TheLastStone Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 As the title says...So, the writing isn't graded but I did it any way to simulate doing the whole thing. But onto the other stuff. I wanted to take it without studying too awful much so I knew where I was at, and I got the full service plus personal tutor on skype so I'm going to go over all of the practice stuff as well. So here are my stats:Q: 151V: 143total: 294So it's not awesome, and I definitely was caught off-guard by the vocab, but I'm not discouraged. I wasn't expecting anything when I took this. I wanted to see where I was at. A lot of the math stuff looked familiar, and they break it down after you take it, question for question, so I'm going to look over all of that. It wasn't completely foreign, so that's the good thing. I still have two months before my test date and I am putting time in everyday, starting officially today. Thoughts? Tips? Opinions? I got tough skin so feel free. Also, I think I've said before but my predicted GPA is a 3.5, and I'm an EMT, haven't shadowed yet or volunteered. But I have 1.5 years to get it in! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest HanSolo Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 Look over the most common vocab. words from websites like this: https://crunchprep.com/gre/2014/101-high-frequency-gre-words . I remember a list from the back of one of the Kaplan prep books (200 common words I believe). I studied 10 new words a night before I went to bed while reviewing the old ones. Each night's study session was significantly longer than the one before, but this boosted my score significantly. You'll never know all the vocab you encounter on the exam, but you'll at least be able to rule a lot of things out. As for the math section, review the parts you feel unfamiliar with. Usually the probability and statistics throw people off. Don't waste time studying things you already know. Just review it. It will only go up from here. Now you know what to study. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
needmorecoffee Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 The Manhattan GRE essays strategy guide was invaluable to me for the writing portion, especially the argument analysis section. Outside of that, I practiced vocabulary on freerice.com, did a lot of practice questions for verbal and math, and quit studying 24 hours before the test. Scored 311, 4.5 while also taking 15 credit hours at university and working full time. I'm sure you'll do well man Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLastStone Posted June 13, 2017 Author Share Posted June 13, 2017 Thanks y'all! I'm finishing up some supper and then I'm going to sit down and go over it some more. I feel as long as I cover each section a little every day, by august come test day, I should be ok. I appreciate the extra resources! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wellness Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 The practice tests aren't exactly the end all. I was receiving scores in the high 290's and low 300's on the practice exam, but ended up with a 312 on the actual exam. I suggest looking at the ETS website for the list of all topics the exam can possibly test you on. Study the things you do not know first. Then the things you are familiar with, but may not be pro at. Repeat until you feel confident. You got this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harden4mvp Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 I took the GRE twice while self studying with magoosh. I finally took a Kaplan class and got the score I wanted (above 50th percentile in both sections and >4.0 in writing). It was expensive but something about going to class everyday and designating a time to do problems and work through them together really helped. I also had a notebook for vocabulary words with definitions that I didn't know, or were not super familiar with, and I'd read through the book during my lunch break and during bed. It helped me to handwrite them and by the end of my studying I knew like 300+ words! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boli Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 Hey Michael, I've seen you posting a lot about the GRE recently, and IMHO you're spending a lot of time worrying about something that weighs very lightly on the application process. It's not like med school and the MCAT where your score will literally make or break your application. Most programs I've talked to use the GRE as a small data point to show that yes this person can score reasonably well on a standardized exam. Sure, better than 300 is ideal, but very few programs have hard minimums on GRE scores. I picked up a used GRE prep book a week before the test and got a 314. It's not a major thing for schools. If I was you, I'd focus on getting more work experience and volunteer experience, as well as shadowing a ton instead of "kaplan this, magoosh that". Schools will value 40 hours of shadowing much greater than an extra 5 points on your GRE math. That's just my .02 though, I'm just a guy on the internet. Good luck either way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLastStone Posted June 13, 2017 Author Share Posted June 13, 2017 I sincerely appreciate your two cents, boli! I just know that the next 1.5 years I'll be super busy, and this summer has kind of been opened up due to some personal stuff so I figured why not use all of this time to study for the GRE? I have put in volunteer apps and I was told I wasn't needed at an ortho hospital today so I'm going to try other areas later today. Due to some recent health issues (the personal thing I mentioned) I had to push back work, because I have some procedures coming up. I won't be able to work the way the agency needs me to during the school year so I didn't think it'd be feasible to just work and leave them. So I planed on just getting all of my classes done in these next 1.5 years, and then I can work for them full time and focus on that, spend time with family and prepare for leaving for PA school. I'm sure some of that doesn't make sense but with my circumstances it makes the most sense. If my agency was a part time agency then by all means, I'd take a lighter course load, finish later but I'd have my HCE ready to go by app time. I've considered getting my CNA so I could work as a healthcare tech in the hospitals and make connections that way but I feel as if I wouldn't be using my EMT cert the way it's intended. I personally don't feel it would be a waste, but from what I hear EMTs are looked highly upon in the app process.. no disrespect to any other path!! I just want to do everything I can the best that I can. I will admit that I am a bit of a perfectionist and a worry wart towards this kind of stuff. I just honestly want to do well. Not to get all sappy but this is all I've got. My dad passed from an unexpected PE last year, my twin brother is out doing his own thing and we lost my two year old sister in a really tragic way, and I took care of my paw paw the last 3 years of his life following his heart transplant, so I've just put everything I have into this. Helping people means a lot to me, and I may take it too serious and dissect every piece of this process, but I honestly just want to be able to know as much as possible so I can make it into PA school, be good in PA school, and a good PA for patients and their loved ones since I've been on the other end of the spectrum. And being here talking with everyone and seeing the support is a great feeling as well. Everyone helps everyone and I really enjoy that selfless feeling in this community. I spend a lot of time thinking about what else I can do.. not just the GRE, but I do want to make sure I am prepared for it since my vocab is not yet where that verbal part is, and to make sure im ready for the quantitative part and writing, as well. I have found a PA to shadow and I am waiting to hear back from him to get a schedule figured out, and I was looking at my university's club page and they used to have a medical club but not anymore :/. Deep down, I know I was always meant for this and my past experiences and what I'm doing it for are the right reasons, but I messed up early on with my GPA so I want to make sure I make everything shine as best as possible so I can get in. I know I typed a lot.. I had some coffee so my bad lol. I truly do appreciate the feedback, though. Seriously :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilygurlie Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 Hi Michael, If you ever get your CNA cert please contact me. I work on the medsurg/ oncology floor at a major hospital in Charlotte and can you get you a position - we need hard workers and you seem like you'd be a great team player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLastStone Posted June 13, 2017 Author Share Posted June 13, 2017 Hi Michael, If you ever get your CNA cert please contact me. I work on the medsurg/ oncology floor at a major hospital in Charlotte and can you get you a position - we need hard workers and you seem like you'd be a great team player. That'd be awesome! Feel free to PM me more details about it and how to contact you. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JD2012 Posted June 14, 2017 Share Posted June 14, 2017 On multiple magoosh practice exams I always scored 151 on both sections including the ETS prep disc. One test day I got a 151Q and 158V so it isn't a true indicator of your score, plus on test day I took my time on the reading comprehension as well. Either way, you definitely want to score above a 300. Even though some schools may not have a minimum on the website, they still may have a cutoff as one of my friends experienced with a 297 score. The adcom told him his GPA was good but he had to retake the GRE if he wanted an interview at that program. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLastStone Posted June 14, 2017 Author Share Posted June 14, 2017 That was without any practice at all. So, I've set up a 60 day study plan and I feel confident I can get 300+ I wasn't far off without doing any studying. The vocabulary will improve and I'll knock the rust off of my math and be good :) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YooperPA Posted June 14, 2017 Share Posted June 14, 2017 That was without any practice at all. So, I've set up a 60 day study plan and I feel confident I can get 300+ I wasn't far off without doing any studying. The vocabulary will improve and I'll knock the rust off of my math and be good :) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Yes you will be. I had almost an identical score(I think I had 144 on verbal) to you after my first practice test with Magoosh. I then used the 90-day study plan and ended up getting a 154 on the verbal and a 158 on quant. So as long as you put the time in you will do well. Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panglossian Posted June 21, 2017 Share Posted June 21, 2017 Magoosh has the functionality under the review tab to detail what type of questions/level of difficulty you are getting wrong and what type of questions you are spending too much time on. I would focus your GRE studying-effort on the question types that trick you the most. For example, I used to struggle with the quantitative comparison math questions, but now I rarely get them wrong because I watched the magoosh video tutorial and practiced/implemented their strategy. The ETS practice tests also have a "report" function that allows you to see what type/difficulty of questions you miss. You got this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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