Nerves and the Dreaded GRE

[dlb89]

This morning at 8:30 a.m., I wrote the GRE. WHY in the world I would register for it at this time is beyond me at this point...anyway, my nerves got the best of me. I slept roughly 4 hours the night prior, I had terrible...erm...bowel movements the morning of and, worst of all, 5 minutes before. I kept freaking out during the exam. I thought I was running out of time (though I wasn't) and sped through a lot of the questions in the Verbal section.

I am very confused because normally, I am an excellent exam taker. I was scoring in the low 700's on my practice exams, my CGPA is 4.04, major GPA is 4.22 (my institution is on a 4.33 scale). And yet I ended up scoring an abysmal 540 on the Verbal section (Q doesn't matter for my program).

So, my questions are twofold: What do you guys do to manage your nerves on the big day? And should I even bother applying to schools (Brown, Cornell and NYU) with this score??

[newms]

I'm a firm believer in visualizing yourself having success. Once I know that I have prepared myself, I just picture myself doing what I'd done in practice and imagine myself doing well. It's when I know that I haven't prepared well that I have problems.

[newms]

And should I even bother applying to schools (Brown, Cornell and NYU) with this score??

I'm not in your field so I can't really give you advice on whether you need to retake to apply to top schools. Why don't you ask in the Anthropology forum: http://forum.thegrad...5-anthropology/

[Strangefox]

I don't know if it will help... First of all you must be well prepared, of course, and you must be able to assess the level of your knowledge well. Do not underestimate yourelf.

When I was nervous, but I knew that I was prepared, I just told myself a simple thing: "I will do it because I can". It is so simple that it seems useless, but actually it is all you need to know.

Visualize your past "moments of glory", something you are really proud of, and think that it was you who made it all happen. If you did that, it means you can do a lot more! You can do it not because of random luck, but because YOU CAN DO IT.

[TMP]

Agreed with others! Now that you've taken it, you KNOW what the GRE is like. You'll aim for a REVENGE!

If it's any consolation, my re-take was in a different location from my first GRE exam. That location was not on a college campus BUT a tiny place in a shady neighborhood with a diner, and my ride could only drop me off at 8:30 AM, despite the exam being at 1 PM. Really shady neighborhood with just one diner down the block to entertain me for 4 hours. My GRE scores went down... enough said.

If you're generally a late sleeper, go ahead and schedule your re-take at 1 PM (some places do offer 4-5 PM slots). But most people I know would rather take it first thing in the morning and get it over with.

[graddamn]

Take advantage of the flexible sign up date on the GRE. Wait til you are having a week when you feel awesome, and confident, and ready to ace the test. Or if you're me, wait til you're having a week when life seems more livable and then sign up to take it like within that period. That definitely helped me out. Having time to dread the test worked to my detriment.

[dlb89]

Thanks for all of the thorough replies guys! I literally cannot retake the GRE for this admissions period though (will be out of country for 4 months, away from testing centers), sooo...looks like I might have to give next year a try? Ughh...

Edited September 2, 2010 by dlb89

[newms]

Thanks for all of the thorough replies guys! I literally cannot retake the GRE for this admissions period though (will be out of country for 4 months, away from testing centers), sooo...looks like I might have to give next year a try? Ughh...

If you really want to apply this year, you can still do so. Unless you're going to be in a remote place, you may still be able to do the paper based GRE at the end of October - there are testing centers in many countries. Plus I'm not sure that you're scores will keep you out. If the rest of your application is pretty good then you may be ok.

[Strangefox]

Thanks for all of the thorough replies guys! I literally cannot retake the GRE for this admissions period though (will be out of country for 4 months, away from testing centers), sooo...looks like I might have to give next year a try? Ughh...

You definetely can take GRE in other countries. Don't give up!

[augustquail]

I'm glad someone posted about GRE anxiety...because I'm definately having it! When I took the SAT's, I didn't really care, because I knew that I was going to a school I didn't want to go to, simply because I couldn't afford to go to BU But now i *really* want to get into the programs I'm applying to...so this test really matters in getting me through the first hoops of the admissions process.

I'm taking the test on thursday (eep!), so I try to tell myself when I'm looking at a difficult question, "ok, the right answer is HERE, so I'm just going to figure out which one it is!" It sounds retarded, I know, but I often feel so powerless when taking stupid standardized tests that it reminds me that my score is basically in my hands.

When it comes to the math, I have found myself just rushing through the whole thing on the practice tests because I JUST WANT TO GET IT OVER WITH! I'm so filled with anxiety about my score that I just want it to be done...So that's not a very helpful thought either.

I guess the trick is trying to train your brain into proceeding calmly and not rushing, and replacing those thoughts of terror with thoughts of optimism!

[TheDude]

Well I had my first grad school interview the beginning of this month. Building up to that day I had been studying very productively. Then I think my nerves regarding this whole situation caught up with me and I haven't slept more than 3 hours a night in the last 18 days. I try to sit down and study and all I can do is a few problems. I don't feel stressed during the day but I think this whole process has caught up with me!

I'm trying some Motrin PM tonight and I'm hoping be the end of this week I can get my head back in the game and really amp it up the last 5 weeks before I sit for my first GRE.

ANyone know how late we can take this for December in case I screw up??? I think I asked this before but forgot.

Good luck to all of you.