thisguy2017

4/6

Magoosh is great. They have over 700 quant and about 600 verbal timed questions and 4 practice tests. Mike is an expert and if you're not someone for whom math comes naturally, you'll be good to go after watching all the Magoosh math content and practicing the questions.

writing score above 4. 4.5 is usually good. Verbal score not that bad. Could have been better though. Good luck.

I understand that you have some research experience. But to be honest with you, you will not be able to get in with that GRE score, especially since you're applying to business programs. based on inside information, these programs use GRE as cut off to eliminate applicants and if you look at a vast majority of business schools you'll notice that the GRE quantitative score for admitted applicant is typically above 90th percentile or in some cases (for the least competitive ones) in the 80th percentiles. I understand you, but my sincere advise is for you to retake the GRE and do extremely well on the quantitative section. For the verbal, just try not to bomb it. A 75th percentile and above will do. You see, most of those applying to business programs are extremely competitive. Best of luck with your applications and take care.

ok i added you

what is your name on Studypal?

great, since I'm using Magoosh entire quant and video (premium) too and also taking the test in end of august I will be using the three month study plan (May, June, July) and the last two/ three weeks of August for Practice tests and corrections. Do you use Studypal so I can add you there?

What resources are you using to study? I am using Magoosh Prime, The official guide for quantitative reasoning, Manhattan 5lb and Math Review for Standardized Tests 3rd edition. For vocab, I am mostly using the Magoosh App then creating flashcards using Quizlet. When are you planning to take the test and what Study resources do you plan to use? I will be taking the test in the second week of August. Magoosh has well-crafted study plans (day to day tasks well spelled out).

what is your username on Studypal so i can add you there?

hey when are you planning to take the test? I am also looking for a study partner now: I am currently at 155Q, 155Verb, 5.5 AWA. I am using magoosh prime to study. Let me know if you're interested

FOR THE FIRST ISSUE TASK WHERE I GRADED 3/6 here are some tips: - ALWAYS pick a side in the issue. The purpose of the issue task is to gauge your ability to pick a side in a debate and provide cogent arguments to back up your position. It also gauges your ability to stay objective by acknowledging that some people have different views and presenting these views (in say, a paragraph), yet reaffirming that the evidence in your argument suggests that your view is superior. NEVER NEVER EVER say stuff like I believe both approaches can be used, but follow the structure I suggested (kind of similar to what you did in the second argument task). -Make sure your essay is 6 paragraphs: Introduction; 3 paragraphs for your position; 1 paragraph to consider instances where your position would not hold true; and finally a conclusion. In the introduction make sure to CLEARY PICK A SIDE by making a statement like "I strongly believe that...for the following reasons". This tells the reader what your primary writing aim will be and makes them more comfortable. In the 3 paragraphs to support your thesis statement, for each paragraph, ALWAYS BEGIN BY STATING THE POINT. then explain that point, consider a practical case to illustrate the point and finally close the point by reaffirming that it supports your thesis statement. -Avoid using words like Always, Never, all, nobody. These could come across as presumptuous.

Let me review: sorry been off for a while

No problem ankitg. I like the introduction; it shows that you have a somewhat firm grasp of what the task is about. Your thesis statement is clearly stated and right on the reader knows exactly what opinion you are rooting for. In the following paragraphs however, things quickly devolve: In the first paragraph you seem to be discussing the negative impact of too many restrictions. It is a good point but always create accord between your thesis and your topic sentence in each paragraph. For instance, here, instead of saying "too many restrictions lead to delay in progress..." you could say, few or no restrictions promotes research growth and development. Untrammeled research potential could, arguably yield the most prolific projects since thought capacity is uninhibited. Then go ahead and discuss a case where few restrictions could possibly have yielded a prolific result (and please be elaborate, logical and convincing). Then conclude your paragraph by reaffirming your stance based on the point you just made: on this basis therefore, few or no restrictions should be placed on research and development. The second point was elusive and opaque, I could not understand the point let alone the example to support it. There did not seem to be a logical connection between the point mentioned and the case brought forward to support it. Are you saying that governments give pharma companies patients? But then there are restrictions on the number of patients to prevent the pharma companies from charging exorbitant prices on the drugs? So the government gives patients but also sets restrictions on the number of patients? If that is the case can it not be argued that those restrictions are not meant to impact scientific research directly but drug prices? And more so, the restriction is on the government agency in charge of giving pharma company patients? (assuming that governments give pharma companies patients like you mentioned). PLEASE, you want to make sure that your point is clearly stated, and your supporting case is directly linked to the point you mentioned and cogent enough. Again always conclude your paragraph like i mentioned above. The last point is a complete digression from your thesis so far- the type of thing test readers hate seeing. You see, so far, you have been making a case for FEWER restrictions. Now all of a sudden you say restrictions are necessary in military research. It maybe that you are trying to address the part of the prompt stating that one should discuss specific instances where adopting the recommendation would be disadvantageous (few restrictions would be disadvantageous in military research since the potential to leak would be higher): in that case, fair enough. But your intention is not well conveyed. There is no shift indicator to suggest that the direction of your essay is changing in terms of opinion and meaning. No where else is it more true than in the analytical writing section of the GRE, that you have to use words like although, but, meanwhile...etc, to alert the reader of shifts in meaning and opinion- and incidentally signal that you're addressing the part of the prompt which requires you to consider the opposite view. So always remember to use these words when shifting. Even after considering the opposite view, always close that paragraph by mentioning that your view is superior. This shows the reader that you are convinced about your line of reasoning. The conclusion was okay. As a tip, make sure to write 6 paragraphs on the Issue task. The 4 middle paragraphs should be elaborate. The introduction could be the same length as one you just wrote, same with the conclusion. (That is my secret to scoring a 5.5 on that section). Let me know how it goes

3/6 for issue and 2/6 for argument. Let me know if you have questions

3/6; the essay is on track but the ideas are not fully fleshed out

2/6 (the task is not asking for how wrong the argument is but for questions that need to be answered to determine if the recommendation is valid- big difference. Always make sure to notice what the task is asking, and answer only that; that is, if you want to score 4.5 and above. Good luck.)

2/6

3/6

you should be fine with that quant and verbal. The average score is usually around 165 quant and 163 verbal. You might still take it to increase verbal but if it doest work out then you have these scores as safety

2nd Essay: Rule number 1 for the argument; ALWAYS BEGIN BY SUMMARIZING THE ARGUMENT. It shows the reader that you understand what is going on in there. It would go something like this: The argument concludes that Supercorp made the best decision to transfer its headquarters from Middlesburg to Corporateville because the latter is a superior location. This is based on three main reasons; the surge of homeowners in corporateville, a survey used by supercorp to determine that its employees prefer to live in an area that is not urban, and the lower taxes in corporateville compared to middlesburg making it a safer and cheaper place to live. This argument however depends on a number of assumptions that when examined can establish the viability or vacuousness of it's conclusion. The next thing to keep in mind is to ANSWER THE QUESTION. The prompt is asking you for three main things: To examine the assumptions (stated and/ or unstated), explain how the argument depends on the assumptions, and finally to discuss the implications IF the assumptions prove unwarranted. In your first paragraph you talk about how SC failed to show how moving would provide the best outcome. You also talk about how they should have done a background check to that effect, and how an there is a need for statistical info about the increase and how it is not indicative that SC employees would have a place to live. I kind of get in this case that what you are trying to communicate is that the company assumes that an increase in home ownership means easy access to housing. But again, I had to read through the paragraph to infer that. ALWAYS STATE your MAIN IDEA in the first sentence of the paragraph. In this case, the reader does not see the STATED assumption and so will assume you have no control over the essay. Then, you had to explain how the argument depends on the assumption. That was lacking! You would have to discuss that because the company assumes that increase in home ownership indicated location superiority, then they believe moving to CV (corporateville) is the best decision. Finally you had to explain the implications IF this assumption is unwarranted. You had to (and always for this type of question SPECULATE). Use words like "If...THEN..." in this case.An example could be something like this; "although the argument suggests that lower taxes are indicative of a safer environment, IF the lower taxes do not lower the crime rate in corporateville, THEN it is inadequate to claim on these grounds, that moving to the new location is the best decision. Overall, PLEASE, make sure you answer what the prompt is asking you. The question is not asking you what evidence would be needed to assess the conclusion (sometimes the argument essay asks you this BUT this was not the question in this case. So be very alert). Essay Comment The response points out some flaws in the argument but has failed to tackle the fundamental problem to be solved as indicated in the prompt. This essay therefore scores a 2/6 ****For reference my score was 98th percentile on the writing Let me know if you have additional questions***

1st essay: Note; the prompt was asking you to agree or disagree on if technology actually complicates our lives further (or on the flip side makes it easier). But it seems like you are taking the stance that it is AIMED at making our lives easier. This is a problem; the prompt is asking you to focus on the effect of technology but you're leaning towards the cause, which already tells the reader you're somewhat drifting away. A better way to have put it is that "...technology simplifies our lives for numerous reasons"- this is very different because, in this case you are focusing on the effect- what technology does for our lives, but not the cause- what technology was aimed to do for our lives (which is clearly not what the prompt wants). In the first paragraph, you fail to state the point you would be discussing. The reader has to dig in a little bit further into the paragraph to fully appreciate the idea you are communicating. Always make sure you start your paragraph with the topic sentence, and make sure every sentence that follows in the same paragraph adds meaning to the topic sentence- in other words, center each paragraph around the same idea There is a paucity of points to fully convince the reader that technology has made our lives simpler (based on your essay which discusses only speed of communication and freedom). And even these are not fully fleshed out to convince the reader. Make sure to state the point, explain it, and cite a specific example to support that point. (at least if you hope to score a 4/6 on the first essay). Finally and possibly the biggest mistakes of your essay are the last but one and last paragraphs. I understand that the prompt asks you to consider instances where the statement might not hold true and how this might affect your position. At this point the reader simply wants you to be a fair player and acknowledge that your viewpoint is not infallible. DO NOT under any circumstances change your stance at this level (which is technically what you did by concluding in the final paragraph, that "Even though technology is making lives more simply, is it making everyday lives more dependent on it to function." At this level, simply acknowledge that there could be a view contrary to yours, but conclude by reaffirming your stance. That said, the essay vaguely addresses some ideas relevant to the prompt but fails to develop each point clearly and therefore is not cogent. This essay earns a 3/6.

Like the poster above mentioned, I am pretty sure you have already applied; but I am also sure that you would be returning here to check. If you do here are my thoughts: Though schools make it seem like the GRE is only part of the application process and while sometimes it might seem to be the case, admissions committees have an obsession with those numbers. It is true that the exam does not reflect one's ability to do research in graduate school but it shows one's ability (for those who are not intelligent like me) to persist, learn new material and be tested successfully (which I believe is also important). Honestly, a 151 verbal is extremely low for a PhD in political science; most schools in that field have percentiles ranging in the 60s and 70s let alone the 80s and 90s for the top tier programs. For the quant scores do not worry a lot, all you have to do is get around a 155- 159 and you would be fine for political science PhD (basic idea: don't bomb it because it would be a red flag). I know you mentioned your medical condition and I want to commend you for cruising through undergraduate studies despite. But my advise is, if you could read those long books at the undergrad and have that great GPA for your major, then you can train your brain to dissect those reading comprehension passages in the allotted time and answer correctly. More so, don't worry about your current score; downlo ad the Magoosh vocabulary app and learn all the new vocab; I guarantee you that this exercise in itself will boost your confidence and score by about 4 points (or 3). Take two months to study, and be consistent. Take a practice test once every two weeks. Then come back here after you take the GRE and tell me how great your score was. People applying to Political science score 167, 168, 170 on verbal like it's nothing and you're competing with them. You deserve the best too. By the way the best GRE study material for verbal out there is Magoosh, and if it comes to a point where you have to pay the premium (only $150 for 6 month access compared to other test preps that charge you over $900 for only 2 months) don't hesitate. Good luck!!!!

where is your essay? (I scored 5.5 on the AWA s maybe I can help)

I emailed University of Toronto-Rotman last week and they week and they were like: files are still under review but if you have another offer let us know so we will expedite your review...so I was like wt heck

To the poster above; you will get in