Tdearr

Hi everyone, Thank you, ReasonGRE, for your comprehensive comments on this thread. I work for Manhattan Prep and it is encouraging to hear people discussing our books -- especially to hear that people are finding the books helpful. As part of our commitment to providing the best GRE preparation materials, we are constantly reevaluating how accurately our practice problems reflect the real GRE. As you mentioned above, we have noticed that our Text Completion and Sentence Equivalence GRE Strategy Guide did not cover the full breadth of questions students might experience on the exam (i.e., questions that challenged not only students’ vocabulary, but also their critical thinking about sentence structure). In response to this discovery we are releasing these two free supplements to that book, which contain a total of 60 new practice questions. These questions, in combination with the drill sets found in our strategy guide, cover every type of Text Completion and Sentence Equivalence problem you might experience on test day, from those with very difficult vocabulary, to those based around complicated sentence structure. These supplements are available for download in our student center for anyone with our Text Completion & Sentence Equivalence book. If anyone has questions about these supplements please don't hesitate to ask! Best, Taylor

Hi AceTheGRE, Thanks for choosing Manhattan Prep. As part of our commitment to providing the best GRE preparation materials, we are constantly reevaluating how accurately our practice problems reflect the real GRE. As you mentioned above, we have noticed that our Text Completion and Sentence Equivalence GRE Strategy Guide did not cover the full breadth of questions students might experience on the exam. In response to this discovery we are releasing these two free supplements to that book, which contain a total of 60 new practice questions. These questions, in combination with the drill sets found in our strategy guide, cover every type of Text Completion and Sentence Equivalence problem you might experience on test day, from those with very difficult vocabulary, to those based around complicated sentence structure. These supplements are available for download in our student center for anyone with our Text Completion & Sentence Equivalence book. If you have any questions about this, please let me know. Best, Taylor

Hi all, ETS has just released POWEPREP II version 2.0. This new software offers two free GRE practice tests (instead of just one as was the case with the old POWERPREP II software). At Manhattan Prep we just wrote a blog post with info on the new software, and some updates on the ScoreSelect program (which just went into effect this weekend as well). You can find all of our thoughts here: GRE News: POWERPREP II v 2.0, ScoreSelect, and the new Retake Policy | Manhattan Prep GRE Blog If you have any questions, please let me know. Best, Taylor

Hi GRE 2010. Sorry for the confusion. When you take the GRE, you have the option during your test to select 4 schools that you would like ETS to send your GRE scores to. If you make this choice, you aren't charged for those score reports. However, you have to make that selection during your test period and, as such, you cannot pick and choose certain test dates. In order to use ScoreSelect, you have to wait until after your test date then pick from all of your past tests. By waiting until after your exam to send scores, you lose the ability to send those first four reports for free. What this boils down to is that you can still send 4 free reports, but it removes the ability to pick and choose which scores are sent with those four reports. This ets link: GRE ScoreSelect Option provides some more detail on how this works. Click through that link and take a look at the sections labelled "On test day" and "After test day" to learn more about what reports you can send for free and what reports you have to pay for. I hope that helps. If you need further clarification, please let me know. Best, Taylor

Yesterday, ETS sent out this press release (ETS Expands Test-taker Friendly GRE® revised General Test with New ScoreSelect(SM) Option -- PRINCETON, N.J., April 24, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --) announcing a big change in score reporting for GRE test takers. Starting in July, using a new feature called ScoreSelect, you will no longer be forced to report all of your GRE test scores to schools. Moving forward, test takers who sit for the GRE more than once will be able to choose to send only their best test scores with their applications. Here is a blog post from my company, Manhattan Prep, covering the specifics of this ETS announcement: GRE News: ScoreSelect (and how it helps you) | Manhattan Prep GRE Blog I hope this information helps! If you have any questions, please let me know! Best, Taylor

The 13th Edition of the Official Guide for GMAT Review has finally been released publicly. Our sister company, Manhattan GMAT, has done an initial analysis of the OG13 book. Check it out: www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index.php/2012/03/20/manhattan-gmats-analysis-of-the-13th-edition-official-guide/ Best, Taylor

Hi newdawn, Unfortunately, ETS doesn't calculate composite score percentiles, they let the scores stand separately. I hope this helps. Best, Taylor

Hi Peter, You are correct that the Old GRE included a penalty for leaving questions blank. On the new exam, there is no penalty for leaving questions blank, but there is also no penalty for getting questions wrong. You should always answer all of the questions (even with complete guesses) because you might get them right, and if not it is just the same as leaving it blank. With about 20 seconds left in each section test, start to input guess answers for the rest of the questions in that section; it can't hurt! The old test was question level adaptive, so it required a full set of answers to accurately determine your score. Essentially, if you didn't finish, it assumed you over performed on earlier questions by spending too much time on them and penalized you to make up for that. The new test is section level adaptive. In a section adaptive test, blank questions are just marked as wrong without penalty because they don't interfere with the adaptive scoring. I hope this information is helpful. Please let me know if you have any other questions! Best, Taylor

Hi All, Scores for August test takers are now available on mygre.ets.org. Anyone who was waiting to hear their official scores can go check it out! Best, Taylor

Hi everyone, ETS has started to convert official scores from tests taken before August 1st to "estimated current scores" on the new GRE scale of 130-170. We are starting to analyze the new data. Here is our early analysis: Friday Surprise: ETS Releases Newly Converted GRE Scores | Manhattan GRE Blog Best, Taylor

Hi Shahnishal, You have to wait at least 60 days between tests if you are taking the GRE more than once. I hope this information is helpful. Best, Taylor

Hi Nishal, Our free practice exam for the revised GRE is available online here: Free GRE - Revised General Test It is entirely free, and you can take it through your browser so it is compatible regardless of your operating system. I hope this helps! Best, Taylor

The current version of powerprep only has one test included. The old version of powerprep (for the old GRE) had two tests included, so that may be what is causing this confusion. Outside of the one powerprep currently available from ETS, there are many third party tests available from companies such as mine. I hope this information is helpful! Best, Taylor

Hi Koka, The GRE is divided up so that you get a set time limit for each section. You will have 35 minutes for each quantitative section and 30 minutes for each verbal section. You will have the time set aside for verbal (there is no way to use it on the quantitative instead) so you should try and complete the verbal to the best of your ability. Even if you program doesn't specifically require it, a number of schools use the overall GRE score as a part of determining the awards of fellowships. It can't hurt to try your best! Best, Taylor

Hello Koka, At this time, nothing specific is known about the new GRE scale. 500 was the center point of the old scale, so if you college was to ask for the center point of the new scale they would require a 150. However, a 500 translated to a 28th percentile score on the old scale. If your school is looking for a 28th percentile score equivalent on the new scale, that number will likely be a lower than 150. The bottom line is, at this time, we don't know where the new percentiles fall on the 130-170 scale. Without percentile information, it is difficult to analyze scores in relations to admissions. Once the new scores are released in November, it will be much easier to answer your question. I hope this is helpful! Best, Taylor

Many test prep companies are offering free revised GRE practice exams. Manhattan GRE, the company for which I work, offers one here: Free GRE - Revised General Test . Kaplan offers one here: Free Practice Test for the New GRE® . Always check try to find tests from reputable companies to ensure that you get high quality materials.

Hi Martanio, You will be provided with pencils at the testing center. You will NOT be allowed to bring your own writing implements. If you do, they will just make you leave them in a locker outside of the testing room with the rest of your belongings. I hope that helps! Best, Taylor

Hi Bostonfan, I would recommend registering as soon as possible. In the past, waiting until a month in advance of your target date has been plenty of time to schedule a GRE. However, as the final administrations of the current GRE become more scarce, we expect to see a rush to register for those last spots. Due to the upcoming exam shift, it is very hard to predict what will happen with registration availability in the next few months. Hope that helps! Best Regards, Taylor Dearr

Hi Ruhulewu, The first thing to do is familiarize yourself with the new test. A number of websites cover the new GRE, including the ETS website (ETS is the organization that develops the GRE tests). Here is a page they offer that includes a comprehensive explanation of the new test: GRE Revised General Test: What You Need to Know . For a more abbreviated explanation, you will find that a number of test prep companies have started developing pages full of information on the new exam like this one from my company: The New GRE . While these third party explanations aren't as comprehensive as the ETS page, they are often easier to understand because they do not pile on an overwhelming amount of information (it is probably easier to start with a page like that so you don't get lost in too much information). I saw that the verbal section was a big concern of yours. One thing to note is that the new GRE won't have any antonym or analogies questions, so keep that in mind when you are studying vocabulary. For preparation materials however, I would definitely suggest that you begin with the materials ETS provides and move forward from there. ETS has a free practice test in the form of their PowerPrep II software (you can find it here: GRE Revised General Test: POWERPREP II Software). This is a great place to start your studies and get a feel for the new test. Please let me know if you have any more questions about the new GRE and I'll be happy to answer them for you. Good luck with your studies! Regards, Taylor Dearr

Hi Melly, I agree with Cuento's suggestion that you reschedule. There are significant changes to the New GRE, both in content covered and in format, and taking it with no preparation could be difficult. My organization is writing an entirely new set of materials for the new test because we feel our current materials won't be able to adequately prepare students for the New GRE. If you were to take the August test after using only your current materials you would come up against some unfamiliar question types, and an entirely new structure of test (it won't be entirely computer adaptive anymore). To get the most out of your materials, you definitely need to take the current exam. Another major concern is when you will need your scores. The new GRE won't start distributing scores until mid-November of this year. So if you have an early to mid-fall application deadline, the new exam absolutely isn't an option. If you must take the new exam, be sure to check out the free PowerPrep 2 software that is available for free on the ETS website. If nothing else, that will give you a chance to run through the new format and prepare yourself for what you will see on test day after August 1st. Good luck with your studies! Regards, Taylor Dearr

Official score reports are ready in 10 to 15 days and are sent to most schools twice a month. You can find more info on the ETS website here: GRE General Test: Sending Your Scores For a January 6th deadline you probably want to take the test by December 15th at the latest. That being said, some schools accept unofficial scores on your application (these are received immediately after completing the test) and only require official reports for the final application check later on in the process. I would recommend checking with the individual schools to which you are planning to apply just to be safe. Regards, Taylor Dearr

The numeric entry and multiple column fill in the blank questions you have shown here are part of the "new GRE" which will not be given until August of 2011. On the test day it is possible to have an identified research section and/or an unidentified experimental section, but neither of these will count. However, there is sometimes no way to know which unidentified sections are real, so take everything as if it counts. That being said, I can say with complete confidence that you will not receive any numeric entry or multiple column fill in the blank questions in a section that counts if you take the test before August 2011. I hope that helps. You probably found these in PowerPrep II on the ETS website, which is prep software for the new or "revised" GRE. Look around for the original powerprep on the ETS website if for a more accurate prep experience for the current GRE. Regards, Taylor Dearr

I cannot give an exact number value to the damage done by the four unanswered questions, but I can say that it would be very harmful (60-100 drop is certainly possible). If you look at page 3 of this study published by ETS http://www.psych.umn.edu/psylabs/catcentral/pdf%20files/br02-01.pdf you can see some good information on timing. They note that leaving six questions blank can lead to a 100 drop, so leaving 4 questions blank would be a bit less than that. If you are running out of time, always guess; not only might you get one right (in the ETS study they show that guessing on all six blank questions gave a 40 point bump in score because of a single right answer... which in a test with 5 answers per question is likely to happen across 6 blank questions), but even 6 wrong answers would be marginally better than 6 blank answers because of a heightened penalty for failing to finish the test.

I'm sorry. I misread your OS. There are problems with 64 bit Windows 7. I am not aware of any workarounds but I'm sure you can find some online by searching through forums.

There are known issues with 64 bit Vista running powerprep. I suggest looking for work arounds online or fidning some other CATs that run through a web interface. Regards, Taylor