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evnvnv
hapax legomenon
Joined: 05 Dec 2006
Location: the los angeles
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 Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2007 8:59 am Post subject: GRE, graduate school, etc. |
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Who is in graduate school? Who is applying to graduate school this year?
I just took a practice GRE test and my performance was...poor. Everyone says the math is so easy that even people that don't know math will do better on that than on the words part, but I did (marginally) better on the words part. I've heard these practice tests are always way easier than the real thing, too. I've been out of real school for a long time, and away from math even longer. I am hoping if i buy one of those prep books and be diligent about it I will improve, but I don't really know HOW much I need to improve...
anyone been through this stuff before? Am I right in assuming beyond a certain point the GRE is just a formality? Also you can gloat about your super high score in this thread too... most people on this board seem like the type who would be able to well on this kind of thing.
also, if anyone is in graduate school right now, tell me a story. esp. if you are in the humanities.
i am applying to the east asian languages and cultures department at the university of southern california, and eventually a similar program at the chinese university of hong kong. i don't really expect to be admitted to either, but wishful thinking and blind ambition never killed anyone (ha, ha, ha). |
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evnvnv
hapax legomenon
Joined: 05 Dec 2006
Location: the los angeles
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| Posted: Tue Nov 13, 2007 3:27 pm |
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| Adilegian wrote: |
I recommend two things for taking the GRE:
(1) Focus upon the portion that your chosen discipline will care about more. I got into a high-quality Creative Writing English MA program, and my math score was terrible. When I studied, though, I'd focused mainly on the argumentative composition part and the verbal part, because that's where the school was looking for strength.
(2) Taking the GRE is often less about your knowledge of the contents, and it's more often about how well you can take the GRE.
Think of it like a videogame. Videogames reward you on how well you know and manipulate their rules rather than how well you know the materials they represent, right? (You won't play RE4 any better even if you know how to disassemble a handgun in pitch dark.) The GRE, in my experience, works the same way. Practice tests give you a better feel for how to manipulate the rules of the GRE test in your favor.
| evnvnv wrote: |
| wishful thinking and blind ambition never killed anyone (ha, ha, ha). |
O RLY!? |
I think this is Good Advice. (As is everything else prior to it! but i am too lazy to quote everybody...)
I am pretty sure math is absolutely irrelevant to my field, and I have kind of been underestimating the importance of the writing portion for some reason. I'll need to pay more attention to that.
The knowing-how-to-take-a-test thing is really important too.. I already understand this basic concept but I need to figure out more about the GRE itself. Computer tests are intimidating!
With USC it is odd because it is a massive school but the department I'm applying to is relatively small. So the GRE is either arbitrary and unimportant or it is a crucial factor in deciding which handful of qualified applicants actually gets in... i wish the process was a little more transparent!
Although now I at least know how to respond if there is a question about whether or not to ever attempt a land invasion of Russia. |
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