aanexplus:


Hi. Lemme answer the one I couod
1. Apply when you have prepared well. When your simulation tests shows u r ready for the test. Also that's the best time to write is some weeks after you are sure you have prepared well. Lemme give u a scenario. After studying for 2 months, powerprep shows you score of 305, in my opinion u r not ready, study more, when you have >315, register for the exam. Note that this depends on when you r targeting for admission. If it's fall 2018,you have to start preparation soonest.

2. Go for Computer based. You will have your unofficial results immediately and you don't have to kill yourself with unnecessary tension. If you wanna faint, u faint immediately in test hall... Lol

3. Schools depends on your gre score. So, ask that after your gre score. Make sure u register for school finder. It will make more sense.

Others will come in

Daslimo:

Hey bro thanks a lot. I apreciate.

Actually am looking at this year fall. I know it seems fast of me but I believe I can nail this with the right info.

Like I said, I have been preparing but the whole procedure seems confusing however, you just made me understand that I gotta nail GRE first and that's why k need to nail it ASAp

So should I register towards when I wanna write the test or should I register earlier?

iCool:



Manhattan 4th edition - https://docs.google.com/uc?id=0B6FBl1JdVum6Um4yRTdNN1gxa2c&export=download



Gruber, Nover, Baron, ETS Quant & Verbal Practice booklets - https://www.dropbox.com/sh/zmshe3dzsdkzwfe/AADzNPplTrgqrYdS4IfNZ7zZa?dl=0


Good luck to you.

seeker88:


Wow!!!.......see scores oo
What a performance! U really dealt with GRE....congratulations bro, wishing u all d best in your school applications. Please make good use of this stellar score......it wouldn't be a bad idea to hear u talk about ur experience in MIT, Stanford, UCBerkley n d likes by this time next year

Time2Smile:

Thanks, unfortunate the deadline for most top schools has passed and I can't really wait till Fall, 2018.

happyday:

Great! Lovely! Congrats! What are your stats, if I may ask? Let God take all the glory.

OluDare01:
what's your major?

tuffpuff:
@Time2Smile:
A big congratulations to you!!!
What a score!!!
What a triumphant entry into the new year!!!
May you keep having uninterrupted smiles!!! You shall have better smiles...smiles that widen from ear to ear.....lol! Congrats dear.

@Hushee:
Thank you very much. I'm greatly inspired.

@ Scholastica16: It is well with you. I pray your scores are released in earnest.

drhopeful:
Time2smile, your moniker says it all! It's TIME for you TO SMILE! Those scores are super duper perfect! Congratulations!

sirRiddy:
Time2Smile congratulations on your excellent scores
and thank you for sharing your experience.
Wish you all the best with admission and funding
and please keep us posted too

Cephas0009:
Congratulations Time2smile... All d best with admission

layez:
Congrats Time2shine...awesome score,more grace and strength on the nxt phase

Time2Smile:




BSc. Biochemistry 4.33/5
MSc Biochemistry PhD grade GPA between 3.5-3.6 (A bit tricky to convert)
Applying for PhD Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Do you have any recommendation for me @OluDare01?

Scholastica16:


1. In hindsight, the best time for me to have written the GRE was during my 4th year (6 months IT period).

2. GRE is generally for Engineering, Mathematics and Economics disciplines as long as it is for graduate studies which encompasses Masters and PhD.

Schrodinger1:
In as much as I have been visiting this site for sometimes so as to obtain the necessary hints, information and materials for the GRE, i've been more or less a taciturn in the thread.
without further ado, i say a gigantic thank you and kudos to all those that have contributed in one way or the other towards the afformentioned cause. My question here is, Must one write the TOEFL exam as well as GRE for securing admission in any of these US schools (UC Berkely, UMichigan, USC and LSU)?
secondly, I plan writing the GRE exam in june/july albeit i'll still be in my 500L (OAU). in lieu of this, how does one go about taking the exam and reporting the score as an awaiting B.Sc graduate? The aim is to put in for 2018 fall semester. what is the best approach and chances for an awaiting candidate? I hope this idea of mine is feasible!
Thanks fellas.

ifeoluwadayofun:


pls what about Health related courses and education related courses? I thought every phd applicants need to write GRE. pls someone should help me out.

Tunmise100:
My name is tunmise just finished frm the unilag wit a cgpa of 4.5/5.0 and planing to write my GRE exam in june. pls help me with the advice i need and preparation strategies to get at least 330.
pls also help with the price of the gre exam nw in naira. needed urgently

Scholastica16:


Go to the first page of the thread and you would get all the information you need. BY Mafit charges 50k for GRE if you consult their services. Otherwise, you may need to pay $205 at any rate your bank charges you at via PayPal.

Perhaps apart from Ebdib (deactivated account), EssayHelp, Hirschfelder, Time2Smile and to some degree Topiipii no other person on this thread can help you get 330 (as most of us did not hit that ). Be that as it may you could learn a lot by just reading the first page of the thread and posts of the afore-mentioned GRE-pulverizers.

Alternately, you could check platforms like quora.com and the likes to see how many Indians hit such scores and learn from them. Take note however, that the endpoint to this is gaining graduate admission to particular schools with as much funding as one needs. Which invariably means that you should be prepared to present a robust application with a lot of (prayers, luck, grace) or any other word that could cover up for serendipity, as getting the funding could swing either ways.

This post was done in a bid to elicit subtle amusement. Do not take it too seriously.

Tunmise100:
My name is tunmise just finished frm the unilag wit a cgpa of 4.5/5.0 and planing to write my GRE exam in june. pls help me with the advice i need and preparation strategies to get at least 330.
pls also help with the price of the gre exam nw in naira. needed urgently

hirschfelder:


It is nice that you are considering grad school application early. First, almost all decent schools require GRE and TOEFL for admissions and funding. The schools you have mentioned are quite competitive, so I'd assume (good) GRE and TOEFL scores are required for admission. The best strategy though is to visit websites of the programs you wish to apply to and check out their full admission requirements. If you don't get all the information you need, mail the graduate program coordinator. They usually respond.
Being an undergrad while taking the GRE is normal in other countries, it's okay to do that. The only issue you may have is your transcripts which you may be required to upload during your school applications. If you haven't graduated before applying to schools, you may upload incomplete transcripts or marksheets. Many schools accept this.
So, yes, your idea is feasible. But you have to put in hardwork. Start your preparations early (follow all the tips outlined in this thread and elsewhere), contact potential recommenders and if possible discuss with a lecturer/mentor in your school for advice and tips. And also ensure this does not affect your undergraduate studies in any way. If you feel overwhelmed, you can always postpone your grad schools applications till your NYSC year. Good luck....

Tunmise100:
Please help out with a list of colleges in the united states of america where i can be fully funded for my masters degree in mathematics

Ndawe:
Hello House. I wrote the GRE sometime in 2012 and it's due to expire July this year. Is it better I just re-write, seeing that the result is far back, even though it's still valid? I want to pursue a PhD in Environmental studies (BSc Industrial Chem, First Class and MSc in Energy/Environmental Mgt, merit). Being that most funding opportunities are for fall semester, rather than spring or summer + I'm fretting about having to read for the GRE, what advice do you have for me please?
Thank you.

Scholastica16:


Hi,

Except you are not happy with your score I think the rewrite will be unnecessary. You have a good profile and I am sure you can "package" it well enough to convince a school to admit you. Besides, I don't think you have that much time on your side as applications for fall end in earnest in February for those looking for funding opportunities. Even though, most schools fully fund their PhD students, early submission is another advantage that could help an application (even one that otherwise would have been less competitive). So I guess the real question is, how good was your first GRE?

Ndawe:
Thank you so much. The first one was quite low (wrote it non-challantly), considering. I had Q 150, V 148 and AWA 4.0. Though, I've identified a few schools I may apply to, but then and again, even though GRE isn't the only requirement, but it's important. That's my dilemma.

Scholastica16:


Real dilemma. But I have to be blunt and ask you to look for the nearest GRE date to register. At this point, I think you should be prepared to put your speed-reading skills to work as that may be the quickest way to read through the RC passages and come up with quick answers in so short a time. As for the Q, always skip questions that you would not able to solve in 40 seconds. If you can be sure of atleast 13 answers in both sections (while guessing the others) you stand a very good chance of hitting the mid 150s in both sections.

I am saying all these because I think you need a minimum GRE score of 300 which is not the case at the moment. To avoid stories that touch please rewrite it. If it is possible to get a date 3 or 4 days away...jump at it. If you are relaxed you would easily hit 300+ even without much effort.

Scholastica16:
Just want to update the house. My AWA came out as 5 today. 93rd percentile. Saying I am excited does not do justice to how I feel. I was expecting the same 4.5 or 4 because I didn't feel I wrote better than my first one.

I looked at CrunchPrep, Barron, ETS, Nova and Princeton for the AWA but this was before my first one. In the second one, I didn't even practice let alone look at any material.

One thing that changed from the last time was the use of transitional or linking words. I noticed that higher scoring essays rarely made use of firstly, secondly etc but instead used Moreover, However, Additionally etc. My recommendation is that for the Issue-based aspect one should stay away from the use of first, second etc.

As per the Argumentative aspect, the mistake many people make is that they could identify the loopholes but not state the implications/assumptions made by the author and the modifications that could be made to plug those loopholes and make the argument more robust.

For example, if you say "first (yea in the argumentative aspect you could use this but avoid it entirely in the issue-based) the author states that X will happen". You have to add- "by stating this he assumes that Y and Z must have happened. This is not always the case as A or B could have been the cause. By doing so, the author unwittingly makes a fallacy of a false correlation. To make his argument more logically sound, he could have added C and D, that way we can know bla bla bla".

Ofcourse, I am not an authority. I am only stating what I did in both essays to have gotten 4.5 and 5. Having a template to work with also helps. I think I dubbed HappyDay's own. Also take note of some always recurring fallacies like hasty generalization, false correlation and the use of polls. In fact, if your argumentative prompt mentions a poll or survey or questionnaire, begin by questioning it. You can never go wrong.

At the end of the day, the topic you see in the both of them should be favourable to you. I pray it is the case for all members of the forum.

Scholastica16 out!

happyday:


Hahahahah. Me ke! I didn't mean it like that.

For a start, I used this guide from Shruti Rijhwani. She had a 170 VR, 169 QR, and 5.0 AWA.

Here goes:

One practice essay of each type (Issue, Argumentative) is a must. All possible topics are already on the internet, published by ETS themselves - check the official website. Unfortunately, there are around 200 for each essay type, so practising all of them is near impossible. Writing in 30 minutes is not easy, so practice at least once.

Issue essay - read sample essays (from ETS and the internet) and figure out what pattern of paragraphs you want to use.

The essay is essentially asking you to analyse an issue, take a stand and support with examples. The stand does not have to be either for or against the issue. It could be inclined towards one side or even ambivalent, if you can substantiate it.

I used introduction, brief body about my opinion and example 1, example 2, example 3, contradiction and justification, conclusion - 6 paragraphs.

Contradiction is a paragraph where you approach the opposite stand and justify your stand with that view - like arguing with a completely opposite opinion.

Argument essay - read samples (from ETS and the internet).

Also, definitely look up the kinds of logical fallacies common to GRE argument essay topics. There aren’t many (maybe five or six) and are easily identifiable. If you can detect three or four logical fallacies, you’re set to write the essay.

Pattern I used - introduction, fallacy 1, fallacy 2, fallacy 3, recommendations, conclusion - 6 paragraphs.

Also, look at Essay Guide, Strategies and Logical Fallacies.

Long essays are preferred for both topics - look at ETS samples. 5-6 paragraphs is sufficient.

The next few lines are courtesy Anjishnu Kumar who scored 5.5/6 in Analytical Writing.

The first thing about the essays - They are NOT testing how great of a creative writer you are. Do NOT try to use them to express your originality.

They are testing articulation, perfect grammar and logical structure - so use simple language as far as possible and easy to understand sentences.

Have a relatively rigid sentence structure for your essay - you then can devote more time to coming up with points to write and less time thinking about how to start the essay and conclude.

Spend the first few minutes thinking about what you are going to write before you start typing- finish with time to spare and spend a few minutes proofreading what you write. Practice writing with a 20 minute time limit, it’s OK if you overshoot a bit.

BTW, they aren’t important for MS programs, but PhD programs look at AWA scores very seriously.

Looking back now, I pretty much agree with all she said. Especially on the need to:
- Practice at least ONE Issue and ONE Argument before test day
- Develop a specific structure that you will use to plan your essays in the test hall
- And also the need to follow through.

I can't stress that last part enough. Take my case for instance. I already planned what structure to use for my Issue task; Intro, My take (i.e. support or oppose . . . I always prefer NOT to stay in between), example 1, example 2, example 3, a sham argument and defense, and finally conclusion.

Believe me, it was easier for me to outline all these, and follow them while practicing. But, I almost discarded it on the actual test. Planning out the structure this way, to me, was time-wasting. But, you would need to resist the temptation to dive all in, once you see the task. If you don't take time to read, understand and plan ahead, and then you dive in, you'd likely run out of points, and get destabilized halfway.

OluDare01:
Ndawe,
With your cgpa,you'd get into a good school here.
I have a friend with a similar GRE score doing her PhD in a good school.
Are you coming for fall 2017?

OluDare01:
Ndawe,
With your cgpa,you'd get into a good school here.
I have a friend with a similar GRE score doing her PhD in a good school.
Are you coming for fall 2017?