need GRE advice please! I have one month to prepare for my last GRE

[yuki11]

Hi I'm Yuki.  I am a chemical engineering student in Japan. 

 

I took GRE twice already and did not improve much. 

 

My scores are 

 

August 5th      Math: 158,  Verbal: 146  AWA 3.0

October 11th  Math: 159, Verbal : 146

 

During those GRE tests,  I studied Barron's "1100 words you need to know" 

I used a program called Magoosh, did all the questions and watched most of verbal videos and math videos that I thought I need to watch. 

I memorized more than 1500 words with Quizlet. 

 

After the 2 months of hard work, nothing came out.

 

I am in an engineering major, so I thought math would be easy but not really.

I often make stupid mistakes and sometimes struggle with questions that I have no idea to solve,

Also I still sometimes struggle with understanding word problems, interpreting word problems in English could be confusing. 

 

I feel defeated by not improving my scores but I decided to make another month to prepare to give it the last try. I am applying for grad schools in December and January. 

Please, I need some advice on what to study, how to study, from a non-native English speaker might be better.

 

Thank you.  

Edited October 13, 2013 by yuki11

[powerlifterty16]

sounds like a tough situation. There is only so much studying one can do before it doesn't pay off due to indiiduals' abilities. This point id just say to hire a private gre tutor...if that doesnt help maybe grad school isnt for you, or maybe go somewhere with no gre requirements?

[yuki11]

Thank you for your reply. Unfortunately, I am not be able to hire a private tutor for some reasons, unless I can find a tutor online who would agree with not so expensive payment.  True, I probably should do my best this month and if it doesn't work then, I would have to apply for schools in low rank. 

[ToomuchLes]

I recommend Magoosh! Theres a good month plan that'll work for you

[awells27]

Do not assume that you are not fit for graduate school.  That is the worst thing you can do.  You would not be the first one to struggle with the GRE, a test that is totally biased against non-native speakers.  I would definitely get a tutor who can monitor your progress under timed conditions.  Also, if the GRE continues to be a problem, consider applying to schools in Europe or Canada, which I believe, someone correct me if I'm wrong, oftentimes do not require the GRE.  Please feel free to ask any other questions, since your future is important.  

[powerlifterty16]

if you are a native speaker and don't do well on the gre, does that mean you aren't fit ?

[awells27]

if you are a native speaker and don't do well on the gre, does that mean you aren't fit ?

LOL, it just means, if you have been preparing, that you're not good at standardized tests.  My friend at Fuller Seminary got lucky.  He bombed the GRE, but he applied during a year lacking a competitive pool of applicants, and the rest of his application was strong.  Now he is in the third year of his PHD in Old Testament texts and languages, and he has already published and presented at Society of Biblical Literature seminars.  No other PHD student in the program can touch him, although I'm sure after his GRE scores had some people thinking he could never do PHD work.  

[PeakPerformance]

Hi Yuki,

If you're looking for some help on the Writing Section in particular, you might check out the online course I teach. I also do online tutoring for the Verbal section and could work out a package deal if you're interested (Writing course and so many hours of tutoring for a fixed rate). I taught critical reading and writing skills at the college level for more than 13 years and feel confident I could help you improve your scores on the writing and Verbal sections.

[yuki11]

Hi Thank you very much for all the comments.

 

LOL, it just means, if you have been preparing, that you're not good at standardized tests.  My friend at Fuller Seminary got lucky.  He bombed the GRE, but he applied during a year lacking a competitive pool of applicants, and the rest of his application was strong.  Now he is in the third year of his PHD in Old Testament texts and languages, and he has already published and presented at Society of Biblical Literature seminars.  No other PHD student in the program can touch him, although I'm sure after his GRE scores had some people thinking he could never do PHD work.  

 

Especially Caffeinated's comment was very encouraging. I am not a native speaker. English is my second language. That is a big reason why I am having hard time on GRE.  I tried Magoosh. I know it is a great program but for some reason, I did not manage to increase my score after doing all the questions on it.  I am still using it though, reviewing those questions. 

[yuki11]

Hi Yuki,

If you're looking for some help on the Writing Section in particular, you might check out the online course I teach. I also do online tutoring for the Verbal section and could work out a package deal if you're interested (Writing course and so many hours of tutoring for a fixed rate). I taught critical reading and writing skills at the college level for more than 13 years and feel confident I could help you improve your scores on the writing and Verbal sections.

 

Your program sounds good. I only have less than 1 month. And your program cost $229, which is a lot for me, just for a couple of weeks. Any possible discount or refund in case I did not improve? (which will be a financial safety net)

[powerlifterty16]

LOL, it just means, if you have been preparing, that you're not good at standardized tests.  My friend at Fuller Seminary got lucky.  He bombed the GRE, but he applied during a year lacking a competitive pool of applicants, and the rest of his application was strong.  Now he is in the third year of his PHD in Old Testament texts and languages, and he has already published and presented at Society of Biblical Literature seminars.  No other PHD student in the program can touch him, although I'm sure after his GRE scores had some people thinking he could never do PHD work.  

yeah bit then there are the people who are good at tests but just cant grasp the material. afterall the test was ceated to test at least a basic degree

[Lisa44201]

If your TOEFL scores are good, I wouldn't worry too much about GRE scores. I would think your TOEFL would carry more weight than the Verbal portion of the GRE, given you're a non-native speaker.

[yuki11]

If your TOEFL scores are good, I wouldn't worry too much about GRE scores. I would think your TOEFL would carry more weight than the Verbal portion of the GRE, given you're a non-native speaker.

 

  Yeah, true. I might be too concerned about it verbal. I probably should work more on math. since my math score is kinda low for engineering degree.  Thank you for your comment. 

[awells27]

yeah bit then there are the people who are good at tests but just cant grasp the material. afterall the test was ceated to test at least a basic degree

This is where I disagree.  I found that many of the critical skills I learned on the masters' level were poorly represented on my particular GRE exam, at least on the second section.  If adaptive degree of difficulty means convoluted sentences and trick questions, these are just the types of skills that many professors would consider useless, yet for some reason some of them weigh the test significantly in admissions decisions.  I actually thought some of the Kaplin and Barons practice tests, while not totally representative of the real test I saw, provided more interesting reading sections and more academic TCs and SEs.   

 

Just to give you an example, the PHD admissions committees at my school, if they have admitted say 4 students into the program, often decide funding according to the AW score and a few other measures.  My essay prompts were:  "The purpose of history is to teach leaders that people are essentially the same in both the past and present,"  and "Park A should provide more benches to compensate for decreased public use, since Park B has more benches and shows increased public use."  What a great way to determine funding!