CQE

Here's another scoring chart I just found, with respect to QR, that is more on par with your 34/40 being a 164. http://aegedu.com/blog/gre-quantitative-scores-%E2%80%94-converting-raw-score-scaled-score-percentile-rank/

The other way of looking at it is by doing what I originally did by converting 35/40 to 43-44/50, taking note of what that translates to on the old scale (750-800 range), and then seeing where 750-760 puts me at on the chart you linked me to. That, too, puts me at around 160.

Not sure how PR gave you a 164 for a 34/40, then. If you convert my 35/40 to 43-44/50, then that translates to a 155-156 using the chart you just gave me. Therefore, your 34/40 would be around the same area as mine (using the chart you provided). Hopefully a 34-35 does net me a 164, though, LOL.

Well, since Kaplan doesn't provide a scoring chart along with their book, I calculated the percent of 35/40 (87.5%). So, I was able to come across a scoring chart for the old GRE in which your raw score out of 50 tells you what you got (I converted 35/40 into the equivalent out of 50 questions, which is 42-43 correct - which, according to ETS' scoring chart, is a 750-800). From there, I looked at a conversion chart from the old GRE to the new GRE, and thus how I found 159-160. I assumed my score was closer to 750 when looking up my conversion to the new scoring system, as I've found that the "new" score tends to be more on par with the bottom-end of the range given on the "old" scoring system.

You're right - it is indeed tough to prove your passion relative to those who have been on the education track the entire time they've been in college. That's why I'm going to lay it all out in my statement of purpose and simply own the fact that I was apprehensive about teaching. I'm just going to be honest and briefly touch on my journey towards this ephiphany. I come from a background that really makes me appreciate what education can do for people in the most dire of circumstances, so that is what I want to get across in my SoP. If adcoms at a couple of schools can't accept that, then to hell with 'em, I say. I mean, it's one thing to always be told "do what you love" your entire life, but it's an entirely different thing to come to that conclusion on your own as we have done. Yeah, some of us were timorous about embracing teaching, but the vast majority of students are "scared" about going into any one area because it's difficult to know with 100% certainty that something is right for us. I think most adcoms possess the common sense to not hold it against us, especially if we can make a compelling case for our passion and desire to teach via our SoP. But, if they can't accept that fact, then I don't want to go to that school anyway. But yeah man, go for it. Teach elementary math and work your way towards teaching secondary math...then move on to a doctorate in education leadership. If it so turns out that education leadership IS NOT what you think it will be, then you can transition back into teaching. That requires your ego taking a back seat (as well as your bank account), but our one shot at life should be spent doing what we love. It sounds corny, but we all know it's the truth. My internships and jobs to this point have made me realize that no amount of money is worth me hating going to work everyday. Anyway, since we're in the same boat, feel free to PM me at anytime. It'd be cool to see where we both wind up a year from now.

Well, a lot of states require you have X years of teaching experience before becoming a principal. If it's not an explicit requirement, I guarantee you it's still viewed as "necessary" by whomever would be looking to hire such a position. I mean, think about it. If you were a teacher, how would you feel being led by someone who has never been in YOUR shoes (ala taught a class)? Sure, it sounds great in theory to move directly into a managerial role, but, even if it is possible, you won't have a firm grip on what you're doing. Additionally, I imagine that since you'd have no teaching experience, you'd have no clout and credibility; therefore, you wouldn't be respected and I guarantee you'd know you weren't respected through the grapevine. More importantly, how are you truly able to make decisions involving your teachers if you have ZERO idea what works and what doesn't based off of your own experience? Would you honestly be putting your teachers and students in the best possible position to succeed? A textbook can only get you so far. At the end of the day, experience is what matters most in the real world. For what it's worth, we are almost in the same boat, laiuna. I'm a business major that has realized over the past year that teaching is what I love. I've always done education-related things, but I've always been apprehensive about owning my interest and passion to teach. I, too, want to eventually move into educational leadership, though I must admit that I'm skeptical as to whether or not I'll enjoy it as much as teaching based off the fact that I'd be losing out on interacting with my students and watching them develop as people. I urge you to consider taking a route that I'm considering taking: I think what I'm more than likely going to do is get a MAT/MEd. in elementary education because as a business major with no content-specific background (biology, math, language arts, or any other subject that is traditionally a part of primary/secondary curriculums), that is my fastest route to certification. In most instances, I'd essentially be forced to "major" (in terms of credit-hours) in a given content-area in addition to the regular M.Ed./MAT classes if I wanted to teach at the secondary level initially. Doing that would take around 2 years. On the other hand, getting elementary education certification can be done in one year. Therefore, I could become an elementary teacher after one year while taking classes in the summers in order to obtain my secondary certification. Upon getting my secondary certification, I'd obviously like to teach at the high school level for a couple of years. At this point, I'll be around 26-27 years old with teaching experience at MULTIPLE levels (primary/secondary). I'll then be looking towards my doctorate in education leadership. Upon obtaining my doctorate, I'd accept a role as an "education leader" somewhere or teach until a desirable "leadership" opportunity arises. In my opinion, I think it's a good idea for me to teach at multiple levels, for I believe it'll make me a respectable candidate for education leadership positions with both primary and secondary schools. In other words, it seems logical to me that I'd have a better chance of landing a job since I have experience at multiple levels. Lastly, I think it'd set me up for being a more qualified superintendent candidate. In short, I recommend you go with option 1. If you don't believe what I said, go talk to some people that work in the education field, whether it be teachers, administrators, policymakers, or members of education "think tanks". If you have no teaching experience, be prepared to not be respected or even listened to, whatsoever.

It seems as though my math has regressed significantly, which makes absolutely ZERO sense. At the beginning of last week, I finished all of the tests in Kaplan's 2011 book/CD and was scoring 32+ out of 40 consistently. On the final practice test, I scored 35/40, which is around a 159-160. Today I went 28/40. That's after watching Magoosh vids out the ass and doing 350+ problems. I have to do something, though. Sitting on my hands for the next 5 days will not improve matters.

I didn't get a good night's rest last night - maybe only about 3 hours? Needless to say, I'm pretty exhausted right about now. At the same time, my score today was pretty similar to yesterday's score, so I shouldn't act as if being tired was a huge blow to my score. With 5 days left, I really need to hit vocabulary hard, as that's my biggest weakness with respect to verbal. I'm thinking of reviewing about 200 words a day over the next 5 days. I know I'm not going to remember 1,000 words by cramming, but if I can remember even half of them I'm sure it'll help. As far as math goes, I think the best thing for me to do is to just focus on one thing at a time as opposed to doing a practice set of 20 problems and reviewing my answers afterwards. For instance, say I work on exponents/roots only until I become extremely proficient at them, then move on to probability or word problems until I become equally skilled at those as well. Math, like many things, is all about repetition, so I think the reason I'm not making the kind of improvements I want is because I'm doing one geometry problem here, one statistics problem there, and so on and so forth. So while I am getting in a little work with each type of problem every day, I'm not really becoming great at any one thing; therefore, I'm just mediocre at about everything math related (with the exception of data analysis; I pretty much get all of those correct). What do you all think about that strategy? 200 words a day for the next 5 days, as well as focusing on 2 categories of math per day (exponents/roots one day, geometry/probability the next, etc.) so that I can become more proficient in each area by solely focusing on it and it only until finally becoming comfortable with that particular type of problem.

Thanks for the help guys. I scored a 157 in QR and 154 in verbal on the Kaplan practice test I just finished taking. I feel pretty terrible about it, to say the least. I know those scores are relatively good for me since I'm applying to Master's of Education programs, but I really want 160+ in both sections so that I'm well above the average scores of all the top GSOEs. Yesterday's practice test I would've been around 158-160 in verbal and 155-156 in QR. With only about 5.5 or so days left to study, it looks as though my chance to crack 160 in both categories is getting smaller by the second.

Not sure what the problem is, but PRs practice content isn't working for me. I'm trying to open up the practice test, but it's simply not responding when I click on the link. I thought PR might've pulled an ETS and chose not to make their software compatible with Macs. However, I tried using my girlfriend's laptop since it has Windows and it's still not working when I click on the practice test link. I've already registered and enrolled for the free PT. The online material even launches the javascript window, but when I try to click "Revised GRE Test 6" I simply get no response.

Thanks, swiss. Does the PowerPrep II software provide you with a precise score? Or just a range? I was about to take it here in a few, but I'll opt to take PRs over it if it does NOT give a precise score. I'm going to take both anyway, so it really doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things. However, I take my test this coming Monday...meaning I'd like a precise measure of where I'm at right now.

I just took the practice test offered in ETS' "Official Guide to the GRE Revised General Test". On page 351 of the book, a score conversion table is shown. My raw score for Verbal was 34/50 and 32/50 for QR. According to the table, that is a verbal scaled range of 580-680 (158-165 range on new scale) and a QR scaled range of 700-800 (155-166 on new scale). So, when converting this range from the old scoring system to the new scoring system, what value should I take from such a large range? For instance, should I split the difference and say I got a 630 on verbal and a 750 on QR? Or should I say 600 and 720? 580 and 700? With a 100 point range, I'm not sure which score I should look at when trying to convert to the 130-170 scale. Thanks in advance. - BF

Whew. That gives me a little more hope, then. I saw on their website that you had to have an extensive background in your subject area OR pass the certification exam, so I knew I was still an eligible applicant. I just thought that not majoring - or minoring, at the least - in my subject area would've really made it a long shot. Thanks for the eye-opener, though.

That sounds awesome. BTR allows you to get your Master's Degree from UMass-Boston during your first (residency) year. After that initial year, you are placed in a Boston public school and expected to work there for at least 3 years. If you keep your 3-year commitment, the $$$ for your Master's Degree will be totally forgiven. I'll be applying to TFA, but I'm expecting not to get accepted to the program...mainly because I didn't major in a subject area that they offer to be taught. But yeah, I think programs like BTR and TFA would be ideal due to the fact that I could walk away with 2-3 years of teaching experience and a Master's Degree at the same time. From there, I could move on to my doctorate at the age of 23-24, just like you're doing!

Haven't had experience with TC, but the people that I've talked to at Lynch are awesome. I called the other day and the lady I spoke with chatted for about 30 minutes with me. She was willing to give me a lot of information without me having to ask many questions. She had to clarify something for me, so she spoke with the Associate Director and had her contact me personally the following day. I also got the feeling that the people I spoke to really cared about BC, especially when I was told that they were so excited that a student from the Southeast is interested in the GSOE. I was even telling my girlfriend that the BC folks treated me better than the representatives I spoke to the other day from our own school. Perhaps I read too much into that sort of thing, but it really does make a difference to me if I can tell that these people enjoy their jobs, love their university, and are willing to help me as much as they can.

BTW, I'm taking my GRE on August 13. I've taken a couple of practices tests thus far with little study to this point, and I'm currently at around the 600 V and 690 QR areas (160 V & 154 QR on the new scale). Based off of the class profiles I've looked at, I think that's a pretty decent starting point. I'm pretty confident that my scores will be excellent with 6 more weeks of studying. Anyway, just wanted to throw that bit of info out since some of you may find it important.

Hello, I'm a rising senior that holds a 3.92 overall GPA (4.0 major) as a Business Administration major. I'm also a member of both the University Honors Program and Business Honors Program at my school. While I lack both an education and content-specific background (such as a major/minor in English, History, or other subject area for example), I do have experience teaching others. I have been a self-employed tutor for the ACT over the past several years, been employed by my university as a mentor/tutor for its student-athletes, and recently volunteered with a large non-profit (that's funded by A+ College Ready) in an effort to help prepare local high school students for their upcoming year of AP English Language Arts. I recently concluded through various internships and experiences that teaching was what I wanted to do for a career. I've always loved - not liked - teaching, so it is ironic that I didn't embrace the idea of teaching until only a few months ago. It is unfortunate that I came to this realization late in my college career, and, as a result, am in a bit of a predicament. Conversely, I'm fortunate that I had this epiphany before wasting years in a field/setting I disliked. I also have a strong interest in teaching high school in urban areas. I currently envision myself teaching for a few years and then moving on to attain my doctorate in Education Leadership or Education Policy (I'll probably go with Education Leadership so I can still maintain relationships with students). Anyway, I've been doing a lot of research lately in an effort to find alternative M.Ed. or MAT programs for secondary education (I'm open to elementary as well, but prefer high school, FWIW). However, there just doesn't seem to be much out there that does not require me to have a degree in my area of interest (English) prior to entering the program. I want to make it clear that I'm not complaining, as I understand why that'd be the case more often times than not. I'm just reaching out to this forum to see if anyone has anything to offer with respect to programs that'd be suitable for me. I'm also looking into residency and teaching fellowships (like Boston Teacher Residency, TFA, etc.) as well. Thus far, I've found that Boston College, my current school, and the University of Florida have programs that work for me. Thanks in advance, BF