KirotBeiti

I feel your pain. My scores were even more extreme: 790 V and 4.0 AW! I agree that the most annoying thing is not understanding the basis for the scoring they make. I did prepare. I did write, as far as I could tell, in the GRE style. And based on all the information I had, I thought I did well. But I did terrible, and I don't know why. Seems like they should at least be willing to provide the scores by essay, given all the info they provide on the Q and V on GRE Diagnostics. Also, regarding the transcripts, a possible thought: when I talked to one of the schools I'm applying to, they specified that the Jan. 15 deadline (for the transcript, or possibly for the whole app.) is a postmarked deadline, not a received deadline. Maybe that's the case for some of your schools as well. (I just waited too long to request mine.)

I took the GRE a few weeks ago and the question types seemed to be pretty evenly distributed. Looking at my report on GRE Diagnostics, across the 6 categories they gave, the questions were split 3, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7--now you can do the mode, median, and range! I was generally satisfied with the type of questions I saw and didn't think any of them were too trap-like. The only category I really hated was "Data Interpretation" because I really don't think they test what they say the test--I suck at those because I'm slow at arithmetic, which they have you do to show you can "interpret" the data.

I don't think length could have been a major issue--both essays were five paragraphs. Of course, the whole point is that there's nothing I can do but guess, since no information is available. I can't understand why they don't even break down the score for you over the two essays.

I have to say I'm shocked at the way the AWA turned out. I practiced quite a bit, using a couple books, trying to get used to the way ETS implicitly wants the test-taker to structure their essays. I'm really left scratching my head, because my impression after the test was that I had done fairly well on the writing section, and now I find I've been given a 4, scoring in the 45 percentile (for reference, I got a 790 V and 730 Q). I looked at the GRE Diagnostics site, which gives some nice info on the quantitative and verbal sections, but nothing at all about the writing sections--not even a breakdown of the two sub-sections. Because of this, test-takers are left guessing about what they did wrong. In the face of this silent judgment from ETS, any advice to test-takers that we should just adjust our writing to fit the particular task at hand rings hollow. Trying to figure out what I could have possibly done wrong, the only conclusion I can come up with is that I did not include fabricated data in my Issue essay. In my essay on the topic of socialization of children, I made arguments that could certainly be backed up with more research, but I did not pull random facts out of the air as if they had any bearing. Doing so goes against everything I've learned in the social science disciplines (I'm applying to Public Policy programs). Given that ETS insists that no outside knowledge is required on the topics, and the topics themselves are completely vague, it really seems like a dishonest exercise. Does ETS expect you to pretend you're writing a research paper without having done any research? I understand that it's now up to me to write the best Statement of Purpose that I can, since I don't have time to re-take the test. and it's already been reported anyway. Still, the purpose of these discussions is to help those who come after us and, in doing so, reclaim a little bit of power from ETS.

So, from everything I've read you can't bring anything at all into the exam room. This presents a challenge for me as I really need to have some drinking water available pretty much constantly. If I don't, not only do I get dehydrated quickly, it causes me huge anxiety--clearly not helpful for an exam like this. I don't really have time to request special accommodations, nor do I really know how I could ask ETS about something like this without getting laughed at. Am I pretty much screwed? Will ETS let you bring in a perfectly clear (no label) plastic bottle of water? Would they perhaps consider providing a bottle of water to every test-taker who asks for one seeing as you can't bring anything in? (Being somewhat sarcastic there--I unfortunately can't imagine they'd be so thoughtful.) Any advice? If all people can tell me is "Well, just deal with it," I'll be disappointed but I'll also understand.