The GRE?

[Kevin]

Spinning off on Ink's LSAT thread, I was planning on taking the GRE eventually. I'm only in the preliminary stages of looking into it at the moment. I've heard from some people it's like the SAT and from others it's a completely a different ball game.
 
However, I'm wondering whether any fellow forumites have taken the GRE and what was your experience with it?

[TJ in Oregon]

I took it about a month and a half ago.

I bought a book to study and I think it helped me a lot on the verbal section. It's basically like the SAT except they like to make weird-formatted questions and use ridiculous vocab.

The math section was a total joke. It didn't even have calculus.

[The Mikado]

It's (I think) unique in that, as a computerized test, the test keeps track of your performance and increases the difficulty of questions if you do well and decreases the difficulty if you do poorly.  If the verbal part starts using obscure Greek words you've never heard of, you're doing excellently.

[RI]

I'll be taking it this summer, and I've had a few friends who recently took it. I heard they recent overhauled the exam, but it apparently isn't terribly difficult.

No calculus though? Lame.

[TJ in Oregon]

I'll be taking it this summer, and I've had a few friends who recently took it. I heard they recent overhauled the exam, but it apparently isn't terribly difficult.

No calculus though? Lame.

The math section is basically a collection of junior-high level poroblems where they try to trick you into making a stupid mistake.

I really would recommend studying for the verbal section. I bought a book on it and I'm almost certain it increased my verbal score significantly because it sort of explained the type of logic the test's writers use. My score in the old system was 660 (still waiting on what it'll be in the new scoring system) but I don't usually do very well on verbal test so the studying must have helped.

Oh, and there's the other weird thing: the median math score is ~660 and the median verbal socre is ~450.

[memphis]

It's (I think) unique in that, as a computerized test, the test keeps track of your performance and increases the difficulty of questions if you do well and decreases the difficulty if you do poorly.  If the verbal part starts using obscure Greek words you've never heard of, you're doing excellently.

^^^^^^^^
On adaptive tests, the first few questions are way more important than the later ones. Be very careful at the beginning.

[opebo]

However, I'm wondering whether any fellow forumites have taken the GRE and what was your experience with it?

It has been something like nearly 20 years since I took it, so it was no doubt a very different test, but I will say it wasn't as enjoyable as the SAT, ACT, or LSAT, all of which awarded me an extremely high score.  With the GRE I did quite poorly, I think in something like the 94th percentile.

[TJ in Oregon]

However, I'm wondering whether any fellow forumites have taken the GRE and what was your experience with it?

It has been something like nearly 20 years since I took it, so it was no doubt a very different test, but I will say it wasn't as enjoyable as the SAT, ACT, or LSAT, all of which awarded me an extremely high score.  With the GRE I did quite poorly, I think in something like the 94th percentile.

These days, perfecting the math section will only get you in the 94th percentile.

[opebo]

It has been something like nearly 20 years since I took it, so it was no doubt a very different test, but I will say it wasn't as enjoyable as the SAT, ACT, or LSAT, all of which awarded me an extremely high score.  With the GRE I did quite poorly, I think in something like the 94th percentile.

These days, perfecting the math section will only get you in the 94th percentile.

I'm quite sure I know nothing about math.

[angus]

Spinning off on Ink's LSAT thread, I was planning on taking the GRE eventually. I'm only in the preliminary stages of looking into it at the moment. I've heard from some people it's like the SAT and from others it's a completely a different ball game.
 
However, I'm wondering whether any fellow forumites have taken the GRE and what was your experience with it?

I enjoyed it, but I take standardized tests well.  It has been a long time.  Back then there were three secions:  quantitative, verbal, and analytical. 

As I recall it was an all-morning affair.  Maybe 3 or 4 hours.  And that was only the general test.  I'd signed up for a subject test that afternoon.  So for me is was a nine-to-five gig, with an hour break to grab a bite to eat. 

It is not like the SAT or ACT.  Those are aptitude tests.  The GRE is an achievement test. 

It's best that you don't fret over it.  Don't stay out lake drinking and smoking lots of reefer the night before.  Go to bed early and get some rest.  Say your prayers.  And if you're going to do any drugs the morning of the test, I suggest cocaine.  Or caffeine.  Stay away from pot till after the exam.

Good luck.

[ilikeverin]

Yes, I took it this summer.  It's not very different from every other standardized test you've ever taken.  I'm not sure my experience is going to be very comparable, though; they recently revised the test, which means that, unless any forumnites have taken it since August 1, 2011, they have no idea what the new test is like.

Regardless, do study, at least a little bit, because you probably haven't done some of the stuff in the math section since middle school!

[Gustaf]

I took it last year. I did not do the computer version though.

The math is very simple, but I would recommend reading up on it, since there was a lot I had not used since high school (like most of the geometry). Beyond that it is all about speed, really.

The vocabulary was horrible, especially as a non-native speaker. Still, no one seems to do well in that section so I was still in the top 5% or something like that even with a pretty low score.

The analytical was not particularly hard. As long as one writes a coherent piece I think you get at least a 5 or so.

[Roemerista]

The national average math score for those going to study economics in the United States is 772.

However, as to the Math section as it has recently undergone a change, I do not know if it will be as easy. Supposedly the content is similar, but now it won't all be multiple choice.

[phk]

The national average math score for those going to study economics in the United States is 772.

However, as to the Math section as it has recently undergone a change, I do not know if it will be as easy. Supposedly the content is similar, but now it won't all be multiple choice.

Are you doing an Economics Ph.D?

[RI]

I'm taking the GRE on Saturday. I need to get my math score up as high as possible, but I don't really care that much about the other sections. I should do pretty well on the verbal part, but econ programs don't care very much about that.

I've been taking practice tests through a number of sources. Were they any help to anyone? Is there anything else I should know?

[ilikeverin]

I've been taking practice tests through a number of sources. Were they any help to anyone?

Yeah.  Just don't pay for them, and make sure if you see any problem areas to brush up on them a bit.

[Gustaf]

Yeah, paying is a waste of money, imo. Do practise tests and find out what you need to work on.

[Torie]

The GRE seemed just like the SAT to me (this was back in 1974). I had to take the test even though I was already in the Graduate School of Business, so it didn't matter, just because they wanted a statistical base or something. Anyway, my daddy was impressed with the score I got when they mailed it to him. I just yawned. The LSAT didn't seem all that different either. Putting aside the math stuff, they all seem to test the same thing, reasoning power, reading comprehension, and vocabulary.