Taking the GRE

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I haven't decided if I am going to go on and pursue graduate studies yet, but I am wondering when a good time would be to take the GRE exam.

I have two semesters left before I get my bachelor's degree.

I had taken it (and appropriate subject tests) during the spring of my junior year and fall of my senior year, though I ended up deciding to take time off instead of going directly to graduate school anyway.

Take it whenever is convenient for you, and don't worry too much about it. The GRE isn't taken too seriously by graduate admissions officers.

Now's about the time to take it, or at least prepare for it. Get an early start, because it takes time to apply to graduate schools, and you need your GRE score on hand when you apply.

The GRE won't normally make or break you, but if you do well enough on it, it could weigh in very strongly for getting fellowships and other aid. A big part of the reason I was awarded the Hertz fellowship was my GRE scores and recommendations from professors.

Have your favorite professor give you practice GREs to work on. About two practice tests will ensure you will do as well as you're gonna do, and then take the real test. Having practiced the test, you will have an idea of how well you should expect to do, and minimize the likelihood of freezing up or bombing the test for whatever other reason.

Also, at least a few days or a week before the test, go to the test site to look around, get a feel for where the buildings, rooms and parking areas are located so that this won't throw you off balance on test day. On test day, arrive early so you have time to calm down, get oriented, grab something to eat, etc. before taking the test. You don't want to get melty right before the test, and with preparation you should be able to avoid that.

At 29 you are getting a late start on a higher degree, but no matter. Someone told me that if you can get a PhD, you must. The US needs more PhDs, especially of domestic origin. Don't go into it with the expectation that your program will make you more attractive to women. By continuing school, you are deferring entry into the job market by about 5 years or however long a PhD takes, and you will also be deferring your entry into the dating market by about the same amount. Yes, I know some graduate students date, marry and even have children if they're really good at multitasking, but don't count on doing that. Looking back I can honestly say I did the best I could, and that doing my PhD was the best thing I could have done with my life for where I was at the time.

Just hope the GRE has a low casino index!

Because it would be unfortunate that subpar students exploit some GREs that have high CIs to get into graduate education when they show some signs of weakness that would make one believe they cannot make it into masters or Ph.Ds.

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1. You can take it more than once.

2. At least when I took it (a few years ago), if you had taken it multiple times, they reported your highest score to the schools to which you were applying.

This means that it would be in one's best interest to take it the maximum number of times. I only took it once because of time pressure and my geographical location (the higher the population density, the more frequently they administer the test).

I suggest looking at the E.T.S. (Educational Testing Services) website and reading all the information available there.

Buying a GRE study guide, or borrowing one from the library, tends to make a difference not only on your score but also on how relaxed and confident you feel while taking the test.

I've taken it twice - my results weren't very good but I was accepted into a fine graduate program.

You might inquire if you can take the test without a time limit. If you are diagnosed with ASD you might be able to have accommodations made during the test.

Z