Pressed by application deadlines for doctoral programs in the United States, I have booked myself to write the Graduate Record Examination on November 16th.
In an ideal world, I would have more time to prepare for the GRE. As it is, American programs require complete applications including GRE scores between December 1st for the earliest schools and January 15th for the latest. November 17th is the last possible day to write the test and get formal results by December 1st.
In addition to dealing with the GRE, I need to assemble references, statements of intent, research proposals, and so on.
It is all a bit daunting. I am thankful for the efforts of a particular young woman who is doing more than anyone to keep me sane and generally on track.
Knowing you both, I think it is highly probable that the young woman is just as thankful for the things you do for her.
Stay healthy, sleep a lot, don’t get sick!
Of all the question types on the GRE, I am having the most trouble with reading comprehension. Even after looking at the ‘correct’ answer and the reasoning behind it, I still often disagree.
Arguably, the interpretation of text doesn’t lend itself to singular correct answers that can be identified from a list. That is especially true when the ‘wrong’ answers must be close enough to being correct to fool many test-writers.
The GRE is now just a week away.
I am somewhat worried about the math. Much of it, I haven’t done since high school. Also, it is easy to misread problems or make one small mistake that causes you to choose the wrong answer (there are no part-marks for using the correct method).
I am actually more worried about the reading comprehension, though. In particular, the questions where they ask what is implied by a passage are maddening, since more than one of the listed answers is usually defensible. It is quite challenging to guess which one they intended as correct.