Has any one on the forum taken the GRE?

[thetreble 19]

I know, I know...I work at a university but I wanted to check in with you guys to see if any of you have taken the GRE to get into a Masters program here in the US. I'm thinking about taking it soon so that I can start my Masters in Sept. 09 or Jan. 2010.

Any advice?

[john_and_marlene 162]

I took the GRE in 1987. I don't remember much about it.

[payxibka 10,047]

I assume you have checked this out for the schools you are considering because not all graduate programs have this as a prerequisite.

Edited October 28, 2008 by payxibka

[thetreble 19]

I assume you have checked this out for the schools you are considering because not all graduate programs have this as a prerequisite.

I work at a university. As an employee here, you get your MA for free as long as you do it at this school. This school is a good school but requires GRE's for all programs.

Also, I have not seen many programs around this area where GRE's aren't asked for.

[payxibka 10,047]

I assume you have checked this out for the schools you are considering because not all graduate programs have this as a prerequisite.

I work at a university. As an employee here, you get your MA for free as long as you do it at this school. This school is a good school but requires GRE's for all programs.

Also, I have not seen many programs around this area where GRE's aren't asked for.

I have a Master's degree and did not take the exam...

[thetreble 19]

What is your point? Some schools ask for them, and some schools don't. If you were going to get a free education would you turn it down because you didn't want to take the exam?

Again, any one who has WRITTEN the exam, I'd love your input.

[payxibka 10,047]

What is your point? Some schools ask for them, and some schools don't. If you were going to get a free education would you turn it down because you didn't want to take the exam?

Again, any one who has WRITTEN the exam, I'd love your input.

You said that you have not seen many programs that don't require... I simply responded that I am a product of the exception.... Nothing more, nothing less... realax......... sheesh....

Edited October 28, 2008 by payxibka

[thetreble 19]

What is your point? Some schools ask for them, and some schools don't. If you were going to get a free education would you turn it down because you didn't want to take the exam?

Again, any one who has WRITTEN the exam, I'd love your input.

You said that you have not seen many programs that don't require... I simply responded that I am a product of the exception.... Nothing more, nothing less... realax......... sheesh....

I said I had not seen many programs IN THIS AREA, ie. NJ, NY, CT that do not require GRE's. I spent a few days searching for schools, many months ago, that were in commuting distance to my house, and the requirements of the programs. I did not find one school that did not require a GRE. The closest one was Delaware and it is way too far for me to drive 3 hours for a class.

So...how about I relax and you read more carefully.

[payxibka 10,047]

I guess next time I have a question about graduate school I will go to an immigration website... maybe the next time I need information about my teeth I will ask my auto mechanic....

[thetreble 19]

Oh so now I can't post something in here because it is not relevant to immigration? What do you call this entire Canadian forum then or the OT forum? More than half of the topics posted do not have anything to do with immigration. We are here for support on ALL matters of life, not just immigration.

Can you please stop posting in this thread so maybe I can have hope that someone will come along and give me some decent information? Thanks.

[zyggy 9]

I took it about 15 years ago. I remember it as similar to the SAT except a little bit harder. A lot of logic exercises and vocabulary knowledge. Definitely get a study book and get an understanding for what the test will be like. Take a few tests before hand ans see where you are weak, then focus your study on those areas. Honestly, if you know the people in the program, they're not really going to take those results into account. I could have bombed the GRE and I still would have gotten in because I knew the professors really well, but it was required for admission.

Edited October 28, 2008 by zyggy

[thetreble 19]

Well one of the girls I work with that is in the program said she walked into the English department to ask about the GRE and the ideal scores they were looking for. With English majors, the last time we took a math course was a pretty long time ago. They said they didn't even look at the math and were not concerned about it. Just the vocabulary, concept and analytical writing skills. I've looked at a few practice tests. But I will buy a book if you think it is worth it. Even though I have an English language/literature degree, I still need to study the vocab. I have heard that it can be quite difficult.

[SapphireDreams 71]

I bought a book with all intentions of taking the test and applying to grad school in NYC. As soon as I started reading the book, I realized that I was not made for standardized tests and decided to get a Graduate Certificate instead.

From what I read and have chatted with friends about, its not meant to test your abilities. It's a speed oriented test. You complete it all on a screen and there isn't enough time logically to think about and finish all of the questions. It was something like 30 questions in 30 minutes, and it would take more than a minute for each question.

The math questions were pretty much in a different language for me (I only did up to grade 11 math, so that may have been why) and even the vocab seemed so foreign.

A lot of my friends had to take the GRE, but their score did not really matter at all. So you might want to check that. I think the online school University of Phoenix or something like that doesn't care what your score is. But, it varies by program I'm sure. I know this was something my other friend at UCSB found out when taking to the program coordinate, the website made it seem like she needed a good score.

Anyways, good luck! Even though I didn't get a Master's, my graduate certificate was the best thing i ever did for my career.

[john_and_marlene 162]

Well one of the girls I work with that is in the program said she walked into the English department to ask about the GRE and the ideal scores they were looking for. With English majors, the last time we took a math course was a pretty long time ago. They said they didn't even look at the math and were not concerned about it. Just the vocabulary, concept and analytical writing skills. I've looked at a few practice tests. But I will buy a book if you think it is worth it. Even though I have an English language/literature degree, I still need to study the vocab. I have heard that it can be quite difficult.

I remember a section where I had to place commas in all the correct places. Yuck!

[thetreble 19]

I bought a book with all intentions of taking the test and applying to grad school in NYC. As soon as I started reading the book, I realized that I was not made for standardized tests and decided to get a Graduate Certificate instead.

Sapphire,

What is the difference between the MA and the Graduate certificate? I'm really interested to know.