Tdearr

Sorry. I will try to clarify. You can have an unidentified experimental section that appears during the course of the exam without any notice, but that section still does not count toward your score. However, you want to take every unidentified section as if it counts because sometimes you can't be sure which unidentified section is experimental. Is that what you were asking? Regards, Taylor

The numeric entry and multiple column fill in the blank questions are part of the "new GRE" which will not be given until August of 2011. While you can have an unidentified experimental section or an identified research section neither of these will count. However, there is sometimes no way to know which unidentified section is real so take everything as if it counts. That being said, I can say with complete confidence that you will not receive any numeric entry or multiple column fill in the blank questions in a section that counts if you take the test before August 2011. I hope that helps. Regards, Taylor Dearr

I wouldn't worry. Official scores from ETS take 10 to 15 days to arrive at the institutions you choose on test day, so your scores will arrive well before December 15th and you will be fine. Even if you need to retest, you can do so once per calendar month, meaning if you had to retest you could do it on December 1st (assuming you can get an appointment for that day) and still get your second scores in on the deadline or one day late. While one day late might be a problem, many programs only require unofficial scores (received at the testing center as soon as you complete the test) on your application as long as the official scores are received soon thereafter. Check with your individual schools to see if they require the official score report by the deadline or if you have some wiggle room. Even with the strictest of rules and no wiggle room, your Nov. 20th scores will arrive in plenty of time. The only possibility of a problem is with strict schools and a need to retest, which is a pretty unlikely combo since you already delayed once to give yourself preparation time (I bet that means you'll be ready on the 20th). Best of luck! Regards, Taylor Dearr

To reiterate what a few other people have said, you are working off of the Powerprep II software which will not reflect your test. The test that Powerprep II is modeled after will not be given until August of 2011. Simply download the original Powerprep software and you will be ready to prep.

Hi Lilly12, I work for Manhattan GRE. We have prep courses in NYC, including one starting tomorrow. We strive to take a different and more comprehensive approach from the companies mentioned in this thread. I would suggest you look us up as you try and find a course. Regards, Taylor Dearr

I agree with Strangefox, learning words in context is a big help. If the words mean something to you personally, you will retain them better. For instance, it is harder to remember that "Recalcitrant means resisting authority or control" and "Upbraid means to scold" than it would be to remember "The Wildcats benched recalcitrant cornerback Sherrick McManis for ignoring the coaches in practice. They chose to upbraid him in the hopes that it would spark obedience in later practices." Now I don't really think Fitz benched Sherrick at all last year, but you get the idea. You will make personal associations with the words which will make it easier to recall their meanings, especially on test day when the multiple choices are designed to trick you and make you think a word means something different than it actually does. Also, if you have some free electives think about taking a lit class, reading more is a great way to learn words. Finally, at Manhattan GRE we recommend the Barrons "Essential Words For The GRE" book among other things for vocab prep. You can check out some of our recommendations on our site which is listed in my signature. Good luck with your studies! Regards, Taylor Dearr

I appreciate the responses to my post. I agree that this study is more geared toward those trying to achieve top tier scores, but as John points out these types of test takers are active on forums so we want to make this information available to them. Balderdash, I appreciate your points about warm ups and confidence. I definitely didn't mean to imply that any less care be taken early on in the test. Once you have found a rhythm to your pacing that works for you it is certainly good to stick with it. I just hoped to explain the CAT format to any readers who might not be as familiar and might be having trouble finishing the test in a timely manner. We know from our years of test prep experience that the front-loading misconception is prevalent, and many students who study with us, both for the GRE and GMAT, come to their first class believing that first questions are more important, with the last questions being less important or even mostly irrelevant. We endeavor to make sure that people understand that questions are important all the way through, which is why we have taken care to look at all of the ETS research on the subject when developing our curriculum. If you are interested in hearing more about our approach to CATs we would love to invite you to one of our free previews should you fidn yourself in New York City; the CAT format is discussed in great detail there. You can find more information on our website, which you can reach through my signature. Thank you. Regards, Taylor Dearr

A word of warning to everyone on this thread, the first questions of the GRE are NOT actually more important than the later questions. This is a common misconception that we at Manhattan GRE try to work against. You don't want to front load your time, because wrong answers at the end of the test hurt you just as much as wrong answers at the beginning, and leaving questions blank due to lack of time is worse than not answering them at all. While it is true that wrong answers early on in the test will hurt you, having less time at the end will hurt you more. See page 3 of this study published by ETS (the organization that administers the GRE) showing these results <A class=bbc_url title="External link" href="http://www.psych.umn.edu/psylabs/catcentral/pdf%20files/br02-01.pdf" rel="nofollow external">http://www.psych.umn.edu/psylabs/catcentral/pdf%20files/br02-01.pdf. Let's say that your actual ability is to score a 700 on Quant; this means you should miss questions that are the difficulty of a 710 and, although they will likely be difficult for you to work through, you should get questions that are the difficulty of a 690 correct. On a Computer Adaptive test you begin with a medium difficulty question (lets assign it a difficulty of 400 for the sake of argument) a correct answer moves you to a slightly more difficult question, while an incorrect answer will move you to a slightly less difficult question. For a test taker with an ability of 700, the first question (of 400 difficulty) should be relatively easy, as will the next few questions. If you front load your time, you will be spending a lot of your test time on these questions below your ability, questions that you should be able to answer more easily, and leave yourself much less time for the questions at your ability that will be really challenging and require more time from you. As mentioned in the study cited above, taking more time at the beginning of the test and having less time at the end of the test is especially detrimental to test takers who should have higher level scores. This isn't to say that early questions aren't important. It is true that you want to answer early questions well to get into more difficult questions, but all of that will be lost if you miss questions at the end due to a lack of time. We recommend setting a time limit on each question and sticking to it. That time limit shouldn't change as the test goes on, you should be measured throughout. The nature of a Computer Adaptive Test is that you will miss questions, if you get flustered and fail to keep an even pace, you won't score at your true ability level. Next time you do a practice test, try spending the same amount of time on each question all the way through and see how your score changes. Good luck to everyone who is studying, and good luck on your tests. Regards, Taylor Dearr

As others have mentioned, the unofficial score is almost certainly going to be your real score. In the years that our company has been preparing students for Computer Adaptive Tests such as the GRE and GMAT, we have never had a report from any of our students that their unofficial scores differed from the official score report. If you are very concerned you could contact ETS and ask them their opinion, but your unofficial scores should carry through. So since you said they were very good... congratulations! Regards, Taylor

Hi Bennet, It sounds like you are on the right track. I will second what BelleOfKilronen said, the GRE verbal is very tough and judging your score against an SAT score could be disheartening because it isn't a fair comparison to make. Keep in mind that anyone with a 730 or higher on the Verbal section is in the 99th percentile of test takers. With your flashcards, be sure that you are learning the words in context rather than just memorizing definitions. Put the words into fun sentences that will jog your memory on test day, because when the word comes up on the test (in antonyms or analogies) it will be absent any context and thus harder to remember. The more the word becomes part of your real working vocabulary the better. Also, on test day, try and think of an antonym on your own, before looking at the answers. The answers are intentionally tricky and can plant false doubt in your mind. If you have an answer in mind while looking at the choices, the trick answers are less likely to trip you up. Good luck studying! Regards, Taylor Dearr