alf10087

Try the Results Search on this same website, input "Columbia Math". You better have good grades.

I have my test on September 14th. Let's talk. alf10087@gmail.com

I double checked the scores mentioned with the conversion table shown on the ETS Official Guide (page 351, the one you mentioned). My case: 34 out of 40, that's 42.5 which according to page 351 is 750-800. (750-800 range goes from 37 raw score, to 50, so 42.5 should be a little lower than half of that). If you compare the 750-800 range in the PR's table it will give you a range from 160-170. In that case, it makes sense that it is a 164 as it is approximately on the lower middle of the range. Your case: 35 out of 40, that's 43.75 which is also 750-800 range according to page 351. That's almost exactly half of the interval (50-37)/2) so your score should be closer to 165. According to my studying schedule I will do the ETS book's test on August 17th, so I'll let you know how I do.

My personal ratio is this: 3-4 questions (out of 40) I really have trouble with and I get wrong, and maybe 1-2 where I make a stupid mistake even though I managed to solve it (I answer something different or divide 2/2 and put 2, you know, the basic math mistakes). That usually gives me a range between 4-6 questions wrong. The 1-2 of stupid mistakes is a matter of being more careful, and the 2-3 harder ones are just a matter of practicing a lot and learn how to solve them. Chances are, that if you learn how to solve them on every practice test, you will be able to nail them on the actual test if they come up. For example, in those PR tests, I always missed factorial questions (Permutations and Combinations) but right now I'm confident I won't miss any of those, so the ratio diminishes; the same on those "how much time will it take A and B combined to do C" which I used to miss, and thanks to Kaplan now I know how to handle them easily.

Check this out: On my first test on PR I got a 154 (I totally ignored the score because I was stuck on a question for 10 minutes and totally ignored the last 5 which I got wrong). But the important part is this: I missed 14 questions out of 40. With the method I mentioned in the last post, that should be a 156 (which coincides with that aegedu link you posted), but PR gave me a lower score. I'm all confused now.

It seems that you're right. Although, there are many diverging ways to calculate the scores that seem to be getting different results. Maybe what PR does is this: If the score goes from 130 to 170, that means the range is 40. So they basically add the score you get from 40 questions to 130 (in my case: 34/40 + 130 = 34 +164 = 164). In your case, with 5 wrong questions it would be 165 with this measurement. I think it makes sense even though it is pretty basic, but I'm not sure if it's what ETS actually does.

Check this out: http://www.princetonreview.com/uploadedImages/Sitemap/Home_Page/Graduate_Hub/GRE_Conc_Table/concordance_table.jpg

5 wrong and 159-160? Where did you get that? I had 34/40Q on PR's online test and gave me a score of 164.

My advice would be to take it easy for now. 5 days is not too much time to make huge improvements. Just try to review some of the questions you seem to be constantly failing and learn some words, but don't cram your mind as it will totally disrupt your ability to excel at the real test. I haven't made the test yet (September 14th is my date, and I'm studying obsessively to say the least) but from what I've read in this forum the practice tests may lower your score in order to lower your expectations. Don't let yourself be conditioned by practice tests.

Maybe it has the Java Applets blocked. I didn't try on that one, but on the tests you make when you buy PR's book, that's usually the problem I had. When solved, it started working. Try it with another browser of something. Btw I have a Mac (actually in my computer it worked with Safari and Chrome).

You're totally right. I used PR as my first book (to review concepts I hadn't used in 8 years), and even though I believe the difficulty is the same, other books cover many concepts not mentioned at all by PR and go deeper on some harder questions. Let's say that with PR, you are able to answer 17-18 out of every 20 questions on the other books. It's those 2-3 harder questions that make the difference (and why PR should be complemented with another book). I'm currently using Kaplan's Math Workbook and ETS. I think they are pretty good. I'm eating about a book each week and I still have more than a month for the test, so I think I'll try Manhattan as it is in my knowledge they have the hardest math.

Agreed. Its not just a matter of how well you are in math or verbal reasoning, the GRE also measures the ability a person has to adapt and excel at any given thing, even if it's not his field of study, language or type of test he is good at.

Of course. What I'm saying is that if women actually do worse than men on the GRE, then there could be some basis for the argument. Honestly, I think women probably do better than men. On average, they excel at almost every intelectual activity.

If it is backed by factual data, I wouldn't see a way that it could be offensive. Although I would like to see the method, as intellectually I don't see how something that works for men wouldn't work for women, and viceversa.

As far as I know there are actually 20 questions (that's what every book I've read said). Where did you get the 25 number?.

I already finished the 2013 version and didn't find any mistakes. How did you guys do on the tests printed in the book? I'm curious as I got 28/40Q on the first one and 29/40Q on the second, and I'm on the verge of suicide because I think those are horrible scores (not too worried about studying for Verbal right now).

Just to know, when you guys talk about the PR tests, are you talking about the ones on the printed book (Cracking the GRE, 2013)? Or the ones they have on the website?. I just finished covering the PR book, and did awful on both quantitative sections of the printed tests (29/40 on the first, 28/40 on the second). I felt they were pretty intense, and the race against time was complicated. I would try the online tests, but I'd rather keep on studying on print with Kaplan and McGraw Hill, and when I'm done, give a shot at them, as I believe they best resemble the test's actual conditions.

Yes, I think you need to have every question right in order to get 170. Down from that, it depends on how hard the question was and the equating of the set of questions you're getting. Let's say on the first set of questions you get them all right and thus get a harder set for the second time. Let's say you miss 2 questions on this one. You might get, let's say a 168. But if you missed 2 on the first set, and so you get an easier one for the second one, and miss none, you might get 167 or 166. I think that's how it works. Don't take my word on the exact numbers, but the idea is that missing harder questions hurts less.

Try only to use the rhetorical question only when you think it'll substantially increase the understanding and quality of your essay. Otherwise, even though it might feel as a good addition it may end up confusing the reader. Princeton Review's guys say (and it's probably true) that reviewers read every essay for no longer than 2 minutes. Try to write something that is pungent and at the same time easily understandable, so that they'll end up with a good feeling once they read it for a first time.

I've been covering the Math Section of the Cracking the Gre 2013 from PR. I has been excellent for removing the dust from all those concepts I haven't used in many years, but I've read in many places that its exercises are too easy for the real deal, so I will complement it with Kaplan's GRE Math and McGraw Hill's Conquering the GRE Math. Also, depending on how I do after that, I'll try Manhattan's books which are thorough and I've read many people saying the are the best ones. They are so complete they basically have a book for each type of section or area that the test covers, and its drills are the hardest.

I already learned the Barron's 800, and did the posttest for which I didn't do that good (22 out of 30 questions). It still has analogies based in the old GRE format and they are horrible, so I hope I'll do better on the actual test. I also compared the Barron's wordlist with the one on PR's Verbal Workbook and I only need to learn 177 more in order to know all the words both books recommend. Try and get that book, as it'll not only help you with those other words, but it also has tons of exercises presented in the same way the test does. However, I've read many people's comments about those questions being too easy compared to the actual test. I'm also playing freerice.com for 1 or 2 hours every other day. I've been improving but I'm stuck in the 40-45 levels. It still helps you a lot to practice and remember some of the words you have learned in the books, and maybe even learn a new one that may show up on the actual test. That's how I'm getting prepared. My mother tongue is Spanish, btw.