Bombing the practice GRE...suggestions for the future?

[deleted276313]

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Hey everyone,

I'm about to enter my senior year of undergrad and during the summer I plan on preparing for, and taking, the GRE. I took the Kaplan practice test in January and did horrendously. I just completed it again and did just as terrible. And when I mean horrendous, I'm talking about 141q (16%tile) and 149v (42%tile). At the moment I'm not sure what to do. I'm starting to doubt my ability to raise my score high enough to be competitive in the Psy.D./Ph.D. programs that I will be applying for come this September. This has led me to believe that I will not be able to get into graduate school, thus crushing my dreams of becoming a psychologist. I know that this is catastrophizing, but it appears that this will be the case given how awfully I seem to be performing on the practice tests.

I am a good student academically (3.7gpa) and have significant research experience (2 years in a social psych lab with 3 publications, including an article publication). So, at the moment, it appears that my only barrier is the GRE.

Are there any suggestions from anyone who has been in my situation before? Are there any good books or courses that I can review to study for this exam that have been proven to work?

Thanks,
Chris

 

[AnnoyedByFreud]

Hmm. Well first of all, I think the Kaplan practice tests are more difficult than the actual test. My score was 50-100 points higher than my practice tests (old exam). Are you running out of time or is it a matter of struggling with the material? Have you considered hiring a tutor? The math section is supposedly easier to improve your score on over the verbal section.

Have you actually started studying for the exam or have you only taken practice tests? If I were you, I would buy a practice book and work through it completely, then go back and take another practice test or two. I used the Kaplan book. Then if your scores still aren't where you want them to be, consider taking a course or hiring a tutor. Don't psych yourself out, especially if you haven't even started studying yet! You have plenty of time to improve your score between now and September.

 

[deleted276313]

Hmm. Well first of all, I think the Kaplan practice tests are more difficult than the actual test. My score was 50-100 points higher than my practice tests (old exam). Are you running out of time or is it a matter of struggling with the material? Have you considered hiring a tutor? The math section is supposedly easier to improve your score on over the verbal section.

Have you actually started studying for the exam or have you only taken practice tests? If I were you, I would buy a practice book and work through it completely, then go back and take another practice test or two. I used the Kaplan book. Then if your scores still aren't where you want them to be, consider taking a course or hiring a tutor. Don't psych yourself out, especially if you haven't even started studying yet! You have plenty of time to improve your score between now and September.

Thanks for the response.

I have not yet studied for the exam; I have only gone through 2-3 chapters of the Princeton review math workbook. I took the second practice exam to see where my baseline is because I hadn't slept well before the first practice exam. The problem is not about time, but rather about struggling with the material since there is so much of it that I haven't seen since I was in middle school.

I'm looking into the Kaplan 15-hour one-on-one sessions.

 

[mewtoo]

Before you go and buy any courses, get a general GRE book! They tell you how to take the GRE which is what the GRE actually tests for. Just being used to the format, question types, etc. could raise your score a lot!

I took the old GRE a year ago. My diagnostic test was horrible (and this was with reading a general GRE book without really studying the content). Like 200 V and Q. I didn't study much after it really, just familiarized myself with the format a bit more, took a few more practice tests, and worked through a quant book. I barely studied and my score reflected this, but my scores ended up adding to a 1040, about average for the GRE. Which, obviously, rose a lot from a 400!

I'm convinced if I'd actually studied more I'd gotten closer to that 1200 hurdle. I memorized no vocab and I got a D the first time I took college algebra. I had to basically relearn allll the math (and it seems that I forgot it all AGAIN. Yay.). You can do this. Of course your first few tests are going to be crappy. Study. And when I say study I mean really study. There are many, cheaper resources (many books). There are a lot of strategies that you can learn just from the books that make the test much easier. If you got that GPA then you definitely have the smarts to do it. Take that freaking out energy and channel it into studying.

Take it as soon as you can in case you just can't get it and do really need that class (which I doubt). If you started now and studied a few hours a day you can probably take it mid July. That'll give you enough time to at least take an online GRE class and retake it before the deadlines.

I'm not just talking out of my head either. I'm retaking it before the fall starts so we are in the same boat. I'm very nervous that I'll end up with an equivalent score, but instead of fretting and putting it off I've been studying. I started my chemistry II (ew) summer I session class early and have been dedicating my days to it (almost done with unit one), but I haven't used it as an excuse. I've also dedicated at least two hours every day to the GRE. If I can do it (someone who has a lower gpa than you) you can do it.

So far I really like the Princeton Review book I have. I liked Kaplan for the old one and their quant book was really good and helped a lot. I haven't gotten the new Kaplan ones yet (my bookstore did not have them- sad day). But seriously, read a general book before you start a specialized one! The hints in it will make it a lot easier.

Good luck! :]

 

[AnnoyedByFreud]

Thanks for the response.

I have not yet studied for the exam; I have only gone through 2-3 chapters of the Princeton review math workbook. I took the second practice exam to see where my baseline is because I hadn't slept well before the first practice exam. The problem is not about time, but rather about struggling with the material since there is so much of it that I haven't seen since I was in middle school.

I'm looking into the Kaplan 15-hour one-on-one sessions.

I really think that before you consider shelling out for private tutoring or courses you should force yourself to work completely through a GRE handbook (Kaplan, Princeton Review, etc.) including memorizing vocab. Then take another test. Give yourself time to absorb the information and practice before moving to the next level. I understand your frustration. I was absolutely terrified of the GRE (to the point where I couldn't bring myself to study much because of the anxiety it gave me, ugh). I ended up doing just fine (1370), even though my Kaplan practice tests were significantly lower than that. The GRE isn't the be-all and end-all. There are people who have gotten into funded clinical PhD programs with shoddy GRE scores (I know someone who did, at least). This test won't define your career.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

I really think that before you consider shelling out for private tutoring or courses you should force yourself to work completely through a GRE handbook (Kaplan, Princeton Review, etc.) including memorizing vocab. Then take another test. Give yourself time to absorb the information and practice before moving to the next level. I understand your frustration. I was absolutely terrified of the GRE (to the point where I couldn't bring myself to study much because of the anxiety it gave me, ugh). I ended up doing just fine (1370), even though my Kaplan practice tests were significantly lower than that. The GRE isn't the be-all and end-all. There are people who have gotten into funded PhD programs with shoddy GRE scores (I know someone who did, at least). This test won't define your career.

I agree--definitely buy a book and work through it on your own prior to shelling out the $ for tutoring or a formal course. I don't know how it would stack up with the new GRE, but I can say that the single most important form of prep I completed prior to taking the old version was memorizing list after list of vocabulary words, followed closely by re-learning geometry formulas. Without having done either of those things, I could easily have seen my score being 200-300 points lower than it was.

 

[deleted176373]

Hey everyone,

Are there any suggestions from anyone who has been in my situation before? Are there any good books or courses that I can review to study for this exam that have been proven to work?

Thanks,
Chris

Yes, study.

Lots of good prep courses and books exist. I raised my scores considerably (old test) from a 940 practice test to a 1300 actual test.

 

[Mianess]

Personally I really liked Kaplan's review books compared to Princeton's. I spent a good amount of time going over each section. They give you so many tricks and things to help you with each type of question and it really helped come test day!

 

[Doctor Eliza]

It should be said that I took the GRE in 1999, so perhaps take what I say with a grain of salt.

I ended up taking (and loving) the Kaplan class. For me it was a matter of motivating myself to study. Could I have learned just as much from books? Probably. But attending classes holds you accountable and encourages you to really move through the material.

If you have the means to pay for the course (it wasn't cheap), I'd say do it. If you want to be more financially responsible, start with the books.


Dr. E

 

[SnowyRox]

If you are smart enough to get a 3.7 at ANY college, you are smart enough to rock the GRE.

I hate that exam. I had to study topics that I hadn't used since freshman year geometry. But it's what you have to do for acceptance, so buckle down and study.

If you let something like this put you off grad school, then you're not all that committed to the profession anyway.

 

[deleted276313]

Thanks everyone for the help!

I think right now I'm feeling a bit discouraged since getting such a low score does disastrous things to my already low self-esteem. I know I have the ability to get through this and improve my score, but I'm afraid that it will take a long time to do so. I will continue to review the books and see what I learn from it. I've come to realize that it isn't really about knowing how to do the problem, but rather trying to figure out how the question writer is trying to trick you.

I've also decided to take a class in addition to studying because it will only help me improve more.

With regard to taking the tests, it also doesn't help that I was recently placed on long-term medications that destroy my ability to do complex, abstract thinking.

 

[PsyDLICSW]

Hey everyone,

I'm about to enter my senior year of undergrad and during the summer I plan on preparing for, and taking, the GRE. I took the Kaplan practice test in January and did horrendously. I just completed it again and did just as terrible. And when I mean horrendous, I'm talking about 141q (16%tile) and 149v (42%tile). At the moment I'm not sure what to do. I'm starting to doubt my ability to raise my score high enough to be competitive in the Psy.D./Ph.D. programs that I will be applying for come this September. This has led me to believe that I will not be able to get into graduate school, thus crushing my dreams of becoming a psychologist. I know that this is catastrophizing, but it appears that this will be the case given how awfully I seem to be performing on the practice tests.

I am a good student academically (3.7gpa) and have significant research experience (2 years in a social psych lab with 3 publications, including an article publication). So, at the moment, it appears that my only barrier is the GRE.

Are there any suggestions from anyone who has been in my situation before? Are there any good books or courses that I can review to study for this exam that have been proven to work?

Thanks,
Chris

I have battled meaningless standardized tests like the GRE all my life. The GRE measures only one thing: How good someone is at taking the GRE. It does not measure intelligence, work eithic, research capabilities, or clinical abilities. I was in your position five years ago. The GRE kept me from getting into graduate school right out of undergrad. I got a masters in a mental health field (clinical social work, not psychology) and took the test (old version) 6 times before getting above most school's cut off scores. I say don't give up. I got a tutor and he really helped my on the math section. For math I suggest getting the math/gre general test rpep book published by Evil Testing Service/ETS themselves because they make the test. As for verbal, I used the princeton Review and the Kaplan book. I also read alot to improve my verbal score. Hope this helps. Don't let the GRE keep you from your dreams. I now attend a university based PsyD program that is APA accredited. Although i originally wanted to get a PhD, my GREs were not good enough. But I am happy in my program. If you do decide to get a doctorate in psychology, be sure to apply to porgrams based in universities and not a free standing professional school (some FSPSs dont even require the GRE, but don't let that tempt you). Good luck!

 

[mewtoo]

Evil Testing Service/ETS

Lol. They should seriously consider changing their name too that.

 

[perhaps11]

With regard to the quant section, is it that the questions are tricky (because lord knows they are) or is it a deeper issue, like not really understanding the underlying material involved to think critically to find the right answer? I say this because when I took the test and did not perform well, I paid hundreds of dollars for an online class and I ended up doing worse the second time around. What I failed to realize is that back when I was in middle school/high school in algebra and geometry class, I barely passed because I really didn't grasp the material and a.) had not yet been diagnosed with ADHD and b.) because I didn't think I would need to know the material in the future.

So long story short, I decided to purchase CliffsNotes Math Review for Standardized Tests and re-taught myself algebra and geometry and ended up doing significantly better on my third try at the GRE. This book is awesome in that it focuses on the basics that will be tested on standardized tests, including ratios, permutations, word problems, and more. Once you have a firm understanding of the material outlined in the CliffNotes, then Kaplan and other test prep books will help you strengthen the critical thinking skills needed to answer those silly GRE questions. Just my 2 cents, though.

If you do, however, have a good understanding of the material being tested in the quant section then I would echo others in their advice to purchase the ETS workbook and really get to know the test and what kinds of questions are likely to be on the actual exam. Try not to focus too much on the practice tests - I would even propose waiting to take your next practice test until you are at a point where you feel comfortable with what you have been studying. Good luck!

 

[deleted276313]

With regard to the quant section, is it that the questions are tricky (because lord knows they are) or is it a deeper issue, like not really understanding the underlying material involved to think critically to find the right answer? I say this because when I took the test and did not perform well, I paid hundreds of dollars for an online class and I ended up doing worse the second time around. What I failed to realize is that back when I was in middle school/high school in algebra and geometry class, I barely passed because I really didn't grasp the material and a.) had not yet been diagnosed with ADHD and b.) because I didn't think I would need to know the material in the future.

So long story short, I decided to purchase CliffsNotes Math Review for Standardized Tests and re-taught myself algebra and geometry and ended up doing significantly better on my third try at the GRE. This book is awesome in that it focuses on the basics that will be tested on standardized tests, including ratios, permutations, word problems, and more. Once you have a firm understanding of the material outlined in the CliffNotes, then Kaplan and other test prep books will help you strengthen the critical thinking skills needed to answer those silly GRE questions. Just my 2 cents, though.

If you do, however, have a good understanding of the material being tested in the quant section then I would echo others in their advice to purchase the ETS workbook and really get to know the test and what kinds of questions are likely to be on the actual exam. Try not to focus too much on the practice tests - I would even propose waiting to take your next practice test until you are at a point where you feel comfortable with what you have been studying. Good luck!

With regard to your first point, I think it is that I do not fully understand a lot of the material since most of it was not taught to me. I unfortunately went to a high school that had TERRIBLE math teachers. As a result, a lot of the questions on the Quant section are completely new concepts to me and I feel like I have no idea what I'm doing or even how to start solving the problem. This is especially true with the geometry questions.

And with regard to other factors that might be affecting my results, I have Schizoaffective Disorder. Because of this, I do have some cognitive deficits as a result of the medication that is keeping me stable (ironic, isn't it). It affects more specifically my ability to do word problems since I have trouble fully comprehending and visualizing the problem. I have addressed this issue with my psychiatrist, and he is weaning me off of the medication that is suspected to be dulling me (especially since it has been replaced with other meds and is thus useless now).

I have a feeling that I'm going to have to teach myself these new concepts somehow in order to do somewhat decently on this test. I will look into the book that you mentioned! I just hope that I have enough time to do this since everything has to be submitted by the beginning of the school year....

EDIT:
I just bought that Cliff Notes book! It has very high ratings on amazon and only cost $13 with shipping!

 

[phillips101]

I took the old GRE, so if there are any discrepancies, please disregard my advice.

For the math, I studied from the "GRE Math Bible". It is, arguably, the most comprehensive quant text book that is out there. It must have over several hundred (if not a thousand) practice problems in there, ranging from "very easy" to "very hard". I honestly don't think that you need to have excelled in your math classes in order to do well in the quant section. At least when I took it, the stuff tested on the GRE Q is almost an entirely different thing than what is (or was) tested in middle school algebra/geometry. Just like almost everyone else, the last time I looked at any of the concepts (except statistics) tested on the GRE was back in 6-8th grade, over a decade ago! I ended up getting an 800 Q, and 90% of my studying came from the Math Bible and 10% came from Barron's. Barron's is very good in getting you to understand the basics. Once you master Barrons, then move onto the Math Bible, which REALLY tests your conceptual understanding. In my experience, the GRE questions are very similar to Barron's and Math Bible's easy-medium questions.

As for verbal, first you have to ask yourself, did you do poorly because you didn't know the vocabulary, or you didn't know what the test was looking for? For my prep, I literally memorized thousands of vocab words from Barron's vocab list and that was it. Didn't use any "strategy" or any advice by Kaplan/Princeton. IF you choose to memorize words, make sure you memorize all definitions, not just one, and make sure you understand the word and able to use it in context, not just recite the book. Other than that, I find that primary articles (i.e. pubmed central) are very similar to the passages you would see on the test. One tip for the comprehension section (if it still exists)- answer choices that use absolute words such as "never, always" are generally wrong answers. At least in the scientific community, we usually won't see those types of statements, and ETS has to be realistic in order to avoid people arguing against their answers. Also, the answer choices must be backed up by what's in the actual passage. Don't just pick an answer choice because it "makes sense". Once you narrowed down your answer, try to go back to the passage and see if it is supported by the passage itself. Of course, this requires you to spend more time on RC than most books recommend. For me, I found that knowing the vocabs allowed me to go through most of the V section extremely quickly, leaving a lot of time for RC.

Good luck, and I believe the GRE is a test you can definitely study for. It's just a matter of how much time and determination you have.

 

[deleted276313]

Thanks everyone again for the responses! Everyone has been helpful and has guided me to valuable resources.

I caved and decided to hire a professional tutor through Kaplan. The way I'm looking at it is this: even though it is expensive, I would rather spend money to guarantee my future than not spend money and screw myself over in the end because I had trouble with concentration. Because I have trouble with reading comprehension with regard to mathematical problems as a result of the heavy cocktail of medications I'm on, I feel as if the one-on-one training will really help me.

I was fortunate enough that my parents were able to afford this course, since I had planned on taking a course this summer at my school that was the same price. Obviously now I am not taking that course. I am really trying hard right now to strike a balance between how much I study and how much I don't study. I have a tendency to overdue things and then burn out. I'm limiting myself to studying maybe 1-2 hours a day as a result of this.

I hope I've made the right decision!

Chris

 

[PsyDLICSW]

Lol. They should seriously consider changing their name too that.

Yes they should because evil is what they are.

 

[deleted276313]

I took the old GRE a year ago. My diagnostic test was horrible (and this was with reading a general GRE book without really studying the content). Like 200 V and Q. I didn't study much after it really, just familiarized myself with the format a bit more, took a few more practice tests, and worked through a quant book. I barely studied and my score reflected this, but my scores ended up adding to a 1040, about average for the GRE. Which, obviously, rose a lot from a 400!

I studied some math and then took the same practice test again (same questions, although I completely forgot what I used as answers since my memory is terrible) and scored 151m (56%tile) and 152v (56%tile). I'm assuming because the first quantitative section had more geometry and algebra (which I studied), it put me in a higher bracket than before.

Getting those scores has raised my self-esteem a lot and I'm hopeful that the tutor will be able to get me to bring them even higher!