richie

My goodness Elliephant the exact same thing happened to me as well. I was consistently getting 800 in Powerprep, and feeling pretty good about it. Then on test day, I got way too tense, screwed up time management by front loading way too much, and bombed with a 760 as well. I'm applying to chemistry so I'm not sure how much a 760 would hurt, but I definitely feel and share the pain!

Don't sell yourself short, apply everywhere, you never know where you may get in. As for which universities are good, I'll say UofT and Waterloo are definitely top notch in the field. McMaster and McGill are also pretty good, and McGill is well known throughout Canada. Dalhousie is pretty well known in eastern Canada. Just don't apply to York, I hear their engineering program isn't accredited or something. You don't have to get published, nobody expects papers out of undergrad. As long as you get good recommendation letters you'll be fine. As for GRE, I don't really think it's too big of a deal, as long as you get above their cutoffs you'll be fine. As for scholarships, this varies from school to school. Some have scholarships just for international applicants, others don't. The general rule of thumb is a large, research-intensive university will likely have more scholarship opportunities than a smaller one.

I wish you'd posted this earlier, since what you described is exactly what happened to me. On my Powerprep tests I didn't really bother double checking the first 10 questions or whatever, and was consistently getting 800 in quant. On the real thing I kept second guessing myself, and eventually landed in the ridiculous situation of having only 5 minutes to answer 8 questions. This led to a very disappointing score of 760. I just wish I'd toyed around with Powerprep more before the actual test and see for myself how the CAT scoring actually works. Here's a tip for everyone: Even if you get the first question wrong, but get every other question right afterward, you can still get 800 in quant. You can run a few trials in Powerprep yourself if you find this incredible. That age-old myth needs to be put to rest.

To be honest I didn't really study vocab, because I had such a short time (2 days). I think I memorized maybe about 50 vocab in total. I did get lucky because 2 showed up, but that was it. For verbal I would first concentrate on getting ALL the reading comprehension and sentence completion questions. If you can do that you shouldn't score lower than 550. When I first did Powerprep I didn't recognize a single vocab, but I got all the RC and sentence completion questions and got 550. So focus on that first. For vocab if you're ambitious enough you can try to memorize the entire Barron's 3500 wordlist. If I cared enough and had more time I'm sure I could get at least 100 a day, so you could easily reach 3500 vocab by the end of a month if you're dedicated enough.

I'll just repost what I wrote in another thread: ============================================ If you're good with math, don't waste too much time studying for quant. For reference I only prepared 5 days for the GRE (long story...). I spent 3 days going over quant and 2 days on verbal. Ended up with 630V 760Q 5.0AW. Now I should mention I only got 760 because I completely messed up time management -- the quant section was my last section, so I was very worn out, and the stress did nothing to help. It really pissed me off because I was consistently getting 800Q in Powerprep, but that's life. Personally I think beyond a certain point, the only thing that stands between you and 800 in quant is your ability to manage your time under high stress situations. In hindsight there really was nothing more I could do to prepare myself for the quant. I reviewed geometry and combinatorics in detail since I was rusty on them, but apparently that was all I needed as indicated by my Powerprep scores. My advice: Once you start consistently getting 800Q in the Powerprep tests (don't do them too often or you'll become too familiar with the questions), work on finishing the quant section as fast as possible. Your performance will take a hit on the real thing due to stress, so give yourself as much cushion as possible. When that's behind you, just start working through the vocab list, but bear in mind you're simply increasing your odds of getting certain vocab, there's no guarantee, and I've heard stories of people memorizing 1000+ vocab and not have a single one appear on their GRE. As for writing: BS away on the Issue essay, write as much as you can. As long as it's not blatantly wrong/false and doesn't contain gaping holes in logic you shouldn't get lower than a 4. I got a weird topic, and I spent the first 3 paragraphs addressing only half the topic. Since I was really short on time I only managed to write 1 paragraph on the other half of the topic. To top it off I didn't even write a conclusion because I ran out of time, so the essay was basically left without an ending. No way this could've gotten anything above 4. For the Argument essay, practice picking out logical fallacies in arguments, internet forums are a great place to start LOL. Look at the pool of Argument topics, and think about how you can pick them apart. I knew I was gonna draw blanks for the Issue essay since the topics are bizarre and random, so I invested way more time in Argument essay instead. Must've worked since I'd have to get a 6 on my Argument essay in order to get a 5 overall. I found it much easier to prepare for the Argument essay, since it's essentially a game of logic in written format.

If you're good with math, don't waste too much time studying for quant. For reference I only prepared 5 days for the GRE (long story...). I spent 3 days going over quant and 2 days on verbal. Ended up with 630V 760Q 5.0AW. Now I should mention I only got 760 because I completely messed up time management -- the quant section was my last section, so I was very worn out, and the stress did nothing to help. It really pissed me off because I was consistently getting 800Q in Powerprep, but that's life. Personally I think beyond a certain point, the only thing that stands between you and 800 in quant is your ability to manage your time under high stress situations. In hindsight there really was nothing more I could do to prepare myself for the quant. I reviewed geometry and combinatorics in detail since I was rusty on them, but apparently that was all I needed as indicated by my Powerprep scores. My advice: Once you start consistently getting 800Q in the Powerprep tests (don't do them too often or you'll become too familiar with the questions), work on finishing the quant section as fast as possible. Your performance will take a hit on the real thing due to stress, so give yourself as much cushion as possible. When that's behind you, just start working through the vocab list, but bear in mind you're simply increasing your odds of getting certain vocab, there's no guarantee, and I've heard stories of people memorizing 1000+ vocab and not have a single one appear on their GRE. As for writing: BS away on the Issue essay, write as much as you can. As long as it's not blatantly wrong/false and doesn't contain gaping holes in logic you shouldn't get lower than a 4. I got a weird topic, and I spent the first 3 paragraphs addressing only half the topic. Since I was really short on time I only managed to write 1 paragraph on the other half of the topic. To top it off I didn't even write a conclusion because I ran out of time, so the essay was basically left without an ending. No way this could've gotten anything above 4. For the Argument essay, practice picking out logical fallacies in arguments, internet forums are a great place to start LOL. Look at the pool of Argument topics, and think about how you can pick them apart. I knew I was gonna draw blanks for the Issue essay since the topics are bizarre and random, so I invested way more time in Argument essay instead. Must've worked since I'd have to get a 6 on my Argument essay in order to get a 5 overall. I found it much easier to prepare for the Argument essay, since it's essentially a game of logic in written format.

Zish, if you're applying to Canadian universities, don't bother with the GRE unless they specifically say they require it. From what I know most Canadian universities don't really care about the GRE because apparently "it's an American thing", and they feel the scores are rather meaningless in helping them make decisions. I know this because I'm doing my undergrad at the University of Toronto, and that's what the professors told me.

Got my scores online yesterday: 630V (91 percentile) 760Q (84 percetile) 5.0 AW (84 percentile) I guess overall it's decent, but not exactly spectacular. Once again I'm kicking myself for being too tense and messing up quant, but what can I do. I know some schools say they consider GRE scores when determining fellowships (eg Purdue), but I'm not sure how much weight is given to GRE, and whether it's worth the time and money to retake. Right now I'm leaning towards not retaking it.

Well I only prepared 5 days for it (I hate pointless standardized tests and didn't take it too seriously) and got: 630V 760Q 5.0 AW Would've broken the 1400 barrier if I wasn't so tense for quant and messed up my time management (it was my last section and I was tired) and only got a 760. Pisses me off greatly because I was consistently getting 800 in Powerprep... IMO 3 months is overkill, 1 month of dedicated studying should be more than enough to get 1400+. Then again I guess it really depends on your background, and how fast you can assimilate new information. So may be, may not be, I am not sure.

Thanks for the link. It's amazing how much Duke's average fluctuates, from a high of 757Q in 2001 to a low of 726Q in 2009. Hasn't broken the 740 barrier in the past 3 years, but it could always go up. My top choices right now are UPenn and Princeton, I really like the stuff they're doing. Too bad there's no mention of any stats whatsoever on their site, with Princeton only giving the entirely useless "generally our applicants have over 600V and 700Q". Well I'm sure the average quant score is way above 700 so that's moot. And it's Princeton. I mentioned this before, but the thing you said about GPA, I'm paranoid it works the opposite way as well. Obviously a strong GRE score is needed overcome a low GPA, but I can't help feeling that a strong GRE score is also needed to give credibility to a good GPA.

Anyone?

I've seen several of those when doing Powerprep tests, nothing you can't solve with nCr and nPr formulas. Maybe there was one on the real thing towards the end but I was rushing so I don't remember too well.

Hey guys, it's been almost 5 years since I last posted here, and I have to say this is one of the most informative and non-judgmental forums I've come across. My biggest regret is not making use of the resources provided when I was preparing for my GRE, but I can't change the past so no point crying over spilled milk I suppose. (this is pretty long, just read my scores and then skip to the last paragraph if you want) Anyways, I took the GRE last Thursday, and I basically blew it: 630V 760Q don't have my writing score yet, but I don't predict it to be very pretty -- bad time management means I couldn't even write a conclusion for my Issue essay! I'll be happy with a 4... I'll be honest: I didn't prepare much for it at all. In fact my study time probably came around to a grand total of 5 days. I didn't take it too seriously, and I got burned. That said, I don't believe the quant score is representative of what I'm capable of. I did both Powerprep tests the day before my test, and I managed 800 on both of them. During the test however, I was too careful on the first 1/3 of questions, and went way too slow. I lagged behind so bad by the time I got to question 20 I had only 5 minutes left! I had to guess the last 3 questions, so I guess in a way it's almost a blessing I somehow managed 760. I'll be going into my 5th and final year as a chem major this upcoming September (biochem--->chem switch held me back a year) at the University of Toronto. GRE aside, all my other credentials are pretty good: -3.9+ GPA (3.99 in major) -UROP for a summer, NSERC (Canadian equivalent of REU) for 2 summers, although one summer was doing biochem stuff, and 1 semester of volunteer work. I'll also be doing a senior project for my last year in undergrad -Should be able to get good references, as long as I don't screw up my senior project I'm mainly looking at the top 10-30 schools and a few top 10 schools for a PhD in synthesis/catalysis. Right now the list looks something like this: -Ann Arbor -Chicago -Columbia -Cornell (actually might cross this one off since Paul Chirik is moving to Princeton) -Duke -Princeton -Purdue -UIUC -UW-Madison -UPenn My plan is to get some relevant industrial experience for a year or two before I head off to grad school. I still need to take the chem GRE, but that can wait considering I have at least 2 years ahead of me. But I guarantee I'll bust my *** for this one and try to get >95 percentile. Being an international applicant (Asian-Canadian), my GRE scores really worry me, especially when you have statements like "Note: Successful international applicants in the past typically have had a total score of at least 1400 for the quantitative and verbal tests, at least 4.0 in the analytical writing test, and a score of at least 850 for the advanced test in chemistry" on Cornell's website. I've been told "it doesn't really matter as long as you have good reference letters and research", but the last thing I want is for my app to be filtered out because of my GRE score. Considering how much more competitive it is for international applicants (especially when it comes to funding), I dunno if I should trust that statement. Then again it seems almost childish to toss out someone's app just because it didn't meet an arbitrary cutoff. Some of those schools say they'll take the best score from each section if I retake the GRE, and I'm hoping as long as I show significant improvement (eg 700V 800Q 6AW) they wouldn't hold it against me. I'm also slightly worried they might see my GRE score and think my GPA is inflated, but I can assure you where I'm studying, grade DEflation is the norm -- most of my 3rd year chem courses still had C/C+ averages, with only one or two in the B/B+ range. It'd be a terrible insult if they just wrote off my GPA as being inflated. Anyway, assuming I manage >95 percentile on the chem GRE, maintain a 3.9+ GPA and get good reference letters, would it still be worth my time and money to retake the GRE? I mean, I've taken 2 classes in logic and managed A/A+ in both of them, so clearly I'm capable of "thinking critically and analytically" if the adcoms care to read my transcript. Oh but one thing's for sure, if I get below 4 on writing, I'm retaking it for sure. Thanks so much for your patience.

Ok, I know this sounds like a completely crazy question, but if any of you have ordered additional score reports using the ordering form (attached to your score report) before, could you please PLEASE PUL-LEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE tell me how the heck you crammed in the address of the institution into that tiny amount of space? I'm thinking of omitting some details, but then ETS might refuse to send anything, could anyone help me out here?

Hello there, I'm a new guy on the block so please spare me if I make any silly mistakes. I had always been reading the posts on this forum (though I never registered) and I have to say I owe a big thanks to this site for all the informative tips and helpful resources. My final score arrived on the 8th of August, it was 297 with a 6 on the essay. The only imperfection was from the listening section, with a score of 29. I can't really remember the details so I'll give you some other info instead. I took the test in Hong Kong, and boy was it COLD. The air-conditioning was pumped up to the max and I literally shivered as I went through the entire test. I think the room temperature was 22 degrees Centigrade max. Remember to dress adequately or you'll freeze to death, no kidding. Also, the noise barriers obviously don't work very well because I could hear a loud typing noise even in the waiting room, so try practicing your listening in a noisy envvironment rather than in complete silence. I don't know why, but I think the real thing was MUCH harder than the tests in PowerPrep. Section B of the listening section was completely crazy. All talks lasted for 2 minutes, I think one even lasted for 3 minutes and a half! My mind wandered so that explains the 29 in listening. Structure was really tricky, you might be tempted to jump to conclusions, but please don't, I nearly fell into a trap, it was my instinct that saved me (lucky me lol). Reading was harder than PowerPrep in that EVERY passage had an insertion type question. Make sure you consider all the insertion points before making a choice. Remember, the less choices it provides, the harder (and trickier) the question is. Now I have one question, because I was only 17 and in grade 11 when I took the TOEFL, I selected 'Other' as the reason for taking TOEFL (now everyone knows that someone like me takes the TOEFL for going into university). I'm a bit worried that the university might reject my score due to this reason, do you guys think the university will care? I certainly hope it won't, or otherwise I'd be in big trouble. Alright, hope my info helped, I'll write more if I suddenly recall something not posted here.