<p>My GRE is a week from tomorrow and I don't feel that I'm prepared for it. I think my main problem while taking practice tests is that I run out of time and I'm always racing to answer a lot of questions within the last few minutes. I feel like I'm going to do poorly and I won't have the time or money to retake the test. Does anyone have advice for me ? As I stated before on another post the other aspects of my application are great it's just that I feel the GRE will keep me out of a couple of my programs which sucks. I really do hate that grad schools are still using standardize tests but that's life. </p>
<p>If your problem is mostly timing, pace yourself. If a problem is causing you trouble, mark it and move on. Come back to it later after it’s percolated, and after you’ve used your time to answer questions that you know you can get right.</p>
<p>Hi Columbia09.</p>
<p>I agree with nanotechnology’s response.</p>
<p>To expound, I’ve copied and pasted some strategy verbiage off of the ETS GRE website that might help you out.</p>
<p>"Your Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning scores will be determined by the number of questions you answer correctly. Nothing is subtracted from a score if you answer a question incorrectly. Therefore, to maximize your scores on the Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning measures, it is best to answer every question.</p>
<p>Work as rapidly as you can without being careless. Since no question carries greater weight than any other, do not waste time pondering individual questions you find extremely difficult or unfamiliar.</p>
<p>You may want to go through each of the Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning sections rapidly first, stopping only to answer those questions you can do so with certainty. Then go back and answer the questions that require greater thought, concluding with the difficult questions if you have time."</p>
<p>The same ETS GRE webpage offers this insight:</p>
<p>“When taking the computer-delivered GRE revised General Test, you are free to skip questions that you might have difficulty answering. The testing software has a “mark and review” feature that enables you to mark questions you would like to revisit during the time provided to work on that section. The testing software also lets you view a complete list of all the questions in the section on which you’re working, indicates whether you’ve answered each question and identifies the questions you’ve marked for review. Additionally, you can review questions you’ve already answered and change your answers, provided you still have time remaining to work on that section.”</p>
<p>Many people struggle a little bit with test anxiety, especially when they come across a few questions that they find hard or simply don’t know. That test anxiety works against people more than they may know. So remember this bit that I’m about to tell you – convince yourself of its truth – tell yourself this truth every single time you think about the test between now and test day. Don’t allow yourself to think any other negative thoughts about your capabilities! ALWAYS tell yourself something similar to this:</p>
<p>You are very capable. You are likely more capable than the majority of people taking this test. That will serve you well! You do not need to know every single answer to get very good results. So, stay calm and remain confident. Just keep plugging along. You WILL do well. </p>
<p>That may sound silly or cheesy, but if you can keep that attitude during the test, which will be more likely if you can pre-dispose yourself to that attitude between now and test day, then you can comfortably temporarily ignore the questions that you simply don’t know while confidently working ahead on the questions that you do know. Then, you can calmly go back and work out the hard questions. If you simply can’t answer them, then narrow your choices from the possible answers and take your best guess from the narrowed field! Then move on to the next skipped question. If you’re totally stuck and can’t begin to even narrow the field, so what. Pick one, and move on! :)</p>
<p>So, in bullet form:</p>
<p>*Mentally prepare yourself over the coming week – you are very capable!</p>
<p>*Stay calm during the test – nothing will rattle you!</p>
<p>*Work quickly, but not carelessly, to answer all the questions that don’t take too much time.</p>
<p>*Mark those that are too hard or take too much time, and temporarily skip them!</p>
<p>*Go back and answer the ones you marked.</p>
<p>*Don’t waste too much time on one question – keep it marked, but narrow the field and take your best guess!</p>
<p>*Then, move on and tackle the next originally skipped question.</p>
<p>*Always guess instead of permanently skipping a tough question – narrow the options, and then guess.</p>
<p>*Rinse and repeat until you’re out of time!</p>
<p>Find the time to PRACTICE the test this way at least a few times, so that you’re confident that it will work for you. That way, you will be able to more confidently skip stuff during the test, fully aware that you will be optimizing your score by focusing on those questions that you can confidently and rather quickly answer.</p>
<p>Here’s a link to the ETS GRE webpage that I quoted in this post: <a href=“Strategies & Tips for Taking the GRE General Test”>https://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/prepare/tips/</a></p>
<p>Best of luck to you! And congrats for having an application package that looks great! :)</p>
<p>Thanks simplelife that was really inspirational ! Yea I have a 3.83 GPA, double major, attended a top state school, have some research experience, and I have three good letters of rec. Hopefully I’ll do decently well on the GRE and I’ll gain admissions into one of my programs, </p>
<p>Fantastic, Columbia09! Great work! Your application does look great! I honestly trust that you are fully capable of getting a good score. I’m wishing you the the best of luck on the test! :)</p>
<p>Do your best and then make sure that you also apply to schools which don’t put a significant emphasis on the GRE but look at your entire application. If your scores are not what you want, it might mean that you won’t be making the cut at the most selective programs where they have to use the GRE to triage the large number of applications, however, there are lot of good graduate programs out there in whatever your field and if you really want that graduate degree, you need to get into the program which best fits your goals. That is not always one of the “top 20” programs nor should it be. </p>
<p>Bottom line, don’t stress out on what you get, with your GPA you will get into a good program.</p>
<p>I’m applying to Nebraska, Wiscousin, Standford, Rice and UT Austin for a M.S in geology. Does anyone know how tey treat the GREs ? I asked a couple of professors I talked to but they weren’t tht clear. Anyone here know ? My adviser suggested these schools because he knows the professors and they’re really good for industry </p>
<p>@Columbia09 I’m curious … how did your GRE go? Are you happy with your scores? Were you able to appropriately pace yourself and remain relatively relaxed during the test? I hope you’re happy as a clam! Best of luck to you! :)</p>
<p>It didn’t go that well 
I made a post titled as expected didn’t do well on the GRE. I’m going to go ahead and apply with those scores though since the rest of my application is solid </p>
<p>Oh, no! I’m so sorry to hear that! I so wish that it had gone better for you. Well, good luck in your application process. I know that there are schools out there that don’t place a whole lot of weight on the GRE. Good for you for all the work you’ve done over the past 4 years to ensure that the rest of your application is solid! </p>