Will be taking the GRE and Subject Tests soon...

[Mag]

Any helpful ways to study for this? Things to review?

 

I'll also probably take the Psychology Subject Test, since my professor said she did better on it than the regular GRE and that can [potentially] help with Grad Schools.

 

For the subject test, in Psych anyway, I've heard it's best to study a Psych 101 book (I saved mine ).

 

But for the regular GRE, what should I start studying? Especially in regards to Math.

 

Thanks

[Mokele]

I found the Kaplan test books helpful

[NeonBlack]

Try get ahold of a couple of practice tests. Take a test under normal conditions (sit down and finish the whole thing in 3 hours* with no breaks, no books or notes). When you're done score it and try to figure out which areas you had trouble with and study those. A couple weeks or so after that, do the same thing with a different test.

This will help you get used to sitting still for 3 hours, you will figure out about how much time you can spend on each problem and it will help you fill in the gaps in your knowlege.

 

*When I took it, the physics GRE was in the same room at the same time as the Psych GRE. Most of the Psych test takers were done within about an hour and a half.

[Mag]

Alright thanks.

Know where I can find a few practice tests?

[Mokele]

Any local bookstore will have GRE guides with practice tests. There's also one at the GRE website.

[Mag]

OK thanks, I wasnt sure if the tests came with the book, or maybe you had to get them separately.

[Paralith]

You may not have this problem, but my biggest difficulty with the GRE was doing the math quickly. It's all pretty simple stuff, but damn, I hadn't had to do that many computations in that short of a time without a calculator in a long time. I could answer everything correctly but I was just slow. So I got a whole book of math problems (might have even been a GMAT book) and just practiced math questions over and over again until I got faster.

[ajb]

For those of us not in the USA, could anyone just say a few words about the GRE?

[iNow]

Graduate Records Exam. Required in most cases to continue education at the graduate level. To get into undergraduate university, in the US we need to take the SAT (or ACT). To get into graduate level university, in the US we need to take the GRE.

 

 

Or, were you looking for personal opinions like, "That test is the biggest waste of time and is a total bollocks threshold with no real merit," or "That GRE sure was fun, you betcha!"?

[Paralith]

Or, were you looking for personal opinions like, "That test is the biggest waste of time and is a total bollocks threshold with no real merit," or "That GRE sure was fun, you betcha!"?

 

lol. From what I understand, it's much more of a lower threshold than a higher one. For me, at least, it didn't cover much that I didn't learn in high school, so if you somehow manage to massively bomb the GRE, then you really aren't ready for a post-undergraduate education.

 

Things like your statement of purpose, your grade point in undergrad, and especially your letters of recommendation are really the high thresholds.

[Mokele]

From what I understand, it's much more of a lower threshold than a higher one. For me, at least, it didn't cover much that I didn't learn in high school, so if you somehow manage to massively bomb the GRE, then you really aren't ready for a post-undergraduate education.

 

That was my experience, too. I know from at least two schools that low GRE scores count more heavily against a student than high GRE scores count for them - often there's a minimum score, below which the application goes in the 'rejection' pile automatically.

[Mag]

That was my experience, too. I know from at least two schools that low GRE scores count more heavily against a student than high GRE scores count for them - often there's a minimum score, below which the application goes in the 'rejection' pile automatically.

 

hmm, interesting.

From the schools I looked up it said that there's no minimum of GRE scores that they'll accept -- but I have a feeling that's only partially true.

[CharonY]

Well, faculty gets to see the GRE nonetheless. While there is no official limit, a very low score tends to be less desirable and chances of invitations tend to be lower. Of course, if a school is desperate to fill up spots and do not get enough, the GRE is likely not to play a significant factor at all.