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Math GRE 2005 Practice Performance to Real Thing

Posted: Thu Jul 13, 2017 3:11 pm
by duncanh
Hi All,
I've been reviewing a bit for the math gre which I plan to take in September and took the 2005 test and did quite well (only missed a couple of questions) and finished in time. How much of an indicator is this as to how I will do on actual test as I keep hearing that the newer tests are more and more difficult, but I've not got a sense as to how difficult they will be (e.g., will I sit down and be lost right now considering my performance on the 05 or will it just be a little more difficult).
Thanks

Re: Math GRE 2005 Practice Performance to Real Thing

Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2017 5:20 pm
by GWLeibniz
When you say math GRE 2005, are you referring to the GR0568 test? If so, where did you find it? I can't seem to find. I was able to find four tests, but there is mention of a 5th test that I cannot find.

Re: Math GRE 2005 Practice Performance to Real Thing

Posted: Mon Oct 30, 2017 12:14 pm
by DDswife

Re: Math GRE 2005 Practice Performance to Real Thing

Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2017 9:22 am
by Mr Prof
duncanh wrote:Hi All,
I've been reviewing a bit for the math gre which I plan to take in September and took the 2005 test and did quite well (only missed a couple of questions) and finished in time. How much of an indicator is this as to how I will do on actual test as I keep hearing that the newer tests are more and more difficult, but I've not got a sense as to how difficult they will be (e.g., will I sit down and be lost right now considering my performance on the 05 or will it just be a little more difficult).
Thanks
I will like to say this: do not be carried away by your performance. Try to learn everything you can. Different tests are very different. I experienced the shock of my life in the Oct 28 test. And many people also used this platform to share how shocked they were----to my surprise.

Admittedly, some of the questions in the Oct test were easier than the gr0568 you referred to. However, time pressure caused many to mess these questions up because they (the questions) took time to compute. I messed some basic questions up cos I couldn't recall how to handle them. So bad I recalled how to handle those kind of questions when I was on my way home.Some questions looked rather terrible. Like they were kind of saying, "Don't look in my direction". I guessed a lot (I have never guessed much as that in all my life). I felt I could get 850+ before the test. Now, I will consider myself lucky if I score 750+.

In retrospect, my preparation was nothing to write home about (I prepared for 3 weeks and 4 days). Since you will probably be taking the April test, then you have ample time to study. Please study hard.

Wish you the best.

Re: Math GRE 2005 Practice Performance to Real Thing

Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2017 1:54 pm
by Junaid456
Mr Prof wrote:
duncanh wrote:Hi All,
I've been reviewing a bit for the math gre which I plan to take in September and took the 2005 test and did quite well (only missed a couple of questions) and finished in time. How much of an indicator is this as to how I will do on actual test as I keep hearing that the newer tests are more and more difficult, but I've not got a sense as to how difficult they will be (e.g., will I sit down and be lost right now considering my performance on the 05 or will it just be a little more difficult).
Thanks
I will like to say this: do not be carried away by your performance. Try to learn everything you can. Different tests are very different. I experienced the shock of my life in the Oct 28 test. And many people also used this platform to share how shocked they were----to my surprise.

Admittedly, some of the questions in the Oct test were easier than the gr0568 you referred to. However, time pressure caused many to mess these questions up because they (the questions) took time to compute. I messed some basic questions up cos I couldn't recall how to handle them. So bad I recalled how to handle those kind of questions when I was on my way home.Some questions looked rather terrible. Like they were kind of saying, "Don't look in my direction". I guessed a lot (I have never guessed much as that in all my life). I felt I could get 850+ before the test. Now, I will consider myself lucky if I score 750+.

In retrospect, my preparation was nothing to write home about (I prepared for 3 weeks and 4 days). Since you will probably be taking the April test, then you have ample time to study. Please study hard.

Wish you the best.
I would like to second Mr. Prof's comment. I had an exactly similar experience. I studied for the exam for months: I went through two different calculus textbooks, and I even revised some texts for advanced topics like analysis and algebra. I just couldn't, however, turn up on the exam day! I'd like to add the following:

The exam is deceptively difficult. Except for, say, 6-8 questions on average that are modestly difficult, the exam does not contain questions that are very difficult. However, under time pressure, I felt it very hard to manage time, and correctly answer questions. I was able to go through most of the exam, but I consistently got questions wrong, including basic computations, basic theory questions, and some long-winded computational questions which appear towards the end. Like Mr. Prof, I was able to solve almost all the questions I could remember after the exam, and I felt so dumb! For instance, I got a simple high school geometry problem wrong just because I couldn't identify a variable (length) in the question, so I promptly skipped it. I solved the question in my head while on my back!

I think you should try and study as much as you can for the exam. You should try and minimize your mistakes in one area, though. I consistently got questions wrong multiple categories. I don't consider myself to be a math whiz, but I'd like to think the reason for my getting questions wrong from each subject area was due to my getting questions wrong consistently. You can get a very good score even if you get 10-12 questions wrong. So, go in to the exam with the aim of getting 56 correct. You can easily manage a 85+ percentile like this. Make sure you don't get questions consistently wrong. If your preparation is good, you can easily manage a 80+ percentile.

I know I'm getting 20-22 questions wrong, so, like Mr. Prof, I'll be damned if I get a 750+.

Re: Math GRE 2005 Practice Performance to Real Thing

Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2017 1:58 pm
by Junaid456
Junaid456 wrote:
Mr Prof wrote:
duncanh wrote:Hi All,
I've been reviewing a bit for the math gre which I plan to take in September and took the 2005 test and did quite well (only missed a couple of questions) and finished in time. How much of an indicator is this as to how I will do on actual test as I keep hearing that the newer tests are more and more difficult, but I've not got a sense as to how difficult they will be (e.g., will I sit down and be lost right now considering my performance on the 05 or will it just be a little more difficult).
Thanks
I will like to say this: do not be carried away by your performance. Try to learn everything you can. Different tests are very different. I experienced the shock of my life in the Oct 28 test. And many people also used this platform to share how shocked they were----to my surprise.

Admittedly, some of the questions in the Oct test were easier than the gr0568 you referred to. However, time pressure caused many to mess these questions up because they (the questions) took time to compute. I messed some basic questions up cos I couldn't recall how to handle them. So bad I recalled how to handle those kind of questions when I was on my way home.Some questions looked rather terrible. Like they were kind of saying, "Don't look in my direction". I guessed a lot (I have never guessed much as that in all my life). I felt I could get 850+ before the test. Now, I will consider myself lucky if I score 750+.

In retrospect, my preparation was nothing to write home about (I prepared for 3 weeks and 4 days). Since you will probably be taking the April test, then you have ample time to study. Please study hard.

Wish you the best.
I would like to second Mr. Prof's comment. I had an exactly similar experience. I studied for the exam for months: I went through two different calculus textbooks, and I even revised some texts for advanced topics like analysis and algebra. I just couldn't, however, turn up on the exam day! I'd like to add the following:

The exam is deceptively difficult. Except for, say, 6-8 questions on average that are modestly difficult, the exam does not contain questions that are very difficult. However, under time pressure, I felt it very hard to manage time, and correctly answer questions. I was able to go through most of the exam, but I consistently got questions wrong, including basic computations, basic theory questions, and some long-winded computational questions which appear towards the end. Like Mr. Prof, I was able to solve almost all the questions I could remember after the exam, and I felt so dumb! For instance, I got a simple high school geometry problem wrong just because I couldn't identify a variable (length) in the question, so I promptly skipped it. I solved the question in my head while on my back!

I think you should try and study as much as you can for the exam. You should try and minimize your mistakes in one area, though. I consistently got questions wrong multiple categories. I don't consider myself to be a math whiz, but I'd like to think the reason for my getting questions wrong from each subject area was due to my getting questions wrong consistently. You can get a very good score even if you get 10-12 questions wrong. So, go in to the exam with the aim of getting 56 correct. You can easily manage a 85+ percentile like this. Make sure you don't get questions consistently wrong. If your preparation is good, you can easily manage a 80+ percentile.

I know I'm getting 20-22 questions wrong, so, like Mr. Prof, I'll be damned if I get a 750+.
P.S: An anecdote: A friend of mine, who's a graduate student at Harvard, IMO silver medalist and a great mathematician in the making, got a 80 percentile the first time he took the exam. He didn't really study for it; he said, well I should be able to ace it since the exam only tests basic undergraduate knowledge. He prepared heavily for the next time. He made sure he had everything on his finger tips. It also helped he already knew a lot of math before so all he had to do was revise, not learn new material. He's a great exam taker as well (unlike myself) so I am not surprised he got a 99 percentile on the second attempt.