[M3ryder55]

Well I figured I'd ask some of you fellow successful forum members. Want to go to graduate school for my masters or phd in either pharmacology or biotechnology.. still undecided. Number or programs that caught my interest at various campuses in the state of California, which is what I prefer, would love to stay in socal- UCLA, USC, UCI, UCR, UCSD etc etc.

Horrible test taker, especially when it comes to these kind of exams. My GPA is on the lower end 3.2-3.3 so I need to kill this GRE. I searched on amazon, found a few useful things, however wanted to get some more input on a good source or how to approach preparation for this exam.

I appreciate all help. Thanks guys

[NAV8TT]

I studied for many boards throughout my humble career and I'm actually preparing for one right now. Nothing, I figured, beats solving board style questions after reading, and I mean just reading, the text in a board review book. Forget about all those cheesy Kaplan crap. I found that they are useless. Good luck buddy. You'll do great.

[upstatedoc]

Stop posting here and get to work!

[RedBarron]

Just get a few books and go though them, and do a lot of practice test!

I used this website and found it useful, after going though a GRE I used it to do a ton of practice questions and improve my timing.
http://gre.magoosh.com

[davesaddiction]

I didn't spend as much time studying as I probably should have, but getting a feel for the types of questions on the test helped me the most.

If I remember right, answering the questions correctly at the beginning of the test carries more weight than correct answers at the end.

Keep calm, take your time (w/o laboring over any one question too much), and don't let yourself get frustrated. It's a long test, so keep yourself focused and plowing through it.

I thought I did terribly on it when I finished, but ended up with 590 verbal 730 quant...

[bga23]

When I took the GMATs years ago I was in a similar situation so I took a class and studied my ass off, taking every practice test I could find. It paid off for me and I got a great score.

[upstatedoc]

Seriously though, I took a board review course. It was a couple days and several hundred dollars but worth every penny.

[BMW F22]

You could take the class if you are not a good test taker. They will give you tips/hints as well as prepare you for the exam. If you're going to be studying on your own i would suggest that you start early and take them on in small chunks. This means that if there are 200 math questions dont go over all of them at once. Instead break them down to sets of 20-25 and know them well. Also find out whether you're better at math or verbal and spend more time on the subject that you're weaker at. For me I didnt bother studying for verbal because I knew I'd be okay on it. I spent virtually all the time studying for math because I didnt remember all the old stuff (like high school/ beginning of college stuff). Those are the only tips I have. Good luck!!

[dth656]

if you are fairly disciplined, you can probably buy a few princeton or kaplan books w/ sample questions, and just work through them.


on the plus side, i don't think any of the campuses you mentioned (including the UCs) would have overly difficult GRE requirements. remember, personal statement and letters of recommendation also go into the admissions equation (the relative weight of each may vary by department, field)

[Maynard]

As noted above, you want to spend a lot of time on 'test strategy' - learn how they word Q's, take note of ones that tend to trick you and how. Also get hard data (not just hearsay from a prof) about whether it is better to leave a blank or make a mistake - I DK if GRE does this, but some penalize you more for an error, so learn what to skip until the end. The classes might help, but they include a LOT of amateur psych for test anxiety and how to stay cool -for some this is a real boost, but I'd have been pissed to spend $500-1k for a glorified relaxation program. Take as many practice exams as you can. Start by using them piecemeal to target weak areas or stuff you need to review, but also do several in real time and all the way through so you can work on pacing and not bogging down on tough Q's. And in general, strong personal letter of recc from somebody in the field, especially s/b local or well-known, can go a LONG way towards making up for GPA/GRE scores (and ALWAYS have s/b good proof all your application letters; you won't spot your own errors, and they can be fatal here). Strong science scores are becoming commonplace, but programs need graduates who will perform and then graduate into jobs w/o needing a ton of handholding, so past experience and letters that point towards your being a reliable and productive person carry a lot of weight. It also helps to know what the profs there are working on, so you can discuss how you would fit or extend that - at least in my field, the mindless/brownnosing 'I'm into whatever you have going on - it's all so cool' is taken as a sign of somebody who isn't serious.

[The Libertine]

I can give you my experience with the LSAT to generally apply:

1.) Do take many practice tests;
2.) DO NOT over analyze the questions asked;
3.) Do go with your gut (if undecided on a question);
4.) DO NOT second-guess yourself;
5.) Do utilize a test-preparation service like Kaplan - or similar, if helpful;
6.) Do NOT feel as if you need to follow a training or practice regime like gospel - you know what works best for you.
7.) Do relax on the exam day. If you do not do as well as expected, take comfort knowing you can retake the exam another date.

Good luck.

[Reborn_]

It's all been covered, and pretty much the same routine applies for any standardized test.

As an alum of a program/school that you listed, I can tell you that I bought a prep book or two, went through it in 4 weeks, and banged the test out. This meant a few hours a night after work, every day. Was brutal, but better than dragging it out.

[UncleWede]

Don't forget to prepare yourself PHYSICALLY for the test. Rest and nutrition, exercise if that is part of your "normal" routine.

And time your practice to the test. If you sign up for an 8:00am test time, that should be the regular time you begin your studies.


Sorry, the last standardized test I took was probably 1988, and I always did well on tests. And kept in the back of my mind that the first person done must have aced it!

[M3ryder55]

Wow I posted about my gre on the forums.. lol where did 6.5 years go? Thanks for bringing up this post from the dead lol

[aliiin]

Originally Posted by M3ryder55

Wow I posted about my gre on the forums.. lol where did 6.5 years go? Thanks for bringing up this post from the dead lol

How'd it go? What did you end up pursuing?

[M3ryder55]

Originally Posted by aliiin

How'd it go? What did you end up pursuing?

Got my masters in environmental and occupational health to go along my bs in biochem. Got into a PhD program at UCR for Environmental Toxicology which I ultimately declined before starting. Best decision of my life.

I started in personal care/cosmetics R&D when I was 17. Worked throughout undergrad and expanded on that after graduating. Worked doing R&D and Product Development for a major brand. I'm currently in a technical sales role for a chemical distributor in the same industry. All the stars lined up and seeing this thread makes me smile and feel so thankful.