BattlePope

Hi guys and girls, So, I've got the GRE Biology Subject test this Saturday and I'm cramming away. Everything's going good so far. I've taken the practice test provided by ETS and was wondering if anyone knew of any other practice tests that I could take. I'd like to take at least another one if I can. Finally, any last minute tips for the test? Thank you!

Another quick question (for anyone), how well do you need to know specific clades/species of organisms? For example, the protist chapter in Campbell-Reece is extremely dense with specific characteristics about each clade. Is this something I will need to know? Or should I just be more familiar with the general biology/structure/life cycles of bryophytes? I'm going to try to learn all the generalities of the main clades but think trying to learn some of the super nitty-gritty stuff is just unrealistic.

Thanks for the reply. Thanks for the advice rexzeppelin. Thankfully, ecology is one of my stronger points. With that said, are there any other areas/topics that you recommend I focus on? It sounds like plant biology and paleobiology are two popular topics. Another quick question (for anyone), how well do you need to know specific clades/species of organisms? For example, the protist chapter in Campbell-Reece is extremely dense with specific characteristics about each clade. Is this something I will need to know? Or should I just be more familiar with the general biology/structure/life cycles of bryophytes? I'm going to try to learn all the generalities of the main clades but think trying to learn some of the super nitty-gritty stuff is just unrealistic. Edit: The fungi chapter is another section that is fairly in-depth about all of the different phylums/species. Do I really need to know every characteristic that defines each phylum?

Thanks. I am currently going through the Campbell-Reece book. Pretty much everything I have read online has said that the Campbell book is the best way to prepare for the test. I'm planning on reading through all of it but since I am a bit limited on time I was looking to see what I should focus on. I will be sure to know plant biology and paleobiology. Thanks so much for the tips. Any other help would be greatly appreciated!

Hi guys, I'm going to be taking the GRE Biology Subject test this coming April and was wondering if anyone had any tips for taking it. Any particular strategies that worked well for you? I've heard that if you can narrow it down to 3 answers to make an educated guess, otherwise just skip the question. Thoughts? Any material I should focus on? Any material that I can gloss over? One specific question that I did have is how well should I know cellular respiration? I'm terrible at this particular subject and learning all the individual steps is taking me forever, time I feel that could be better spent studying other material. I'm thinking about just learning the main points and moving on. Any tips/advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much!

Hi, I'm going to be taking the GRE Biology Subject test this coming April and was wondering if anyone had any tips for taking it. Any particular strategies that worked well for you? I've heard that if you can narrow it down to 3 answers to make an educated guess, otherwise just skip the question. Thoughts? Any material I should focus on? Any material that I can gloss over? One specific question that I did have is how well should I know cellular respiration? I'm terrible at this particular subject and learning all the individual steps is taking me forever, time I feel that could be better spent studying other material. I'm thinking about just learning the main points and moving on. Any tips/advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much!

Thanks for the advice. I apologize for my ignorance but what practice booklet might you be talking about? Is it the same as this one? https://www.ets.org/s/gre/pdf/practice_book_biology.pdf I haven't received any practice booklet (that I know of) yet so I'm hoping the one above is the same.

Thanks for the responses. I already took the general GRE and did quite well on it actually (Magoosh was a life saver). I am applying for a biology program and unfortunately I was not a biology major in undergrad. Because of this, I need to take the biology subject GRE. I've heard it's a doozy as well and would have skipped it otherwise but two of the programs I'm applying to require it. Thanks for the help, going to go through the Campbell book as best I can. Pretty much everything I've read has said that it's the best way to prepare.

Hi guys and gals, So, I'm going to be taking the GRE Biology Subject test in April. I know everyone says not to take it if you don't have to but unfortunately, I need to. It seems that pretty much everyone recommends reading the Campbell Reece Biology textbook in preparation. My question is: which edition is best? Should I just try to get the most recent one? Or are they all pretty similar and should I just go for the cheapest? Some of the used one's can be had for under $5. Finally, any topics I should focus more heavily on? So far, I've just been reading through this outline/study guide of the Campbell Reece Biology book: http://www.course-notes.org/Biology/Outlines Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Hi guys and gals, What is the best way to study for the GRE Biology Subject test? Going to be taking it in April and would love to hear your thoughts/opinions. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Hi guys, Another post by me, last one I swear. So, one of the programs that I am applying to is located in an area that has a fairly high density of research and education institutions. When asked why I would like to apply to this particular program, one reason that I have given is that I am excited to collaborate with researchers in the surrounding area. Could this be misconstrued as offensive and something that I should leave out? The paragraph in question is below: "______ location in _____ has been another factor that has weighed heavily in my decision to apply. The program’s proximity to so many fantastic marine science research and education institutions provides numerous opportunities to advance my career in addition to the program at _____. If accepted, I look forward to collaborating with a broad range of people and developing some beneficial contacts throughout the research community in the _______ area." Do you think I should just drop this paragraph? Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Thanks for the input guys and gals, I agree with everything you have said. I decided to drop the statement and instead focused on the comprehensiveness of the thesis program/process at this school. Thanks for all the help!

I guess that the point I'm trying to get across is that since I would be one of the first students in Professor A's lab, he would be much more involved with my work when compared to a professor who is advising 8 different students already. Another one of my potential advisors (Professor C), for example, has specifically told me that he is very hands-off. He let's his students really do their own thing and only steps in if they need an extra push in the right direction. While I know that I would still do fine with Professor C, I would like the more individualized attention afforded by Professor A. Edit: Professor B kept making a smiley face, haha.

I completely agree that "lack of previous students" has a negative connotation. With that said, I would still like to try to incorporate that sentiment into my statement somehow. I feel that it lets the admissions committee know that I am familiar with Dr. Johnson and have a specific reason for picking him. I also feel that a statement along the lines of what you laid out is fairly generic and doesn't have that same specific "I know this professor well and know why he would be good for ME" feel to it. I do like the use of "accessibility" though. Maybe instead of "lack of previous students", I could say something like "fledgling lab"? I feel that that statement has less of a negative connotation. Or maybe you're right and I should just go with something similar to what you mentioned. Thoughts? Edit: Thanks for the help by the way! I really appreciate it.

I suppose what I meant was individualized attention. Thank you for helping me clarify that.