[Dark_Dreams]

So i have not yet decided if I want to get my masters then take my time working towards the PhD or just jump straight to the PhD. I know there are some benefits to either choice but I am beginning to think masters would make the most sense since I could me working sooner and then work on the big one.

However, this all means that I will need to be taking the GRE. Like taking classes and tests and trying to pass isn't stressful enough

For anyone who has taken the GRE, how far in advance should I be taking it? I am looking at starting my masters fall of 2012. At least that is the plan. Should I be trying to scheule the date now so there is plenty of time for scores to be sent wherever or do I still have time to wait? I'm not sure how long it takes for scores to be done and that sort of thing.

Any advice or suggestions in regards to the GRE would be greatly appreciated

[salukigirl]

Depends on if you are SURE you are going to school in 2012. Your GRE scores expire in 5 years so if that's not set in stone then I would wait. If you take the computer test you will have your scores right then (except for writing). I think it took less than a week for my scores to get to Arkansas.

Another thing to consider....when I first took the GRE I was in the 50th percentile in Math (extremely average I know lol) and 72 percentile in Verbal but didn't have them sent right then. I went back later when I decided on my school and had them sent out then. When I had them sent out, more people had taken it and done worse than me so they ended up being in the 55th percentile and 75th percentile. I'm not sure if that's common or not.

Also......it's kind of impossible to study for. I studied all the words that supposedly occur on every test and never saw any of them. I'm terrible at Math so I looked over some older problems (since the math on that test was basically from middle school) cause I had forgotten just about all of it.

My advice is to refresh yourself with simple algebra, word problems and geometry. And study suffixes and prefixes. There is no way you can remember all those words since almost none of them occur in everyday language. So learning prefixes and suffixes will at least help you break down the word and get a general meaning. And a lot of colleges will offer a prep course, like a week long, in preparing for the GRE.

Another thing with the timing....I wouldn't do it too early because if it comes down to it and there is something you can't get out of....you don't get your money back. So you will be out the money and have to pay again. So I would make it for maybe a month ahead of when you plan to take it so you know for a fact you won't have to reschedule.

Good luck!

[Perna]

It doesn't take any time for scores to be sent; I'd take it the semester you are applying for grad school; not all schools need/want it so you have to decide where you're going and what you're doing first.

I took it twice; after I finished college, back in 1972, was working and thinking of going back to school and just interested in taking it (it is valid for several years after you take it, is not like the SAT's, you can't do significantly "better" by taking it again) and then just a few years ago, maybe eight or nine, when I was thinking about grad school again but ended up going to a university that didn't require it.

Salukigirl has good advice, probably more recent than mine.

[Dark_Dreams]

I am shooting for fall of 2012 but if all else fails it will be fall of 2013 so the timing isn't that huge of a deal. I don't intend to take several years to get there.

I have been looking at requirements and a vast majority are seeking the GRE so I think it is safe for me to take it just in case. If I manage to find a school that I am set on attending that doesn't require it cool. At least I will have it.

Now, at the school I have been looking at, it is required for the masters program. All well and good. I think I am going the master route then work on the PhD while I am working (or something along those lines. Nothing set in stone yet). I won't have to take it again or anything for the PhD will I? My Masters should be a decent step towards the PhD?

Is it ibvious that I am mildly freaked about the idea of taking this stupid test? I don't test well so I am mildly anxious. I have a couple books and fully intend to prepare to the absolute extreme so it just comes down to test anxiety

[salukigirl]

I thought about going straight to the PhD but decided against it. The only time you would have to re-take it for your PhD is if it has been more than 5 years since the last time you took it.

Can I ask what you are going to grad school for? If it is in the sciences and involves research you can't get your degree while working. Mine requires a contract and they pay a stipend and since I'm under contract I'm not allowed to have a second job. That's how it is everywhere I have been to. But I'm in entomology and am doing a thesis MS. I'm not sure how it works in other areas.

There are a couple things to think about when you are deciding between going straight through a PhD or getting your masters first:
1) are you absolutely positive you want to do this forever?
2) are you absolutely positive on the specific area in your field you want to work?
3) are you positive you even WANT to get your PhD?
4) have you had any work experience that has required experimental design or publishing?

If every answer to those questions is Yes then it shouldn't be a problem going straight through. I wasn't entirely sure on what I wanted to do and have already, within my first semester of an MS, decided that what I thought I wanted, wasn't really what I wanted. So now I will be more confident going into my PhD. I also had experience in lab and field work but had never published. So I needed that experience of designing experiments and publishing or else a PhD would have been total overload.

Have you started talking to potential advisors yet? As an undergrad I started emailing people my junior year. And I'm glad I did because it took a lot of people before I found an advisor that fit my personality and I'm extremely happy with my choice. I also didn't send my scores until I had visited the university and met with the dept. chair.

If you are going into the sciences and your dept. pays a stipend, find out if it is 9 mo or 12 mo. If you will be doing research DO NOT settle for a school that will not waive your tuition and pay you a stipend. I know it sounds bad and selfish but there is no way you can take a full load of classes, do research AND work full time to support yourself. If you try it will not take long before you just quit caring.

In most cases your masters IS the step before your PhD. Going straight through has become kind of the 'fad' thing to do right now. My old boss broke it down for me this way:

he said he initially wanted to go straight through. His advisor told him to just wait and do a masters. Once he got his masters, he liked the program and the advisor and so got a phd through the same person. He ended up graduating with a MS and a PhD at the same time as others who went straight through but had that extra degree and more publications. Plus, if you get there and decide you don't like the people, the dept., your advisor or the research.... you're only locked in for 2 years instead of 4 or 5.

If you want you can PM me. I just went through this whole process about 9 months ago so it's fresh in this little brain of mine.

[Perna]

Were I you and worried about the test, I'd take a couple courses in a good master's program that did not require the test and then apply to the school/program of your choice; the good grades in another program would show you could do graduate school work so even if your GRE grades weren't that great, it would help and perhaps you'd also get transfer credit if you took basic enough courses.

The GRE seemed very different to me from most such admission tests; was longer and, after all the college I had had, wasn't as worrisome as the SAT and similar tests one takes to get into college in the first place. I felt more anchored in life/older and it felt like the test questions/problems reflected that somehow.

[Dark_Dreams]

As anxious as I am about taking the test, I refuse to allow that to keep me from doing what I want, where I want and with whom I want. If I find a program that i want, I am willing to do what i have to do to get it.

I already have my eye on a masters program (actually a new one so I don't even know all the particulars) and will make an attempt to jump into that one if possible

[(JD)]

I can't imagine skipping--or whatever the process is--the master level classes. I did CLEP out of many of my master courses, though... but no one is ready for the PhD until they have the foundational coursework, imo.

I'm not sure you're ready for PhD level... ok? Hear me out on this... if you were confident of the material, you would only be freaking out about taking a (the) test... but you don't have enough data about the test itself to know? How is it you haven't gone to the library or even a book store and thumbed through the GRE test books? They give all that information, plus samples plus there are books that tell you how to prepare.

A bit part of the PhD is knowing resources.

Good wishes however you decide though.

[Dark_Dreams]

As I mentioned earlier, i do have books on the GRE )both the old format as well as a book based on the new format that goes into effect fall of next year). I have a couple other study tools for the test as well. By no means do i have all the material I could have to prepare.

Being confident about the material is not the problem. I have general test anxiety regardless of whether I am confident about the material or not. I took a pretest at the beginning of the fall semester for another class which I aced and new full well I would ace but was still incredibly anxious about it. However, I also had tests all semester that went against every single test taking strategy I have ever been given which increased my anxiety about tests in a HUGE way. I have done some research on the format of the test which helps some but whether I know all the material backwards and forward, I will still be anxious. It's not a matter of preparation

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&s...=&oq=&gs_rfai=

[objtrbit]

I am also going to be going for my master's in 2012, I am studying for the GRE now, (although I plan to take the revised version). I went all the way back to developmental mathmaticics...I think they are checking to know if you know all the rules...stuff like division laws, etc...I donno..

however, on the site, it says if you take the test in august/september
or something, (of 2011) that it will be sent to your school by november. That's good condsidering if you don't get the score you want you can re- take it 2012's spring, in time to get results back before the fall.