Grad School Woes, Need Advice about GRE (and parenting advice!)

[Jeafl]

My daughter is about to be a senior in college and is studying for the GRE. She will be graduating with a double major in psychology and art history. She plans on entering grad school, skipping the Masters program and starting right into the PhD program.

Here is the problem. She has bought many (more than 5) test prep books, including the vocabulary cards. She studies several hours a day, and has taken the practice tests many times. However, she is consistently getting mediocre scores on them. She has a 3.92 GPA at a pretty competitive college, and has always been a good student. She seems to do fine with the math, it's the vocabulary that is throwing her, and from what I understand, the test is vocabulary based.

For example, one problem is the same question was in 2 different prep books, except the correct answer was different in both of them! I think at this point she is so upset that she is psyching herself out of it. She is totally stressed about it, and I don't know how to help her.

I tried to talk her into just getting her master's first, then eventually going for the PhD, but she doesn't have the money for that. If she gets accepted into the PhD program, she will get a free ride, plus they will pay her to do some research. Getting a job after graduation is basically not an option because there is nothing you can do with a 4-yr. degree in psychology.

I don't know how to help her. Has anyone taken the test lately? Did you use any of the prep books and were they even helpful? Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[allison443]

Would she be able to take a prep class (Kaplan, Princeton Review or something similar) or maybe get a tutor just for the sections she is struggling with? Even just a few sessions with a tutor might help her.

Good luck to your dd! That sounds like a wonderful opportunity for her.

 

[mrsv98]

My daughter is about to be a senior in college and is studying for the GRE. She will be graduating with a double major in psychology and art history. She plans on entering grad school, skipping the Masters program and starting right into the PhD program.

Here is the problem. She has bought many (more than 5) test prep books, including the vocabulary cards. She studies several hours a day, and has taken the practice tests many times. However, she is consistently getting mediocre scores on them. She has a 3.92 GPA at a pretty competitive college, and has always been a good student. She seems to do fine with the math, it's the vocabulary that is throwing her, and from what I understand, the test is vocabulary based.

For example, one problem is the same question was in 2 different prep books, except the correct answer was different in both of them! I think at this point she is so upset that she is psyching herself out of it. She is totally stressed about it, and I don't know how to help her.

I tried to talk her into just getting her master's first, then eventually going for the PhD, but she doesn't have the money for that. If she gets accepted into the PhD program, she will get a free ride, plus they will pay her to do some research. Getting a job after graduation is basically not an option because there is nothing you can do with a 4-yr. degree in psychology.

I don't know how to help her. Has anyone taken the test lately? Did you use any of the prep books and were they even helpful? Any advice would be appreciated.

I haven't taken the test in light years, but when I did, I took a prep course with real people. It helped tremendously and I know it made a difference in my final score. Not only did they help with the content, but they had tons of info and tips in regards to actually taking the tests. The tests are pretty high stress and the time for each one flies so the information on how to take them was as important as what was in them.

My class was through Kaplan and well worth the money. Of course, after all that I went to a grad school that didn't require them! but I do think it was good to take them anyway.

 

[debg]

My daughter is about to be a senior in college and is studying for the GRE. She will be graduating with a double major in psychology and art history. She plans on entering grad school, skipping the Masters program and starting right into the PhD program.

Here is the problem. She has bought many (more than 5) test prep books, including the vocabulary cards. She studies several hours a day, and has taken the practice tests many times. However, she is consistently getting mediocre scores on them. She has a 3.92 GPA at a pretty competitive college, and has always been a good student. She seems to do fine with the math, it's the vocabulary that is throwing her, and from what I understand, the test is vocabulary based.

For example, one problem is the same question was in 2 different prep books, except the correct answer was different in both of them! I think at this point she is so upset that she is psyching herself out of it. She is totally stressed about it, and I don't know how to help her.

I tried to talk her into just getting her master's first, then eventually going for the PhD, but she doesn't have the money for that. If she gets accepted into the PhD program, she will get a free ride, plus they will pay her to do some research. Getting a job after graduation is basically not an option because there is nothing you can do with a 4-yr. degree in psychology.

I don't know how to help her. Has anyone taken the test lately? Did you use any of the prep books and were they even helpful? Any advice would be appreciated.

No advice but I wanted to tell you that your daughter's not alone. Mine graduated with a 4.0 and has gotten mediocre results both times she took the GRE - not the practice tests but the test itself. The first time she went in assuming it was comparable to the ACT or the various tests she took in college (PPST and I don't know what else). She came close to acing those tests. Not so with the GRE, though her scores aren't bad... they're just not good. She wasn't happy with her scores so bought a bunch of books, the vocab cards, and studied like crazy. She took the test again and scored *exactly* the same. Came home in tears. I don't really know what she's going to do now.

Anyway, some moral support for you, Mom... and don't tell your DD about my DD... that won't do any help at all, LOL!

debg

 

[LilyWDW]

This test has eaten so many people going into grad school. I feel for your daughter as I took it about a year ago myself. I didn't score all that well, though I did do better in vocab then math (due to the fact my last math class was in 2002ish). I used the Barron's with the CD guide for my studying. I wasn't the best about studying, but what I did go over I felt the guide really helped.

BTW, I got into all of my choice schools, including Texas A&M and Oklahoma State. I also didn't have a really good GPA like your daughter to help me out with my applications.

 

[mousermerf]

I took it last year, I scored mediocre in math but excellent otherwise.

I was accepted into two grad programs with that score. I am a theater design major, so somewhat similar to art history. Is she going for the phd in art or psychology or something like art therapy?

If so, art programs know their people will generally do poorly in the math sections. The universities have standards but the programs themselves can ask for exceptions for applicants and it happens all the time. The first interiew i did they mentioned that since i had the GRE scheduled but not taken, i scored high enough to meet school baselines though.

 

[Jeafl]

I took it last year, I scored mediocre in math but excellent otherwise.

I was accepted into two grad programs with that score. I am a theater design major, so somewhat similar to art history. Is she going for the phd in art or psychology or something like art therapy?

If so, art programs know their people will generally do poorly in the math sections. The universities have standards but the programs themselves can ask for exceptions for applicants and it happens all the time. The first interiew i did they mentioned that since i had the GRE scheduled but not taken, i scored high enough to meet school baselines though.

She is going for the PhD in psychology, but she is interested in art therapy as well.

Thanks everybody for your advice. She is working as a customer service rep this summer and is able to study in between phone calls. She comes home from work every day upset over her scores on the practice tests. I'm not even sure if they are beneficial to her at this point.

 

[mousermerf]

She is going for the PhD in psychology, but she is interested in art therapy as well.

Thanks everybody for your advice. She is working as a customer service rep this summer and is able to study in between phone calls. She comes home from work every day upset over her scores on the practice tests. I'm not even sure if they are beneficial to her at this point.

Does she understand it as an adaptive test? It asks question that steeply go up in difficultly at the beginning. Work all of the first 10 Q's out to Nth detail - those are the bulk of your score. Miss any of them and it pegs you at a lower overall score level and then just asks slightly harder or slightly easier Q's to give you a score within the range it already cut you off at based on those first Q's.

Do not think you need to spend even amounts of time on each Q - the first 10 are the most important. Try every single answer if you have to, work it all out, scribble, write, look for answers that seem too similar, don't give up until one is obviously the right answer.

Just guessing fast on the last 5 questions will get you a higher score then if you don't dedicate the time to the first 10.

 

[mousermerf]

And is she using books or software? She needs to be taking software tests, not book tests. It is a computerized test and that's how it adapts and changes.

 

[Jeafl]

And is she using books or software? She needs to be taking software tests, not book tests. It is a computerized test and that's how it adapts and changes.

She is taking the tests in the prep books. I will mention this to her.

 

[dis-happy]

Wishing your dd the best. My dd is also a senior this year, majoring in bio and wanting to go into research. On practice tests she found it easier to score well on the MCAT than the GRE. Go figure.... Anyway, she is doing a lot of vocab practice as well.

 

[golfgal]

I read this as GRADE school woes and GED thinking, mom you have a lot of time to see if your kid shapes up before high school sorry.