captiv8ed

NO advice, but I am in the same boat. It is so frustrating. I was doing a lot of practice tests from Power Prep. Some of the scores I disregarded because the I got many of the same questions over. But on tests with new material, I was consistently scoring above 1200. So I went in pretty confident. And then got 1010. It makes it so difficult for me to gauge. Most people find the powerprep to be right on. I actually scored over 100 points lower than I did on my very first power prep, which had been taken before any studying. So, I have been cramming some with Barron's and the Math Bible. I took a power prep today. I felt like I was doing awful. But I got a 630 V and a 650 Q. Which are high enough for me. But I was scoring like that before, so it is really screwing with my brain. I am trying to learn math formulas and force feed myself the GRE Math Bible. I need to add some verbal study as well, so that is still sharp. I had almost 2 months between tests, but I couldn't face the books for a long time, so I am on a 2 week study time frame as well.

I am a person who needs 8 hours of sleep, so that is why it seems heroic to me!

That is incredibly, modernity. How many hours did you spend on your homework? How much sleep did you get? When did you do errands? My hat is off to you for sure!

I had to do that for one of mine too. It does suck, but it is a good exercise as well. I used Asher's book to help me write mine and then ran it by some friends to make sure it sounded okay. Good luck!

I have been struggling with this, but my situation is a little different. For us, it will be a family of five. I will be going to grad school, DH will be finishing undergrad, and we have 3 school aged kids. Student housing is so much cheaper and easier. And we are so limited on our time now. I keep eyeing my tremendously loyal, incredibly high maintenance dachshund pair and thinking bad thoughts.

What kind of school did you go to where you went to class from 8 to 5 every day? I have never heard of that. At my school, for 16 credit hours (full time+ for the quarter system) a typical schedule would be: Monday 10-3 with an hour for lunch Tuesday 10-4 with an hour for lunch Wednesday 10-12, Thursday off and Friday 10-1. In other schools I have seen, a 5 credit class meets once a day for five days a week or twice a week for 2.5 hours each time, or something like that. I have always been told the actual time in class is 1 hour per credit and then there is 2-3 times as much home study time expected. Did you go to school outside the States?

I will add the obligatory: NO one can really know until we get our acceptances or rejections. These programs are all so damned competitive that they have to turn away dozens of totally qualified applicants I wouldn't worry about not having an MA. I think your application looks awesome and I wish you luck

Yes, the multiple steps times number of colleges is maddening. A couple of weeks ago, my LOR asked for a packet containing everything she needed to know about where she was sending the letters. So in order to get that info for some schools, I needed to log in to my account. For some of them, I hadn't started the account yet, so I had to create accounts. Then while I was there, I figured I should get as far into the application process as I could. At this point, I have six undergraduate schools, so when I got to that page, I was searching for six schools. Times 8 applications. And then finding the info and printing it up for her, along with pre-addressed envelopes. And then during that same weekend I decided to contact professors. Of course, even though I have looked at that info in the past, I couldn't remember who I was writing to, so I was looking up all that info again, wading through faculty lists. And then, oh yeah, I should have read something from each one before I contact them. AAAHHHH!! Needless to say, I am nowhere near done with any of my apps.

I had M and V and AW and then the experimental AW section.

Oh and one more thing. While it totally sucks when you are in school and you feel like you have no time for them, it works out okay. Because you get breaks. We have spent whole summers together. And grad school will be different and busier, but I still believe there will be concentrated amounts of time together.

Me!! I will read your questions more closely tomorrow, but tonight I want to get more GRE studying in before bed. But quickly: I have three elementary and middle school-aged boys. I am in school fulltime and so is my husband. He is working parttime as a restaurant server. We are poor but we have always been poor and that is why we are in school, to turn it around. I am in my fifth year of undergrad. Full time the whole time. My first two years I did through a community college online. I homeschooled my boys during that time as well. The fist year my hubby was in school also, the second year he took a break. I am applying for next fall and I am applying widely. My dh will still be in school next year as well. I am applying and then when I figure it out he will either apply to a school in the area for the fall or he will apply for the winter if he has missed cutoff. It is super scary to think about moving and affording it all. SO many of the schools are in high cost areas. But with older kids (and three of them) married housing isn't always a great option. And we do have two little dogs. It drives me up a wall when academics say "Just find the program that is the best fit and go for it" When you have a family, it isn't as easy as that.

4:00 pm (for instance): Yes, no problem. I will get into a good school. I have a good school record, great LORs, research, publications, heck I look fantastic! And I am applying to a well rounded bunch of schools. No problem!! 4:05 pm: OMG I am so not getting in anywhere. What made me think I could. I mean geez, look at how competitive these programs are. I have a better chance of getting hit by lightning. And then there is my GRE score. And all those folks at the gradcafe seem so much more savvy and well versed than me. I don't stand a chance. 4:10: no, it will be fine..... Anyone else? For me, I think I have a strong application to offer, but I go to a hippie school with no grades (although people from my school get into really good grad programs because we tend to be self motivated and good critical thinkers) and my first round of GRE really sucked. But the teacher I have been working with most closely is famous and she has gotten me out of my school and into other opportunities.. ugh

I hear ya on that! I think you have pretty high scores. I don't know how it is in your field though. Most everything I have read has been that you want to score over 1200, and you are well over that.

Are you over 600 in each section?

I don't know. I am planning to take mine November 22 for a Dec 15 deadline, but since you are international, I wonder if it will take longer.

OMG, that is such awesome news!! It is always great when you can reach the people behind the bureaucracy

coya, the person who asked you about "besides" is not the OP. Or did you mean peanuttheanthro's syntax in general in this forum?

I feel your pain. I am applying for PhDs in sociology and I got a 600 v and a 410 (!!!) quantitative. I was even scoring well in the 600s on the powerprep and I still bombed. My first deadlines are Dec 15 and I plan to retake November 22. That is going to cut it close for me, but I think you have time to retake in November. Maybe mid-November? It sucks don't it? You put so much time into being a very good student, get all your ducks in a row and then 3 1/2 hours and a handful of questions can crush your dream.

You actually see your scores first and then they ask you what schools you want to send them to. So you can decided after you know your verbal and quantitative.

Well, if I get in this year, I will be 38. I also have 3 kids and a husband with at least one year of school left. And I am going for a PhD, so I will firmly in my 40s when I finish.

Thanks for the advice! I have made some flash cards and have Barron's also. This time around I am trying to learn the reasoning behind the math steps, and it is helping me some, but I still need to know the formula to plug in.

I am having no trouble getting the vocab down. Instead, I am struggling to memorize and keep straight 42 million different math formulas! Any tips?

hehe, I have no grasp of it whatsoever and got SIX geometry questions on mine. And got each one wrong

Yep, this is my take too. I am in sociology and was saying the same thing to my husband. I got a 1010 (!!) and am struggling to study for the quant. My verbal was okay and my writing was fine. But oh, that quant. I never took geometry, so I feel at a huge disadvantage. And unfortunately, I am suffering from a huge block. I can't make myself study for it most days. I struggle to understand it and I just don't want to do it. Now I have big time impostor syndrome running around to boot, since I can't even "pass" this stupid test.

You are all doing good! I had planned to get a whole bunch of it done this summer, but then it felt too early, so I didn't. I am doing 8 applications, with deadlines ranging from 12-15 to 2-1. I have to take the GRE again in November, so I can't submit anything until then. I have gotten 2 recommenders squared away and have filled out most of the grunt work on the applications. Still working on the statement. I am planning to stagger the applications so that some of them are funded after winter quarter's financial aid check arrives. It is going to be a long couple of months.