<p>I am a junior, and will be applying to grad schools in the fall I think. When should I take the GRE? Most of the grad schools I've looked at so far have application deadlines either in December or January, so I don't want to wait until the fall to take it in case I need to retake it to get a better score. Do you think taking it once in the spring and once again in the fall if needed is okay? I'm a pretty good test-taker, I did well on the ACT, but it's been a while since I've taken any standardized tests obviously. </p>
<p>Also, I was looking through a GRE prep book in the bookstore the other day and it seems like alot of the math was geometry. This is the ONLY math I don't like and completely forgot after I finished taking the class (which, btw, was freshman year of high school.... 6 years ago!). Is it really majority geometry stuff on the math? Am I going to have to reteach myself how to do circumference and stuff? Argh.</p>
<p>do some practice problems, they'll come back! Its just liek the SATs. MAth is the easy party for me, im worried about the Verbal portion lol. God i hate reading.</p>
<p>the GRE quant (math) section is all algebra, geometry and trig.
the verbal section is actually what catches most people up, though, since it cannot be studied for nearly as easily.</p>
<p>you should take the GRE at least a couple of months before applications are due. The end of the summer before your senior year would be ideal...</p>
<p>I feel you on the math part. I took calculus first semester in college, and that was the last of it! Never was my strong subject.</p>
<p>I recommend pulling out one or two good (read reviews by grad students if you can find them) books and studying them. The best time to do the studying is during the summer, and the best time to take the exam is the end of summer just before your senior year begins.</p>
<p>A word of caution: be aware of subject test requirements! The GRE subject test is the worst part and it requires a LOT of specific studying, even (I would say especially) for something as seemingly harmless as the Literature exam. If you're working on both the GRE General and a GRE Subject, budget your time wisely and sneak the subject test studying into this semester if you're able. Even starting so early, you probably will be working on it into the summer as well.</p>
<p>Honestly, I found the GRE math section to be easier than the SAT math section. Not sure how it compares to the ACT though. </p>
<p>One thing you should know is the GRE is offered on the computer at testing centers, and not on paper like the other exams. So the feel is ENTIRELY different, since you can't skip around to do all the easy questions first. Also, the computer makes the questions harder everytime you get a question right (and easier if you get them wrong), so you will ALWAYS feel like the test is difficult even if you get a perfect score. I don't like it!! The benefit to having a computer exam is that you can pretty much take it any day of the week any time of the year (at least this was the case at my testing center). Also, all the sections (except for the essays) are graded instantly, so you know most of your score before you leave your seat. If you bomb the test, you can probably take it again the next week if you can afford it. It's quite expensive!</p>
<p>I'd take it in summer (more study time & if you do bad, retake it in the fall). I think that some of the reason why it's a lot of geometry is b/c geometry is part of trig, college algebra and so many other things. I think that on their website they have a breakdown on how many of each type on each section. </p>
<p>I'm actually not that worried about the verbal part, (I own at analogies and grammar and things like that) although the writing part scares me a bit. I'm too critical of my own writing to ever think it's good. Maybe after the 9 papers I have to write this semester, I'll be ok with that part. I'm good at algebra and trig but geometry was always the math I had the most trouble with, which is why I'm worried about it. </p>
<p>So the consensus of when to take it is sometime this summer then? I will be gone to France from late June to early August, so should I take it before or after my trip?</p>
<p>undecided, thank god I don't have to do a subject test too!</p>
<p>It depends on when you can start studying. If you can take it anytime, take it whenever you feel ready. I'd try to take it before the trip (that way theres no stress about preparing during your trip), but if you aren't going to be able to study much b/c of spring classes, then take it after.</p>
<p>I'm going on a study abroad trip, OKgirl, if I can figure out how to pay for it. I was thinking it would probably be easier to take it before the trip because I get out of school in early may and don't leave til june 29, so that gives me plenty of time to study and take it mid-june-ish and not have to worry too much about it over the trip.</p>
<p>The GRE is a CAT (computer adaptive test) so the questions become increasingly harder (or easier) depending on whether you answered the previous question correctly. A lot of people take the test in the summer before or even fall of their senior year (it is graded on the spot and score reports are mailed about 2 weeks after test day).</p>
<p>If you will be applying to very competitive programs, I would urge you not to take the test more than once, since most programs will consider all available scores and in some cases take the average. It is best to study well the first time and take it once.</p>
<p>Concerning the math portion, the easy to medium level questions are comparable to the level you would find on the SAT. The hard questions (which you will encounter if you score in the 700+ range) though are more abstract and are harder than those on the SAT. The types of questions that you get are pretty random from test to test since it is administered by computer in an adaptive fashion (i.e. no 2 individuals will likely get the same set of questions). When I took it, I got several statistics questions, a couple probability questions, and many word problems. Since you aren't allowed to use a calculator, you should get good at doing fairly long calculations by hand so it doesn't stumble you up on test day.</p>