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simple2005 · 04-20-2005, 06:54 AM

I took up the GRE yesterday , I got a devastatingly low verbal - 390 and quants -650, in any practice tests I never got such low score , however this maybe due to fact that I prepared for 1 month, I am going to retake the exam.I had been studying Barrons GRE , is that a nice book ? I also took powerpreps , and I got scores in verbal always above 450 and quants above 700 , I am throughly confused of my ability , it probably maybe nervousness, a new environment of test center , a new computers and such factors which might impair the scores...what reading materials can you guys suggest me for GRE retake ? any thoughts?

Regards
Simple

reactor · 04-20-2005, 07:09 AM

The GRE is a "Computer Adaptive Test", and if for example your first 5 answers are incorrect your score is going to be low. Do not worry! It is common than people score low in their first test and then they score high-very high in their second test

Read my post about how to manage test anxiousness and going for the test with high confidence!

http://www.urch.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20374 (why is it easy without time?)

moon_2016 · 04-20-2005, 04:05 PM

Hey ,
Dont worry .Give ur exam the second time and give it ur best shot.Barrons is a good book.I think in powerprep ur score does improve the second time u give it.U should have a variety of tests when u are studying for it the second time.

tans · 04-21-2005, 04:24 AM

dont worry. it can always happen in GRE. better retake it

rahul13 · 04-21-2005, 04:31 AM

hey simple donn worry, u can give it another try. I'm sure this time u'r gonna get da best..wish u all da best n touch da acme of suceess.

Have a nice day..

bhamra1983 · 04-21-2005, 05:18 AM

Hi Simple,
Look it's quite simple that u might have got stressed becoz of the anxiety of the test, but its very important that you maintain your cool in the second attempt

.
I had given my first attempt on 1 march and got 400 verb 730 quant

,i was quite dejected at that time,i booked my second attempt 7 april, i started preparing by doing the complete Barrons list with some 75-85% accuracy, visited quite a lot sites including testmagic FORUMS

, practiced around 2 hrs sincerely everyday although i had only limited resources to study, "Barrons, Cliffs,and Princeton review verbal workout" i went through all the material and powerprep tests again and again.
I received my score card for first test some 1 week before my second attempt, i reviewed it on Ets site and got info on how i had performed on each part of verbal,and started workin on my weaknesses of verbal.
And on the test day tried to remain calm and composed thinking that "THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTION IS IN THESE FIVE OPTIONS ONLY NOT FROM SOMEWHERE OUT, AND I KNOW I CAN FIND THEM"

This thinking along with my preparation I guess helped me a lot in my second attempt, i managed a decent score of 530 verb and 770 Quant

.

And i know if i can do it anyone else can also

Bye take care
and be confident in yourself.

indianspur · 04-21-2005, 06:22 AM

Quote:

After the break I had pepped my self for verbal and I got quant. I quickly started on it and in the begininng things went okay. Then all of a sudden the problems became difficult and I wasn't even able to solve some. I lost my composure and basically gave up on the test. I don't really remember the problems even on the day of the test as I was totally wrecked. I pretty much decided that I would have to give the test again.
In Verbal, my attempt was totally half hearted. I didnt use the scratch paper and all the time I kept thinking what I would tell my friends and peers and how I should prepeare for my next test.
Third was an identified research section. I was totally exhausted and didnt even follow the instuctions of the research section. After five min. I just left it blank and quit the section. I was dreading my score and just wanted to get out of that hell-hole asap.
I was so suprised when I saw my score that I almost fell off the chair.

Now what did learn from my GRE experience. Never loose your composure and never give up. You can never judge your scores until you finish the test. Given how I did my verbal (I finished it in 25 min.) I feel I could easily have got 700+, but thats how things are. Take one section at a time and leave the rest to the end of the test

See Link: http://www.urch.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23750 (V-650 Q-780 A-5.5)

The reason I typed that was because I didn't want others to make the same mistake that I had. I feel the most important thing is to maintain your cool on the day of the test as well as during the test.

Forget what happened. See where your weak areas are and try to improve it. You should be able to do better next time.

Gemini67 · 05-04-2005, 12:24 AM

Hi!! Simple,

I believe 1 month isn't adequate enough to prepare for GRE, especially if you are aiming for a real good score. I share a story that's very similar to yours. I too had prepared for a month and let me admit....I was running out of time. Verbal was a ping-pong game. I scored V-400,Q-700 & AW-5. But I haven't given up hope since I know I could have done much better if I had solid 3 months to prepare.

So planning to give it another try!!

I am sure even you too can do it.L
Last but not the least believe in yourself and don't be nervous. Say to yourself "I have done by part and God shall take care of the rest"

So take care & don't worry

simple2005 · 05-04-2005, 05:03 AM

Thanks Gemini and All Others for encouragement and sharing of experience. I have taken more books now including 10th edition, I however feel , the locus of GRE quants have shifted more on the AP,GP,Stats(Average,Prob.,Mean,Mode,Median,SD), then compared to Equations,Geom as before.Quants has become tougher then before,in real.

MsDemeanor · 05-18-2005, 04:02 AM

Just a thought. You might want to get with one of the test prep "agencies" (don't want to advertise any here) and do a few focused sections on Verbal. I had a really low Quant. score, but very high verbal, so I asked if they could help with Quants only. It was totally helpful, as I learned all these strange quirks about the test, and I scored much higher the second time around.
The verbal section seems to reward those who are really bookworms- those who have read a ton of material all of their lives, it can be really hard to prepare for.

Try again and good luck.

04-20-2005, 06:54 AM	#1 (permalink)
simple2005 Trying to make mom and pop proud Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 20	Stunned!! I took up the GRE yesterday , I got a devastatingly low verbal - 390 and quants -650, in any practice tests I never got such low score , however this maybe due to fact that I prepared for 1 month, I am going to retake the exam.I had been studying Barrons GRE , is that a nice book ? I also took powerpreps , and I got scores in verbal always above 450 and quants above 700 , I am throughly confused of my ability , it probably maybe nervousness, a new environment of test center , a new computers and such factors which might impair the scores...what reading materials can you guys suggest me for GRE retake ? any thoughts? Regards Simple

04-20-2005, 07:09 AM	#2 (permalink)
reactor only Loeb spaces! Moderator Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 2,075	Re: Stunned!! The GRE is a "Computer Adaptive Test", and if for example your first 5 answers are incorrect your score is going to be low. Do not worry! It is common than people score low in their first test and then they score high-very high in their second test Read my post about how to manage test anxiousness and going for the test with high confidence! http://www.urch.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20374 (why is it easy without time?) _ _ _ _ SIG _ _ _ _ "It's easy to have faith in yourself and have discipline when you're a winner, when you're number one. What you've got to have is faith and discipline when you're not yet a winner." Vince Lombardi How to write a lazy proof Teaching yourself how to prove

04-20-2005, 04:05 PM	#3 (permalink)
moon_2016 Within my grasp! Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 126	Re: Stunned!! Hey , Dont worry .Give ur exam the second time and give it ur best shot.Barrons is a good book.I think in powerprep ur score does improve the second time u give it.U should have a variety of tests when u are studying for it the second time.

04-21-2005, 04:24 AM	#4 (permalink)
tans Civil Engineering fan Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: india Posts: 520	Re: Stunned!! dont worry. it can always happen in GRE. better retake it _ _ _ _ SIG _ _ _ _ Tanusree .................................................. ..... Where there is a will there is a way

04-21-2005, 04:31 AM	#5 (permalink)
rahul13 Within my grasp! Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: india Posts: 334	Re: Stunned!! hey simple donn worry, u can give it another try. I'm sure this time u'r gonna get da best..wish u all da best n touch da acme of suceess. Have a nice day.. _ _ _ _ SIG _ _ _ _ Winners Never Quit

04-21-2005, 05:18 AM	#6 (permalink)
bhamra1983 Oye Chak De Phatte!!!!! Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: India Posts: 352	Re: Stunned!! Hi Simple, Look it's quite simple that u might have got stressed becoz of the anxiety of the test, but its very important that you maintain your cool in the second attempt . I had given my first attempt on 1 march and got 400 verb 730 quant ,i was quite dejected at that time,i booked my second attempt 7 april, i started preparing by doing the complete Barrons list with some 75-85% accuracy, visited quite a lot sites including testmagic FORUMS , practiced around 2 hrs sincerely everyday although i had only limited resources to study, "Barrons, Cliffs,and Princeton review verbal workout" i went through all the material and powerprep tests again and again. I received my score card for first test some 1 week before my second attempt, i reviewed it on Ets site and got info on how i had performed on each part of verbal,and started workin on my weaknesses of verbal. And on the test day tried to remain calm and composed thinking that "THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTION IS IN THESE FIVE OPTIONS ONLY NOT FROM SOMEWHERE OUT, AND I KNOW I CAN FIND THEM" This thinking along with my preparation I guess helped me a lot in my second attempt, i managed a decent score of 530 verb and 770 Quant . And i know if i can do it anyone else can also Bye take care and be confident in yourself.

05-04-2005, 12:24 AM	#8 (permalink)
Gemini67 Trying to make mom and pop proud Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: USA Posts: 6	Cheer up Hi!! Simple, I believe 1 month isn't adequate enough to prepare for GRE, especially if you are aiming for a real good score. I share a story that's very similar to yours. I too had prepared for a month and let me admit....I was running out of time. Verbal was a ping-pong game. I scored V-400,Q-700 & AW-5. But I haven't given up hope since I know I could have done much better if I had solid 3 months to prepare. So planning to give it another try!! I am sure even you too can do it.L Last but not the least believe in yourself and don't be nervous. Say to yourself "I have done by part and God shall take care of the rest" So take care & don't worry

05-04-2005, 05:03 AM	#9 (permalink)
simple2005 Trying to make mom and pop proud Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 20	Re: Stunned!! Thanks Gemini and All Others for encouragement and sharing of experience. I have taken more books now including 10th edition, I however feel , the locus of GRE quants have shifted more on the AP,GP,Stats(Average,Prob.,Mean,Mode,Median,SD), then compared to Equations,Geom as before.Quants has become tougher then before,in real.

05-18-2005, 04:02 AM	#10 (permalink)
MsDemeanor Within my grasp! Join Date: May 2005 Location: West Africa Posts: 163	Re: Stunned!! Just a thought. You might want to get with one of the test prep "agencies" (don't want to advertise any here) and do a few focused sections on Verbal. I had a really low Quant. score, but very high verbal, so I asked if they could help with Quants only. It was totally helpful, as I learned all these strange quirks about the test, and I scored much higher the second time around. The verbal section seems to reward those who are really bookworms- those who have read a ton of material all of their lives, it can be really hard to prepare for. Try again and good luck.

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