okay, so i'm getting ready to apply to a few grad schools. most of the applications are due in january, and i'm taking the gre's in december. any general words of advice for me? anyone who has taken the gre's: can you recommend any good test prep shit? should i pay for a class, or is that a waste of time? any good books to look at? i'm scared that i'm not going to get in to any of the three schools i'm applying to. helpme.

Agatha, it's been a long time, but I remember getting one of those study books put out by Princeton Review (?) for the GRE, studied it for a week, and did fine on the test.

I second the Princeton Review recommendation. But, hey! I haven't taken my GREs because I'm afraid of failing, and I haven't applied to grad school because I'm afraid of rejection, so I'm not the best person to be giving advice. Agatha, I'm proud of you and hope you apply. What do you want to study? Library Science?

i didn't do anything special to prepare for the GRE. in fact, i had just recently had surgery & took it while on pain pills. i still had drip tubes & stuff in my body...they propped me up in a corner & let me go. i was in agonizing pain. i had just walked out of the hospital. result: maybe i should take more tests while under the influence of synthetic opiates. my scores were sufficiently high to get me into every school i applied to except one (in that case, i had applied too late in the season & they'd already taken their quota of out-of-state students). i didn't study for the ACT exam either. i took that w/ a hangover. got a scholarship. go figure.

i took the computer version of the test and i did try to prepare a bit. the score was slightly better than the first time, but not that much different [i had taken the test before, right out of school] if you're planning to take the computer version [do they still do the paper version?] it's a bit harrowing because the questions get harder as you answer correctly. i was glad that i tried to prepare a bit- even if it was only psychological relief. i used some computer program. if i still had it i'd send it to you but i gave it away a while ago. i knew i wouldn't get very far reading a book about it.

I got drunk the night before my GREs and drove through a blizzard to take them on very little sleep. My best advice: take a prep course; you could probably use the brush-up in math. Math was where I tanked it, but I ended up scoring well.

I agree with Margret, I would have done a little better on the test if I had taken a course. I just got one of those huge books with the sample tests and studied that for amonth and took teh computer test. Damn, we're pretty smart around here.

dang. i feel pretty dumb.

so, a GRE's some kind of test?

thanks, i knew you would all come through for me. i will probably ask for more advice when i am finishing the essays the week before they are due. actually, maybe the night before the day that they need to be postmarked by. droopy and patrick, you are both far far from stupid. what do you all think of this? http://www.kaptest.com/repository/templates/ArticleInitDroplet.jhtml?_relPath=%2Frepository%2Fcontent%2FGraduate%2FGRE%2FCourses_and_Services%2FOnline_Options%2FGR_gre_crash.html the real classes are too much money, and i'm taking the exam in december. or else, does anyone know of any other places to take the prep class that might be cheaper and shorter than two months?

if i were doing it over again, i'd possibly consider studying for the math portion, which was my weakest area. probably says something about my age that i didn't know a computerized GRE even existed. i took mine the old-fashioned way, with a #2 pencil.

that sounds like what i used only i got it in a box- it was kaplan, too. it may have had fewer things [practice tests, etc] but it cost half as much at the time.

the Princeton book mentioned above, checked out from your library for free wouldnt work just as well?

i didn't take a GRE prep class, but i did study up a bit. for some reason i did really well on the math part and not so good on the logic part. my view of all math is that, even if you're doing calculus, it's all just different ways of adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing. perhaps if you keep that in mind, it might make it less scary. the vocabularly part was a lot of fun. i took the computer version as well. i recommend it, especially if you're comfortable in a computer environment. i hate filling in circles with graphite. blows. reminds me of those old IOWA tests. you're going for library science agatha? one of the smartest women i've ever known had her masters in library science.

i'm finishing my essay right now. somebody kill me, please. the essay is made that much worse by the fact that i'm 95% certain that i won't get in. it's giving me giant mental blockage.

i once wrote an essay on how cool agatha is. it was called "agatha is cool." it was well-researched, extensively documented and cross referenced. i sent it to new yorker magazine, and it was accepted for publication. they editor said i should eventually expand it into a book. they asked me to revise the text though - mostly take out all of the exclamation points and the run-on sentences. also, i used the word "cool" 14,895 times in a 32,564 word essay. they said that it would be better to vary my adjectives and suggested things like "badass" and "killer intelligent chick." during the revision my hard drive crashed, and i completely lost the essay. if i had to describe it briefly, though, it would be: agatha is cool.

I feel your pain, agatha. I'm taking the GRE subject test for computer science on April 6th. I took a practice test a couple of days ago and I have to improve my score by 300 points if I want to get into my school of choice. Ugh...

okay, you two don't suck either. if you took your essay and replaced "cool" with equal parts "library", "community", and "information", you would have my essay in its' entirety. also, basic grammar rules seem to be eluding me.

also, i'm taking a break and eating, dave. IS THAT OKAY?

Hey, I don't suck, neither. I gave you some paltry help in the "chicken and rice" thread. Doesn't that count for some love? Agatha, my heart is sore for you. I know what kind of hell applying to schools is. It's a hell that dries you out.

i already said you didn't suck! sheesh. i'm making progress, but i don't think i'm going to finish before work. drat.

i didn't think i would get in to my school of choice either and my essay was a cheesy piece of shit good luck to you

First time I took my law boards I didn't study, did miserably. Second I was drunk; got a great score; third time I don't even recall taking the test I was so hungover. Didn't get into a single law school. Took my GRE's so long ago they didn't have number two pencils. Didn't study; got into every school I applied to, except Harvard, bastards. Never studied during my masters. Rarely studied during my PHD fellowship. Drank entirely too much throughout my post doc certification program. Took a job outside academics making twice what my peers were making teaching; never finished the doctorate. Wrote great essays on Melville having never ever ever finished Moby Dick. There must be a lesson somewhere here. Oh yeah, I'm underemployed and overpaid. I keep forgetting. Really, stick with it. Never give up. Test scores are only as good as the scholarship dollars they represent.

my name is agatha, too!! IF you wanted to know..