Taking the GRE

[eponymouseponym.livejournal.com]

Hey Somervillains,

I'm applying to grad school for Fall '08 and am wondering what your suggestions are for:
1) Study books for the GRE
2) Taking the GRE
3) Are there study groups in the are for the GRE?

I'm an artist and teacher with a BFA. But now it's time for grad school. I have a good handle on mathematical concepts. I am not good at number crunching though. The math section of the GRE worries me the most. So, as I'm sure you can understand, I'd like to be very prepared to take the test because I'm only going to take it once. I have been avoiding standardized tests since the ACT/SAT one-two punch of the collegiate application process.

Thanks muchly for reading and doubly for responding...

E. Pony Mouse Pony M.

Comments

[spacehawk.livejournal.com]

I tutored for the GRE, and taught for Kaplan for two years. Interested?

[eponymouseponym.livejournal.com]

Yeah...

What're your curriculum and rates?

[spacehawk.livejournal.com]

Send an email to the address listed on my user info page, and we can discuss particulars.

Teacher to student

[vonelftinhaus.livejournal.com]

going from teacher to student- interesting transition, good luck

Re: Teacher to student

[eponymouseponym.livejournal.com]

Thank you. It should go well.

Re: Teacher to student

[vonelftinhaus.livejournal.com]

I imagine you are expanding your interest/knowledge of the 3d world you are involved in no? all in all I am impressed with your teaching ability, it has been difficult in class and someone who can wholeheartedly bring the info into a clearer pic is a relief

[ukelele.livejournal.com]

I did SAT prep, and it's similar (particularly the math section) -- I'd be happy to get together and chat a bit (test-taking strategies, help you out with practice questions you're stuck on) for the low, low rate of "you're already my friend so buy me some coffee" ;).

[eponymouseponym.livejournal.com]

Thanks... I might call you on that help in the somewhat near future.

[bobobb.livejournal.com]

No one seems to be answering your question. I took the GRE's almost 6 years ago, but I did well. I used a Kaplan book that came with a disk. The disk had tests on it that would track your progress so you could see yourself learning (or not learning) as you studied the book. They probably have a fancier version now, but Kaplan did me well.

[ayelle.livejournal.com]

Yes, this same strategy worked for me, too -- I borrowed a book from a Kaplan tutor I know. And much more recently, I trained as a tutor for Kaplan (even though I decided not to do it), and their strategy (which, more than anything else, is based on understanding how the test works) is quite effective. Also, an anecdote: I'm not terrible at math, but I'm not great either. When I was applying to grad school, I was terrified of humiliating myself on the GREs because I hadn't taken any math classes in about 5 years, never got past pre-calc in high school -- so I spent about as much time studying the math as I did the verbal even though I was applying for an English program! And when I actually took the test, I felt like I was utterly failing on the math -- but then when I got my score, I actually got the exact same score that I did on the SATs, six years earlier. So, I don't know if that's any comfort... but I hope it means that with a little bit of prep/studying, you can do about as well on the GRE math as you did on the SAT, whatever that was.

[modlin.livejournal.com]

I would definitely recommend getting some software so that you can take practice tests on your computer. Doing the test on a computer is completely different from taking a pencil and paper version, so you definitely want to be prepared for that.

[desiringsubject.livejournal.com]

I used the Princeton review book "Cracking the GRE" for both the general and the subject and I found them very helpful. That was in 2000, though, and I'm told the format is a little different now.

[hrafn.livejournal.com]

I took the GREs some years ago, and studied using some online study guides and practice tests, which I felt prepared me quite well, although in general I do well on standardized tests. Back then (2002?), the math portion seemed much easier than the SAT math portion, which I did in the early 90s.

[joylewis.livejournal.com]

When you register for the GRE, they'll send you a prep cd with practice tests on it. It scores right away, as does the real GRE, so you'll know how you're doing.

One thing you may or may not know about the GRE is that it selects each question based on how you did on the previous one. So say it gives you a problem in geometry and you miss it. It won't proceed into a harder question but will give you something more elementary than the one you just missed. The scoring is some complicated algorithm based on the weighting of the difficulty of those questions rather than just the number you get right.

[ravenword.livejournal.com]

I think better community for this question would be applyingtograd

[gemini6ice.livejournal.com]

The general GRE is basically the SAT all over again. Seriously, don't spend more than an hour studying for it.

[paperface.livejournal.com]

I'm still kinda cheesed off that I didn't get an 800 in the math section. 'cos you're kinda supposed to if you are a science-type guy. And I spent like two days on that shiz.

Although I did end up doing inappropriately well at the verbal section. Which helps me kind of not at all.

[etana.livejournal.com]

try academics_anon

[shana-lyons.livejournal.com]

My suggestion is UMass Boston's GRE and GMAT Math and Verbal review classes. They were inexpensive when I took them (like $250 for 10 weeks) and excellent reviews for the exams. The math in particular was spot on. They're WAY cheaper than any private test prep you'll take.

Shana

http://ccde.umb.edu/testprep/math/

[mihmo.livejournal.com]

I will always always always recommend the kaplan book + cd set. the kaplan sat book and cd increased my sat score 100 points from what i got on the psat. The GRE book + cd... I didn't even have time to use the software, I only used the book, I spent a full week with it, and my score went up 150 points... I have nothing but good things to say about the kaplan college board study materials :)

[somertricky.livejournal.com]

If you're feeling fairly confident about having a handle on mathematical concepts, I'm not sure how much practicing number crunching is going to help.

I spent almost my entire time studying what basically comes down to vocabulary, including those little analogies:problems they throw at you. Take as many practice tests as you can there, then check to see why you answered wrong, lather, rinse, repeat. Verbal score on the GRE wound up +120 from my SAT days four years prior, it seemed like a success at the time...