GREMasterEMPOWERRichC

Hi bilibili, This question can be solved in a number of different ways - including TESTing THE ANSWERS. We know that there are 8 girls and 20 boys to start, and a certain number of girls joined and TWICE as many boys left the class (leaving us with a ratio of 7 girls for every 4 boys). We're asked for the number of boys that LEFT the class. To start, since the number of boys who left is TWICE the number of girls who joined, the number of boys who left MUST be an EVEN number (so we can eliminate Answers A and C immediately). Let's TEST Answer D: 12 boys IF... 12 boys left and 6 girls joined, we would have.... 8 + 6 = 14 girls 20 - 12 = 8 boys 14:8 = 7:4 This is an exact match for what we were told, so this MUST be the answer. Final Answer: D GRE Masters aren't born, they're made, Rich

Hi LeonidBasin, To start, I have a few questions about your timeline and goals: 1) How did you score on the GMAT (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores)? 2) What Schools are you planning to apply to? 3) When are you planning to apply? GMAT Quant and GRE Quant have a great deal in common. In real basic terms, GRE Quant questions are easier (on average) but you have less time to answer those questions (on average). So you have to be relatively 'quick' about recognizing patterns and doing the necessary work. Thankfully, the GRE is just as consistent and predictable as the GMAT, so you CAN train to score at a higher level. GRE Masters aren't born, they're made, Rich

Hi RandomDancing, For dual-degree Programs, you have to be careful to be sure that BOTH Programs will accept the standardized test Score that you submit. If, for example, the MPP Program(s) that you're interested in did not accept a GRE score, then you really should NOT be studying for that Exam. You would likely be best served by contacting the individual Schools/Programs directly and asking. GRE Masters aren't born, they're made,

HI WBWhite17, Have you taken either of the Official ETS practice MSTs? Those are the most realistic practice GREs on the market, so (assuming that you take them in a realistic fashion) they should provide you with the most realistic score assessments. The wording of the last sentence in your post is a bit vague - are you saying that you were scheduled to take the GRE (this past) Friday? If that's the case, then how did you score? GRE Masters aren't born, they're made, Rich

Hi Mayurb29, Test Day is a rather specific event - the details are specific and they matter, so you have to do your best to 'mirror' those details when you take your practice MSTs. The more you deviate during your practice, the more your scores can be "off" (and that often means 'inflated'). Here are some things to consider when you took/take your MSTs: 1) Did you take the FULL MST (including the Essays)? 2) Did you take the MST at home? 3) Did you start it at the same time of day as your Official GRE? 4) Did you do anything during your MST that you couldn't do on Test Day (skip sections, pause the Test, take longer breaks, etc.)? 5) Had you taken that Exam before? Did you see any questions that you already knew the answers to? Thankfully, the GRE is a consistent, predictable Exam, so you CAN train to score at a higher level. GRE Masters aren't born, they're made, Rich

Hi Kabir77, PhD Programs tend to be highly competitive - since there are so few slots for the number of applicants. As such, Admissions Committees tend to really 'nitpick' each application. The value of a high GRE score cannot be overlooked in this situation. Since the GRE is a consistent, predictable Exam which can be prepared for, your scores are not particularly impressive. With your prior schooling, you likely could score much higher on the GRE, but you have not properly trained to score at a high level on the Exam. Since your Official GRE scores are essentially identical, "your way" of dealing with the Exam will likely continue to earn you a score at this general level. To significantly improve, you'll need to learn and practice some new Tactics - and that will require that you invest in some new practice materials. In addition, since you've studied for 9 months, you've likely developed some 'bad habits' that will take time to fix (and replace with new 'good habits'). This is all meant to say that you could probably make some big improvements in 2 months of consistent, guided study - and that might exactly what you need to put together a strong application for the Programs that you plan to (re)apply to. GRE Masters aren't born, they're made, Rich

Hi Fr1224, Many Schools/Programs expect an AWA score of 4.0 or higher, so this AWA score might be an issue for you (if you want to know what a particular School expects of you though, you should contact the Admissions Committee and ask!). A 2.5 means that you didn't write what the prompt asked you to write about - and you likely went 'off topic.' There might also be other issues, including length/thoroughness, grammar/style, etc., but the bigger factors would be the initial ones that I mentioned. GRE Masters aren't born, they're made, Rich

Hi Kabir, Before I can offer you the specific advice that you're looking for, I'd like to know a bit more about how you studied and your goals: 1) What were your exact scores on your 2 GREs (including the score breakdowns for each section)? 2) How long did you study for each attempt? What study materials did you use? 3) What application deadlines are you facing? GRE Masters aren't born, they're made, Rich

Hi sociologicals, If you're concerned about whether your Official Score Report might arrive late or not, you should try contacting each School directly and explaining your situation. It's likely that the Admissions Committees just need your application in on time (and if your GRE Score Report arrives a couple of days late, then it's not a big deal). Let them know your Test Date and ask if it's okay if your Report comes a bit late. GRE Masters aren't born, they're made, Rich

Hi Feanor, That report is likely focused on general Grad School applications at each of those Schools. However, if you're applying for PhD Programs at those Schools, then the level of competition will likely be higher. With a Q163, you likely already know all of the 'math' that you need to know to score higher (even a perfect 170) - but if you're treating the Quant section of the GRE as if it were a 'math test' then that's part of why you have not scored higher. It's actually a 'critical thinking test' that uses math as the gauge, so if you do plan to retest, you should focus a bit more on Quant Tactics, patterns, etc. 1) What application deadlines are you facing? 2) What study materials did you use to prepare for the GRE? GRE Masters aren't born, they're made, Rich

HI ironshieldmaiden, From what you've described, the immediate application deadlines for these Programs are coming up soon, but what are those deadlines exactly? Are there any later application Rounds? And what are the average GRE Scores at each of these Programs? GRE Masters aren't born, they're made, Rich

Hi dreamchaser, As a general rule, Grad Schools expect you to have taken the GRE and submitted your application by the application deadline - so even if it takes a few extra days for your Official Score to be sent in, then they're often fine with that. Many Programs receive so many applications that it can take weeks (or months) for the Admissions Committees to properly read through them all, so it would be surprising for a School to 'ding' you because of the time that it takes for ETS to process your report. Thankfully, there's actually a really easy way to find out how the specific Programs that you're interstate in address this issue - ASK them directly. GRE Masters aren't born, they're made, Rich

Hi Christine, If you know the specific Programs that you plan to apply to, then you should be able to research them so that you can get a better sense of how 'competitive' your current GRE score actually is. Given how you described your prior studies, a month of consistent work could help lead to a significant improvement in your Quant scores. 1) What application deadlines are you facing? GRE Masters aren't born, they're made, Rich

HI Mered, As a general rule, you don't want to do much studying right before your Exam. "Cramming" isn't particularly beneficial in these types of situations and you'd be better served by going into your Exam well-rested and ready to work. That having been said, a bit of light review is fine and working through some practice questions the morning of your Exam can help to get your mind into 'test mode' (just don't work on anything too difficult). GRE Masters aren't born, they're made, Rich

Hi Evelynne, If you know the specific Schools that you plan to apply to, then you should be able to research the Schools/Programs in a bit more detail so that you can get a better sense of the type of GRE score that you would need to be considered a competitive applicant. PhD Programs tend to be highly competitive though - since there are so few spots for the pool of applicants - so Admissions Committees tend to 'nitpick' the OVERALL application. This is meant to say that you'll likely need more than just a strong GRE score to get into your first-choice Program. When you take your practice MSTs, you should plan to make each experience as realistic as possible. This means that you need to take the FULL TEST (with both Essays), take the Test away from your home, at the same time of day as your Official GRE, etc. Taking the Test at night, after work, is NOT realistic, so you should try to avoid that. If that's the most recent score though, then we have to assume that a Q154/V154 is your current ability level. To hit your goal scores, you're going to have to put some significant effort into BOTH the Quant and Verbal sections. You should study as you see fit for the next week, then take a new practice MST. That score result will provide some important information about how well you're progressing. If you don't see any meaningful improvement, then you'll likely need to invest in some new practice materials and learn/practice some new Tactics. You should plan to post back here after you've taken that next Test and we can talk through the results. GRE Masters aren't born, they're made, Rich

Hi Opticflash, The silliest mistakes that you will ever make on the GRE will occur when YOU choose to not take notes. Every time you decide to do work 'in your head', then you're opening yourself up to this type of error... so you should STOP doing work in your head. Every 'step' needs to be done 'on the pad.' The good news is that the work is usually pretty easy AND it's actually faster to do the work on the pad than do it in your head. Ultimately, this is an issue of 'precision', NOT intelligence. Don't let your pride get in the way of doing quality work. The GRE will always give you the score that you've EARNED, so make sure that you're doing the necessary work to earn those points. If you're running into a pacing issue, then it's likely because you keep rereading the prompt or staring at the screen, NOT because you're taking too many notes. GRE Masters aren't born, they're made, Rich

Hi Evelyn D, Many Test Takers spend several months studying for the GRE before they hit their 'peak' scores, so you have to decide which is more important - taking the GRE in a couple of weeks OR putting in the necessary time to 'lock in' a higher score. 1) Do you have a specific score goal in mind? 2) What are the average GRE scores for the Programs that you plan to apply to? GRE Masters aren't born, they're made, Rich

Hi gevault, Test Day involves a specific set of 'variables' that can impact your performance, so you have to do your best to take your practice tests in a manner that matches the variables that you'll face on Test Day. The more your practice tests vary from what you'll face on the Official GRE, the more your scores can be 'off.' For example, did you take the FULL practice test each time (with both essays)? Did you take them at the same time of day as your Official GRE? Beyond those details, it's important to remember that the GRE is a consistent, predictable Exam, so you CAN train to score at a higher level. You have to train to take advantage of the built-in patterns of the Test though. 1) When are you planning to retake the GRE? 2) What application deadline(s) are you facing? GRE Masters aren't born, they're made, Rich

Hi gevault, By their nature, most PhD Programs are remarkably competitive - since there are so few 'spots' relative to the number of applicants. As such, the Admissions Committees really 'nitpick' each application. If a common response to your application is that your GRE score just isn't high enough, and earning a PhD is your ultimate goal, then you have a couple of choices: 1) Re-train for the GRE (in a different way) and try to score higher. 2) Apply to different Schools that might be less competitive. Can you provide more information about how you studied for the GRE before? How long did you study? What materials did you use? GRE Masters aren't born, they're made, Rich

Hi Tom, Based on this practice test result, your Verbal skills appear to be pretty good (these days, a V162 is about the 90th percentile - and you would have scored fairly close to that on this test). You didn't answer one of my prior questions; that answer is important to defining how you should proceed from here: 1) What is your overall goal score? GRE Masters aren't born, they're made, Rich

Hi Kerlji, While the Schools that you previously applied to might still have your information on file, you might want to think about the extra effort that you would be forcing on the Admissions Committee to 'find' your prior materials. If you're planning to reapply to any highly competitive Programs, then the 'image' that you would be offering to those Programs is that you don't feel like doing all of the necessary work to reapply (and that you're putting the burden on the School to assemble your application for you). While the Admissions Committee might be fine with that approach, you might end up inadvertently alienating the very people who decide who to invite to the Program. GRE Masters aren't born, they're made, Rich

Hi marrr, If you haven't taken a practice MST Test yet, then we don't really know much about your actual skills, strengths and weaknesses. As such, you should plan to take one - you can download 2 for free from www.gre.org. Once you have taken one, you should post back here with your score results and we can talk through how best to proceed. GRE Masters aren't born, they're made, Rich

Hi afgun_haund, Many Test Takers spend 3 months (or more) of consistent study time before they hit their 'peak' scores. Since you're still early-on in your studies, instead of thinking in terms of "how many more questions do I need to answer correct...", you should put your analysis into WHY you got questions wrong. While practice test review should be a bit more detailed than what I'm about to show you, here's an easy way to get started: After reviewing this MST, how many questions did you get wrong: 1) Because of a silly/little mistake? 2) Because there was some math that you just didn't know how to do? 3) Because the question was just too hard? 4) Because you were low on time and had to guess? Those details will help to define what you need to focus on going forward. GRE Masters aren't born, they're made, Rich

Hi hmss9245, PhD Admissions Offices are generally NOT run in a sloppy fashion, so you likely have nothing to worry about in terms of how the components of your application will be handled. Until you send in the actual application, my guess would be that no one there would even look at your score report (since there wouldn't be any reason to look at it until they had all of the necessary information to evaluate your application). GRE Masters aren't born, they're made, Rich

Hi hmss9245, There actually isn't much of a difference between a 158 and 160 in either section (just a few correct answers), so you really have to 'nitpick' your Test results and determine WHY you got questions wrong. How often did you get questions wrong because of a silly/little mistake and how often did you get questions wrong because the question was just too hard? As an aside, if you know how to calculate an average, then you know that an AVERAGE score at a School is NOT the same thing as a minimum score requirement. This is meant to say that you might be perfectly fine applying with a Verbal score under 160. GRE Masters aren't born, they're made, Rich