How tough is the GRE?

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by friendorfoe, Mar 3, 2006.

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  1. friendorfoe

    friendorfoe Active Member

    I'm looking at the SHSU "Sam Houston" online MSCJ program and read that they want a total score of 1100 on the GRE with a 550 on the Math portion (if I read correctly)....but how tough is the GRE? Is this high-school stuff? I haven't taken a non-accounting class since 1995....so I'm a bit apprehensive.

    Is the test really all that tough?
     
  2. alarmingidea

    alarmingidea New Member

    I'm not the best judge of how tough a test the GRE is, because I'm lucky enough to test quite well. But I will say that GRE math is easier than SAT math. There's nothing on the math GRE beyond high school.

    ETS offers a free sample test and free prep software. Go to www.gre.org > Prepare for the test(s) > Prepare for the general test. You can try the test out to get an idea of how much preparation you might need, and download prep materials that include all the math concepts that you need to know.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 3, 2006
  3. 3$bill

    3$bill New Member

    Be sure you know the Pythagorean theorem and some of the common triangles like 3,4,5 and 5,12,13!

    I believe that the math GRE tries to test ability to reason quantitatively, so it keeps the knowledge bar low.

    I realize that commercial guides to the GRE emphasize the type of questions that are likely to come up, but I think that putting in some time working the problems, honing your math skills so that you can "see" the answer in the choices, is the only way to get value from them.

    I took the GRE twice, once cold, and once while preparing for grad school, and there was a bump of about 1/3 of standard deviation in my score.
     
  4. Jeff Walker

    Jeff Walker New Member

    High school math, but I would definitely recommend taking some computer-based practice tests. That will give you a better idea of the types of problems, and more importantly for some, a better idea of the timing of the test. Timing was a bigger problem with the old analytical section, but is still a concern in quantitative and verbal.
     
  5. me again

    me again Well-Known Member

    It was a freaking nightmare for me!!!! If you're just finishing up with college algebra, then it probably won't be hard, but if you've been out of college-math for 20 years, it's brutal!!! Yuck!!! :rolleyes:
     
  6. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    When I took the GRE back in 1984, I went in relying on nothing more than whatever I had learned in four years of college (no fancy GRE prep classes in little ol' Gunnison, Colorado, at least not back then). I scored an 80th percentile on the GRE General Test, the 93rd percentile on the GRE Subject Test in History, and the 93rd percentile on the GRE Subject Test in Political Science. Not sure how that happened.
     
  7. JH50

    JH50 Member

    friendorfoe,

    I too have been dreading taking the GRE. Be aware that the format of the test is changing soon. I have been looking into the MS in Criminal Justice from University of Wisconsin-Platteville (http://www.uwplatt.edu/disted/degrees/cj/index.html). The GRE is not required and there is a police management emphasis. (Which is what I'm looking for). Good luck in your search. Sam Houston is an excellent CJ school.
     
  8. friendorfoe

    friendorfoe Active Member

    Looks like a good school, but priced a little high.

    Since I am a Texas resident, Sam Houston is stupidlycheap for a graduate program. My first choice was Troy, which I may still go to barring admission to Sam Houston. Troy has a 10 class MS, which I think I have about 10 more classes in my gas tank but after that, I'm running on fumes.
     
  9. alarmingidea

    alarmingidea New Member

    The format change has been delayed for technical reasons. The test will remain in its current format until Fall 2007, so that gives people who are looking at the exam now a while to take it before they roll out the new one. (Which looks obnoxious, I must say.)
     
  10. Matt R

    Matt R New Member

    Well, it's been awhile, but I took the GRE three times (or was it four?). Took it cold as a junior, did pretty bad - like a 940 V + Q I think. That was okay as I only needed like an 800 for my master's program. Then came PhD applications and the ol' 940 wouldn't cut it. I use a Barron's study book and on the second test got up to maybe 590 V but still too low on math and total V+Q for the school I was interested in. So more study, a retest (or two?) later I was pretty stable with the 590 Verbal but my math shot up to 600. Funny, because I am a pretty poor mathmatician but a decent writer. But what I learned was HOW to take the test - yes, I made sure I refreshed my skills on fractions, geometry, basic algebra, etc, but also how to quickly narrow down the multiple choice answers (e.g., one was way too large a number to be correct, one was way too small, and so forth).

    My recommendation is as others have said: take a practice exam, then study what you screwed up. Learn about how standardized exams are designed, especially the GRE, and you will improve your scores. Most importantly, find out what scores the school uses and what level they expect.

    Good luck!
     
  11. friendorfoe

    friendorfoe Active Member

    Thanks guys...looks like I'm buying some study guides....any recommendations?
     
  12. alarmingidea

    alarmingidea New Member

    I used the Kaplan prep books and I liked them a lot. And definitely download the material from the ETS/GRE website. It should be helpful (I thought it was), and even if it's not, it's free.
     
  13. Matt R

    Matt R New Member

    I used the Barron's guide back in the early '90's (a big fat book) but I am sure there are now online and CD-ROM versions that would have more practice tests and so forth. Just find what makes sense to you, and don't listen to folks that tell you you can't improve your scores by studying; you definately can at least to a point (e.g., its not going to take you from 800 to 1500 but it might take you up 100 - 200 points total; I went from 940 to 1190 V+Q).

    Guess I should note that I haven't looked at the GRE since then and don't know if it is even scored this way anymore....but from your original question I assume it is (200 minimum to 800 as maximum score on each section).

    Good luck!
     
  14. Matt R

    Matt R New Member

    One more thing - a funny!

    Not to make you nervous, but Murphy's law came into play on one of my retests. I had decided that since the analytical section was not being used by my universities of choice that I just wasn't going to fool with it. I concentrated on just the verbal and math sections.

    The test was administered the old fashioned way; paper test booklet, break the seal when told, fill in the little dots on the answer sheet. Well I was nearing the last section when all the power on the University of Kentucky campus went out. We were in an interior lecture room so it was nearly pitch black! The proctors had never encountered this situation and did not know what to do, so they made everyone stay put. People were getting furious since they were going to be late for work, etc., but the proctors made it known that no one was to leave his or her seat or they would be disqualified. This contiuned for quite a long time.

    Ultimately we were allowed to leave and got a letter stating that we could either accept our scores from the test (since it was nearly over) or do a free retest from the beginning (but of course they did not tell you what your scores would be before the decision had to be made). If you didn't decide right away, it would be too late to sign up for the next test once you did receive your scores. A real dilemna!

    I figured I had done fairly well and since the last section on my exam book was the analytical part that I did not care about, I took my chances. This was my 1190 score so it all worked out (I think the school wanted an 1100 minimum; I would like to have gotten a 1200 for sake of pride but I sure wasn't going to take the stupid test again.

    Here's hoping the power stays on!
     
  15. JoAnnP38

    JoAnnP38 Member

    If I remember correctly, I believe that practicing actually rasied my practice test scores about 150 points. However, when I took the actual exam I actually scored much higher than that. For people who just need to brush up on things they really already know, you can prepare for the GRE in a week or two. However, if there is a portion of the test on which you are weak (for me it was the verbal section) I think taking a couple of months to prepare can do wonders for your score.
     

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