... To the great minds in this wonderful thread, I salute. I will be re-writing my GRE first week of February next year; the first one I wrote was in August this year; had less than three weeks for preparation due to the nature of my job( manufacturing/ factory settings things). Of course, the result was abysmal(Verb: 147, Q 148, AW: 3.0), though I was able to secure admission into MTSU and North Carolina A & T( for the Spring Term) without funding . Now,I am planning on going on annual leave this January in order to have every second that counts to myself before the exam day.I do believe that with the priceless information available in here, a better performance should be achieved. My concern is whether the result will still be "useful" for the Fall Term admission, not also forgetting funding opportunities.I need advise in this regard and also some safe schools I can apply to with funding. I am going for M.Sc in Electrical Engineering with concentration in Control/Robotics. Here is my profile:
B.sc, Elect/Elect( 4.08/5)
HND, Elect/Elect(3.30/4)
ND, Elect/Elect(3.28/4.)
The WES evaluation is in the pipeline.

ModestGal:
pls who knws how to go about doing International passport in Ibadan immigration,what are the requirement and how much?

I paid 26k for the 32-paged variant when I did mine a couple of months ago. You can walk up to the immigration office and apply but the process is faster if you go through an immigration officer.

Bayo0502:

Pls can i know d amount for d reg?

50k

Bayo0502:

Pls can i know d amount for d reg?

50k

fredoricko:


Don't worry, you'll get the notification.
meanwhile just to be sure, you can give them a call tomao.
I remembered when I registered.... lol
I dey call them every time, so tay the receptionist con know my name.

Yes I m becoming apprehensive, called several times todays those ladies keep telling me it has been done. And when I check with the ETS I don't see any pending transaction there. I m very far from Lagos otherwise I would have moved into their office to actually ask what the hell is going on. Does it take days to get things done by those guys at B Y MAFIT?

revenant:


Yes I m becoming apprehensive, called several times todays those ladies keep telling me it has been done. And when I check with the ETS I don't see any pending transaction there. I m very far from Lagos otherwise I would have moved into their office to actually ask what the hell is going on. Does it take days to get things done by those guys at B Y MAFIT?

Chill, it will soon reflect on your ets page. It takes time because they have a process. They have done their part by sending it to ets. mine took days as well.

Hmmmmm..
So I finally felt first hand what it is to write GRE, wrote today in Abuja.
It was all it is said to be, same scenario with the Ets power prep mock test I used to practice, did just once.
All I can say is that I joked with my preparations. The greatest thing that worked against me is the timing. So up coming test takers please practice with time. My results ain't that what I expected, definitely gonna re write. And this time no more distractions. Will post my complete result when I get the official result including my analytical.
Thanks everyone for encouraging me to take this bold step. Gre actually scares the hell outta me.
Thank you Gunther for making this happen, SirRiddy, Happyday, Walspring.. . Keep up doing the good work. Gracias..

Priceless200:
Hmmmmm..
So I finally felt first hand what it is to write GRE, wrote today in Abuja.
It was all it is said to be, same scenario with the Ets power prep mock test I used to practice, did just once.
All I can say is that I joked with my preparations. The greatest thing that worked against me is the timing. So up coming test takers please practice with time. My results ain't that what I expected, definitely gonna re write. And this time no more distractions. Will post my complete result when I get the official result including my analytical.
Thanks everyone for encouraging me to take this bold step. Gre actually scares the hell outta me.
Thank you Gunther for making this happen, SirRiddy, Happyday, Walspring.. . Keep up doing the good work. Gracias..

Great work! In your words, "you felt first hand what it feels to write the GRE". I tell you, nothing else beats that experience. It's what qualifies you to know your strengths and where you need to work on, moving forward. Thanks for posting your test day transcript. You've given hope to people.

I like your spirit though. No success is final, just as no failure is. It's the process that matters.

Are you applying for Fall, 2017?

happyday:

Great work! In your words, "you felt first hand what it feels to write the GRE". I tell you, nothing else beats that experience. It's what qualifies you to know your strengths and where you need to work on, moving forward. Thanks for posting your test day transcript. You've given hope to people.

I like your spirit though. No success is final, just as no failure is. It's the process that matters.

Are you applying for Fall, 2017?

That's my proposed plan, but I want to get my exams rights before proceeding, (scholarship is non negotiable for me ) if I have to let this fall go, fine. I am not so much in a hurry shaa.

Priceless200:

That's my proposed plan, but I want to get my exams rights before proceeding, (scholarship is non negotiable for me ) if I have to let this fall go, fine. I am not so much in a hurry shaa.

If I may ask..

Are you applying for a Msc or PhD position? *when you eventually apply*

Leyqute:


If I may ask..

Are you applying for a Msc or PhD position? *when you eventually apply*

MSc

Priceless200:

That's my proposed plan, but I want to get my exams rights before proceeding, (scholarship is non negotiable for me ) if I have to let this fall go, fine. I am not so much in a hurry shaa.

Alright. I'm hopeful everything will be fine. Get some well-deserved rest.

.

happyday:

Alright. I'm hopeful everything will be fine. Get some well-deserved rest.

Priceless200:

MSc

Just saying...if your final destination is PhD, you can apply for PhD straight without acquiring the MSc degree. You don't need a Masters to start a PhD study, all you need is your BSc.

You might have to write a subject test though to better your chances. Moreover some schools don't require subject test for PhD admission. If you have time to prepare, you might as well go for it. Research is the key.

Gtb and Access cards - $100 and $300 monthly limit resp. I think First bank card works too, not sure. You will hv to find out.

I divided d payments, paid some November and then December.

miella:
Good evening friends, please I will like to know how I can pay for both my exams fees and application fees (for 2 schools) considering d international monthly limit. Can I use PayPal to pay for all? I will be paying this month.

P.S I will be writing GMAT ($250) and want to pay for all online.

Leyqute:


I paid 26k for the 32-paged variant when I did mine a couple of months ago. You can walk up to the immigration office and apply but the process is faster if you go through an immigration officer.

Aiit,thanks

Dear Friends...

Any useful tips for destroying Reading Comprehension?

I believe if i can master it, that would be easy points...

Thanks friends!

TJ0987:
Dear Friends...

Any useful tips for destroying Reading Comprehension?

I believe if i can master it, that would be easy points...

Thanks friends!

RC is hard. I think you need to not that first. So that you can be easy on yourself when you're practicing. And what makes it harder is the structure of the passages. Once you see any passage, dip yourself into it, and tell yourself you'll find something to love about the passage! Cos the more you run away from the passage, and try to go answer the questions, the more time you're wasting. Time you don't have.

- Read the passage once, noting why each paragra you're through, you should be able to describe in a sentence or two what the passage is trying to convey;
- If you don't understand any word, don't waste time brainstorming on it; try to guess by looking at words around it. Especially if you can get the big picture, knowing the meanings of individual tough words won't drop your score
- Once you're through with the passage, read each question with the aim of providing an answer first before reading the options
- Only when you have a likely answer based on your understanding of the passage should you go ahead and pick the closest to it among the answer choices.

If you wait to put this to practice on test day, it might be too late. The goal is to use these tips, so that they become second nature. So that, come test day, you'll be applying them without you even knowing it.

Leyqute:


Just saying...if your final destination is PhD, you can apply for PhD straight without acquiring the MSc degree. You don't need a Masters to start a PhD study, all you need is your BSc.

You might have to write a subject test though to better your chances. Moreover some schools don't require subject test for PhD admission. If you have time to prepare, you might as well go for it. Research is the key.

Really.. You are right. Will check that out. Thanks for this.

.

believerspraise:
To all aspiring test takers, applicants and graduate students, I just want to encourage you that if you set your mind to do anything, be determined enough to persevere in-spite of the disappointments you may encounter in the process of striving towards your goal.
I will write in detail in my next post; I have to do that to give back as I have received. If you are reading this right now, the first thing you have to overcome is fear. Fear you might not pass the GRE, fear you might not get the Visa; replace that with faith. Believe you can do it, understand how things work i.e the exam, the visa interview and then prepare yourself. I had a 2.2, 304 on the gre and still got accepted into LSU for MSc Petroleum. I know Graduate admission is competitive; when you have honestly gone as far as your effort can take you, have faith in God.
Hope this helps some one out there. I give God the praise, shortly I'll share the rest.

Thanks for sharing this....so encouraging!
LSU is one of d schools in my list....please can I send u a pm ?? Cheers!

.

DanjaNinja Please I sent a mail requesting for the gre materials to those emails. Pls assist me.

Icool those links you posted especially for the videos are not working.

The dropbox link has been removed please assist.

Is there anyone with gre materials in Ibadan or Abeokuta. Please assist urgently.

Thanks.

Pls is the gre written in Nigeria paper based or computer based ?

Hello house, I'll be writing my GRE exam very soon. Do I apply to my school of choice before or after the exam. Thanks in anticipation for your advise

Guitarlife:
Pls is the gre written in Nigeria paper based or computer based ?

Both paper and computer based exams are written in Nigeria.

Rowlexy:
Hello house, I'll be writing my GRE exam very soon. Do I apply to my school of choice before or after the exam. Thanks in anticipation for your advise

You can apply to your school of choice before or after your exam. But if you are applying to multiple schools (more than 4), it may be worth your while to obtain your results before applying so that you may self-report your scores. Self-reported scores are acceptable for application review in some schools which saves you some $$. But if this doesn't apply to you, you can totally apply to a school before writing your GRE, just remember to send the scores to them after your exam.

Thanks ooo....I have been trying to practice....My morale is just low....exam is on Wednesday.....

happyday:

How have you been preparing for those months? As you inch closer to test date, I recommend that rather than looking for the words to stick, practice more questions on how those words function in sentences and passages, rather than standing alone.

Start with Barron's. Do this for 3 days. Then, move on to Manhattan 5lb Verbal questions.

Cheers!

I wish I had a better testimony to give but this one will make do for now afterall, it is the end-goal that we are all interested in and by end-goal I mean Admission and funding.

I am a second time writer. My first was in late October perhaps about the same time that Drhopeful and Seeker88 wrote theirs. I had just about 2 months of preparation which started with some online blogs and slowly graduated into using the materials that were provided on this thread.

I used Princeton review for everything with a major concentration on the verbal and I started with Nova for the Quants before transcending into Manhattan. I also used the general Nova that had aspects of V and AWA, Barrons, and then Magoosh. I just watched all the Magoosh videos passively i.e I understood all that was being explained without attempting to solve it myself. Eventually, I ended my preparation with the ETS official guide when gurus like EssayHelp and generally people on quora who did really well said it was still the best preparatory book. The only full-length test I did prior to writing my test was the PowerPrep II and even at that, I did not go through the corrections or answer reviews because DanjaNinja had warned that the PowerPrep was easier than the main GRE.

To cut a long story short I got Q 162 V 156 AWA 4.5. As soon as my scores flashed before my eyes I knew I was going to do a retake. Perhaps, Hirschfelder's recent grand success played into my mind. Topiipii's too. I remember I kept telling myself "after all your preparation see what it amounted to".

I would have scheduled that retake as soon as 21 days was up but I was bogged down by my preparation for the TOEFL so I moved my date to yesterday. My new strategy for the GRE was hinged on my V as I knew I trivialised the RCs the previous one. I spent my time ensuring I got 10 of my TCs and SEs in both tests and just did my RC sections cursorily. I know this because I looked at my diagnostics and saw that I got 13/20 in both Vs which was scaled to 156. So this time around I was going to take the RCs much more seriously.

I re-did the first PowerPrep few days into my TOEFL preparation and scored 164. I applied Princeton's POE method and read the passages as fast as a pharmacist will read through a scribbled prescription while at it, I would be summarising what that paragraph was talking about. In reality I was going to leave my preparations at that till I went to re-read Hirschfelder's tips about full- length tests and before one could say "Robison Crusoe" ChemEngr01 had come with his own testimony about full-length tests and his intimidating 167 Q-score.

So I took heed from the information gleaned on this thread and began searching for the online full-length tests and with Seeker's help I gained access to Kaplan's 2016 and 2017 test (for the latter I did only the diagnostic test as the others seemed repeated). I also stumbled unto another good resource called "Petersonspublishing.com". My first Kaplan test had my V at 166 and Q 156. I realised why because I did 3 Qs with one of them being adjudged as the experimental and my last section was my second (I was tired my the last section). So I restrategised and did the next test this time V was 160 and Q 160. When I realised I needed to be improving my Q score more (as an engineering graduate) I began skipping the V and focusing on the Q. Immediately, I saw a good jump from 160 to 164 to 168 and 170 by my final Kaplan test.

The Peterson platform is a bit different but I noticed I always did well in my easy and medium sections for the Q and did badly in the hard part. By badly, I mean 11/20, 10/20 etc. Just hovering around the 50-60% mark. I somehow found a way to console myself claiming that ETS will not set that level of difficulty all through the 2nd test stretch. Also, I consoled myself with the fact that I never did less than 18/20 in the easy or medium sections.

I rounded off my preparations for my second GRE using the ETS guide. It wasn't the regular one we had here but a bit of the same questions. Only difference is this edition was still dealing with the 800 scale and they had two V and Q tests each 25 in number with a specificied 35mins for each V and 40 mins for each Q. I got 21/25 in the first V and 18 in the second. But I had 22 in the first Q and 21 in the second. Then I did the 2nd PowerPrep which came out as Q-166 and V- 160.

I tried pysching myself up by saying Adrenalin will help me in the hall to raise my V to 164 and keep my Q at that range of my PowerPrep. In my heart, my target score was 330 combined but minimum of 166 Q V 164 and atleast a 4.5 in AWA.

I saw VQVQV yesterday and in my estimation did V1 and V3 very well. My V2 was iffy to call a spade and spade. I prayed my V2 will be experimental but I now doubt that was the case. My Q on the otherhand was harder and more time consuming than I hoped it would have been. In fact, I did not have time at all to review any of my sections. I realised I made one mistake but that was in hindsight. The eventual score was Q-164 V-160. Just a 6 mark differential from the first one.

I can't pretend I am excited but I am wise enough to know that my focus should be on what it will help me do- which is to get the admission I want and funding. I don't know how to guage my AWA this time around but I think it was just about the same with my first GRE. I did not practice AWA that much either of the times. I read HappyDay's post on how he got his 5.5 and I think I emulated his template (without his content obviously ).

I am never going to rewrite the GRE. The exam is more of an endurance test than one for acumen or intellect. Also, I would like to thank everyone that has contributed one way or the other on this thread starting from Danja Ninja to Drhopeful to Seeker88 (without whose help I wouldn't have gained access to Kaplan). I was also buoyed by the testimony of Believerspraise and how he got admitted into LSU with a 304. I am saying this because my initial fear was that (from Africa, particularly Nigeria) if one didn't have > or = 328 with a solid GPA etc. You stood no chance. I have since disvowed that notion.

I will keep the house informed how my application goes. I am trying to get it all submitted before the year runs out. ETS TOEFL is yet to make my scores available to me, so that's pretty demoralising.

I apologise for the long post and typos if any. I made this post with my phone. I will edit it when I am settled. Cheers.

Wow!!! Congratulations on your great scores....This is the motivation I need...My exam in on Wednesday.....Hopefully I would have a good testimony...

Scholastica16:
I wish I had a better testimony to give but this one will make do for now afterall, it is the end-goal that we are all interested in and by end-goal I mean Admission and funding.

I am a second time writer. My first was in late October perhaps about the same time that Drhopeful and Seeker88 wrote theirs. I had just about 2 months of preparation which started with some online blogs and slowly graduated into using the materials that were provided on this thread.

I used Princeton review for everything with a major concentration on the verbal and I started with Nova for the Quants before transcending into Manhattan. I also used the general Nova that had aspects of V and AWA, Barrons, and then Magoosh. I just watched all the Magoosh videos passively i.e I understood all that was being explained without attempting to solve it myself. Eventually, I ended my preparation with the ETS official guide when gurus like EssayHelp and generally people on quora who did really well said it was still the best preparatory book. The only full-length test I did prior to writing my test was the PowerPrep II and even at that, I did not go through the corrections or answer reviews because DanjaNinja had warned that the PowerPrep was easier than the main GRE.

To cut a long story short I got Q 162 V 156 AWA 4.5. As soon as my scores flashed before my eyes I knew I was going to do a retake. Perhaps, Hirschfelder's recent grand success played into my mind. Topiipii's too. I remember I kept telling myself "after all your preparation see what it amounted to".

I would have scheduled that retake as soon as 21 days was up but I was bogged down by my preparation for the TOEFL so I moved my date to yesterday. My new strategy for the GRE was hinged on my V as I knew I trivialised the RCs the previous one. I spent my time ensuring I got 10 of my TCs and SEs in both tests and just did my RC sections cursorily. I know this because I looked at my diagnostics and saw that I got 13/20 in both Vs which was scaled to 156. So this time around I was going to take the RCs much more seriously.

I re-did the first PowerPrep few days into my TOEFL preparation and scored 164. I applied Princeton's POE method and read the passages as fast as a pharmacist will read through a scribbled prescription while at it, I would be summarising what that paragraph was talking about. In reality I was going to leave my preparations at that till I went to re-read Hirschfelder's tips about full- length tests and before one could say "Robison Crusoe" ChemEngr01 had come with his own testimony about full-length tests and his intimidating 167 Q-score.

So I took heed from the information gleaned on this thread and began searching for the online full-length tests and with Seeker's help I gained access to Kaplan's 2016 and 2017 test (for the latter I did only the diagnostic test as the others seemed repeated). I also stumbled unto another good resource called "Petersonspublishing.com". My first Kaplan test had my V at 166 and Q 156. I realised why because I did 3 Qs with one of them being adjudged as the experimental and my last section was my second (I was tired my the last section). So I restrategised and did the next test this time V was 160 and Q 160. When I realised I needed to be improving my Q score more (as an engineering graduate) I began skipping the V and focusing on the Q. Immediately, I saw a good jump from 160 to 164 to 168 and 170 by my final Kaplan test.

The Peterson platform is a bit different but I noticed I always did well in my easy and medium sections for the Q and did badly in the hard part. By badly, I mean 11/20, 10/20 etc. Just hovering around the 50-60% mark. I somehow found a way to console myself claiming that ETS will not set that level of difficulty all through the 2nd test stretch. Also, I consoled myself with the fact that I never did less than 18/20 in the easy or medium sections.

I rounded off my preparations for my second GRE using the ETS guide. It wasn't the regular one we had here but a bit of the same questions. Only difference is this edition was still dealing with the 800 scale and they had two V and Q tests each 25 in number with a specificied 35mins for each V and 40 mins for each Q. I got 21/25 in the first V and 18 in the second. But I had 22 in the first Q and 21 in the second. Then I did the 2nd PowerPrep which came out as Q-166 and V- 160.

I tried pysching myself up by saying Adrenalin will help me in the hall to raise my V to 164 and keep my Q at that range of my PowerPrep. In my heart, my target score was 330 combined but minimum of 166 Q V 164 and atleast a 4.5 in AWA.

I saw VQVQV yesterday and in my estimation did V1 and V3 very well. My V2 was iffy to call a spade and spade. I prayed my V2 will be experimental but I now doubt that was the case. My Q on the otherhand was harder and more time consuming than I hoped it would have been. In fact, I did not have time at all to review any of my sections. I realised I made one mistake but that was in hindsight. The eventual score was Q-164 V-160. Just a 6 mark differential from the first one.

I can't pretend I am excited but I am wise enough to know that my focus should be on what it will help me do- which is to get the admission I want and funding. I don't know how to guage my AWA this time around but I think it was just about the same with my first GRE. I did not practice AWA that much either of the times. I read HappyDay's post on how he got his 5.5 and I think I emulated his template (without his content obviously ).

I am never going to rewrite the GRE. The exam is more of an endurance test than one for acumen or intellect. Also, I would like to thank everyone that has contributed one way or the other on this thread starting from Danja Ninja to Drhopeful to Seeker88 (without whose help I wouldn't have gained access to Kaplan). I was also buoyed by the testimony of Believerspraise and how he got admitted into LSU with a 304. I am saying this because my initial fear was that (from Africa, particularly Nigeria) if one didn't have > or = 328 with a solid GPA etc. You stood no chance. I have since disvowed that notion.

I will keep the house informed how my application goes. I am trying to get it all submitted before the year runs out. ETS TOEFL is yet to make my scores available to me, so that's pretty demoralising.

I apologise for the long post and typos if any. I made this post with my phone. I will edit it when I am settled. Cheers.

Scholastica16:
I wish I had a better testimony to give but this one will make do for now afterall, it is the end-goal that we are all interested in and by end-goal I mean Admission and funding.

I saw VQVQV yesterday and in my estimation did V1 and V3 very well. My V2 was iffy to call a spade and spade. I prayed my V2 will be experimental but I now doubt that was the case. My Q on the otherhand was harder and more time consuming than I hoped it would have been. In fact, I did not have time at all to review any of my sections. I realised I made one mistake but that was in hindsight. The eventual score was Q-164 V-160. Just a 6 mark differential from the first one.

Congrats!