sebastiansteddy Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 Maybe I skipped too many questions...I don't know. Thanks for the ears, guys. Writing that out helps. Don't skip questions! You no longer get deductions for wrong answers, you only get points for correct answers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midnight Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 Happy birthday, ktwho! My advice (not great, but it is what it is): Review/practice as efficiently as you can with Princeton Review and Powerprep, retake the GRE, and don't skip any questions. Quite honestly it may be a waste of time to study for reading comprehension, especially if you need ample time to focus on your SOP. I find many of the passages to be rather straightforward or at least tolerable while the questions are willfully obtuse or bizarre. That's where Hail Mary guesswork might help you next time. ktwho 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktwho Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 Thanks for the bday wishes, Midnight! Come to think of it, I agree! I would read a passage that seemed pretty straightforward, then the question would blow my mind! I kept thinking, what? Oh, I need to read more into that passage than what I saw! Sebastian, I didn't really skip too many; I had a few "marked" to review later but ran out of time. I def. need to work on my speed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asleepawake Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 Don't skip questions! You no longer get deductions for wrong answers, you only get points for correct answers. Really!? Since when!? That sounds like a reason to retake... I took it in April and skipped (aka didn't have time to get back to) at least 40 questions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sebastiansteddy Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 Really!? Since when!? That sounds like a reason to retake... I took it in April and skipped (aka didn't have time to get back to) at least 40 questions. Since the revised test was put into place, whenever that was. From the ETS website: The raw score is the number of questions answered correctly. The raw score is converted to a scaled score through a process known as equating. The equating process accounts for minor variations in difficulty among the different test editions as well as differences in difficulty among individuals' tests introduced by the section-level adaptation. Thus a given scaled score of a particular measure reflects the same level of performance regardless of which section was selected and when the test was taken. It says nothing about deducting points for incorrect answers. My math score was WAYYY too high to have had anything deducted from all the ones I guessed on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProfLorax Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 Happy birthday, ktwho! My advice (not great, but it is what it is): Review/practice as efficiently as you can with Princeton Review and Powerprep, retake the GRE, and don't skip any questions. Quite honestly it may be a waste of time to study for reading comprehension, especially if you need ample time to focus on your SOP. I find many of the passages to be rather straightforward or at least tolerable while the questions are willfully obtuse or bizarre. That's where Hail Mary guesswork might help you next time. Such great advice! The Princeton Review really helped breakdown the reading comp questions, and it also stresses that there is no deduction for guessing. In fact, they suggest that at the 2:00 mark, you stop whatever you are working on and guess on all remaining questions. Sorry to sound like a sales rep, but the Princeton Review really did help me approach the test. Oh yes, and Happy Birthday! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waparys Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 In my post-GRE fatigue (four hours of testing plus four hours of travel to and from test center), I swore you wrote the Game of Thrones tagline (in the game of admissions, you either win or you die), and my first thought was: SHIT JUST GOT REAL WITH PHD APPS. But then I re-read it and accurately comprehended your meaning, and your post is a terrific analogy. I need a nap. So honored. Also, it's suddenly really cold here in Berlin. Winter is coming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waparys Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 (edited) Really!? Since when!? That sounds like a reason to retake... I took it in April and skipped (aka didn't have time to get back to) at least 40 questions. Just to be clear, these folks are talking about the revised general test (computer) NOT the subject test (paper). Edited October 27, 2012 by waparys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asleepawake Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 Just to be clear, these folks are talking about the revised general test (computer) NOT the subject test (paper). Thanks - I finally caught up on that when sebastiansteddy said the revised test. I did not skip 40 questions on the regular GRE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sebastiansteddy Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 Thanks - I finally caught up on that when sebastiansteddy said the revised test. I did not skip 40 questions on the regular GRE. Ohhh! Sorry, I didn't realized you were talking about the subject test. I did not mean to confuse anyone! Sorry! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asleepawake Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 Ohhh! Sorry, I didn't realized you were talking about the subject test. I did not mean to confuse anyone! Sorry! No worries. I was only talking about the subject test because I misread the thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktwho Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 I took the computer GENERAL test. I'll re-read again, but now I'm confused. So, I'm looking at the conversion charts and realizing that I did, in fact, score higher on Quant. That's insane. I've got to figure out what I really did wrong on Verbal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktwho Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 Oh, and I have the Princeton Review book but not PowerPrep. I'll look into that; thanks! I'm banking on my Thanksgiving time off from work to study but will at least do an hour every day until I take it again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktwho Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 Well, my combined writing score is a 5. That's something. I'm still retaking it to increase my verbal, of course, and have learned that as long as I take it in December, the schools I'm applying to don't have to have the scores from ETS before their deadlines. So, I can cram for a couple more weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProfLorax Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 Well, my combined writing score is a 5. That's something. I'm still retaking it to increase my verbal, of course, and have learned that as long as I take it in December, the schools I'm applying to don't have to have the scores from ETS before their deadlines. So, I can cram for a couple more weeks. Good luck, ktwho! I, for one, did better on my second try. I actually wasn't as stressed as my first attempt; I figured I had already scored so low, what did I have to lose? That attitude really helped me focus on answering questions rather than predicting my score during the test. ktwho 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1Q84 Posted November 10, 2012 Share Posted November 10, 2012 JUST FINISHED! NEVER AGAIN! well.... not for a little while at least.... I thought I did awful after my first section of Verbal but I think maybe that was the experimental set because there was one absolutely wacko question that was a really tricky logic question, which I don't think was fair. It was barely a comprehension question, more of a brain teaser... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waparys Posted November 10, 2012 Share Posted November 10, 2012 GRE Lit sucked. Whoever said it wasn't like the practice tests was absolutely right. Urgh. Good luck to the East Coasters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waparys Posted November 10, 2012 Share Posted November 10, 2012 Also in a related GRE development, my boyfriend (a scientist) took the GRE for the first time yesterday and scores 170 on the verbal section. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
practical cat Posted November 10, 2012 Share Posted November 10, 2012 GRE Lit sucked. Whoever said it wasn't like the practice tests was absolutely right. Urgh. Good luck to the East Coasters. Such a bad experience, omg. But I think it was easier than the practice ones in certain areas but similar enough so that I believe even more strongly now that it is possible to study for (I hit a few--50?--questions where I was really pleased I'd taken the time to read some sparknotes and stuff). Anyway, glad it's over and I hope everyone did really well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfat Posted November 12, 2012 Author Share Posted November 12, 2012 (edited) October subject scores are up. Part of me just died. I reiterate: Damn you, ETS. Damn your horrible black empty soul. (I was at least above 50%, but not nearly good enough. Augh.) Edited November 12, 2012 by bfat practical cat 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1Q84 Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 Good lord... glad I don't have to take the subject test yet :/ hope you all did well enough ... So does it take 10-15 days for scores to post online for the General Test? Being as neurotic as I am, I've been constantly checking my ETS account and my scores still aren't up (I took it on Friday night). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two Espressos Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 (edited) Good lord... glad I don't have to take the subject test yet :/ hope you all did well enough ... So does it take 10-15 days for scores to post online for the General Test? Being as neurotic as I am, I've been constantly checking my ETS account and my scores still aren't up (I took it on Friday night). Yeah, I think it takes about two weeks or so for scores to post for the General Test. If you took the computer-based exam, you should have received your scores at the end though. I wrote down my scores upon finishing the exam and searched online for my tentative percentages. Edited November 12, 2012 by Two Espressos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1Q84 Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 Yeah, I remember seeing at the end that I got 169 V and 140 something for Q but then again my brain was so scrambled, I could've remembered anything... After I got out, I wandered around in a daze and got lost 4 times in a subway station I know like the back of my hand. Talk about being drained! So now my mind is playing tricks with me and convincing me I got 161 instead. I wanted to check by phone but they charge $12 per call! I guess this thread title is quite apt in describing how I feel right now... Damn you, ETS! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two Espressos Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 Yeah, I remember seeing at the end that I got 169 V and 140 something for Q but then again my brain was so scrambled, I could've remembered anything... After I got out, I wandered around in a daze and got lost 4 times in a subway station I know like the back of my hand. Talk about being drained! So now my mind is playing tricks with me and convincing me I got 161 instead. I wanted to check by phone but they charge $12 per call! I guess this thread title is quite apt in describing how I feel right now... Damn you, ETS! Hopefully you remembered correctly and got 169 on the verbal! If so, that's an awesome score; I'm positive it'll place you in the top 1%. 1Q84 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thestage Posted November 13, 2012 Share Posted November 13, 2012 Hopefully you remembered correctly and got 169 on the verbal! If so, that's an awesome score; I'm positive it'll place you in the top 1%. when I took it a year ago, I think even 164 or 165 was 99% percentile. I, uhh, don't even remember how I figured that out, but there it is. I also know that you don't need to have answered every question correctly to get a perfect score (170). I like to pretend I got every question right anyway so that I at least had that when everyone rejected me. look, assholes, I may not be good enough for you, but if you put a piece of nondescript bullshit writing in front of me I can absolutely answer any vague question you'd have about it with unerring precision! then again, all my other percentile ranks (including subject) have gone down in the intervening year, so the cut off for 99% has probably gone up. but yes, 169 is still certainly in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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