with the verbal section. I think the Kaplan (the one I think you are talking about, because I remember those words precisely being in the guide) study guide is spot on when it says that the test really tests your verbal skills more than your quantitative skills.

The math section is really only high school level. So many people score so high on the math that even if you get every answer correct, then you still only get a maximum of like 788 pts. out of 800 or something...? You want to talk about difficult quants, then compare the GRE to the GMAT. I took the GMAT at the end of my final year of university, and it whooped my ass (okay -- I didn't exactly take the GMAT seriously, since I thought being in school was enough preparation -- wrong!).

Seriously, study the verbal as much as you possibly can. Also, try reading sites or papers like the WSJ or Economist.com or NY TImes...something with a high reading level. You need to be able to FLY through the GRE's reading comprehension passages. I couldn't believe how long they were, and it really freaks you out when you're starting your last passage, there's less than 10 mins. left, and you've still got about 10 questions to get through when you finish the reading comp section.

I took my test in early January. I had started studying back at the end of September '04, slacked off in November, and didn't pick it back up again until mid December. I feel it wasn't enough, and I think I could have gotten an even better score if I had REALLY focused on the verbal and vocabulary. So, in the end, I would have felt really comfortable with about 4 months of SOLID study time...of course it's different for each person, but I don't think you need to be any further than 5 months prep.

Also, believe the book when it tells you that you underestimate your score. When I finished, I was afraid to accept and see my score, because I thought I was going to see something like 850 pop up on the screen. I was pumped when I saw that I had achieved respectability -- in my mind anyhow.

Make flash cards, sign up for words of the day, whatever it takes to put your verbal skills on steroids. That's my suggestion in a nutshell.

[capella]

Because I REALLY use words like diatribe and inchoate and vituperative on a daily basis along with all other normal people in the world.

As you can probably tell, I'm currently going through this nice GRE study book. This test is so stupid. It's exactly the same format as the SATs. Only harder (possibly). If they want to know about what I learned in undergrad they should only have the ones according to subject. That makes more sense. And writing? STUPID IN A 30 MINUTE PERIOD. It takes me more than half an hour to put together any good piece of writing. I'm not the type of person who is able to write quickly! Maybe short answer questions, ok, but this is supposed to be off the top of your head! Whatever.

The GREs are dumb. They really don't show what you actually know, just how well you can take a test.
Hehehe, I actually do use words like diatribe and vituperative. When I'm teaching vocab!!

[GetMeOuttaDC]

My brain does not work like a standardized test, and eff those people that have brains that do

well, eff those of you whose brains don't! :lol:

Just because you know you're probably gonna do very well, doesn't make studying for the test or actually taking the test suck any less.

:puking emoticon:

[heatherf]

That's why I said namely my family members. :frustrate

I've got the gene somewhere in there- stupid human genome project not concentrating on the really important issues. :rolleyes:

[wyverx]

I lucked out and the grad school I am going to accepted the Millers test, which I aced (that test is really easy) but I dread that I have to take the GRE to get into a phd program.

[shinyleaf]

I am going to resist the urge to go into my ususal rant about how fing lame and useless the GREs are and just say this in response.

word.


hmmm, given the context, perhaps a fancier word than "word" would be appropriate.


aaaah fuck it.


but why is it that "diatribe" sticks out for everyone? It's one of my faves too! I'm also partial to "harangue"

[Taza Tikha]

GRE is stupid. I never considered it an "important" test, and I planned accordingly. As in, not at all. I looked at one of those prep books the night before the exam just to see what I could expect, but studying? flash cards? Hell no. I blew off the SAT and ACT in a similar fashion and looked down my nose at people who would spend hundreds of dollars on prep classes to raise their score 50 points.

For some reason math/verbal standardized tests don't seem real to me. They test no knowledge like the MCAT does. Most grad programs I looked at wanted GRE scores but were honest about the fact they weren't such a big deal in comparison to the rest of the package.

My biggest problem with the GRE is the cost. I don't know what it is now, but when I took it several years ago, I had to pay $100. For what, I ask? It's a scam and I'm glad universities are starting to move away from it, however few and slowly. (Likewise, aren't there colleges that no longer require the SAT?) Since I don't plan to go to grad school for several more years, my scores will have expired and I'd have the privilege of shelling out more buck to take it again. By then I would have forgotten all math and any words I don't use on a regular basis. (And if I, a reasonably well-educated young woman, have to look a word up, I would not use it in my writing--not that I live by journalist standards, but if I recall correctly, you're supposed to write to the widest audience, and never use a big word where a small one would do.) I would also have so much work experience that it will be impossible for me to give any kind of regard to a standardized test. I see myself applying only to programs that don't require the GRE. Boycott the exam, I say! Mass movement! Down with the conspiracy!