How long did you take to prepare for the GRE?

[ptforgamers]

I remember when I took the GRE course at Manhattan Prep. They said that there was a significant correlation between the length of essay and the score of the essay especially once you get to the 5 and 6 score range. I received a 5 on my essays. Imo 3.5 is too low. Anything 4+ is good. Also I've heard from PT schools that I went to visit personally that they don't consider the math grade as highly compared to the verbal and analytical scores which are better predictors of student success in PT school.

This is truth. I am 39th percentile in math yet still received interview invites from all schools I applied to.

Somehow I ended up with a 3.5 on the writing...wtf. I don't know how else I could've answered the extremely random questions that they asked. Perfect grammar and well thought out responses, I thought for sure I would've gotten a 4 or 5. I don't even understand what criteria they base their grading on for this section? It's especially frustrating because there is a 0% chance I re-take the exam.

They don't really look at grammar or even accuracy. I meant to write about Neil Armstrong but kept mentioning Louis Armstrong instead. I think they assess logical progression in thought more than anything.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Daniel M. Pitta]

This is truth. I am 39th percentile in math yet still received interview invites from all schools I applied to.



They don't really look at grammar or even accuracy. I meant to write about Neil Armstrong but kept mentioning Louis Armstrong instead. I think they assess logical progression in thought more than anything.

In hindsight I should've spent more time preparing for the essay. I thought since that was my wheelhouse that I would be fine, and I needed to spend a lot of time on the math because it's such a tougher subject for me. I doubt that I take it again, but if I do, I'll definitely be practicing the essays to make sure that I get at least a 5.

 

[apta_pharaoh]

I'd say a month 3 hours a day. Kaplan is great and has many test but I found the actual GRE was way harder. So be prepared good luck and take it early in case you need to retake it.

 

[apta_pharaoh]

So I am in graduate school pursuing a M.S. and PhD. I was in the McNair Scholars program in undergrad and most of us took the GRE. I'm actually quite surprised people study so hard for it. I remember taking a couple practice tests and being done. Some of my classmates didn't even study. I'm genuinely curious as to why some have studied so hard for the GRE? Is it just to make sure you feel as confident as possible with the way the test will be?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

To be fair the natural science McNair scholars are genuises. At least in my school. They were so smart it annoyed lol. From my program some went to Harvard, Yale, UPenn, Vanderbilt and more. Also McNair sholars do gre prep for summer 1 I thought?

 

[89bogues]

How much time for each individual (and situation) is going to differ. I spent a week brushing up on math and took two practice tests the first time around and got a 317 and a 3.5 AW. I practiced writing the essays the second time and received a 320 4.0AW. Yes, I'm a poor writer and ran out of time on both essays both times. It is totally dependent on the person and their situation. If I had awesome grades I probably wouldn't have studied at all. If you need to offset poor grades, or you are a poor standardized test taker you will need more time. I did need to offset poor grades, but I knew I would do well on the GRE and didn't really feel getting much higher than a 320 would really help me. In fact I thought it might have hurt me in that they might have though I was super smart and didn't give a **** about grades/learning. I will say that even though the GRE is supposed to be a measurement of intelligence and ability, I do think it can be studied for and that most people can easily raise an initial score 10 points with a few months of studying math/verbal/writing/test acclimation.