Just signed up for GRE and noticed text about new GRE questions in email and last min study tips?

[Mikeden]

Hi everyone,

I just signed up for the GRE. I am going to be taking it in about 2 weeks. I noticed this text in the confirmation email about new question types:

"Two new question types are included in the computer-based GRE General Test. You may see one new Verbal OR one new Quantitative question type in your test. These new question types will be counted toward examinee scores as soon as an adequate sample of data has been collected. View sample questions and additional information at www.ets.org/gre/newquestiontypes.html."

I clicked on the link but it appears to not be working. I was under the impression that the new question types were pushed off until the new GRE in August?

...and yeah, I am freaking out a little bit....I am not good at standardized tests, so I am just praying that I break 1000 (i've ranged anywhere from 840 - 1190 on the practice tests depending on the first few questions I got) and my GPA (3.97), research experience, work experience and letters of recommendation will give the GRE less weight in my applications.

I am much weaker in the quant section than verbal. I've gone over the Kaplan math workbook and I have done various math questions and my quant scores now usually range from 490-600 on the practice tests. I usually spend way too much time on the first 10 questions (getting most right) before rushing through the last 18 and getting most of them wrong.

For the people who took the tests, is there anything else that you would recommend that I focus on? I've been taking practice tests through Kaplan but I am going to download Powerprep and take a practice test on there at least once before I take my test (I work full time so I don't have much time to study during the week).

Thanks in advance!

Edited January 31, 2011 by Mikeden

[Vacuum]

They had this little blurb when I took my exam several months ago as well. The new form of questions would be in addition to the rest of the exam, in that you don't know which questions count/don't count. I never had any new versions of questions until the very end where it was optional to complete an additional exam section under the new format so that ETS people can figure out if the format sucks or not (I guess). So, for me, these new questions were a completely separate little 'mini-exam' afterward. I actually did not like the new format, but maybe that is because I had studied for the old!

As for the math questions, I also am not the hottest in math. I went completely blank during the exam when I was looking at that horrible ticker clock in the corner and panicking. My tips are 1) don't panic and stare at the ticker clock and 2) find shortcuts to solving things if at all possible

I think this was my downfall on the math portion -- I don't really know shortcuts to math that doesn't include me working it out start to finish. Just to give you a bit of background, I never took gr 12 Math (or any university level math), I ran out of time, so I quickly guessed approx 4 math questions on the exam and missed even more completely and I still ended up getting 500. Now, that not might be the best score....but I only studied for one week and like I said, I only had Gr 11 math!!! Last minute decisions on my part to take the exam haha. I think if you've studied more and at least have some more math experience, you will do perfectly fine. Those practice tests give you a rough idea of what your score might be, but take them with a grain of salt because you never know what types of questions you will be getting on the exam!

good luck!

[UFGator]

I'm not sure what type of Psychology you are going into, but if I were you I would at least aim for a min 700 in Quant. if the program draws on quantitative analysis. Edgewise, schools like Cornell require 600 in each section as a minimum.

Remember it's a CAT so take your time on the first 10-12 questions. I would also make sure to be comfortable with triangles, exponents, probabilty, factoring, etc.

[Mikeden]

Thanks for the help. I won't worry much about the new question types...it seems like people didn't get them and if they got them at all, they were in the identified research section at the end. Did you have both the identified and unidentified experimental sections or you only had the identified section? From the posts on this forum, it looks like most people are only getting the identified research section (my guess is because ETS doesn't want to waste time on testing the "old" format)?

Just to clarify, is the amount of time remaining on that section displayed on the screen? My biggest issue is time.......before I know it, I only have 10 minutes left and I still have 12 or 13 questions to answer (I spend the most time on the first 10 obviously because those have the most weight). I am hoping to get to question 24 or 25 or so before needing to just randomly answer the last 3 or 4 questions on time.

While I might go for the PhD in Psychology later on, right now I decided to go for a MA or MS in Social Research...It applies much more to my current job (market research) and it will give me more research experience (and is more flexible than Psych without the high amount of competition to get into the Clinical Psych PhD program). I agree that especially with quant Psych programs, you need a really high quant score (especially for the Ivy Leagues, which I never planned on going to anyway).

For the last few days, I have been doing the quant drills in Powerprep.....I have been doing OK with them so far so I am just hoping that I know what I need to know for the test.

[Vacuum]

Thanks for the help. I won't worry much about the new question types...it seems like people didn't get them and if they got them at all, they were in the identified research section at the end. Did you have both the identified and unidentified experimental sections or you only had the identified section? From the posts on this forum, it looks like most people are only getting the identified research section (my guess is because ETS doesn't want to waste time on testing the "old" format)?

Just to clarify, is the amount of time remaining on that section displayed on the screen? My biggest issue is time.......before I know it, I only have 10 minutes left and I still have 12 or 13 questions to answer (I spend the most time on the first 10 obviously because those have the most weight). I am hoping to get to question 24 or 25 or so before needing to just randomly answer the last 3 or 4 questions on time.

While I might go for the PhD in Psychology later on, right now I decided to go for a MA or MS in Social Research...It applies much more to my current job (market research) and it will give me more research experience (and is more flexible than Psych without the high amount of competition to get into the Clinical Psych PhD program). I agree that especially with quant Psych programs, you need a really high quant score (especially for the Ivy Leagues, which I never planned on going to anyway).

For the last few days, I have been doing the quant drills in Powerprep.....I have been doing OK with them so far so I am just hoping that I know what I need to know for the test.

The section with the new version fo questions was optional and it said something like 'we are going to be changing our format, please take part in this blah blah yadda'. That section was timed, but I basically didn't care much about it on that section since it wasn't being graded.

For the actual sections that count, there is a clock displayed on the screen so you can see how much time you have. I think it is optional to hide that clock. I found I ended up rushing on my first writing portion, had okay time in the analytical writing, didn't run out of time on verbal but ran out of time on math (my weakest skill). Make sure that you don't spend a ton of time formulating ideas for the writing section (get writing as soon as possible once you have a basic idea) and don't fall into the trap of trying to squeeze too many ideas into the essay. Make sure you have a clear intro/conclusion and use transitional words. Your writing is graded by a comp and then a human. So the comp picks up on these types of transitions.

[HappyCat]

Hi everyone,

I just signed up for the GRE. I am going to be taking it in about 2 weeks. I noticed this text in the confirmation email about new question types:

"Two new question types are included in the computer-based GRE General Test. You may see one new Verbal OR one new Quantitative question type in your test. These new question types will be counted toward examinee scores as soon as an adequate sample of data has been collected. View sample questions and additional information at www.ets.org/gre/newquestiontypes.html."

I clicked on the link but it appears to not be working. I was under the impression that the new question types were pushed off until the new GRE in August?

...and yeah, I am freaking out a little bit....I am not good at standardized tests, so I am just praying that I break 1000 (i've ranged anywhere from 840 - 1190 on the practice tests depending on the first few questions I got) and my GPA (3.97), research experience, work experience and letters of recommendation will give the GRE less weight in my applications.

I am much weaker in the quant section than verbal. I've gone over the Kaplan math workbook and I have done various math questions and my quant scores now usually range from 490-600 on the practice tests. I usually spend way too much time on the first 10 questions (getting most right) before rushing through the last 18 and getting most of them wrong.

For the people who took the tests, is there anything else that you would recommend that I focus on? I've been taking practice tests through Kaplan but I am going to download Powerprep and take a practice test on there at least once before I take my test (I work full time so I don't have much time to study during the week).

Thanks in advance!

I highly suggest using the Powerprep if you can (alas, it doesn't seem to like 64-bit computer software) because it uses the adaptive software that you will experience during the GRE. Non-adaptive practice exams don't give you a real sense of your scoring (e.g. I would typically score high 400s, low 500s in those practice exams and received a 640 in math. And I'm not a math person.). Another suggestion is--if you have no clue what to do at ALL--just guess and move on. Don't even waste your time. The first time I took the GRE I panicked when I ran into a problem I didn't understand and tried to figure it out. After about seven minutes on it, I realized what little time I had left and spent the few remaining minutes essentially having a panic attack. You're not going to magically "learn" how to solve the problem in that time frame, so just move on. With the adaptive test, if you're getting most 500-600 range questions right, they won't immediately bump you down to 200-400 level questions. You usually get at least one more chance to redeem yourself at that level before it moves down, so it's worth not totally wasting your time.

Also, I know you don't have much time, but I found the Manhattan GRE books incredibly helpful (and it comes with adaptive testing software to download). Each mini-book is a specific aspect of math or verbal, so I bought the books of things with which I had problems and it helped a lot. Manhattan makes great GMAT books, but the GRE ones are new to them, having only come out this past fall.

[Mikeden]

As always, thanks for the help everyone!

I am not really a math person either (psych and research stats are much different than GRE math!) and to guide my studying, I bought the Kaplan math workbook and the Kaplan 2011 Premier GRE book (for the verbal stuff and the practice exams, I studied math completely out of the Kaplan math workbook). I've been doing the drills on Powerprep and doing decently enough on them (mostly 4-6 wrong out of 20 on each set) but like you, my timing is off. I did the Kaplan adaptive tests and did OK on most of them (at least for me, scored in the 550-600 range on both sections) and am planning on doing the Powerprep practice exam tomorrow.

Thanks again!

Edited February 5, 2011 by Mikeden

[Saik]

For me, the last section of the GRE both times I took it was optional; it was entirely new question types. Needless to say, after working steadily for 2.5+ hours, I didn't take the last part of the test. The kicker, though, was they they gave cash rewards to test takers who took the experimental section and significantly improved their score from the "normal" GRE section.

[Mikeden]

Yeah, on my GRE, I had the same...just the identified research section at the end. On the part that actually counted toward my score I didn't have any of the new question types.

[Gunner24]

I also am weaker in the quantitative area. What helped me get a *much* better score than I expected was watching out for "trick" questions...if you can call them that. Just double- or triple-check your answers on quant, and make sure you don't fall for any traps. There were a few on my test, so be on the lookout. Best of luck.

[DrFaustus666]

What helped me get a *much* better score than I expected was watching out for "trick" questions...if you can call them that. Just double- or triple-check your answers on quant

As a perennial non-quantitative person and student of the GRE, I have to chime in with my opinion that virtually ALL the quantitative questions are trick questions at some level.

The tricks, especially in the first three or four questions, may seem trivial, or flamingly obvious to a Math-Hardscience-Engineering major; but those same tricks are anything but obvious to the rest of us who foolishly listened to our English professors who said, basically, "As long as you can balance your checkbook, you don't need to study mathematical or quantitative things again, just be sure to distinguish between a hermeneutical, text-immanent analysis and a post-structuralist, perpetually evolving text->context->text analysis".

Not sure what my point is here ... oh yeah ... if you're baffled by the quantitative exam but basically remember your high school math, then remember that there's a twist to virtually every question.

(I plan to take it one last time, in June, in hopes of smashing the 700-barrier.)

Edited March 5, 2011 by DrFaustus666