GRE study log

wish_me_luck, BSN, RN · Oct 1, 2012

Oct 1: On page 80 (read 30 pages); I am working on cracking the verbal sections like fill in the blank and such. The strategies suggested are pretty helpful. I am realizing that I need to start learning new words and their meaning. On the practice drills, I can get about 3 out of every 5 correct. It doesn't sound too good, but hopefully it will get better. I am realizing my mistakes and what strategy is better to use.

wish_me_luck, BSN, RN · Oct 3, 2012

Oct 2: I read 26 pages (on page 106) and plan on doing a little more tonight. I was at the library and it was a little on the loud side. I was getting around 60% on the practice drills for reading comprehension (yes, you can laugh) and I think it could be due to lack of concentration because of the noise level.

I am taking notes on ways to tackle the questions and words to look out for.

The new GRE apparently has SATA questions on it; I couldn't help but think of NCLEX.

Does anyone know what getting 60% of the questions right would translate to in terms of scores?

3141592 · Oct 3, 2012

The computer-based test has adaptive difficulty, so you really can't tie a specific percentage right to a specific score like you sort've can with a paper-based test like the SAT or ACT. Back when I took it, question difficulty was dynamically monitored by the computer on every question, now it's monitored by section.

Section 1: Gets a broad feel for your aptitude level ("OK, this guy/gal is somewhere around the 156-163 range in Verbal. Section 2, serve up medium-hard to hard difficulty questions.")

Section 2: Fine-tunes score in the narrowed-down range.

Thus, it would be better to get, say, an 80% on Section 1 and a 40% on Section 2 than it would be to get a 40% on Section 1 and an 80% on Section 2.

wish_me_luck, BSN, RN · Oct 5, 2012

Thanks.

Oct 3: I have to be honest, I hardly looked at anything. I did, however, look at prefixes a little.

Oct 4: I decided for a change of pace, I would look at some math. I got through definitions, some problems, and it definitely put me in my place. In a good way. It's weird because even though I would one example and then, the next example, I had no idea how they got the answer; I loved trying to figure it out. I am starting to become interested in math. When I was in K-12, I was definitely an English/language arts girl (spelling, writing, reading, speaking), but in college, I decided I wanted to focus more on science and math because I wanted to do something in health care. It's amazing how after all the science and math I have taken, that I have become more interested in nursing (it gets it's own recognition because it is both a science and art), math, and science and declined in the language arts. Definitely will have to brush up on my skills and start getting more into the language arts again.

rainkissedleaves · Oct 5, 2012

Are you in school right now? I am in school and I will be taking the GRE in Jan. I should probably start studying with you (online lol) for it. But I have 18units in school right now which takes up majority of my time.

PS.I already took the GRE once and it didn't go as well as I had hoped. So I am trying again!

wish_me_luck, BSN, RN · Oct 5, 2012

No, I am not. I am a brand new nurse, but I am in a monitoring program, so I have to wait for approval. I decided to use this time wisely and study for the GRE among other things. I am planning on applying for admissions in the spring and start my Master's in Fall 2013.I want that year to be able to hit the ground running in my first year as a nurse (by the end of this fall or at the very latest spring, I hope to be approved to go find a nursing job) and get settled in and save some money to pay for my Master's. I don't want to go into debt for it. I am deciding to go to a local school (it's a decent school) or if not there, do an online/satellite program at a university across the state through a higher education center we have. Then, I could do the field experience through a local health dept or facility.

I am planning on mid November as when I am wanting to take the GRE. Do you think that is too soon? I started studying late September. How much time do you put into yours a day?

wish_me_luck, BSN, RN · Oct 11, 2012

Okay, so, I haven't studied for days. I had to turn my book back into the library, so I made copies of the word lists and wrote down the topics for the math parts. I think, since the GRE books are so popular and many math problems I don't remember how to do, I am going to start checking out the algebra and geometry books that explain, from the beginning, how to do the problem. Then, do practice problems. Closer to my GRE date (when I pick an exact date), I can go back and check out the GRE books and do the comprehensive practice tests and go from there.

What do you guys think of that plan? Has anyone done it that way? If so, how did it work?

wish_me_luck, BSN, RN · Oct 12, 2012

Okay, so I went and got a couple of books from the library on pre-algebra and algebra--Kiss My Math and Hot X: Algebra Exposed. They are the books written by Danica McKellar (the chick from the Wonder Years). The GRE asks algebra and geometry stuff and nothing above that math wise. So, instead of checking out GRE books, I am going to try it this way; that way, there is an explanation and it starts from the beginning how to work the problem.

Oct 11: I have gone through 61 pages in Kiss My Math. It was over integars, the associative property of addition and multiplication, negative numbers and adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing them. Also, absolute value. I do remember how to do some of this stuff, so I am not a complete moron, but it is nice to have a refresher on everything. I am getting ready to review mean, median, and mode.

So, here is a random hint/tip for all of you studying for the GRE for the first time (like I am). Pretty much, if there are two values (numbers) and you are comparing them in a way that you are deciding which is greater by putting them into a math equation, then you can figure out which one is greater or if they are equal. But, if there is a value and a variable (x, y, z, etc.), then it is typically, if not always, "cannot be determined" because "x" can be anything and it can also be negative, so there's no way you could know which one is greater. It sounds like common sense and it kind of is, but I thought I would throw that out there.