Hisvoice:
My GRE Experience (Post 1)
I am writing this to encourage someone out there. My background includes a 2.1 and 65th percentile CGPA in both B.Sc and M.Sc respectively (medical field in Nigeria), and it was saddening to see me fall for GRE 3 times. Yes! 3 horrible times. A GRE score that is >300 seems like a Kilmanjaro without any knowledge of how to surmount it. I drew encouragement from the fact that my score improved by 6 marks at each attempt (1st - 286, 2nd - 292, 3rd - 298) and was resilient to @ least break the jinx of 300 mark, even if it's just by 0.000001. Although, it was quite challenging - financially, emotionally and mentally - to keep up with the exams due to work schedule, exam cost and depression associated with failure. Yet! I never give up 'cos I saw GRE as an hurdle to jump to achieve something big.
At last, after dealing with the 'Jericho wall' at the redemption camp on thursday, I went to JKK (where I was a regular customer) to re-write.
After the exam, I scored 308 (Total Score; Quant - 154, Verbal - 154). Not 'stellar' as we commonly say here, but at all all ........

By writing 4 times, I discovered some things about the exam that worth sharing particularly for low scorers in VERBAL. I will be back to share in the next post.. Merci Dieu

Continue bro! I like your fighting spirit! The thing I know about GRE is that it takes a lot of work to improve one's score by 10 points! Moving from 298 to 308 is not a mean feat my brother.

Hisvoice:
My GRE Experience (Post 1)
I am writing this to encourage someone out there. My background includes a 2.1 and 65th percentile CGPA in both B.Sc and M.Sc respectively (medical field in Nigeria), and it was saddening to see me fall for GRE 3 times. Yes! 3 horrible times. A GRE score that is >300 seems like a Kilmanjaro without any knowledge of how to surmount it. I drew encouragement from the fact that my score improved by 6 marks at each attempt (1st - 286, 2nd - 292, 3rd - 298) and was resilient to @ least break the jinx of 300 mark, even if it's just by 0.000001. Although, it was quite challenging - financially, emotionally and mentally - to keep up with the exams due to work schedule, exam cost and depression associated with failure. Yet! I never give up 'cos I saw GRE as an hurdle to jump to achieve something big.
At last, after dealing with the 'Jericho wall' at the redemption camp on thursday, I went to JKK (where I was a regular customer) to re-write.
After the exam, I scored 308 (Total Score; Quant - 154, Verbal - 154). Not 'stellar' as we commonly say here, but at all all ........

By writing 4 times, I discovered some things about the exam that worth sharing particularly for low scorers in VERBAL. I will be back to share in the next post.. Merci Dieu

Wow, I love your resilience. With an attitude like this, you're surely in for success.

Hi Fam. I have done alot of research and read alot of pages on this thread. As you know I intend to apply for a PhD in EE or Biomedical Engineering. I have short listed the following schools; University of Michigan (Ambitious), Georgia Tech, University of illinois Urbana and Kansas State University. I have contacted their grad program coordinators. Some are yet to respond.

My question is since am planning to re-write GRE, how long can I delay it with the hope that results reach the school before 1st Dec?

The schools I have short listed, how generous are they will funding (under grad GPA 4.26/5, masters 3.5/5)?

Apart from application fees and cost of sending hard copies of documents are there other fees I have to pay?

Finally, to what extent do I stand a chance to gaining admission in any of these schools?

Pardon my English and stupid questions (if any)

Yildiz:
Hi Fam. I have done alot of research and read alot of pages on this thread. As you know I intend to apply for a PhD in EE or Biomedical Engineering. I have short listed the following schools; University of Michigan (Ambitious), Georgia Tech, University of illinois Urbana and Kansas State University. I have contacted their grad program coordinators. Some are yet to respond.

My question is since am planning to re-write GRE, how long can I delay it with the hope that results reach the school before 1st Dec?

The schools I have short listed, how generous are they will funding (under grad GPA 4.26/5, masters 3.5/5)?

Apart from application fees and cost of sending hard copies of documents are there other fees I have to pay?

Finally, to what extent do I stand a chance to gaining admission in any of these schools?

Pardon my English and stupid questions (if any)

I gained admission to two of the aforementioned schools; University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign for Master's. I wrote my GRE on the 14th of December. So I think you have no issue with the GRE being sent on time since you won't include it in your online application - ETS will send to school directly. Some schools even give some slack on the arrival of the GRE from the ETS.

Michigan has a lot of endowment, up to $10bn and Illinois should have up to $2bn. I got fellowship from Michigan but won't go too far since it's a very expensive school, same for Illinois. I'm still waiting on profs from the school for RA position. But, getting a free ride in tier 1 schools like Michigan and even Illinois is very difficult for US citizens and of-course would be extremely difficult for international students like you and me. That's why I'm hoping on PTDF for full ride while still networking with profs at the schools for GA. You should consider other funding options too, and since you are considering tier 2 schools too, your chances of funding may be higher provided such schools have a lot of grants. You may want to add more middle ranking schools cos it's only Kansas State Uni I can see in your list, in my opinion.

Apart from application fees and the ones you stated, I don't know of any other fees to be paid during the application. Meanwhile, both Michigan and Illinois waived IELTS/TOEFL for me so I didn't have to write language test. You talked about hard copy documents, why don't you send everything as soft copies? Including Transcripts and LORs. It is safer, cheaper and faster.

I think you have a good chance. PhD may be more competitive since many of them are fully funded. But it depends on how well you convince the admissions committee that you can cut the mustard based on your application materials.

I don't think there are stupid questions either.

Regards.

Thanks for your input. But why the WES conversion. Do I need it also?

DreManuel:


I gained admission to two of the aforementioned schools; University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign for Master's. My CGPA: B Sc., Mech Engr 4.39/5.00 (= 3.65/4.00 WES Conversion), GRE: 325 (Q 165, V 160). I wrote my GRE on the 14th of December. So I think you have no issue with the GRE being sent on time since you won't include it in your online application - ETS will send to school directly. Some schools even give some slack on the arrival of the GRE from the ETS.

Michigan has a lot of endowment, up to $10bn and Illinois should have up to $2bn. I got fellowship from Michigan but won't go too far since it's a very expensive school, same for Illinois. I'm still waiting on profs from the school for RA position. But, getting a free ride in tier 1 schools like Michigan and even Illinois is very difficult for US citizens and of-course would be extremely difficult for international students like you and me. That's why I'm hoping on PTDF for full ride while still networking with profs at the schools for GA. You should consider other funding options too, and since you are considering tier 2 schools too, your chances of funding may be higher provided such schools have a lot of grants. You may want to add more middle ranking schools cos it's only Kansas State Uni I can see in your list, in my opinion.

Apart from application fees and the ones you stated, I don't know of any other fees to be paid during the application. Meanwhile, both Michigan and Illinois waived IELTS/TOEFL for me so I didn't have to write language test. You talked about hard copy documents, why don't you send everything as soft copies? Including Transcripts and LORs. It is safer, cheaper and faster.

I think you have a good chance. PhD may be more competitive since many of them are fully funded. But it depends on how well you convince the admissions committee that you can cut the mustard based on your application materials.

I don't think there are stupid questions either.

Regards.

Yildiz:
Thanks for your input. But why the WES conversion. Do I need it also?

You may not need the WES conversion but you can do that too. I did to know where I stood since one of the programs I applied to indicated on their site that students admitted to the program usually have a GPA of 3.7/4.00

There is free version on their site. You will only need to upload your courses and grades on the site and it will convert it for you.

Yildiz:
Hi Fam. I have done alot of research and read alot of pages on this thread. As you know I intend to apply for a PhD in EE or Biomedical Engineering. I have short listed the following schools; University of Michigan (Ambitious), Georgia Tech, University of illinois Urbana and Kansas State University. I have contacted their grad program coordinators. Some are yet to respond.

My question is since am planning to re-write GRE, how long can I delay it with the hope that results reach the school before 1st Dec?

The schools I have short listed, how generous are they will funding (under grad GPA 4.26/5, masters 3.5/5)?

Apart from application fees and cost of sending hard copies of documents are there other fees I have to pay?

Finally, to what extent do I stand a chance to gaining admission in any of these schools?

Pardon my English and stupid questions (if any)

I recently discovered that Cleveland State Uni has a lot of funding for EE students. The sharing formular based on specific project interests is what I do not know.

Georgia Tech encourages PhDs with over-sufficient funding though my research was based on Chemical Engineering- my undergrad discipline.

The GRE takes about 5/7 days to get to the school from the time you hit "send" on the test day. It could also take a more extended time- say, 10-14 days incase of delays. That way, your AWA that becomes available to you only after 10 days would get to the school about the same time.

Nobody can determine your chance of getting admitted. I wager it takes a tinge of serendipity and submitting early (without relegating having a good profile or faith).

Someone else recommended adding more B+ and B- schools and he is right because presupposed safe schools are becoming precarious these days. Just based on NL, I would ask that you looked into University of Tennessee Knoxville, University of Texas, Dallas and maybe Drexel University.

Don't get caught in the hype of assuming meeting all the admission conditions of your prospective schools will automatically translate into an acceptance. It works that way more often than not in Master's applications but becomes unpredictable in PhD apps.

See for e.g, someone on here got admitted (and fully funded) into University of Virginia Charlottesville & Penn State Uni but same profile was rejected by UConn. Compatibility with POIs and timing could do the trick. I would only recommend you submitted your apps earlier than Dec or atleast before the stipulated deadline for early bird admisisons in your considered schools.

I will look at other schools but my problem is I dont want to apply to many schools (why, I cant say). Secondly, I dont mind going to other countries. I will try the free WES conversion

Scholastica16:


I recently discovered that Cleveland State Uni has a lot of funding for EE students. The sharing formular based on specific project interests is what I do not know.

Georgia Tech encourages PhDs with over-sufficient funding though my research was based on Chemical Engineering- my undergrad discipline.

The GRE takes about 5/7 days to get to the school from the time you hit "send" on the test day. It could also take a more extended time- say, 10-14 days incase of delays. That way, your AWA that becomes available to you only after 10 days would get to the school about the same time.

Nobody can determine your chance of getting admitted. I wager it takes a tinge of serendipity and submitting early (without relegating having a good profile or faith).

Someone else recommended adding more B+ and B- schools and he is right because presupposed safe schools are becoming precarious these days. Just based on NL, I would ask that you looked into University of Tennessee Knoxville, University of Texas, Dallas and maybe Drexel University.

Don't get caught in the hype of assuming meeting all the admission conditions of your prospective schools will automatically translate into an acceptance. It works that way more often than not in Master's applications but becomes unpredictable in PhD apps.

See for e.g, someone on here got admitted (and fully funded) into University of Virginia Charlottesville & Penn State Uni but same profile was rejected by UConn. Compatibility with POIs and timing could do the trick. I would only recommend you submitted your apps earlier than Dec or atleast before the stipulated deadline for early bird admisisons in your considered schools.

0110x:
2 slots TOEFL Registration @40k, registration with vouchers. PM if interested.

2 slots TOEFL Registration @43k, 2 slots GRE Registration @ 47k

DreManuel:


You may not need the WES conversion but you can do that too. I did to know where I stood since one of the programs I applied to indicated on their site that students admitted to the program usually have a GPA of 3.7/4.00

There is free version on their site. You will only need to upload your courses and grades on the site and it will convert it for you.

how does Wes work Biko oga mi? 4.39 to 3.65 ... if so , then what will a 4.5 turn to ?... .. at least olodos like me can use Wes to upscale our odo.

[url=
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zN7I_M0oz1c][/url]

Yildiz:
I will look at other schools but my problem is I dont want to apply to many schools (why, I cant say). Secondly, I dont mind going to other countries. I will try the free WES conversion

Applying to many schools can help. Besides, you are still doing research on schools. LOL. You may end up not applying to some of the schools you are considering.

EZEIGBO1OFIMO:
how does Wes work Biko oga mi? 4.39 to 3.65 ... if so , then what will a 4.5 turn to ?... .. at least olodos like me can use Wes to upscale our odo.

My brother I don't know o...But that was the result sent to me and I did that twice to be double sure. Anyway, the way GPAs look like, and its funny, the higher your score, the less you feel the scaling up impact in the conversion.

DreManuel:


My brother I don't know o...But that was the result sent to me and I did that twice to be double sure. I figured that while in school, two Es prevented one from translating from 4.39 to 4.5. Anyway, the way GPAs look like, and its funny, the higher your score, the less you feel the scaling up impact in the conversion.

Noted sir!

Scholastica16:


Applying to many schools can help. Besides, you are still doing research on schools. LOL. You may end up not applying to some of the schools you are considering.

Well I was hoping am done with the research. Lol. I don't want to exceed 300k for application fees and standardized test

Yildiz:

Well I was hoping am done with the research. Lol. I don't want to exceed 300k for application fees and standardized test

I spent more than that between last year to this year but the exchange rate was really bad then and I wrote GRE twice. I also applied to 8 schools.

However, I understand you fully. ETS will let you send 4 scores free of charge. I think you should send 2 additional scoresheets making it 6 schools. "Had I known" is something you don't want to say.

Personally, I would say pick only 2 out of GTech, UMich and UIUC. Then look at the others sent to you that is, KSU, CSU, DU, UTK and UTD.

This would have been my list though; GTech, UTK, CSU, DU, KSU, UTD.

UMich & UIUC are deeply selective schools especially at PhD level but if you could get external scholarship and indicate that you have it, you would most likely get the admission even with your 314.

US schools like money too.

Oga HisVoice,

Congrats. I forgot to respond to your post earlier than I should have. I am sure you already have schools in mind but incase Mississippi State Uni and UTK are not, they should be on your shortlist. You might even want to add Iowa State.

Believerspraise got into LSU's petroleum engineering MSc with a 2nd class lower and 304 GRE. I may be breaking protocol by mentioning him but his testimony resonated with me. It could do same to you as well even though I know you are opting for a PhD.

Congrats again.

Georgia Tech biomedical engineering program coordinator just mailed me that their acceptance rate is less than 20%. I got to change tactics

Yildiz:
Georgia Tech biomedical engineering program coordinator just mailed me that their acceptance rate is less than 20%. I got to change tactics

You don't have to be scared. Work on your application your essays especially and give it a shot.

Guys check out my signature for your auto parts today.

Yildiz:
Georgia Tech biomedical engineering program coordinator just mailed me that their acceptance rate is less than 20%. I got to change tactics

LOL. You should find out what UMich and UIUC have to say. You'd understand why I placed GTech at number 1 and filled the rest with those schools I listed.

GTech was listed for their generosity. You already have a strong profile. I think you should aggressively pursue POIs. If your 314 is not good enough (some usually only care about the Q) they will let you know. Which would not matter too as you are already planning to retake it.

Scholastica16:


LOL. You should find out what UMich and UIUC have to say. You'd understand why I placed GTech at number 1 and filled the rest with those schools I listed.

GTech was listed for their generosity. You already have a strong profile. I think you should aggressively pursue POIs. If your 314 is not good enough (some usually only care about the Q) they will let you know. Which would not matter too as you are already planning to retake it.

I get it now. That's cool.

okoope:
I think it's important to make distinction between magoosh video lessons and the video solutions. For preparation the video lessons in my opinion are better especially for those who are struggling with creating time for prep plus the video lessons are well structured and thus allow concentration on areas where one might be having difficulties.

That said, I observed that most links posted here stopped working after some time, so I don't know if I should post d link or the PM route is better. The video lessons is around 1.4GB COVERING all sections.

I sent u a private message. Plz I need d link. Am writing in October.

Scholastica16:
Oga HisVoice,

Congrats. I forgot to respond to your post earlier than I should have. I am sure you already have schools in mind but incase Mississippi State Uni and UTK are not, they should be on your shortlist. You might even want to add Iowa State.

Thanks Scholastica for those schools suggested. You are right with that assumption as regards the degree on radar. Quite appreciate your work here. God bless

despite always being debilitated, feeble, enervated and flagging after each days activity, perusing the great epigrams embedded in this thread indubitably galvanizes my belligerent study for the GRE.

nibrainengine:
despite always being debilitated, feeble, enervated and flagging after each days activity, perusing the great epigrams embedded in this thread indubitably galvanizes my belligerent study for the GRE.

What a way to use GRE words! Albeit you might want to consider the fine shades of meaning as per usage of those words so they fit snugly in context. E.g. belligerent doesn't go with study. Indefatigable could be more appropriate. GRE sets traps like that in hard SE questions. For instance one could have miserly, frugally and thrifty in the same question and you have to choose just 2.
But your attempt to use those words to make sense is commendable. Kudos!

My Observation (Post 2)
Special thanks to everyone for their congratulatory messages. Overcoming the dour feeling experienced after the exam (where you put your head on a BRT/LAGBUS window) thinking of what you could've done right is enough to propel for success. On a lighter note, one of the good experience GRE brought is the urge to open this thread everyday and meeting virtual friends with similar ambition. Infact! I commend this guys/ladies - ponpon, time2smile, ecoleco,iekene, Scholastica et al - for the info and help you dish out here. Special thanks to Lagosismyhome (on the visa thread), who I never met even till now but paid 50k to register for me during the promo time. God bless you all.

I discovered few things about GRE exam, which is important to impending test takers - either 1st, 2nd or my category;

1. About 60-70% of 1st time takers re-write more than once in other to get a desired score. Probably, due to the fact that they were not familiar with the concept of the exam or not too prepared for what they met. Therefore, if you are a 1st time taker, try as much as possible to prepare very well to get your desired score. Ask questions from people who have experienced it.
2. Some of the available books are not adequate enough for the real GRE questions. Although some topics are more elaborated in few ones. Carefully select books for reading. Don't just read randomly.
3. Generally, it is easier to improve in Quant than Verbal. Most students, including chinese struggle with the Verbal questions partly because of the convoluted style of writing them. Believe me, if you get the concept, you can do well in it.
4. Low GRE score does not equate failure in securing admission if other aspect of the admission package is good. Funding! is probably difficult with low GRE but schools like (ETSU, TTU) still offer funding for low scorers. Do your assignment well and don't raise the bar too high.

Next post is for Verbal discussion. Feel free to ask questions.

having read thru all above comments, though it might sound stupid but to me it is not.but i would like to ask this qs, is there RUNS for GRE

DreManuel:


What a way to use GRE words! Albeit you might want to consider the fine shades of meaning as per usage of those words so they fit snugly in context. E.g. belligerent doesn't go with study. Indefatigable could be more appropriate. GRE sets traps like that in hard SE questions. For instance one could have miserly, frugally and thrifty in the same question and you have to choose just 2.
But your attempt to use those words to make sense is commendable. Kudos!

Thanks bro! That's why I'm here, to learn from people like you.
Regards!

Moshood0090:
having read thru all above comments, though it might sound stupid but to me it is not.but i would like to ask this qs, is there RUNS for GRE

Laff wan kill me o

My Observation (post 2 extension)
As stated ab-initio, Verbal questions are difficult to attempt. Infact! the highest I scored both in the real GRE before the last attempt was 147. But things changed for me when a friend (electronic, who I met on visa thread) advised me to attempt only verbal questions on Powerprep (PP) 1 and 2. Eureka! I got 158 and 155 from PP 1 and 2 respectively. My style changed from there.
What changed?
I concentrated more on the passages cos I've familiarized myself with the repeated answers I usually pick on TC and SE - (maybe 1 or 2 changes).In addition, I employed the point of elimination (POE) strategy learnt in some of the books read. That's it.

Few Concept
TC has a vacillating nature. While you may do well in 1 or 2 blank type, the 3 blank section is very tricky. Try your best in this section.
Please note that searching for clue is not enough, TRY and UNDERSTAND the general story been relayed and DON'T be presumptuous.
e.g, Mr Agbo fell into a ........... ( I know part of what you are thinking there, maybe ditch, deep sleep or anything). Wait till you get the concluding part of the sentence) but the sentence could end with ....., he could hardly pay his rent. In a nutshell, get the story well. Never use your word.

As we know GRE verbal section is in 3 parts - TC, Passage and SE. Passages related questions constitutes half of it. If you want to get a better score improve there. At least, 3 cheap marks are available in that section - main idea, contextual meaning of a word and argument questions. Reading passages generally will not help, read actively. Some of the GRE passages particularly long ones appears confusing but read line by line. Look at the words like however, indeed, must, e.t.c. GRE loves using 'CRITICS' story. Know their views. Differentiate between the authors opinion and the Character mention in the passages. Get the concept of GRE argument and inference question. They are understandable.Lastly, read the concluding part of long passages to identify main idea and pinpoint his tone.

For SE, even if you can not memorize all the GRE vocabularies, learn the COMMON ones and use your POE well. You can get all.

I wish I could make a video to explain some of what is highlighted above, nevertheless, I will give recommendations in post 3 for those interested. Thanks.

Moshood0090:
having read thru all above comments, though it might sound stupid but to me it is not.but i would like to ask this qs, is there RUNS for GRE

Though funny! but your question has an answer. YES! runs dey. The RUNS is to carry your book and read well, pick the right answers during the exam and press REPORT SCORES. Your picture is taken, national passport aligned with your profile, and now they are even RECORDING VOICES by reading an attestation form.
But seriously if by RUNS, you meant CHEAT or CUT CORNERS, I don't think so (but anything is possible). It was reported in China last year that it happened. They dont even hide it, some website publicly advertised it. I think ETS periodically scrutinize these centers and sanction them when necessary.

If interested, read https://www.google.com.ng/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjjqLn5otnVAhWFZFAKHRqJBTkQFggmMAA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theatlantic.com%2Feducation%2Farchive%2F2016%2F03%2Fhow-sophisticated-test-scams-from-china-are-making-their-way-into-the-us%2F474474%2F&usg=AFQjCNFhzw2M3ba3KVWVOo1a2PUmX4Jv5g

https://www.google.com.ng/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjjqLn5otnVAhWFZFAKHRqJBTkQFgg5MAM&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fus-news%2F2015%2Fmay%2F28%2Fchina-nationals-cheating-college-tests&usg=AFQjCNH3YySzCChgE56q0VHkm8pO8BopwA

But if that CGPA is truly not RUNS, you can achieve good success with GRE. #Gracias

Please I have some questions.

I wish to apply for Fall 2018 and as you know deadline of most schools is in december but we are adviced to send ours applications as early as possible. My question is; I intend to re-write GRE by November, sans that can I apply as early as october, are GRE scores asked during application? or they just wait for the official results from ETS?