by Amanda Mahmoudi
Most people are afraid of acronyms like CIA, FBI or IRS. If you are a graduating senior who plans on attending graduate school, however, GRE, GMAT, MCAT and LSAT can make your life a living hell.
The very thought of taking any of these grueling tests can very well make you physically ill. Your scalp begins to itch. Your palms begin to sweat. You can no longer concentrate.
Are you at all like graduating senior English literature major Joshua Castro?
"I really don't know what to think about taking a graduate exam," Castro said. "It may not be a really good indicator of what I really know."
Have no fear. Help is here.
The first step to approaching these tests is to be well-informed. Which test is the right one for you? Read on and find out!
If you plan on attending graduate school to further your studies in basic sciences or liberal arts (biology or English, for example), the GRE was designed especially for you.
There are two different formats to use in taking the GRE. You can choose either the manual, or as it is affectionately known, "paper and pencil," test or the computerized test. Each one has its own particular set-up.
The manual test is divided into seven 30-minute intervals: two math sections, two verbal sections, two analytical sections and one experimental section.
By comparison, the computerized test consists of only one 30-minute verbal section, a 45-minute math section and an hour-long analytical section. Experimental questions are spread throughout the test.
Like the all-too-familiar SAT, each section of the GRE is worth from 200 to 800 points. That makes a grand total of 2,400 points if you happen to ace the test.
The main difference between the computerized and manual tests, other than the actual duration, is that the manual test is absolutely random, according to Fred Bentsen, executive director of the Houston-based Princeton Review center.
"The computerized test is programmed to adapt to the test-taker's behavior," Bentsen explained.
This could work either for or against the test-taker. Should you have any qualms about taking the computerized GRE, you should definitely plan on taking the next possible "paper and pencil" test, which will be administered in November of this year.
"There have been rumors flying around that the computerized version of the GRE will eventually replace the 'paper and pencil' version," Bentsen said. "Just like there is only a computerized version of the GMAT, the same thing will eventually happen with the GRE."
OK, so let's say you want to get your MBA. Which test do you take? The one and only computerized GMAT, of course!
The GMAT consists of two 30-minute essays, a 70-minute math section and a 70-minute verbal section, amounting to a possible composite score between 200 and 800 points.
This leaves the enigmatic MCAT and LSAT, both offered exclusively in the "paper and pencil" format.
The MCAT, geared toward students wishing to attend medical school, is described by Bentsen as "an eight-hour-long dance party."
It consists of three separate sections, each worth 15 points at most: an 85-minute verbal section, a 100-minute biological science section and a 100-minute physical science section. There is also an hour-long essay which is merited with a letter between "J" and "T."
(For those of you who are about to collapse from mere thought of possible starvation, don't fret - you are given an hour-long lunch break between sections.)
During the five 35-minute sections of the LSAT, however, you don't get a break. Be especially prepared for the two argument sections and the reading comprehension, logic and experimental sections. All the sections of the LSAT amount to a composite score between 120 to 180 points, the latter being the better.
After becoming informed, the next step is to be prepared. Bentsen encourages students to at the very least take a practice exam before an actual one.
"Students can call for an appointment to take a practice exam at any time," Bentsen said, "or they can attend any of our regularly scheduled practice exams held about once a month."
The practice exams offered are indeed full-length, guaranteed to give you an honest impression of the testing process. Following the practice exams, students should take advantage of the free computer analysis, which points out both strong and weak areas.
Graduating senior psychology major Felix Shekhter plans on actually taking a course to help him prepare for the GRE.
"I am not nervous about taking the test itself," Shekhter explained. "I am just concerned that I won't have enough time to answer all the questions."
Biology doctoral candidate and GRE veteran David Reed offered insight from his own test-taking experience.
"It's really no sweat," Reed said. "I didn't take any sort of prep course and I scored fairly well."
See? It may not be so terrifying after all.
However, just in case you are not as self-assured as Reed, you can contact the Princeton Review at (713) 688-5500 for price and date information on various tests and prep courses.
Whatever you decide, just don't forget to breathe while taking the test! You can prepare for months, but if your brain doesn't receive any oxygen, what's the use?