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Yes, the madness is upon me. The Academia Gods are pulling my strings and making me do it....I'm gonna give grad school a shot.

Any tips? I've heard it's only English and Math, as far as subjects go. I'm not strong at math, although I've taken college level algebra and basic calculus.

How do non-math/non-science majors (say English undergrads) pass all of the math part of the GRE if they've never really had anything beyond algebra?

They pass because the GRE math isn't beyond algebra. I highly suggest getting a book or a practice program for your computer so you can familiarize yourself with the test. I found the math questions to be a bit odd. Something about teh way they were presented was just so weird to me that I freaked out and did really badly on them. But I kicked ass on the analytic portion (logic puzzles; they took this section out a month after I took the test) so I was accepted in a science PhD program anyway.

You'll also want to take a swing through the vocab sections because the words are . Remember the hard questions in the verbal section of the SAT? Those are the easy ones in the GRE. Seriously. Some of it I didn't even recognize as English. I ended up using the Force on some of those.

Lego I am a business major but I had to study geometry and arithmetic (metric system, liters etc...) all over again to pass the GMAT (Graduate Management Admission Test) which consists mostly of quantitative tests. If you still know your algebra and calculus you'll do fine.

This is embarrassing but it works, I borrowed a few elementary and HS math books. Heck, I know how to do algebra, statistics, accounting and finance but if you ask me about the metric system and geometry I'll say DOH! I'm serious, that is something I don't use in university, even for a business major like me I had a hard time studying it. Make sure to borrow a book with the complete answers as well, do it everyday until you are confident you'll get it come exam time.

Math is practice, practice, practice. It's not like say History, wherein if you have a photographic memory somehow you'll remember it. There is no easy way of doing math, it takes a lot of hard work and patience to do problem solving.

Good luck!!!

Study much harder for the verbal section than for the math section. I thought that I had studied a lot for the verbal section, but only ended up getting a 580. I didn't study at all for the math section, and got a 780. Too damn bad I'm applying to a social sciences program that doesn't give a rat's ass about your math score. Get one of those prep books, make yourself vocab flash cards from the lists they give you. There are also some good tricks in the prep books for figuring out the analogies and sentence completions quickly. And take a couple of practice tests beforehand. I did not do much of this and suffered the consequences. So learn from my mistakes!

Can you not retake it Elsha? (I never looked into anything to do with the GRE so I'm clueless.)

Thanks for the info, everyone.

Eruname, I've heard one can retake it as many times as one wants....but it cost $108 bucks each time to take it.

Elsha, 580 is not bad...that meets the minimum requirements for the schools I've been looking at.

Legolas the elf wrote:

Eruname, I've heard one can retake it as many times as one wants....but it cost $108 bucks each time to take it.

That would definitely be a deciding factor, especially for poor college students.

I only took the GRE once. My scores were pretty screwy but added up to above 2000 and that's what I was aiming for. I talked to some faculty I trusted and they told me I'd be okay.

The best part about the computer adaptive test is the questions get easier or harder as you answer correctly or incorrectly. I knew I was rocking out on the analytic section when I started getting questions like "John has blue eyes. Max prefers red shirts. Where does Jane work?" and I knew I was tanking in the math section when I started getting questions like "True or false: 2+2>5". The verbal section started out with "If I turn my head sideways, that word looks like English" and ended with me closing my eyes and feeling the Force. I scored above 600 on the verbal. I'm not sure how.

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John has blue eyes. Max prefers red shirts. Where does Jane work?

For ETS, obviously.

What scared me was I was clearly correctly answering all the other ass-backwards and sideways questions that came before that one. I had to use my scratch paper, but still...

River, do they score the tests differently now than they used to? When I took it, the max score was 800 for verbal, 800 for math, and 6.0 for the writing section. I just want to make sure I didn't do several hundred points worse than I thought I did.


Eru, money is pretty much the reason I didn't retake the test. My scores were pretty average for the program I applied to (though I still don't hear back from them until March) and I didn't really see the reason to a) spend the money and b) spend the time involved in retaking it. If I don't get into the Master's program I want to go to next year, I'll likely take a year off and reapply to different places. In that case I will take the test over again and study harder.

I've no suggestions, but I would like to hear what you think of it when it's over.

Good luck!

They score it different now. When I took it, there was no writing. There was math, verbal, and analytical, worth 800 points each. They replaced the analytical with writing ~ one month after I took the test. I'm not sure why. The analytical was kind of fun, actually.

I second the suggestions for getting a prep book. Some have a CD in them so you can practice taking the test on a screen. If you just sit down and take the first practice test in the book, then figure out how you did, you'll have a good idea where your weaknesses are, and you'll have a stronger motivation to work on those areas. I can't remember which one I used - I think it was Peterson - but it also had a tie in to their website, so they could evaluate your strengths and weaknesses. I took it about 5 years ago and I thought it was easier than the SAT, but then, maybe I'm older and wiser than I was 30 some years ago.

When I took it it was Math, Verbal and Analytical as well.

I would recommend getting some good guide and practice tests.

Also, understand some basic strategies, like how to eliminate impossible, or highly improbable choices.

I did well using this strategy:

Math 780
Verbal 720
Analytic 780

But I ended up passing on grad school for financial reasons.

BrianIs AtYou

You still remember your scores?

Riverthalos wrote:

You still remember your scores?

I just missed a perfect score on Math and Analytic, which is why I remember those.

With regard to the verbal, I remember a comp-sci professor who was giving me a recommendation being surprised, since she had never seen a comp-sci major with such a high verbal score.

Consequently, I remember.

I also remember thinking it was a bit of a waste to have gotten such good scores, and then having to pass on grad school anyway.

Still it all worked out in the long run.

I think I learned more getting a job "in the real world" than I would have otherwise, and my job stability, work environment, good pay etc have set me up in a situation where I am able to indulge my verbal side,with writing, publishing and performing poetry as an avocation.

BrianIs AtYou

Riverthalos, those questions sound easy.

They are. I was just flipping out when I took the test.

You're enjoying your new trick, aren't you?

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The analytical was kind of fun, actually.

It was the BOMB. I loved it. It was like a 45 minute logic puzzle book.