NLN entrance exam on Sat!

Thanks, all, for the words of welcome and encouragement!

I have been reviewing my Algebra & Geometry--pesky facts about exponents and all those darned formulae for area and volume I haven't used in ages. What will bother me most is the lack of a calculator when under a time constraint--but I've been doing practice tests without a calculator and I manage OK.

I actually think the Science section will be the most challenging for me, just because it covers such an extensive amount of material (earth science, plant and animal bio, chem, physics)--so I have my nose back into isotopes and mechanics again.

I've found the NLN review guide by McDonald useful, and an insturctor at the school I'm applying to recommended using GED review books as well. I've also found a number of online resources quite useful.

Again, thanks for the encouragement, and a Happy New Year to All!

Well, Friday night into Saturday southern NH had one of the heaviest snowfalls we've seen in a while. I called the test site the day before and was told--"We'll be here and run the test, no matter what the weather."

So, I got up at 5AM, got dressed, and spent an hour digging my car and the bottom of the driveway out of nearly two feet of snow, then drove an hour and a half on hideous roads, with snow still falling, to the test site (normally a 45 minute drive). I arrived five minutes before the test began. Seventy people had registered. Twelve showed up.

My nerves were more than a little fried when I sat down at the desk with my no. 2 pencils.

Verbal was first--I could've done it in my sleep (I *am* an English teacher), and certainly ought to score in the high 90s.

Next came Math . . . and that's when the brain fry set in . . . I had SO prepared for this, yet by the time I got to the sixth or seventh problem, my head was spinning and I couldn't remember the multiplication tables. Sure, there were some "easy" ones, and the word problems themselves were not so hard to decipher, but the manual calculations . . . multiplying a number in the thousands out to three decimal places, by another big number, then dividing the whole shebang by a fraction with a decimal in the numerator. Just the calculation time did me in. For a problem like that, I need about two minutes to do the math manually and check it, and feel confident that I've arrived at the right answer. Well, I had 60 minutes to do 54 problems. I quickly gave up on checking my work, as it was obvious I'd never finish in an hour if I took the time for it . . . and I still had 15 unanswered when the time was up. I'm very bummed . . . I need 50% on each section to even be considered for the program I want. Even though on the surface I felt very spooked, I'm hoping my subconscious mind kicked in and I did the calculations correctly. I walked away from that section really not knowing how well I'd score.

Science came last. While I had thought that would be my challenging section, I found I could answer the 80 questions in about 40 minutes . . . There were ones that baffled me (a series on electrical circuits--and not the elementary stuff, either), but basically I felt in control and not overwhelmed . . . so I'm sure I did well (low-80s at least) on that section.

So, pray for my Math score, will ya?