jaybiz007:
@rexcheeng, I saw your pm. My nairaland email is inactive.

Thanks man

Teedawg:
as in they never had any intention of reviewing my application in the first place.. it was tagged as scam or spam...because some Ill defined sets of unevolved human species claim to be people from Royal families either try to scam the school of its resources by claiming to be authentic people who need help..

Which school please? So we can steer clear.

cuspy:


Congratulations bro.

ezeeche:


Congrats Rex. Those are very good scores. Thanks for putting up your experience and inspiring prospective test takers like myself.
#TeamFall2018 #YesWeCan

Congratulations RexCheeng. Great scores and thanks to you for sharing your experience. Many will benefit from it.

It is time to begin working on other parts of your application. Do it well, my dear. Hope you have contacted recommenders. It is good to have backup recommenders too.

Schrodinger1:

Outstanding!..This is a stellar score, albeit, i can't wait to leapfrog your exceptional performance. you just got me motivated because i'm next in line. Congrats Erudite!!!

seeker88:
Congrats RexCheeng, that's a very good score. I wish all d best with your school applications. Also, thank you for sharing your experience.....I'm sure other prospective test takers will benefit from your personal experience.

ridsan4real:
congrats RexCheeng.

hirschfelder:


You did great. Congrats!!! Wish you all the best with your applications.....

Scholastica16:

Topiipii post=55007095:

Congrats Rex, wish you all the best in your applications.

shayhune:


That's a really good score. Congrats
.

RexCheeng, that's a great score. You are good to go. You definitely would not need to re-write GRE ever again.

OGreene:
Congrats @RexCheeng!!!! Very good one

Thanks a bunch Guys!!!.

Recently took the GRE.

Big kudos to those who constantly via this thread, sew into our lives. (pun intended)
I am equally honored to add my little quota to the existing plethora of information on this thread.

The GRE isn't a test of intelligence (as they say at the beginning of most texts), it is a test of how well you can take the GRE (Cliche right?).

I started preparation about three months ago; getting acquainted with the structure of the exam, reading the tales of those who performed excellently and those who didn't. I also got the necessary materials suggested; magoosh GRE flashcards app and Memrise app; Even though it might seem a daunting challenge to study and remember 1000 new words in a matter of months, these apps ease you into it. IF you assiduously study a meagre 20 words per day(2 words an hour), you would consummate the GRE vocabs in 50 days. Also it helps that these apps are intertwined, so if you exhaust the magoosh word list (which you should), going to another app (say memrise) would be more or less revision. For those who have ample time to prepare, you can also take time to go through word power made easy by norman lewis; it is a thorough book that helps you really understand etymology and co.
Another wonderful app is Ready4GRE; this not only has vocab flash cards, it simulates the real GRE syllabus and walks you through vital topics and concepts which are pertinent to your learning. I also combed through a lot of Sentence Equivalence and Text Completion Questions on various platforms; Manhattan 5lb, magoosh videos, barrons 6 tests, and princeton 1014 questions. I learned new words in the process and further got acquainted with the strategies and formats to tackle questions; the most efficacious being the Process of Elimination (IMO). For the Reading Comprehension; one key to acing this section is a cultivated reading habit. This can be improved by dedicating time to surfing academia texts, aldaily, nytimes, aeon, and the likes- ameliorating reading speed in the process.

For the Quantitative section, this also requires practice. IMO, the quantitative comparison is perhaps the most important; as this incorporates all other concepts (Geometry, Combinatorics,algebra etc). It also makes up 16/40 questions of the test, and is the only section that would strike most as new. I read the books by manhattan on the various topics, revising old & forgotten concepts. I then went on to solve most of the questions in the 5lb pack. After doing this, I still had a major problem with certain topics such as combinatorics and probability (we all do ) and I went on to nova GRE bible; they had over 100 questions on each topic. I watched magoosh videos too; learning short cuts and more basic concepts. The Ready4GRE app also had a myriad of really tough questions that was a similitude of the actual exam.

I practiced the Analytical writing section with each practice test; so I had a rigid format, and I was a becoming a virtuoso in the art of using linking words and GRE vocabs. I also went through the question pool during leisure; taking time out to generate at least three points for each question.

The test day was overwhelming!
I had QVQVQ; my dream format, and I proceeded to tackling the question. I cannot overemphasize the effect of adequate practice. I had almost no problem with pacing, even though I saw a few TOUGH traps disguised as questions. I was not so lucky with the verbal section. The Devil himself assisted ETS in setting the questions. Even the TC and SE I though I was good at, they proved to be too hot to handle. I barely had time to finish my last RC set and I had to make lucky guesses. I then had my break; quickly devouring my meal and from my conversation with other test takers, ETS was just in a bad mood that day. The second quant was quite tougher as expected, and I did my best and readily moved on to the verbal section; which seemed relatively easier, same as the last Quant.
I reported scores; 163Q, 157V.
Sent scores to four schools (major key).
And I left feeling elated.

I can't but appreciate the likes of Sirriddy, Time2Smile, topiipii, OGreene, fredoricko, iekene, scholastica16, happyday, Alan (I cant spell that your long german name ) et al. for taking time out to give encouragement, tips and advice. God bless you guys real Good!

Pardon my verbose epistle and malapropist use of recondite and esoteric words. I barely saw 20 words on the exam; and I dont know what to do with the rest of the words in my head.
tescoman90, ezeeche, temmitarts, et al. You are next folks!
#Selah

Apparently, B.Y. Mafit was running a 'promo'. Their show of altruism will end on wednesday, and the cost of GRE would go back to being #72000.
For those who have the money and have been dilatory- thinking that the promo would last forever... Your call.

Time2Smile:

Congratulations, how do you reconcile the two(2) bolded portion above?. By any yardstick 107 with a minimum section of 24 is a very good score. By the way which maxim are you talking about?

Many schools I plan to apply to stated their requirement for the speaking section as 26, so I guess I'm insufficient in that area.

Your #YesWeCan.

Also expecting the best from your side as regards your application.

#Selah

sirRiddy:

While doing that, also start your ground work for applications.

Then post your experience again so we can learn
Good luck!

Thanks SirRiddy.
Your input from the onset has been invaluable and it's imperative I continue being proactive (as you would say). The process of mailing grad coordinators and even faculty members has been enervating so far. Evasive grad cords and extremely busy faculty members. However, we can only keep at it and hope it ends well eventually.

All the best.
#Selah

A big kudos to the folks who constantly ensure the survival and continuity of this thread. Congratulations in advance to those who are awaiting admission (funding) decisions from schools.

I took the TOEFL on Saturday, 11th of February 2017. Even though I am not too pleased with the score, it is expedient that I post my experience.

My preparation was quite rocky, as I was in a strait betwixt two; vacillating between the difficulty of Kaplan and the actual ETS. My first advice is to totally ignore the urge to practice KAPLAN tests. Its a far cry from the actual test. It is filled with recondite passages and utterly disparate questions which belies the TOEFL, presenting it harder than it actually is. The ETS official guide is enough to do the job. Videos by Notefull and ouliogroove on youtube helped me understand the structure of the test and presented sample questions for the writing and speaking section. I also used the official ETS guide, Kaplan text, and a couple of other books in the course of my preparation. I had few hours of intense study which aided (perhaps, marred ) my preparation.

Another key agenda of worthy of note is that ETS allows you to send your TOEFL scores to 4 institutions for free till 10pm before the actual test day. Not many people are privy to this, and I was almost a victim. My procrastination left me with about 20 schools on my radar at the time, making it extremely difficult to make pinpoint decisions. I would definitely narrow it down before my GRE.

I got to the Test centre; JKK, ilupeju, about 30 minutes before 10am and they had begun the process of checking students in. I did the needful, presented my passport, and started in no time. I made sure I was one of the first to enter the hall, as I got the notion that entering late might affect my listening section, especially when the early birds are making so much noise, battling with their speaking section.

I particularly found the Speaking and Listening section easy, maybe because I spent ample time on each question, making sure I reviewed my answers sedulously before moving on to the next. I used tips from ETS official guide to decipher the kind of question to expect and how to avoid common pitfalls. In the course of my 10 minutes break, I hurriedly took my lucozade boost to lubricate the dryness in my throat. I then held random chats with a couple of test takers, asking about their experience and expectations. This was a dry run, to make sure I was well versed for my speaking section.

The speaking section began, with question 1 and 2 seeming quite a walkover. Question 3-6 required more skill, as regards the format and using specific keywords. I tried to be spontaneous, as well as rigid; adhering strictly to the format I learned. Tips from the youtube videos I watched proved invaluable. When I got to the writing section, I was already feeling soporific and this was surprising as I was accustomed to taking practice tests over a long stretch. I did my best in the first part, and had ample time to review my work. I barely finished writing the second part when I ran out of time.

I got my test result on the 17th of February via email.
Total score: 107
Reading: 28
Listening: 30
Speaking: 24
Writing: 25

Preparation continues for the Ultimate GRE. My quest to come up with a catchy maxim like Time2smile's has proved futile, perhaps when I smash the GRE, something better will come up. I am a Fall '18 applicant by the way.

#Selah