GRE panic

[icepixie]

I have been a crap commenter this week. This doesn't mean I'm not reading my flist (believe me, I am), but rather that for no apparent reason, I'm just down on communication this week.

But anyway, here's a blanket sympathy/congratulations/good luck post, because I've seen needs for all of those at some point this week.

*

So, who has math GRE tips for me? My test date is Sept. 6th. Fun, fun. I'm looking at the practice test for the math portion, and OH MY GOD. I haven't had a math class in more than four years. I tried to put everything math-related out of my mind after high school. I CAN'T REMEMBER ANYTHING. They have little review bits at the top, yeah, but ow. And my TI-83 has been dead for a couple years now. Do I even need a graphing calculator?

Not that the School of Information Science really cares about an applicant's math score, but I'd like it not to drag my total score down to unreasonable levels, y'know?

Comments

[missizzy]

You're not allowed calculators at the GRE. They give you scrap paper to make calculations on instead.

[icepixie]

Good to know. Thanks.

[alto2.livejournal.com]

I fully understand GRE-related panic, and it's one of the reasons I'm heavily leaning toward MFA programs that don't require one. I haven't had a math class in a whole lot more than four years, and I'm pretty sure I'd sit there going "Huh???" through that entire portion of the test. If they ask simple arithmetic, then I'd at least get that bit right, but I'm pretty sure that's not the sort of math that's gonna be on the GRE. :-\

[icepixie]

I think they do have stuff like 4 + x = 8, solve for x on it, but there's also functions (I can't remember anything about functions) and areas of triangles and stuff like that. Ack.

[orangetango.livejournal.com]

You're actually not allowed to use a calculator . . . .

[icepixie]

So I definitely won't finish the math portion. Fabulous.

[sleepingcbw.livejournal.com]

#1 math GRE tip of all time: DON'T PANIC.

Seriously. If you see a problem and immediately think, "OMG I CAN'T DO THIS!!" -- you're self-fulfillingly prophesying. Try the problem and see what you can reason out, even if you think you don't remember the material at all.

If you have specific mathy questions, I'd be glad to help.

[icepixie]

Not panicking. Totally not panicking. Maybe.

I need to see what they have on the practice test as far as review--I just glanced at the problems and went OMG I REMEMBER NOTHING. But if I run across anything I can't figure out, I will definitely poke you about it.

[cybermathwitch.livejournal.com]

::hugs:: and luck. Have an arrow.

[icepixie]

Heh. Thanks.

[rowdycamels.livejournal.com]

Memorize basic formulas, like area of triangles, circles, etc. You'd be surprised how much that helps. Also, go online and find a sample test and take it. That'll get you a little unrusted and tell you what you need to brush up on. It's all fairly simple math, but it just wants you to have a few basic concepts memorized. You'll be fine.

[icepixie]

Formulas. Ack. Let's see what I can find...

The math practice test at the GRE site has large bits at the front of each of the four sections that seem to consist of useful review material. Maybe even formulas.

[veritykindle.livejournal.com]

Hi there. I've been thinking about taking the GRE as well, so I've been trying to study up for it a bit, lately. I suspect my problems are going to be mostly with the verbal part, though, since I do remember quite a few tricks to make math calculations on tests like these easier.

I agree about memorizing the more common formulas, but also, remember that since they are expecting you to work without a calculator, they are probably going to try to use whole numbers, and things that divide more or less easily. And chances are, there is going to be a trick that will make the calculations easier, since you are supposed to solve these problems pretty fast.

1) Remember a few whole values of sides for right triangles (http://www.nrich.maths.org/public/viewer.php?obj_id=1309&part=index&refpage=monthindex.php), especially 3,4,5 (and be ready to recognize its multiples, like 6,8,10 or 9,12,15), and 5,12,13 (and again, be ready to recognize its multiples). If they ask you for the value of the diagonal of a rectangle, for example, then you might want to check first to make sure that the sides are not 3 and 4 multiplied by the same number, or 5 and 12 multiplied by the same number, before you try to do it the more complicated way. If they are, then the diagonal is simply 5 or 13, multiplied by that same number, and you wouldn't have to use the Pythagorean Theorem to figure it out.

2) Review what sines and cosines are, in relation to angles (SOHCAHTOA - sin = opposite side/hypotenuse; cos = adjacent/hypotenuse; tan = sin/cos = opposite/hypotenuse). Also, remember that sin(30) = 1/2; cos(60) = 1/2; tan(45) = 1. So if they tell you that, say, in a right triangle, one of the shorter sides is 8, and the hypotenuse is 16, then the angle made by that side and the hypotenuse is 60 degrees, and the angle opposite it is 30 degrees.

There are also some more useful trig formulas here (http://math.com/tables/trig/identities.htm). You probably want to at least know what secant (sec = 1/cos(x)), cosecant (csc = 1/sin(x) ) and cotangent (cot = 1/tan) mean; know that sin(-x) = -sin(x) and cos(-x) = cos(x); know that sin^2(x) + cos^2(x) = 1; and look at the "trig table of common angles", halfway down the page (note that the table is talking about the values of the *squares* of sin, cos, and tan. You have to take the square routes for actual values of sin, cos and tan). The other formulae probably aren't as important.

3) The sum of all the angles of a triangle is always 180 degrees. (This one is very important, I think. If you don't remember anything else about triangles, you should remember that.) Also, the angles that make up a straight line add up to 180 degrees. (This seems sort of obvious, but can be really useful in some of the questions.)

4) For a number that is less than 1, its square will be smaller than it is, and its square route will be larger than it is. And in general, when you multiply two numbers less than 1, their product will be smaller than either of the original numbers.

These are the tricks I can think of, off hand. Also, I've been practicing with the verbal section quizes on this page (http://www.syvum.com/gre/), but from what I've seen of their quantitative questions (scroll down about halfway down the page for those), I really like them -- especially the explanations they give for their answers. They don't just explain the concept, but also try to give you hints for what tricks you can use to solve the problems faster. So, you can learn some more tricks that way.

Anyway, I hope that helped, at least a little bit! Let me know if any of these are confusing, or if you need any more help with other types of problems...

And now that I've said all those things -- can I ask you what is probably a stupid question? How does one register for the GRE? I've tried to poke around on the GRE.org site, but I've found it very confusing. Can you pick any date you want to take the test (if you want to take it on the computer)? How far in advance to you have to register? Do you know long will it take them to correct the test and give you a score? Like I said, I'm thinking about taking the GRE myself, but I've been sort of intimidated trying to register...

[icepixie]

Thanks for all the math tips and links! I remember shockingly little of everything you mentioned, so I have some serious studying to do in the next week.

I registered online through gre.org. I think you have to register two business days in advance; I made my reservation a couple weeks ago, and my test is next week. When you pick your test center location, it should give you a calendar with available test dates and times; I just sort of chose one at random, because there were morning and afternoon slots basically every day of the week. You just click on the date/time you want, and it should ask you for your credit card, etc., and send a confirmation e-mail.