sollee

Echoing the sentiments of the other posters, I also didn't have trouble keeping focused during the actual test (but trying to concentrate while studying was nigh impossible - which I suppose is why I didn't do much of it). I did have some techniques to keep myself at my best during the test, though; for instance, I went through the verbal section and answered all the non-RC questions, then I took a two minute break and put my head down. I wasn't short on time, I still ended up finishing early, but taking my eyes off the computer screen and relaxing my brain for a few minutes made deciphering the RC sections significantly easier. I'm sure everyone has their own little tricks for staying focused and alert, you should be fine!

I got the same score I was anticipating based on the ETS practice test. I don't know what your ranges were, but I don't think there is much substance to the claims that people are scoring "unusually high" on the Revised GRE. If you studied for this test and took a revised practice test, you should have gone/should go into the test with a general idea of your likely scores.

Agree with all the comments people have made about various reasons we might be seeing higher scores here - mine were right about where I expected them to be based on the one ETS practice test I took a few days before.

Preparing for the Quantitative should be the same, but the Verbal section is quite different now, I wouldn't recommend studying for it from a book designed for the old version.

I used the new Princeton Review book to study briefly for it, and the book had some strengths and weaknesses: Pro: If you're overwhelmed by standardized tests, it has a lot of "how to approach this type of problem" walk-through sections. Con: These sections can get very tedious if you're already generally comfortable with the standardized test presentation. Con: Not a lot of practice problems and only two full-length tests in the back of the book. Pro: The practice problems they do offer you are grouped sensible (esp. in the Quantitative section) and they offer very detailed explanations of the answers and even some alternative ways to love them. Pro: Only $12 if you buy the book without the DVD (which I did). Con: Several typos and misprints - you need to read carefully and use your best common sense to determine if they've made a mistake, don't just assume you don't understand something. A lot of the reviewers on Amazon.com are annoyed that PR deleted the vocab section in this new book, but this is in response to the revised version of the GRE which does not demand so much familiarity with straight definitions but, instead, asks you to choose words within a context. If you feel like you have a weak vocabulary I think you could invest in one of the small Barrons vocab books (or flashcards) to introduce yourself to new words, but I didn't think the omission of that worked against the PR book as a whole. I can't speak for any other prep materials as I only studied for a few hours total - I used the PowerPrep software to take the practice tests on my computer and found that helpful, but of course they don't offer any explanations or review of anything. Good luck!

I am loathe to get involved in what reads to me as a very mean-spirited disagreement, but as a student of English I suppose it's possible you haven't had to take any Linguistics courses (although I hope that's not true) and are able to ignore the fact that the English language has been in a constant state of flux since its development. For centuries, "proper" speakers have been bemoaning the corruption of various words, the creation of new words that they considered unnecessary (in this context, we already have the phrase "more fun" so you don't see a purpose of or need for "funnest"), and the general "decline" of spoken (and written) English. There are several great books out there about this ongoing issue, PM me if you're at all interested in reading some of them, and I think you'll find it's less stressful to hear words misused when viewed from centuries worth of context.

Thanks for the input! It would be GREAT if one of my LOR writers could talk about it, but being as it didn't affect my employment with them and I was already out of school I don't think they would do so instinctively - I will mention it to the one I have the best relationship with and see if she feels comfortable discussing it briefly in her letter (I think she will, as she knew me both before and after I got sick). And the pity angle is exactly what I'm concerned about - while it was a really powerful experience in my life, I don't want anyone to be able to assume I'm trying to milk my illness for future favors, so I'd just as soon not mention it if I don't have to. Thanks for your advice regarding my absence from any kind of useful human activity! Anyone else have ideas for LOR writers for someone out of school for so very long?

Schools see all your scores, but I'd think studying and improving your score would look very good to a school - it shows determination and focus, a willingness to work harder when you fall short. But as another poster said, schools also realize that your GRE score is not solely a representation of how hard you studied; maybe you were sick, maybe you got lost on the way there and arrived flustered, maybe a million scenarios that might have affected your first score.

They are not identical. I didn't encounter a single problem in Verbal or Quant that I'd seen on any of my practice tests; you're better off learning how to solve or approach the problems than falling into the trap of memorizing answers - much like you're better off learning how to use new vocabulary words than simply define them. Good luck!

It depends on what kind of test taker you are, I think. I studied for about five hours total using the new Princeton Review book and the PowerPrep software and I scored between a 1430-1600 according to the score range they gave me at the end. I am naturally good at standardized tests and very comfortable with vocabulary (basic math was what I really needed to review) and could probably have done better if I'd really focused on it, but that wasn't what I wanted to do with my free time... all of which is to say, you know yourself best. My advice in general is for people to not overthink it - basic preparation seems to be able to improve your pre-studying score by about 200 points but after that you're just running in circles, and aside from hitting a decent score there are much more important components of your application to worry about.

The Revised GRE seems to be skewed to be easier for native speakers of English in that is isn't testing you on the third definition of a rarely-used word that's standing alone, but rather asks you to choose the correct word within context (either within a sentence or by looking for another word that shares a meaning). If you're a native speaker of English, I would say that simply increasing the amount you read (fiction, nonfiction, whatever) will be enough to prepare you for the new verbal section. If you're a non-native speaker of English then any vocabulary list will help you to be ready for it by improving your familiarity with the language, you don't need to worry about finding a GRE-specific prep list.

Yeah, I had one question regarding circle coordinates on the Revised GRE. And for the question I saw further down, I had virtually no fraction questions - frustrating for me, as they are the type I find exceptionally easy (I tutor 6th grade math) - but a lot of algebra, several graphs to interpret (not too challenging), and a good deal of functions. All in all I thought the math was fairly difficult, but my score range (final score to come in Nov.) was 700-800 (while I know that's nothing for a lot of you, I was expecting to do significantly worse) so who knows. Maybe I was just overthinking it all.

I'm preparing to apply for graduate programs and am finding myself a little overwhelmed at the thought of finding three people to write Letters of Recommendation for me (some programs only require two, which I can probably manage). A little bit of history: I attended a very unusual college for my first two years, where we enrolled in school year-round but alternated academic semesters with periods of internships. This has done great things for my resume, but meant I didn't have many ongoing relationships with professors. I then transferred to a larger university for my second two years and graduated with an excellent GPA and plenty of activities, but was never given a proper advisor. I suppose I must have had one who ultimately signed off on my degree, but we were never able to meet so I don't have anyone from that school who could speak much to my academic abilities. To add to all of that, I've been out of school for over five years now, and in those five years have spent two of them working abroad (for employers who do not speak enough English to provide a recommendation), two years in the hospital, and now a year in my current position. My question is two-fold: 1) My plan is to get my current supervisors to write me LoR for Master's programs, because I suspect I will have a better chance at getting into a PhD program if I have more recent academic references and I think a Master's program is more likely to accept work-related LoR. Is this a sensible assumption? 2) Is it appropriate or necessary to address my illness in my application in any way? I feel like bringing something so personal, and unrelated, into my application is very iffy territory, but I do worry about such a huge gap on my resume working against me if it remains unexplained. Could anyone give me some advice on if to address this, and if so, in what manner it would be best explained? Thank you in advance!

I'm sorry to even have to ask, but where can I find the results page you mentioned? I am new to the forum and the Search function didn't pull up anything useful.

I've just taken the Revised GRE and for me, it isn't affecting my application deadlines (as other posters mentioned, as long as the rest of your application is complete schools should be able to receive your scores as long as you test by early Nov.) but it is affecting my consideration of various programs as I'm not sure how competitive my numbers make me without knowing my actual score yet. It seems very inconvenient that they would change it right at the beginning of the application process.