For the last month I have had a one track mind. My main focus right now is the GRE which I have to do well on for graduate school. This test is evil and must be defeated. It currently occupies more of my time than actually applying to graduate schools. I can honestly admit that I was under-prepared for the difficulty of this test. It was not like the SAT that I took to get into college. With that test I did not study and did better than most of my peers. And it was not like the LSAT that I took for entry into law school. With that exam I studied a far deal and did average. This test was insane! It was unlike any standardized test that I have ever taken.
The thing that made it hardest was that it was computerized and not the normal bubble in answer sheet that comes with most standardized tests. This made it extremely difficult. instead of being able to write on the booklet you had to rely on the scratch paper provided. This was frustrating but I actually caught myself a few times during the math sections where I had copied the question down incorrectly. One misplaced number or symbol will ruin all the work you put into a problem.
The worst part about the computerized test is that it requires you to work on one problem at a time. You can not skip ahead and worst you can not go back! So once you are stuck on a problem to bad. You have to answer and move on. You can not go back and change an answer and you can not skip to something easier.
I find it amazing that schools still use standardized test when nothing else in life is really standardized. I am not standardized. Why should my acceptance into graduate school rely so heavily on this test? Does this test show my interest in development and humanitarian aid? Does it show my passion for Africa? Does it hint at my adventurous side? Does it reveal that I will be an excellent graduate student? No, but somehow it will be used by every school I apply to and help rank me with the other applicants. So this test stands as my arch-rival and I will conquer it! I am keeping this enemy very close.
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2 comments:
hey!
when are you taking the GRE? mine's on friday. please tell me it's not as bad as the study books seem like. i think i might die. :)
(i haven't felt like this since college. crikey!)
Good luck with the test and let me know how it goes! I'll be taking it in a few more weeks.
(I know what you me...double crikey!)
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