Does the POWERPREP test look exactly like the actual GRE?

[Strangefox]

Hi,

I have tried taking the official Powerprep test and I would like to ask those who used it and have already taken the actual GRE: does it look exactly the same? For me it is very important to be prepared to what I will see on a test day. I was really afraid that they use some small font or a background that will make my eyes tired immediately. But what I saw in the Powerprep was kind of nice and I was relieved. So I will get the same kind of font and background and everything at the actual test, right?

Thanks!

[digits2006]

Yeah, it should all be the same.

[Branwen daughter of Llyr]

It's the same, down to the funky windows 3.1 interface (they really do need to update the GUI a bit, move with the times. God knows we pay them enough LOL).

[DrFaustus666]

Hi,

I have tried taking the official Powerprep test and I would like to ask those who used it and have already taken the actual GRE: does it look exactly the same? For me it is very important to be prepared to what I will see on a test day. I was really afraid that they use some small font or a background that will make my eyes tired immediately. But what I saw in the Powerprep was kind of nice and I was relieved. So I will get the same kind of font and background and everything at the actual test, right?

Thanks!

Hi again Strangelove,

It's NOT exactly the same in format, though you might not notice the differences unless somebody points them out to you.

Here they are: first, and most important, the REAL GRE, unlike Powerprep, has a few math questions that are NOT multiple-choice, but fill-in-the-blank. I think I remember getting two questions of that kind back in February.

Second, the screen interface on the reading comprehension is a little nicer than Powerprep. Where Powerprep would say, "in lines 52-57, ..." ..., the newer version actually shows lines 52-57 highlighted.

Not tremendous changes, but still not exactly like Powerprep.

John

[Strangefox]

Hi again Strangelove,

It's NOT exactly the same in format, though you might not notice the differences unless somebody points them out to you.

Here they are: first, and most important, the REAL GRE, unlike Powerprep, has a few math questions that are NOT multiple-choice, but fill-in-the-blank. I think I remember getting two questions of that kind back in February.

Second, the screen interface on the reading comprehension is a little nicer than Powerprep. Where Powerprep would say, "in lines 52-57, ..." ..., the newer version actually shows lines 52-57 highlighted.

Not tremendous changes, but still not exactly like Powerprep.

John

Thanks, John!!

By "fill-in-the-blank" you mean there will be a box where I will need to type my answer? I wonder why they don't mention it in their preparation materials... Are you sure it was not an unscored section?

P.S. BTW I am StrangeFox, not StrangeLove but it does not really matter of course

[DrFaustus666]

Thanks, John!!

By "fill-in-the-blank" you mean there will be a box where I will need to type my answer? I wonder why they don't mention it in their preparation materials... Are you sure it was not an unscored section?

P.S. BTW I am StrangeFox, not StrangeLove but it does not really matter of course

StrangeFox, many apologies for the name confusion!!

No I'm not POSITIVE that it's not an unscored section, because (1) ETS takes pains to inform all test takers that they may receive an unscored section but there is no way for a test taker to know if a given section is scored or unscored; and (2) I did indeed get two math sections -- so it's perfectly possible that the fill-in-the-blank question(s) all occurred in an unscored section. I can't remember for sure if BOTH math sections had FITB questions---if they did BOTH, then it would be a moot point.

But yes, the problems read like:

George loaned Bill $1000 for a year at 12 percent simple interest. At the end of the year, Bill would be obligated to pay George ______________.

The correct answer would be 1120.00, which you, the test taker, type directly into a blank field, just like any of 8 jillion Internet forms you've filled out in the last 10 year.

Edited June 28, 2010 by DrFaustus666

[Strangefox]

But yes, the problems read like:

George loaned Bill $1000 for a year at 12 percent simple interest. At the end of the year, Bill would be obligated to pay George ______________.

The correct answer would be 1120.00, which you, the test taker, type directly into a blank field, just like any of 8 jillion Internet forms you've filled out in the last 10 year.

Thanks a lot!

[UnlikelyGrad]

When I took the GRE 2 years ago (wow, has it really been that long?) ETS was saying that fill-in-the-blank math questions were being tested (and indeed, I got one on my math section), but that they would not be officially scored for another year or so. It's been long enough that they may be counted now.

BTW, I got two verbal sections so my one math section was clearly the "real thing."

[Strangefox]

ETS takes pains to inform all test takers that they may receive an unscored section but there is no way for a test taker to know if a given section is scored or unscored

By the way I have read some place, on this forum as well, that some people were informed in the beginning of an unscored section that it is actually unscored... They wrote (as far as I remember) that it was mentioned somewhere in their test... It seems kind of unfair Why some people get to know that a section is unscored and others don't?.. I myself just hate the idea of doing this unscored section on top of everyting - feeling like an ETS guinea pig - as if the test was not long enough without it!!

Edited June 28, 2010 by Strangefox

[DrFaustus666]

By the way I have read some place, on this forum as well, that some people were informed in the beginning of an unscored section that it is actually unscored... They wrote (as far as I remember) that it was mentioned somewhere in their test... It seems kind of unfair Why some people get to know that a section is unscored and others don't?.. I myself just hate the idea of doing this unscored section on top of everyting - feeling like an ETS guinea pig - as if the test was not long enough without it!!

Hi again Strangefox,

I also took the GRE previously (in 2005, before beginning my MA-German) ... and at that time there was an announced and ... believe it or not OPTIONAL, unscored section.

If you took the optional section, your name got put in for a drawing to win $100. I got about halfway thru the optional section (which was AFTER everything else) and aborted the optional piece because I was tired and wanted to see my scores.

John

Edited June 28, 2010 by DrFaustus666

[Strangefox]

Hi again Strangefox,

I also took the GRE previously (in 2005, before beginning my MA-German) ... and at that time there was an announced and ... believe it or not OPTIONAL, unscored section.

If you took the optional section, your name got put in for a drawing to win $100. I got about halfway thru the optional section (which was AFTER everything else) because I was tired and wanted to see my scores.

John

Ooooooooh!!!!! Why did they change that???? Wicked wicked WICKED ETS people!!!!

[DrFaustus666]

Ooooooooh!!!!! Why did they change that???? Wicked wicked WICKED ETS people!!!!

I suspect, but have no proof, that (1) people who KNEW it was optional and unscored didn't try very hard, thus making the results invalid; and/or (2) too many people took the NO option ... ETS needs guinea pigs and what better qualitified critters than those of us taking the exam?

[Strangefox]

I suspect, but have no proof, that (1) people who KNEW it was optional and unscored didn't try very hard, thus making the results invalid; and/or (2) too many people took the NO option ... ETS needs guinea pigs and what better qualitified critters than those of us taking the exam?

I guess you are right... *sigh*

[geilezeit]

Ooooooooh!!!!! Why did they change that???? Wicked wicked WICKED ETS people!!!!

I took the GRE in August 2009, and I also got a message about an unscored, optional section with the chance to win $100. I did not have any fill-in-the-blank questions on my actual exam; they were all in the unscored section (although, of course, things can change in a year!).

Edited June 29, 2010 by geilezeit

[DrFaustus666]

I took the GRE in August 2009, and I also got a message about an unscored, optional section with the chance to win $100. I did not have any fill-in-the-blank questions on my actual exam; they were all in the unscored section (although, of course, things can change in a year!).

Hello Geilezeit,

Can I venture a guess from your pseudonym that you either are German or have studied German?

I myself am a poor Ami who's been trying to master your difficult language, if you're German; or, I'm a fellow wretched student if you're also an American.

Nice to meet you in any event!

John

[emmm]

I took the GRE 9 days ago and did not have any fill-in-the-blank questions. Also, I was not offered an optional section (which I would not have ben in the mood for anyway). I was not allowed to keep my watch on, so I had no idea how long I was in the testing room during the testing -- turned out it was only about 2.5 hours.

[DrFaustus666]

I took the GRE 9 days ago and did not have any fill-in-the-blank questions. Also, I was not offered an optional section (which I would not have ben in the mood for anyway). I was not allowed to keep my watch on, so I had no idea how long I was in the testing room during the testing -- turned out it was only about 2.5 hours.

It seems there's no end to the variations and contortions through which ETS may, or may not, demand of us.

The test is supposed to take 45 mins (essay 1), 30 mins (essay 2), 45 mins (quantitative), and 30 mins (verbal), so 2.5 hours is exactly the expected time ... it sure as heck seemed longer than that to me though.

And nerve wracking, because the section at which I'm weakest (quantitative) comes AFTER sweating bullets through the two silly essays that nobody cares about, then the challenging verbal section that everybody cares about except physics and astronomy departments.

[Strangefox]

I took the GRE in August 2009, and I also got a message about an unscored, optional section with the chance to win $100. I did not have any fill-in-the-blank questions on my actual exam; they were all in the unscored section (although, of course, things can change in a year!).

Hi Geilezeit,

Could you tell me, how did you know that the section is unscored? Was it written in your test? In what part then?

May be you are an international student? May be they inform people who take GRE outside English-speaking countries about this unscored section because they undertstand (oh, may be there is a spark of humanity left in them!) that poor international students already have enough stress from this test? I am international - and I hope the miracle of an announced unscored section will happen to me!!

[Strangefox]

I took the GRE 9 days ago and did not have any fill-in-the-blank questions. Also, I was not offered an optional section (which I would not have ben in the mood for anyway). I was not allowed to keep my watch on, so I had no idea how long I was in the testing room during the testing -- turned out it was only about 2.5 hours.

You mean, you didn't have an unscored section? They did not even offer it to you? Oh, how lucky you are! *envy*

And you took it in Seattle? Ok, it seems my theory about international students is all wrong

[repatriate]

To add another anecdote to the ungraded math section discussion: I took the test in the US in 2007. I had two math sections and did not get notice that one was optional (and certainly no offer to win money). The first math section was actually fairly hard and exhausting. The second one was so easy (and I was so tired) that I didn't take it seriously and just breezed through it. To this day, I haven't decided which one I think was the graded portion.

[Strangefox]

To add another anecdote to the ungraded math section discussion: I took the test in the US in 2007. I had two math sections and did not get notice that one was optional (and certainly no offer to win money). The first math section was actually fairly hard and exhausting. The second one was so easy (and I was so tired) that I didn't take it seriously and just breezed through it. To this day, I haven't decided which one I think was the graded portion.

Nice story

Looks like they tell people about the unscored section and/or offer them money to do it at random!

[DrFaustus666]

To add another anecdote to the ungraded math section discussion: I took the test in the US in 2007. I had two math sections and did not get notice that one was optional (and certainly no offer to win money). The first math section was actually fairly hard and exhausting. The second one was so easy (and I was so tired) that I didn't take it seriously and just breezed through it. To this day, I haven't decided which one I think was the graded portion.

When I took the GRE most recently (Feb 2010), it was exactly as you described. No money offer, and one of the two math sections was much more difficult than the other. In fact, I was ready to cancel the test because the difficult section came first and I was sure I'd end up with a 300 in Quant -- I didn't know that there'd be a second math section. I also don't know which one was the graded section, but I suspect it was the second, because my score was reasonable (Q690, for a fine arts major is not a bad score at all---it stinks for an engineer of course ).

John

[repatriate]

When I took the GRE most recently (Feb 2010), it was exactly as you described. No money offer, and one of the two math sections was much more difficult than the other. In fact, I was ready to cancel the test because the difficult section came first and I was sure I'd end up with a 300 in Quant -- I didn't know that there'd be a second math section. I also don't know which one was the graded section, but I suspect it was the second, because my score was reasonable (Q690, for a fine arts major is not a bad score at all---it stinks for an engineer of course ).

John

I agree that the difficult math section was very anxiety-inducing. I was sure I would do poorly, and I had already canceled one score. I didn't want to waste more money!

I ended up with an 800, which was shocking to me because the first section was so hard I couldn't believe I had aced it, and I didn't read carefully or check any work on the second, so I was sure I'd made some stupid mistakes. Reasons to believe it was the hard section: 1) getting harder questions indicates I was doing well, and 2) I was relatively rested and was actually paying attention when I took it. Reasons to believe it was the easy section: 1) It seems MUCH more likely I could have gotten a perfect score on that given how easy it was. But would they really have given me that torturous section and worn me out before giving me the real section? That seems cruel!!

[geilezeit]

Hi Geilezeit,

Could you tell me, how did you know that the section is unscored? Was it written in your test? In what part then?

May be you are an international student? May be they inform people who take GRE outside English-speaking countries about this unscored section because they undertstand (oh, may be there is a spark of humanity left in them!) that poor international students already have enough stress from this test? I am international - and I hope the miracle of an announced unscored section will happen to me!!

I'm an American and took the test in the US. I had the standard 2 essays, the real math section, the real verbal section, and then I got a message that I could take another math section for the chance to win $100 if I answered all of the questions correctly. Everything that I had read had indicated that test takers wouldn't know which section was unscored, but mine was clearly marked. FWIW, my real math section was MUCH more difficult than the experimental section.

Edited June 29, 2010 by geilezeit

[Mocha001]

I took powerprep tests. But, the real test was a lot harder. I think it depends.

The sentence completion was really hard, and I was wasting too much of my time.