crater21

I would definitely not spend hundreds of dollars to fly across the country for what may be a 20-30 meeting. But, if you are nearby, it might be worth a visit. I don't think it is weird at all to ask for a pre-application meeting. If you can roll that in with a campus tour, meeting with a couple of grad students, etc, it might turn out to be a really informative visit.

This might have been covered on another thread, but I thought I'd get some advice from history folks. How are you all managing your reference letters? Any best practices to recommend? Do you give each referee a package with your application materials and links to online application so they can input the letter? Is anyone using a dossier service? I am temperamentally unsuited to asking people for favors. So I hate asking for reference letters, even though professors have been really nice and have offered to do it. I know many professors are happy to do it, but I still don't like asking for them. So, I just want to make the process as efficient and glitch-free for them as possible. Any advice on managing / tracking / submitting letters would be appreciated!

Thanks for the responses, everyone!

So, question about contacting professors: luckily, I have been getting some positive responses. But, I'm not sure how to follow up with them. Any advice? For example, some of the professors I have contacted have written back with a very brief, "That sounds very interesting. I would be happy to supervise you if you are admitted. Good luck with the application etc etc" So, how do you follow up on this? Do you just say thank you, and that is the end of exchange?

I'm with all of you! It's been crazy busy. I'm working full time, and finding it very difficult to focus on application stuff. The GRE is out of the way (thank goodness!). And, I have started to contact a few professors. But, my statement of purpose is not going anywhere. I just need a few days of no commitments and no distractions to make progress on it.

Don't worry! Tons of people re-take the GRE. It's no big deal. I have heard that many schools will consider your highest score only. And, certainly, I know quite a few people who've gotten into the programs of their choice after having re-taken the GREs. Now, you have almost two months to prepare, which should be enough time. I would recommend doing a few of the free practice tests online to figure out where your weaknesses are, and then zero in on them. For example, for math, figure out where you are making the most mistakes (algebra, geometry, arithmetic, etc), and then practice those areas. You should also work towards dealing with exam anxiety. If you are still in school, you may be able to find resources in your student center for dealing with exam stress, etc. Also, maybe it would help to simulate exam conditions. Good luck!!

This is precisely what I am worried about. Psychologically, I think it makes a difference. I'm applying for humanities programs, in which a high quant score is not needed. So, if one gets, say, 720 (which is 75th percentile), it looks impressive simply because it is over 700, even though the percentile is low. On the new scale, 720 might translate into 155, which doesn't seem impressive at all. I know this makes no sense logically, but I think these subtle differences matter.

Congrats George2248! Those are great scores.

Here is how I am seeing this happen: Since the score will be on the new scale, it is virtually meaningless where on the range you are. What matters is the percentiles. The range they are giving you is simply the percentile range. So, for instance, if you got 720-800 on the math section, that simply means that you scored in the top 25%. Now, at some point, ETS will figure out where the top 25% will fall on the new scale. Maybe it will be 160-170. Maybe it will be 155-170, or whatever. Then, depending on the distribution of other scores, they will place you somewhere on the new range.

Why don't you do another Manhattan test?

Hey, my understanding is that if you took the revised test, your score report will ONLY show scores on the new scale (and the percentiles). It will not show scores based on the old scale. If, however, you took the old GRE, and you're submitting scores after November, your report will show the old scores and the estimated scores on the new scale. Look at page 4 of the following: http://www.ets.org/Media/Tests/GRE/pdf/14521_0ETSS036_supplement.pdf

I found Manhattan verbal to be significantly harder than the actual test. On Manhattan, I scored all over the place, including a 680 and a 690. On the actual test, I got 750 - 800.

Good question. To be honest, I don't know the answer. Maybe ask at the testing center to confirm. But, on the surface, I don't see a problem with it. I'm sure they have built in the time for people to read the instructions, so I don't see why you could wait a few minutes before pressing continue.

This is an obvious one, but try to get a good night's sleep before the test. If your test is in the evening, like mine was, try to sleep in and have a relaxing, stress-free day. Take water and a high-energy snack with you. It will help to re-energize during the 10 minute break after section 3. Be sure to take the full 1-minute breaks between sections. You will have the option to skip them. But, I would recommend taking the full minute, just to take a deep breath and get mentally ready for the next section. Good luck!

How does a dossier service work? And, in what ways does it make it easier for the referees? It would be great if there was a way to make this process easier for the referees since they have so many to write.

That's too bad. You do have the 10 minute break after section 3. During this break, I actually left the testing center (since the restrooms were down the hall). So, conceivably you could take your stuff from your locker, step outside in the hallway and do what you need to do. They don't follow you outside or anything. You just need to sign in and out. And, again, they didn't check what people were putting inside the locker. But, I guess try to find out, if you can, how exactly it works at your testing center. Good luck. I hope it works out for you.

I believe there is a GRE accommodation policy for test-takers who are diabetic, which provides extra breaks for food or maybe allows you to take food inside the test room (I'm not 100% sure how it works). You do need to have proper documentation to qualify for it. But, if I were you, I would definitely look into it. As for cell phones: their policy does state that cell phones are not allowed in the test center. So, just to be safe, I didn't take mine with me. But, I realized afterwards that I probably could have taken it and stored it in the locker provided. They didn't do a check of the stuff that people were putting in the lockers. But, maybe this differs at each testing center, so I can't say for sure if it is enforced or not.

I'd hate to be the negative nelly on this thread, but this is a place to vent, so here goes: everyone always says that you shouldn't worry about GRE scores, etc too much. But when you look at the people who get into the top programs, they almost always have high scores. It's not a coincidence, is it? Certainly, there are the odd exceptions, but the trends are clear. This process is so ridiculously competitive for the top programs. Call me a pessimist, but when you have 300 or 400 applicants (all of whom have good letters and statements and GPAs), and only maybe two dozen people can get in, surely they are going to look for any reason to reject you. Any slight blemish on your application probably puts you over into the "No" pile. Of course, nobody will actually admit this. Everyone will say, "No, no, it's all about the right fit, etc." But, I have a hard time believing that. I think they genuinely seek out the most academically brilliant candidates as demonstrated by grades, scores, etc. So, yes, I am stressed and worried. I am worried that my GRE quant is not going to be high enough. I am worried that my GPA is not perfect. I am worried that my writing sample does not have primary sources in one of the languages that I'm listing. To name just a few... Phew... rant over. Thanks for listening!

Congrats! Those are great scores. You'll definitely be above 90th percentile. For Verbal, 670 - 770 is between 95 - 99th percentile. I think these percentiles will hold steady. The only question is what these percentiles will translate into on the new scale (i.e., what score value will be attached to which percentile).

Yeah, freerice is great. My only complaint with it is that, at the higher levels, it gives too many nouns, which of course is not useful for the GRE. It does build your scrabble vocabulary though!

I took a McGraw-Hill practice test (in one of their books), and found it too easy and not reflective of the actual GRE. Kaplan, on the other hand, is pretty good. (and, Manhattan GRE is even harder than the actual test, which is why I found it to be the most useful) As for the first 5 - 10 questions being more important: this is no longer the case. This used to be how the old test was structured. Since the tests were adaptive by question, you would keep getting harder questions (and higher scores) if you answered earlier questions correctly. Thus, the early questions were important. But, that is not the case anymore. The revised GRE is adaptive by section. So, the difficulty of the second section will be determined by how you do on the first section. But, within a section, the order of questions will not matter. Good luck!

I took the GRE a few days ago, and I'm pretty happy with my score (though I wish the Quant score could have been slightly higher). It's a relief to have it out of the way. Now I can focus on my personal statement and writing sample. In terms of GRE tips, for Verbal I would recommend learning synonyms. The way the new test is structured, it doesn't really help to memorize thousands of words. Instead, what I found helpful was knowing synonyms of words, even when I didn't know the exact definition. For instance, make lists for yourself of common words/concepts, such as stubborn, lazy, tired, energetic, happy, sad, etc, etc. For each of these words/concepts, make a list of as many synonyms as you can think of. For example, your "stubborn" list might include: obstinate, obdurate, intransigent, unyielding, pertinacious, intractable, contumacious, and so on. In this way, when you see a word on the GRE, you don't need to know the exact definition, as long as you can remember which list it comes under. Similarly, for most sentence completions, try to make the sentence easier for yourself, by asking, "Does this blank need a negative word or a positive word?" In some cases, you can figure it out without knowing the exact definition. Finally, in my opinion, the best way to prepare for the Verbal section (if you have time), is to read as much as you can. Read anything - novels, academic works, magazines, etc - as long as it is of a reasonably high reading level.

That's an interesting observation. The way I'm looking at it is this: every score on the old scale has a percentile attached to it (740 is 99th percentile for Verbal, 80th percentile for Quant, 720 is 98th percentile for Verbal, 75th for math, and so on). You can view all the percentiles here: http://www.ets.org/s/gre/pdf/gre_guide.pdf So, now, when you take the revised test, ETS basically determines what percentile you fall into. They then give you a range, which encompasses all possible scores in that percentile. So, for instance, if you score in the top 25% in Quant, they will give you a range of 720 - 800. If you score in the top 20%, they will give you a range of 740 - 800, and so on. What remains to be seen is how the percentiles will be spread out over the new scale. That's something ETS probably can't figure out until enough people have taken the test.

You sound like a really good candidate, and it would be a real pity if the GRE got in the way of your getting into the program of your choice. Are you having trouble with the material, or is this a case of test anxiety? If you're okay with the material, then it's possible that test nerves are getting to you. The GRE can be pretty stressful. Have you looked into whether you qualify for any of their accommodations (extra time, longer breaks, etc?) Also, if you decide to keep the scores you have now, maybe it would be a good idea to have one of your references address it in their letter ("These scores do not reflect X's academic potential because of such-and-such reason..." or something like that). Good luck!

Hey Finicky Bean, I know exactly what you mean! I did my GRE today, and even though I haven't been waiting nearly as long as you have, I am already restless and want to know my exact score NOW! What concerns me is: a. how that score will translate into the new range. Somehow I feel this is going to work to my disadvantage. b. what the new percentiles will be (I have a feeling they will be skewed just because it's the first time around) c. what the AW score will be SO, yeah, multiple sources of frustration!