<p>This may be a dumb question, but I'm an old mom so give me a break, but anyway I just discovered yesterday online (after being hit up for funds for a GRE prep class by oldest child) that the test is going to be changed for test dates after next July(?). I looked up some of the schools child is thinking about but they say nothing about which test they want or even acknowledge there's going to be a new test. Child does not graduate college until May 2007.</p>
<p>Does anyone know anything about this issue? Is it an issue? Should child take the current test and only retest if the scores are bad, ie, avoid taking the new GRE if possible?</p>
<p>most schools accept any score from the past 5 years, and it's likely they'll be getting lots of applicants who, like me, took the GRE their senior year, then didn't apply for a couple more years, who will be sending in 'old GRE' scores. I doubt they'd make her retake it. If you're really worried about it, have her call a couple of schools and ask, or ask the admissions counselors at her own school.</p>
<p>I highly doubt any school will care which version your child takes, especially considering schools still take scores from back when they had the analytical section.</p>
<p>I think it's likely that schools will accept both the old and new GRE versions for several years, as others have said. </p>
<p>The issue is to make sure that your child doesn't take a prep class for the old test and then take the new test! :) If s/he wants to take the prep class now, the test should be taken early. And to be honest, I'd take it early unless there's a compelling reason to take the new test -- there will likely be a lag period next year when study materials will not be available for the new test.</p>
<p>mollie - I'm actually thinking she might be better off taking the old test now, after a review class of course. From what I read online today at the ets site, the new test is going to be substantially different. Both verbal and math are going to be focusing on different things (verbal is eliminating antonyms and analogies, which child actually likes 'cause she hates analogies), and the site says the current test is 2 1/2 hours, while the new one will be 4 hours and 20 min. That can't be good if you're a kid who fuzzes out after 3 hours (she did bad on the last section of all her ACTs and the PSAT). It is changing from adaptive to linear, and the computer format is changing to take advantage of technology changes. My initial reaction is she should take the review class, take the current test in the spring and if she does well, just skip the new test unless someone decides to require it. Any thoughts?</p>
<p>As for study materials, sample question are up now, but sample tests won't be available until summer, I think, and a review book won't be out 'til summer. Not much prep time if you're looking at a Dec. 1 deadline. Plus the September test results won't be out until early November due to some scoring issue. They are changing the scoring scale too and will be issuing conversion charts and all that.</p>
<p>mercymom,
They were supposed to change the test for this current year but apparently didn't get their act together in time to do that, so the supposed "new" test will allegedly go into effect next year. My senior in college son just took the GRE's last week, but I know that a number of his class mates took them late junior year. They are very much structured like the SAT's, but with two essays to deal with. They are computer based, as you know, and given at special testing centers located all over the country. I believe that the computer based test is no more than 3 hours long. Also, I'm not sure I would "trust" any of the sample practice tests in a commercially available review book. The ETS has available for download two full length practice tests which will likely be a much more authentic guideline as to what the test is really like. There is all kinds of info available online from ETS as to what the essay topics may be (they seem to have a rotating list) etc. Just do some poking around at the web site given above.</p>
<p>On the ets site it says that a PDF version of the new test will be available in spring 07; an online computer version of the new test will be available in July 07; and an ets-authorized book will come out sometime in summer 07. I called one of the local test centers and the guy said the test takes 3 hours now because they have to do a tutorial before they start actually taking it, and then they have to fill out online their requests for sending scores after they finish. The actual test takes about 2 1/2 hours. I think I'd rather she go with spring testing so there's time to restest if she feels she needs it over the summer instead of taking one of the september tests and then not find out how she did until a few weeks before her application is due.</p>
<p>Unless she disagrees, which is usually how it goes here!</p>
<p>mercymom,
When you take the computer-based GRE's, you get your score right then and there. At the conclusion of the test you are given two options, "see your scores" or "cancel your scores." The only thing that takes longer is the grading of the essays which is supposed to happen fairly quickly. I'll let you know when my son gets back his "official" report including the essay scores, and then we'll both know how long the "full" process takes. You are permitted to take the GRE's up to 5 times a year, once a month.</p>
<p>Thanks momof3sons. All this computer testing is confusing to someone who took the GRE in 1974 and never thought about it again until yesterday. However, what is more confusing is the stuff on the website under the faq's for educators that indicates they won't know what the score table will be until after they compile the results from the first three test administrations in sept 07 and do a bunch of stuff to them. It says that score reports for these three tests will be reported "to examinees and designated schools" in early November. That seems to mean that the test takers themselves won't find out right away, in September at least, because of all this manipulation stuff they have to do for the new test to finalize what the scores are going to be. They're going to a new scale where the top score is going to be somewhere in the 170 range, but they're not sure exactly where.</p>
<p>Maybe they'll tell you on the computer in sept, but it sounds like you won't know what that means until nov., in which case how would you know if you want to cancel it? Too confusing for me.</p>
<p>also the website says the new test will take 4 hours and 20 minutes to complete because it's going to have a lot more sections than the old test. There are going to be specified test dates each month, not 6 days a week like now, and everyone will take the same test on a given date, not the adaptive test they give now. It sounds like in that respect it will be more like the way the SAT is, only on computer.</p>
<p>My feeling is that the old test is easier to prep for, if you're willing to put in the work. The new test seems like it will be less based on memorization and more based on something else -- intuition perhaps? Different people will have different preferences, but I know I would take the old test, given the choice.</p>
<p>i wrote a full section of the new test this past august when i sat for the computer GRE. the section was given to me as their "research" section.</p>
<p>anyhoos - the questions i saw were... fair i guess. the particular section i saw, the questions were in the "sentence completion" style - typically with 3 blanks. each blank had a choice of 3 words that u could select to fill in the blank - for instance:</p>
<p>My feeling is that the old test is _______ to prep for, if you're willing to put in the work. The new test seems like it will be less based on ________ and more based on something else -- intuition perhaps? Different people will have __________ preferences, but I know I would take the old test, given the choice.</p>
<p>A easier harder (equivalently difficult)
B studying memorization understanding
C different similar diverging</p>
<p>the groups of words are arranged vertically (so that the three choices in A are arranged vertically). u got to select one word out of each column, then move to the next question.</p>
<p>vocabulary is important in the new test, but not nearly as crucial as it was in the old test (this is coming from someone who memorized all 3500 words of the barron's list). my feeling is that if ur good at reading comprehension/sentence completion, u'll like this test (or at least, the one section that i tried). the test seems to be much more geared to testing if u actually can read english well, and understand the nuances in thesis development within a paragraph.</p>
<p>The website did say that they were going to put less emphasis on vocabulary and more on overall comprehension. One interesting type question they will use that is technology based is where they will ask you a question on a passage then, rather than have a multiple choice, you will electronically "highlight" the sentence/word/phrase in the text that you think answers the question and (I suppose) hit "submit" or "enter" or something to log in your answer. There's also supposed to be more (maybe in math?) problems where instead of multiple choice, you figure out what the answer is and electronically "submit" it. There's a testing term for this sort of thing but I can't remember it now.</p>
<p>What about this adaptive vs. linear testing? Any opinions? As the website and the testing center explained it, with the current test (adaptive) the computer changes the difficulty of the questions you get based on whether you are answering things correctly or not. If you keep getting them right, the computer starts giving you harder questions, and vice versa. Do you think this is easier or harder than where everyone gets the same questions on the same test (linear)?</p>
<p>I've never been exposed to adaptive testing before (or heard of it) so I don't have an opinion - just curious. Does one favor a particlular learning/testing style, etc? Princeton Review seems to think ets is just doing it to save money, but ets says it's for security purposes. Anyone?</p>
<p>I do not take the GRE until way into next year. That is because of my graduation date and all, it is not by choice. </p>
<p>I think that the linear testing is alright. I would not fret over it, because that makes it no different than a fair amount of other tests. The security purposes thing is hogwash to me. But, I am just really happy that they are providing a small onscreen calculator more than anything else.</p>
<p>Like, I am already reviewing the more basic math and am voluntarily taking an extra math class in the Spring (which I am not obligated to take at all) just for this GRE. I cannot fully get a handle on the non math areas of the general GRE. It seems to me that it will be easy for all of my fellow Literature and Theology type of Humanities based majors. But, I hate having to wait a super long time to learn more about the test itself.</p>
<p>mercymom - the adaptive test caters more to individuals who do well at the beginning of testing. The way that it works out, the questions at the beginning of the test are more important than the ones at the end (The questions at the beginning determine a general score bracket, and all of the successive questions narrow that bracket down to a final score.) Students who panic slightly at the beginning of a test and progressively calm down are likely to do better on a linear test I believe.</p>
<p>I will also be graduating in May 2008, and I am leaning heavily towards waiting for the new version. I've always read quite a bit, but the vocab that they expect you to know for the GRE is insane...I've never encountered most of them. I also detest analogies, and I applaud that they are getting rid of them!</p>
<p>I had no beef with the adaptive test, but I don't think a linear test would have been any better or worse.</p>
<p>The one thing I liked about the adaptive test, as Ctheflute alludes to above, is that if you spend about half the test time on the first ten questions, you are likely to up your score quite a bit, since answering the first ten questions correctly does more for your final score than answering any ten other questions correctly.</p>