I took the GRE General Test today. For those who are unfamiliar with it, GRE stands for "Graduate Record Examination." It is essentially an SAT for students who are hoping to enter Graduate School.
The GRE is divided into three sections. Two of these sections, the Verbal and the Quantitative, are each scored on a scale of 200-800 (for a possible combined perfect score of 1600). They are both timed, multiple-choice tests.
The other portion of the exam is the Analytical Writing Section, which is sub-divided into two parts, the "Present Your Perspective on an Issue Task" and the "Analysis of an Argument Task." These are timed essays, and are graded subjectively by anonymous college faculty members on a 0.0-6.0 scale.
I did not bother to study at all. Not a single bit. I figured, "hey, I didn't study for the SAT back in high school, and I still managed to score a 1310, so I won't need to study for this exam either."
Two days ago, I decided to go to the GRE Website and try a few of their sample questions from each section. Got every single one right. At this point, I'm thinking I'll score a 1600 and have no worries.
Then, yesterday (after a few beers...), I finally popped in the POWERPREP CD-ROM that had been mailed out to me after I registered for the GRE. I took a few of the practice exams there. And, holy cow!, I wasn't batting 1.000 anymore! I was still getting most of my answers right, but only about 75%. So, my overconfidence shattered, I was now gunning for something more realistic on the real test, like maybe a 1250.
The closest exam site is about a 90 minute drive from where I live. I departed two hours before my scheduled time, but traffic was awful and my 12-year old car was acting up, so I made it there with just minutes to spare.
The first two sections were the written parts, and I will not find out how I did on those until the results are mailed to me in a few weeks. And, due to the subjective nature of the grading process, I have no idea how well (or poorly) I fared.
The next section was the Verbal. Now, I like to think I have a pretty wide vocabulary (at least when compared to my friends and co-workers). But some of the words used in this portion of the exam...I just didn't have a clue. I mean, I may have read or heard them a couple times in my life, but not enough so that I have a real firm grasp on their exact meanings. I was really struggling with this section, and had to use up almost all of my allotted time in order to complete every question with at least a reasonable guess.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Aaman
Neat - congratulations!
2 - RJ Elliott
Thanks, Aaman!
The 780 on the math portion isn't really all that impressive; engineering majors (though I am not one) score that all the time.
But the 710 on the verbal part just shocked me, especially after all the difficulty I had with that section. And even students majoring in the social sciences rarely score that high. I really must have guessed well...
3 - Aaman
It's all guess work, but good show nevertheless
I remember I scored in the 99th percentile...
4 - RJ Elliott
"I remember I scored in the 99th percentile..."
Wow! 99th percentile overall, or in one of the two categories?
5 - Aaman
Overall *blush*
6 - RJ Elliott
Damn! No need to blush; be proud!
The 99th percentile, I assume, means you scored about a 1550? 800 in math and 750 in verbal, or thereabouts?
7 - Aaman
790 verbal and 770 math - Interestingly, I had similar scores in SAT (don't remember the breakup - 1490)
What course are you going to be attending?
8 - Dave Nalle
The real question is how he did on the GRE exam for his chosen field of study, assuming there was one. That can make a lot more difference than the verbal and math scores.
BTW, is it only me or have they changed the scoring on these tests somewhat in recent years? When I toog the GRE 25 years ago my 780V/740M put me in the 99th percentile on both. But it looks like RJ got a much lower percentile with a higher math score. Same thing with the SAT. When I took the SAT in the ancient days it seems like a much lower score got you into the 99th percentile than it takes today. Were people just dumber overall back then so the pool I was being compared to was weaker? Or is it that they've changed things about a bit?
Dave
9 - RJ Elliott
At this point, I am leaning towards a Criminal Justice MS. There are two main reasons for this.
Number one, I can complete the degree online (and w/o writing a thesis), so I will not have to commute to the University or radically alter my work schedule. Number two, my sister is already in the field, and she makes pretty good money and has pretty good benefits while doing interesting work. (One day I hope to be her boss, heh...)
But my true interests lie more in the hard sciences, like biology. Unfortunately, I don't think I'm in a position to pursue a degree in that field at the present time.
10 - Aaman
I didn't take that - I didn't use the GRE or SAT scores for admission, although I did get into Dartmouth after the SAT. I kind of drifted into engineering after my twelfth - and that's another story
11 - RJ Elliott
Dave:
The data on percentiles I got from PDF files located on the GRE Website...they can be found here and here.
On page 13 of the second PDF file, it shows that a Verbal of 720 is in the 98th percentile, and a Verbal of 700 is in the 96th percentile...so I assume a Verbal of 710 is in the 97th percentile.
Also on page 13 of the second PDF file, it shows that even a perfect score of 800 on the Quantitative section is only in the 92nd percentile, and a score of 780 is in the 87th percentile.
The only thing I can figure, is that a lot of engineering students take the GRE and get 800s, and this throws the percentiles outta wack.
12 - Matt Largo
Although I have always consistently scored very well on standardized tests, I don't take the results as gospel. I think that genius is much like beauty. You cannot truly quantify either: 165 = I'm a genius, 10 = I'm beautiful. Nonsense. I think that there are more dullards at large nowadays, which makes it easier to be comparatively more intelligent. Blogcritics readers and writers being in the intelligentsia.
13 - RJ Elliott
IQ scores are interesting to me. By definition, a score of 100 is the mean of a given population, correct? (Or is it the median?)
At any rate, by this definition, roughly half of the population has an IQ in the double digits. But I don't believe I've ever met anyone who has ever said their tested IQ was under 100.
Do those who test poorly simply refuse to admit it? Or are sub-100 scores not reported to the test-takers, for "self-esteem" reasons? Or are the numbers skewed to the point that only the mentally-retarded have scores significantly below 100?
Sometimes, in news reports, you'll find a story about a convicted criminal with an IQ in the 70s or something. But other than that, you never hear about such people, despite the fact that they are presumably all around us...
14 - RedTard
Somebody should look up one of those free online IQ tests and post it on here. A little friendly competition never hurt anyone.
15 - Vijay Sappani
That is an impressive score! Congrats
16 - RJ Elliott
"The first two sections were the written parts, and I will not find out how I did on those until the results are mailed to me in a few weeks."
Checked the mail today, and I got my scores:
5.0 out of 6.0.
Basically, a B+...(6.0 being an A+ and 5.5 being an A...and 4.5 being a B)
17 - Everywhere
Congrats on the impressive scores!
I took the GRE test recently and received 690 on the verbal and 720 on the quantitative sections. On analytical writing I got 6.0. The results in and of themselves are OK, but I am still not going to get into graduate school, since my undergraduate GPA was appalling and I mean trully appalling - on the verge of failure. I had some serious financial/psychological problems in undergraduate school.
18 - Jeff
Hey EVERYWHERE,
Look for a graduate school that has OPEN ENROLLMENT.
Take at least 20 credits there with a GPA of over 3.6, take your GRE score and send them away.
Best of Luck.
PS, people will doubt you, it is THEIR fear about success, not yours.
19 - Snooty
I'm gonna get 1600
20 - Mahin
Hey bright guys! I want to get perfect scores in GRE test. How to do that?
Mahin
21 - RJ Elliott
Cheat.
22 - Michael
What study aids did you use?
23 - dhwani
I am taking gre on 5 th august .what is the good book for that..please tell me..i am too poor in verbal and maths ...please please help me
24 - johnnyboy
I just barely took the GRE today- 790 Qualitative and only a 700 Verbal for a 1490.
I got all freaked out by the verbal part, cause it seemed too easy at parts, which made me think I was sucking, then it would get impossible.
I'm glad that's over with.
25 - dan
I studied for the GRE with a book (a little) and a CD-rom practice test program. It helped me remember the shortcuts for trig and geometry I hadn't thought about in years. I took practice tests the same time of day as the upcoming test for about a week or two beforehand. Also, I got a lot of exercise the morning of the test. A Nelly Furtado/Timbaland song was stuck in my head the whole time. It flew by. I had to go fast toward the end of the math. Writing sucked, I tried to make too much of a point and ended up running out of time. So don't overthink that section. Just write complete sentences. Instant score: 1460. I had gotten about that on PSAT and SAT about ten years ago. A woman at the admissions desk asked how I did it. The IQ score sites are weird. Do they make mathematical sense? It seems so terribly slanted to a certain kind of intelligence. The GRE tests your ability to guess correctly. You actually get slowed down if you try to work out the solution. Eliminate wrong answers quickly instead. Same with verbal.