When you sign up to take a GRE, ETS will mail you a Practice Book for the test that you signed up for. For example, when I signed up for the General GRE, I received a General GRE Practice test. Because I recently signed up to take the Psychology GRE, they sent me a Psychology Test Practice Book.
This 60-page or so practice test has made me love ETS a little bit more than I previously did. And that's not really based off the score that I ended up taking. It's the fact that it was a real GRE, one that they have retired but still contains the same type of questions. It has begun to get me interested in studying more thoroughly for the Psychology GRE already, which is a nice change from that Barron's test I took and blogged about in a previous post.
If I haven't mentioned this before, I'll mention it now: ETS has sole publishing rights to GREs and GRE questions, so other test preparation companies such as Barron's, Kaplan, and Princeton Review can only make up their own questions that are similar to ETS questions. So, I encourage people to buy the ETS materials to begin their preparation so that they can really see what a GRE is like.
One downside to taking a paper practice test is that it isn't what I'm going to be taking. In other words, I'm going to be taking a Computer Adaptive Test (CAT), which is different enough to matter.
What I liked about the practice test is that it told me what I would have gotten on it had it actually have counted in real life, something which the Barron's test didn't offer.
On the test, Form GR0781, which had copyright for 2007 and 2003 and 205 multiple-choice questions, I received these scores:
Total Score: 115
Scaled Score: 610
Subscores: 1.) 59 and 2.) 61
This is the note that I wrote right after I finished the test so that I wouldn't forget how the practice test went: "It took me 2 hours, including a phone interruption, hunger, not being fully awake, and eating breakfast. Took the test on the floor."
I was allotted 170 minutes to take it, which is 2 hours and 50 minutes. I finished with plenty of time. If I slowed down a little bit I might have done a little better, but I felt as though I was working at a comfortable pace. Another thing was that I started it right when I woke up, and let me tell you: I am not a morning person. Don't worry - I signed up to take the test in the afternoon!
So I'm starting off with a 610. I'd say that's a pretty solid number to start off. It's an average score. People actually get into doctoral programs with that score. In consideration that there were a lot of things on the test that I recognized but I just couldn't completely recall it then, I think with a little more time, studying, and practice I will be just fine. I'm aiming for a 720.
I can do this.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Anger and Utter Digust
SO I just finished and taking the STUPID Diagnostic Test 1 in Barron's "How To Prepare for the GRE: Psychology" book. It's such utter nonsense that it makes me furious. There is no way that I would do as bad on the REAL AND WHAT COUNTS Psych GRE as the score I ended up getting on this load-of-garbage Diagnostic Test.
While I won't go into details on how the test ending up breaking down (which, by the way Barron's, that dumb-ax grading grid is a *choice word (in adjective form)* piece of (mhmm) and you should *choice word* change it for the love of Piper), I ended up getting 93/200 WRONG.
Now, I'm not sure if I have ever mentioned this before, but I graduated Summa Cum Laude from my undergraduate Alma Mater, not to mention that I received a 3.97 GPA within my major, which was General Psychology.
I can't wait to get my hands on a REAL, ETS-APPROVED PRACTICE PSYCH GRE to show Barron's that they very much overdid it and thus should apologize to any person who ever cracked it open. It makes me wonder if they did it on purpose so that whoever takes it feels so struck down that he or she crawls back and buries his or her self wholeheartedly into the Barron's book, all the while shedding bitter tears of failure and brokenness. NO, I didn't CRY. Geez. I'm just Ten-Out-of-Ten-A-Plus-Ticked-Off.
Yes, those of you who may have read my former posts may well know that, yes, I did thoroughly enjoy the Barron's book for the General GRE. I thought that it was stellar. And, yes, I will end up reading through the information that the Psych book has to offer because A.) It's all I have at the moment, B.) I want to compare it to other (probably BETTER) prep books, and C.) just because the tests bite it hard doesn't mean that the real information won't assist me.
To those who put together the Barron's Psychology GRE prep book: a big, European backwards "peace" sign to you. Strong enough?
While I won't go into details on how the test ending up breaking down (which, by the way Barron's, that dumb-ax grading grid is a *choice word (in adjective form)* piece of (mhmm) and you should *choice word* change it for the love of Piper), I ended up getting 93/200 WRONG.
Now, I'm not sure if I have ever mentioned this before, but I graduated Summa Cum Laude from my undergraduate Alma Mater, not to mention that I received a 3.97 GPA within my major, which was General Psychology.
I can't wait to get my hands on a REAL, ETS-APPROVED PRACTICE PSYCH GRE to show Barron's that they very much overdid it and thus should apologize to any person who ever cracked it open. It makes me wonder if they did it on purpose so that whoever takes it feels so struck down that he or she crawls back and buries his or her self wholeheartedly into the Barron's book, all the while shedding bitter tears of failure and brokenness. NO, I didn't CRY. Geez. I'm just Ten-Out-of-Ten-A-Plus-Ticked-Off.
Yes, those of you who may have read my former posts may well know that, yes, I did thoroughly enjoy the Barron's book for the General GRE. I thought that it was stellar. And, yes, I will end up reading through the information that the Psych book has to offer because A.) It's all I have at the moment, B.) I want to compare it to other (probably BETTER) prep books, and C.) just because the tests bite it hard doesn't mean that the real information won't assist me.
To those who put together the Barron's Psychology GRE prep book: a big, European backwards "peace" sign to you. Strong enough?
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
I'm Officially a GRE Tutor
This past Sunday I started tutoring someone else for the GRE! How exciting is that?! The person that I am tutoring is a teacher in New York City who is looking for a career change.
She's funny... she asked me for a week's worth of tutoring session because she was hoping to take the test at the end of the month. Problems with that: she hasn't registered for a testing appointment yet and in New York City the slots fill up fast; she hasn't been in school for a number of years, which doesn't mean that she won't do well, but does mean that a lot more time has passed to allow for a lot of knowledge to be stored a little too far back in the brain; she needs to spend more than the 3 hours I meet with her on days that I tutor her to study for this nutty test. Good things though: she is excited to learn, she is capable of acknowledging her strengths and weaknesses, and she has materials. All of these things add up to a big plus in my book. That materials part is important, too... GRE prep material is expensive.
Paired with this, I have started studying, too. I know that in a relatively recent post I've spoken about my need to study for the Psychology GRE. I've finally forced myself to begin a diagnostic test... thank you Barron's. Haven't finished it yet because I got distracted (I know, I know... I should do it in one timed sitting I'm sorry...) because I had to eat something.
Under no circumstances should studying take away those precious times of day when you nourish yourself, mk?
Going back to the Psych GRE... it seems as though what I learned in my Psychology courses at my alma mater did not cover everything that is one the Psych GRE. Whoop-dee-doo... *sigh*
On that note, I'm going to go finish that diagnostic test. I'm halfway there. You can already let the music (or should I say the funeral dirge?) play. I'll be back soon :)
She's funny... she asked me for a week's worth of tutoring session because she was hoping to take the test at the end of the month. Problems with that: she hasn't registered for a testing appointment yet and in New York City the slots fill up fast; she hasn't been in school for a number of years, which doesn't mean that she won't do well, but does mean that a lot more time has passed to allow for a lot of knowledge to be stored a little too far back in the brain; she needs to spend more than the 3 hours I meet with her on days that I tutor her to study for this nutty test. Good things though: she is excited to learn, she is capable of acknowledging her strengths and weaknesses, and she has materials. All of these things add up to a big plus in my book. That materials part is important, too... GRE prep material is expensive.
Paired with this, I have started studying, too. I know that in a relatively recent post I've spoken about my need to study for the Psychology GRE. I've finally forced myself to begin a diagnostic test... thank you Barron's. Haven't finished it yet because I got distracted (I know, I know... I should do it in one timed sitting I'm sorry...) because I had to eat something.
Under no circumstances should studying take away those precious times of day when you nourish yourself, mk?
Going back to the Psych GRE... it seems as though what I learned in my Psychology courses at my alma mater did not cover everything that is one the Psych GRE. Whoop-dee-doo... *sigh*
On that note, I'm going to go finish that diagnostic test. I'm halfway there. You can already let the music (or should I say the funeral dirge?) play. I'll be back soon :)
Saturday, July 17, 2010
I'm Not THAT Much of a Night Owl!
It's well known among my friends that I am very much a "night-time" kind of person. I enjoy going to sleep well after 2AM. However, over the past couple of weeks I haven't been able to go to sleep before 4AM every day (night?). Once I stayed up past 6:30AM... not by choice and not willingly. As I write this entry, it's after 5:30AM.
I do believe that it is important to get one's sleeping schedule in order. And yes, I do get freaked out by the idea that people who sleep during the day more than they sleep at night are at a higher risk for cancer. Yeah... definitely DON'T want.
Anyways, I figured that right now would be as good of a time to tell you that it is important to get a good night's sleep before any major test. Train yourself to go to sleep early and wake up on time (on the first sound of the alarm clock, too... no snooze button!).
The brain needs sleep. Human beings spend a lot of time sleeping, and that is for good reason! Sleeptime is when everything that the brain has experienced during the day settles in... information that you have learned during your waking time marinates in your brain when you sleep. Heck, I would think that babies sleep so much because they are learning everything the first time. Sleep is when everything can sort of sink in.
Sleep is also the time when the body heals itself the most. A lot of energy during sleep is utilized to do bodily repairs. Just because you aren't conscious doesn't mean that nothing happens!
Finally, not getting enough sleep can put a lot of stress on you, physically, mentally, and emotionally. Trust me: no one wants to be around you when you are moody and cranky and feel like crap and want to voice that to everyone around you.
I'm debating right now on whether I should attempt to go to sleep again, or if I should continue to look up cures for insomnia. Funny, actually: I went to Google.com and typed in the words "cures for" and the first thing that popped up in the dropbox, out of everything that there could possibly be a cure for, "cures for insomnia."
Well, my friend, if you are indeed reading this at a time when your eyes should be closed and little z's should be partying with numbered sheep in and around your head, I bid you good night and good luck.
I do believe that it is important to get one's sleeping schedule in order. And yes, I do get freaked out by the idea that people who sleep during the day more than they sleep at night are at a higher risk for cancer. Yeah... definitely DON'T want.
Anyways, I figured that right now would be as good of a time to tell you that it is important to get a good night's sleep before any major test. Train yourself to go to sleep early and wake up on time (on the first sound of the alarm clock, too... no snooze button!).
The brain needs sleep. Human beings spend a lot of time sleeping, and that is for good reason! Sleeptime is when everything that the brain has experienced during the day settles in... information that you have learned during your waking time marinates in your brain when you sleep. Heck, I would think that babies sleep so much because they are learning everything the first time. Sleep is when everything can sort of sink in.
Sleep is also the time when the body heals itself the most. A lot of energy during sleep is utilized to do bodily repairs. Just because you aren't conscious doesn't mean that nothing happens!
Finally, not getting enough sleep can put a lot of stress on you, physically, mentally, and emotionally. Trust me: no one wants to be around you when you are moody and cranky and feel like crap and want to voice that to everyone around you.
I'm debating right now on whether I should attempt to go to sleep again, or if I should continue to look up cures for insomnia. Funny, actually: I went to Google.com and typed in the words "cures for" and the first thing that popped up in the dropbox, out of everything that there could possibly be a cure for, "cures for insomnia."
Well, my friend, if you are indeed reading this at a time when your eyes should be closed and little z's should be partying with numbered sheep in and around your head, I bid you good night and good luck.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Muggy Day... Perfect Day For a Lazy Blog Post!
SooooOOooo... since I got that Psychology GRE studying book, I haven't cracked it. Eeep. I did though, register for the test, so I really should start working on it. The only thing is that I'm not exactly sure how to work on a book that I got on loan from the library other than photocopying the parts that I would normally write on. The problem with that, now, is that I like to write on everything. Highlighting, pen, pencils, scribbles, drawings... anything that will help me to solve a problem usually leaves some sort of paper trail. My current master's thesis proposal, for example, is currently all over numerous papers. Sigh...
I'm quickly learning that not being in school in the summer and trying to work on a big project somehow enables me to want to be lazier than ever. This will not do.
In consideration of my daily vlog, though, I have been doing very well with it. I'm weirdly proud of it. People are asking me questions about books and wanting to know my opinion on something. They are taking my advice. It's uplifting!
Meanwhile, in trying to motivate myself I've found that I just don't work the way that I do while I'm at school. I think that this is because when it is the school year I am running away doing a lot of things, studying, working as hard as possible... taking on something like studying for a major standardized test sort of just fits into what I'm already doing.
It's also not particularly helpful that there is just so many fun things to do during the summer and that all of my friends' schedules are massively open for event planning. Gah! Fun! It's getting in the way!
Okay, I'm just being a little funny there, but really: I find it difficult to mold summer into a productive work time when everything around me is fun or everyone around me is having fun. Hmm... I'm not trying to say exactly that studying and reading and writing isn't fun. For me it is. Just a different kind of fun. The productive kind of fun that involves hard work.
Summer is popularly known to be the time to relax! I need to figure out a healthy balance and quickly!
I'm quickly learning that not being in school in the summer and trying to work on a big project somehow enables me to want to be lazier than ever. This will not do.
In consideration of my daily vlog, though, I have been doing very well with it. I'm weirdly proud of it. People are asking me questions about books and wanting to know my opinion on something. They are taking my advice. It's uplifting!
Meanwhile, in trying to motivate myself I've found that I just don't work the way that I do while I'm at school. I think that this is because when it is the school year I am running away doing a lot of things, studying, working as hard as possible... taking on something like studying for a major standardized test sort of just fits into what I'm already doing.
It's also not particularly helpful that there is just so many fun things to do during the summer and that all of my friends' schedules are massively open for event planning. Gah! Fun! It's getting in the way!
Okay, I'm just being a little funny there, but really: I find it difficult to mold summer into a productive work time when everything around me is fun or everyone around me is having fun. Hmm... I'm not trying to say exactly that studying and reading and writing isn't fun. For me it is. Just a different kind of fun. The productive kind of fun that involves hard work.
Summer is popularly known to be the time to relax! I need to figure out a healthy balance and quickly!
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
The Psychology GRE
Even though it is the middle of the summer, I have this problem in which I can't relax and I need to be doing something productive, anything, something... so I started this new project in which I make a video a day for a year. 365 days of videos is a pretty strong commitment in my mind, and so far I've made it to Day 49. I've been trying to figure out what to do to celebrate my reaching Day 50, which is tomorrow. I think I just figured out what: my return to this blog! So, if you are reading this because my Day 50 video blog sent you here, then welcome. Welcome to another part of my life, which is studying profusely for major standardized tests that have major sayings in my career path.
If you are reading this and you have no idea what I am talking about ("Video blog? What?"), then I would recommend for you to check it out on YouTube. My user name is katinatreesee. Here's a link!:
365 Days of Book Reviews and More
If you are here because of the vlog as well, then it should hardly surprise you that I am doing something like blogging about studying for the GRE, which stands for the Graduate Record Exam and is required by most liberal arts and sciences colleges and universities for admittance, along with GPA scores, recommendations, background experience, and the actual application nonetheless. To catch you up, I started this blog to assist myself and anyone who might be panicking about taking the GRE with studying for the said test. I took the test for the first time in January and got a score of 1400 (Verbal: 680, Quantitative: 720, Analytical Writing: 5), which is pretty good score for what I want to do. If you don't know what I want to do, it's to be a clinical child psychologist.
So, getting back to the intent for this post... I'm back! The time has come for me to begin studying for the Psychology GRE. I thought about it today because I was at the library returning a DVD and decided to do some browsing. I came upon the standardized test materials section and guess what was the first book that I read the title for? Yup... How to Prepare for the GRE: Graduate Record Examination in Psychology. It was like... fate.
Of course I took the book out for loan.
In other news, I've also been hired as a private GRE tutor for a Manhattanite school teacher who is looking to take the test as soon as possible. Pretty sweet. I'll let you know how it goes... I'm supposed to start at the end of July.
Thus begins the journey again... another adventure filled with reading, writing, and statistics. Oh, statistics... how you make me cringe with doubt in myself...
That's another thing, too. I am going to be taking an advanced statistics course this fall. Fifteen minutes ago I literally bought two of the textbooks that I will be utilizing in the course. It's going to be interesting... maybe I'll also write a little about statistics in psychology to help some souls out.
I hope that you all are doing well! If you are going to check out my vlog (video-blog...vlog), I hope that you enjoy it as well.
Cheers,
Katrina
If you are reading this and you have no idea what I am talking about ("Video blog? What?"), then I would recommend for you to check it out on YouTube. My user name is katinatreesee. Here's a link!:
365 Days of Book Reviews and More
If you are here because of the vlog as well, then it should hardly surprise you that I am doing something like blogging about studying for the GRE, which stands for the Graduate Record Exam and is required by most liberal arts and sciences colleges and universities for admittance, along with GPA scores, recommendations, background experience, and the actual application nonetheless. To catch you up, I started this blog to assist myself and anyone who might be panicking about taking the GRE with studying for the said test. I took the test for the first time in January and got a score of 1400 (Verbal: 680, Quantitative: 720, Analytical Writing: 5), which is pretty good score for what I want to do. If you don't know what I want to do, it's to be a clinical child psychologist.
So, getting back to the intent for this post... I'm back! The time has come for me to begin studying for the Psychology GRE. I thought about it today because I was at the library returning a DVD and decided to do some browsing. I came upon the standardized test materials section and guess what was the first book that I read the title for? Yup... How to Prepare for the GRE: Graduate Record Examination in Psychology. It was like... fate.
Of course I took the book out for loan.
In other news, I've also been hired as a private GRE tutor for a Manhattanite school teacher who is looking to take the test as soon as possible. Pretty sweet. I'll let you know how it goes... I'm supposed to start at the end of July.
Thus begins the journey again... another adventure filled with reading, writing, and statistics. Oh, statistics... how you make me cringe with doubt in myself...
That's another thing, too. I am going to be taking an advanced statistics course this fall. Fifteen minutes ago I literally bought two of the textbooks that I will be utilizing in the course. It's going to be interesting... maybe I'll also write a little about statistics in psychology to help some souls out.
I hope that you all are doing well! If you are going to check out my vlog (video-blog...vlog), I hope that you enjoy it as well.
Cheers,
Katrina
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Success!
Remember the original point of my writing this very blog? Actually, going back a little further than that: remember why I originally had to take the GRE? It was so that I could apply for Graduate Assistantships on campus.
Guess what?
I GOT A GRADUATE ASSISTANTSHIP!
*insert celebration and celebratory dance here*
I am so excited... this means that I don't have to worry about tuition for the year I will be in school for my Master's degree! I am essentially getting paid to go to school. What a relief!
I still have not taken the Subject Test GRE for Psychology, but I will get around to it sometime this year. I am going to be applying for PhD programs in the fall, so I think that I will aim to take the Psychology GRE early in the fall or during the summer. I forget exactly when the subject tests are offered... I'll find out soon though. This week is the last week of classes, which means that finals are coming up, so I have all of that on my mind.
I can say happily, though, that I feel very relieved. :)
Guess what?
I GOT A GRADUATE ASSISTANTSHIP!
*insert celebration and celebratory dance here*
I am so excited... this means that I don't have to worry about tuition for the year I will be in school for my Master's degree! I am essentially getting paid to go to school. What a relief!
I still have not taken the Subject Test GRE for Psychology, but I will get around to it sometime this year. I am going to be applying for PhD programs in the fall, so I think that I will aim to take the Psychology GRE early in the fall or during the summer. I forget exactly when the subject tests are offered... I'll find out soon though. This week is the last week of classes, which means that finals are coming up, so I have all of that on my mind.
I can say happily, though, that I feel very relieved. :)
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