Taking the GRE cold turkey!

[herbertmarcuse]

Howdy:

Having received my Masters degree in a European country about 8 years ago, I was never forced to take the GRE or grad entry examinations for admission. Sadly, now I am having to take it to enter into PhD programs.Like most of my fellow European counterparts, I'm starting to think that the GRE( like most other graduate entry- exams) is like playing the academic lottery. For that reason, i'm honestly thinking about taking the GRE without any major preparation or studying whatsoever. Not sure if anybody has ever succeeded with this plain strategy,but I want to see if I can get a minimal score to allow me in some low ranking PhD Social Science program.

 

Let me know what you think....

 

HM

[Tupamaros]

At the very least familiarise yourself with the types of questions asked and the overall structure of the test. Also take a free practice test from powerprep and that'll be a fairly accurate indication of what you'd score if you took the test. Make your decision as to your level of study after those steps.

[Cookie]

 i'm honestly thinking about taking the GRE without any major preparation or studying whatsoever. Not sure if anybody has ever succeeded with this plain strategy,but I want to see if I can get a minimal score to allow me in some low ranking PhD Social Science program.

 

Let me know what you think....

 

What i think is that is an excellent recipe for a disaster.

[Brent@GreenlightGRE]

I suggest that you take an official PowerPrep practice test (https://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/prepare/powerprep2). 

This will give you a good idea of your current skills. 

 

Cheers,

Brent - Greenlight GRE

[dat_nerd]

Taking the GRE is not a fun or cheap experience. Why force yourself to take it twice by not studying the first time? The GRE only measures how well you take the GRE, so how can you possibly do well on it by being unprepared?

 

At the very least, I recommend that you take the practice exam first. It's free, and you can get an idea of what you'd realistically score on the real exam.

[iowaguy]

I want to see if I can get a minimal score to allow me in some low ranking PhD Social Science program.

 

If you think that getting accepting into a low-ranking PhD program in the Social Sciences will let you meet your life/career goals, then go for it.  Most of us on this board try to get into the very best program that we can.

 

Your PhD pedigree will stick with you for the rest of your life, yet you don't want to devote any resources to studying for a very important admissions test?

[Yetanotherdegree]

I think sometimes the scoring can feel a little random and people who write and communicate well can walk away with poor verbal and writing scores and not understand how or why that's happened. That doesn't mean it is, in fact, like playing the academic lottery. It means they have not studied appropriately. Fact: you can and will improve your scores if you prep strategically. The test is expensive, both in terms of money and significance for your PhD applications. Why would you not make the effort to get the best score you can?