the GRE

[curiouswonder]

Anyone taken it? Taking it? Any thoughts? Tips? Horror stories? My turn under the gun comes tomorrow and I wondered if any TBF folks could share my pain.

 

[G4G]

Anyone taken it? Taking it? Any thoughts? Tips? Horror stories? My turn under the gun comes tomorrow and I wondered if any TBF folks could share my pain.

What is it?

 

[SFG75]

Forget Attila, the GRE is the true scourge of god. The program that I got into requires it, but doesn't really look at the scores. It's more of a jump through the hoops type of thing. Some schools require a combined score on the sections, but mine is dismally low. My quantitative was 300. Oh well, historians don't meddle in the muck of significance and variables. What really determines whether or not you get into the grad program you want is who you know in the department.

 

[Minniemal]

What is it?

It's a standardized test (it's the American way) for those who want to go on to graduate school.
"The GRE® General Test measures critical thinking, analytical writing, verbal reasoning, and quantitative reasoning skills that have been acquired over a long period of time and that are not related to any specific field of study. The GRE® Subject Tests gauge undergraduate achievement in eight specific fields of study."

Tomorrow, huh? Well, I have boring and obvious advice for you, curiouswonder: Get a good night's sleep, and eat a decent breakfast before the test. Note the "acquired over a long period of time" in the above description and assume you've already done all of your preparation for it.

I only took the General Test, which wasn't painful. But then I was always good at standardized tests; it's real life that I struggle with.

Good luck!

 

[G4G]

Thanks for explaining, Minniemal.

It sounds ghastly.

 

[Kookamoor]

Canada = no GRE

But I sympathise. I hate tests in general. I know a few people who've taken it and they really weren't too concerned about it at all. One girl only realised she needed to take it 3 days prior. Isn't it mostly general knowledge anyway?

What really determines whether or not you get into the grad program you want is who you know in the department.

I totally agree.

Of course, if you screw up you can always look North of the border. No GRE, good exchange rate, skiing, healthcare...

 

[SFG75]

Canada = no GRE

But I sympathise. I hate tests in general. I know a few people who've taken it and they really weren't too concerned about it at all. One girl only realised she needed to take it 3 days prior. Isn't it mostly general knowledge anyway?



I totally agree.

Of course, if you screw up you can always look North of the border. No GRE, good exchange rate, skiing, healthcare...

Not to mention the fact that tuition is virtually free!. Is it true that York is the Yale of Canada?

 

[abecedarian]

I'll be praying that your mind will be clear and your nerves steady!

 

[Kookamoor]

Not to mention the fact that tuition is virtually free!. Is it true that York is the Yale of Canada?

Cheap if you're a Canuck... well, actually even then it's *damn* cheap compared to the US. You have to pay international fees which doubles the tuition for most schools. But if you're getting funded (as I am) your tuition comes out of your funding in most places that I know of. So if they tell you that you're getting $20 000 a year, then $10 000 of that will vanish in tuition, which leaves very little to drink on. After all, isn't that what grad school is all about?

Sorry, I don't know anything about York... I've found that the 'best' universities depend on what you're studying.

 

[curiouswonder]

What's funny to me is in talking to the graduate advisor for the sociology department, she admitted that it was silly that they require the test since it has been proven to be racially and economically biased.

Note the "acquired over a long period of time" in the above description and assume you've already done all of your preparation for it.

Very true, except that it's been 17 years since my last math class and things were a bit rusty in that department.

Of course, if you screw up you can always look North of the border. No GRE, good exchange rate, skiing, healthcare...

I could hear that conversation with my wife. "Well I got a 720 on the GRE, but the good news is..."

I'll be praying that your mind will be clear and your nerves steady!

Thanks.

 

[Scottishduffy]

Anyone taken it? Taking it? Any thoughts? Tips? Horror stories? My turn under the gun comes tomorrow and I wondered if any TBF folks could share my pain.

I took the test about 3 months ago. Really not bad, as I expected I did extremely well in the vocabulary section and alright in math. Amazing what all that reading does for vocabulary.

I took a review class once a week for 6 weeks before the test. I thought it was well worth it since many of the math formulations I had forgotten since high school. This class helped to remind me of these and also look for common 'tricks' of the test. It also helped just to *feel* better about the test so I wasn't as nervous going in.

The test did not feel so bad and I did pretty darn decent. Best of luck to you!

Duff

 

[SFG75]

curious-do you know the department chair? Do you golf with the guy who has the longest tenure in the department? This kind of stuff matters, it isn't based on any notion of meritocracy in most cases.

 

[abecedarian]

Well? How did the test go? Enquiring minds(ok, nosy) want to know!

 

[curiouswonder]

Well? How did the test go? Enquiring minds(ok, nosy) want to know!

It went very well. And I am more than glad it's over.
Now I just need to get to my requisite shmoozing.

curious-do you know the department chair? Do you golf with the guy who has the longest tenure in the department? This kind of stuff matters, it isn't based on any notion of meritocracy in most cases.

The department is pretty competitive so the key is a combination of scores and relationships. Time to pull the clubs out of the garage.

btw - thanks to all for the well wishes and good thoughts.