New GRE - Practice Tests

Yeah, it just ended. I've got to say, it wasn't as, for lack of a better word, foreign as i had expected it to be.

Quick points:

• Structure: AWA (Issue, Argument) - 30 mins each; 2 Verbal (30 mins each); 2 Quants (35 mins each); 1 unscored (30/35 mins). We were asked to skip the AWA (thank god!), and jump straight in: Pattern was Quant-1, Verbal-1, Quant-2 (Experimental), Verbal-2, Quant-3
• Quant: Most of the questions were way too easy (using GMAT as a reference point). If you've not taken the GMAT, the only other test I can compare it to is SAT II, and I'd say it's just as easy (or hard, depending on your current level). Only thing that stuck out was that there were quite a lot of questions on probability and permutations and combinations. I'm not sure if this is to be expected on the actual test. The score range i ended up with was 750-800.
• Verbal: For all those who've been thinking of throwing away their vocab flash cards, Barron's Word List, Princeton's Hit Parade, and any other vocab building material that you might have - think again! While the test is not as vocab intensive as it was in it's previous avatar, it is still quite demanding. I struggled on almost half of my text completion and sentence equivalence questions. RC wasn't so easy either; maybe I'm a bit rusty, or maybe not. Score Range for Verbal: 660-760
• Timing: I was worried that the alloted time (30 mins for Verbal, and 35 for Quants) wouldn't be sufficient, but I ended up with plenty of time to spare on both sections.
• Impressions: The Kaplan Staff did a swell job of briefing everyone on the new structure before the test started. Considering that this was the first time I've taken a practice CAT for the GRE, I guess I was kind of suprised that there were no surprises . Once I take a couple more CATs from other sources, namely PowerPrep II and Manhattan Prep, i'll be able to draw out a comparison.

I spent a few minutes going over the score report, and I thought others might be interested in having a glance as well, so here it is:



That's all folks. It's past midnight here, and I'm about to drift off.

I just took the Princeton Review practice test for the revised GRE. It did not give me a range, only the new scoring format (V 153, Q 149). I have no idea how these compare to the old scale so I really don't know if those scores are good or not. I'm guessing they are average, but it would be nice if Princeton actually gave you a comparison of scores to give you a basic idea of how much you need to improve.

I do agree that the math was much easier than GMAT math. GMAT is practically impossible for me and I felt like I knew how to go about solving the GRE questions (although, obviously there were mistakes, so I would have to review the answers to know in more depth where I messed up).

Also, of course, the experimental section was the one I did best on!

I would have expected them to give the scores on both the old and new ranges. As you pointed out, it doesn't make sense to give it out in just the new one.

Have you booked a date yet? Hows your prep going?

Hey rasta, no I haven't booked a date yet. I know I want to go to graduate school, and I know the fields I am interested in, but not sure the exact direction I want to go. I've been prepping for the GMAT, but honestly, the math is way over my head and I just can't think through the problems to find the trick to solving them.

I took a practice GRE to see basically what the test would be like. It seems a lot more manageable for me. So as far as prep goes, I will definitely need to brush up on my vocabulary, because there were a lot of words I have never seen before. I read a LOT, so I was surprised to see so many words I didn't know. Also, I will need to continue to practice math, but I think this level of math is a lot more doable for me (as someone who went to art school and never even took an advanced math class in high school!).

Have you taken the GRE yet?

Most of the schools are accepting the GRE now. However, since you don't have any math/stat in your transcripts, that might raise a few eyebrows. The adcom prefer the GMAT, but won't say so. A 49 in the GMAT Quants is way better than an 800 in the GRE Quants (or 170 in the new GRE).

You might want to consider preparing for the GRE for a month or two. Then, attempt going over the problems in the GMAT OG. If you are still having trouble, take the GRE, but also make sure that you build an additional transcript which covers the quantitative courses in your desired field.

And yes, I've taken the GRE - the new one. I've only got my range, and will take another month for my actual score to come in.

By the way, what field(s) are you looking at for grad school?

I think if I end up applying anywhere, it won't be for a couple years. Right now I have to study for a few industry certifications in order to get promoted in my current job, so that will take precedent for now.

However, I'd like to know what I'm getting into, hence the GMAT/GRE preparation. It's definitely going to be a challenge. I was looking at business school initially because my company will reimburse tuition for any business or finance related degree, but I'm not entirely sure I want to go down that road.

I am also very interested in forensic psychology, but that requires a PhD (and also does not pay any better than I am paid currently), which would be an additional 5-7 years of study. Plus, these programs are incredibly difficult to get into and I would need to take a lot of prerequisites before that. And my company won't pay for it so I don't know.

I'm having the classic dilemma: go for the money or for what I truly love? Trying to weigh cost vs. benefit. So for now, I think research and preliminary test prep is where I'm at.

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