The GRE

The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is like the SAT for college students. If you want to get into grad school, you have to take this test. There are three parts, verbal and quantitative (max score of 800) and writing (max score of 6). There is one additional section, either verbal or quantitative that is used only for research purposes and will not be counted towards your score. However, you do not know which section it is.

UTA, the school that I am applying to, requires at least a 400 on the verbal and a 750 on the quantitative, although they will still consider anything about a 700. The test is given on a computer so your verbal and quantitative results are displayed immediately after the test is completed. The writing section is scored by hand, and the results are mailed to you along with the official scores 2-3 weeks later.

This test can make or break someone's college career. Less than 58 questions determine whether you have what it takes to succeed in grad school or not. Most students spend an entire semester studying for the test. ACU offers a class that meets 3 hours a week for three months to prepare for it. I studied for 10 hours, 2 hours of those included registering for the test online, learning the basic directions for the test, and finding out whether or not I could use a calculator.

The first section was writing. I had not practiced writing at all, nor had I even read the directions until the test began. I think I did OK but it doesn't matter because my score is not part of the admission criteria. Next, I began the verbal section. It contained analogies, antonyms, sentence completions, and reading comprehension. I didn't study for it because I assumed I would make better than a 400. Then I began the quantitative section.

I knew the answer to the first question. I clicked the icon to confirm my answer. The second question appeared. Now, I remember this question very clearly. However, I wrote that entire paragraph in cursive about how I would not give away any test questions so I am unable to discuss the awfulness that I saw. I guessed an answer. I saw the third question. No idea. Fourth question. Oh, the horror. I had no idea how to answer any of the questions. After the 10th question or so, I decided that this must be the section given for research only. These questions were too hard. They could not possibly be testing me on this. I finished the 28 questions and laid my head down on the desk for the entire 60 second break.

Then, the final section of the test appeared on the screen. It was English! For those of you who don't recognize the significance of this, this means that one of the English sections I had taken was for research, and the math section counted! It was for real! Those were real questions that I was being graded on!

I made it through the final section and this time laid my head in my hands as my score was being calculated. It asked me three times if I wanted to see my scores. I considered not viewing them, just walking away and pretending that these past three hours never happened. But I clicked yes, and a window opened on the screen.

Verbal 620
Quantitative 740

"Did I read that correctly? 740? It doesn't make sense. Maybe that was my verbal score. No? Are they sure?" I was too confused to celebrate. If someone views the tape of me taking the test, the last five minutes would be me staring dumbstruck at the screen.

It still doesn't make any sense. I won't believe it until I receive my official score in the mail in 2-3 weeks. Either I correctly guessed on 20 out of the 28 math questions or the questions were so hard that no one taking the test got them right. Either way, it was luck.