The GREs

[PaulR]

Soon, (Probably as soon as next week) I'll have to take the GRE's in order to get into a grad school.  I am a senior in college, almost completed my undergrad work (Just need to have my recital, and then student teach ((Currently a music ed major)).  But for my grad work, I am interested in pursuing a masters in musicology.  (Not sure if I want to go farther than that yet, but that's not the main idea for the post), in order to do that, several schools that I am interested in require the GREs.  (Have no clue if there is a minimum score I need to get). 

I am basically scared to sign up for the GREs.  I took a Kaplan course thing over the summer, and felt like I was stupid, because I haven't done any real math since High School, and the math that is on there "Practice GREs" I just can't figure out.  The verbal section is a little better, but I don't exactly have the best vocabulary in the world. 

My question is, for those who have taken the GREs, how hard are they exactly?

[Joe Barron]

I took the GRE's just when i got out of college, when I was 21, and again 20 years laeter when I went back to grad school. Strange thing is, my scores hadn't changed in 20 years. My English was still high, I guess since i spent 20 years reading and writing, and my math was still in the mid 500s. I didn't prepare at all for the English, since I was pretty confident about it, but I did buy one of those prepare-for-the-test books and tried to beef up my math skills in the weeks beforem and it apparently didn't help. From this I concluded the GRE's test you on two things: what you've actually learned over time, as opposed to what you cram for, and how good you are at taking the GREs. You can get help with the second, but I think it's pretty tough to fill your head with vocabulary and equations in just a couple of weeks. My advice is, relax. What you know, you know, and that will come out in the test.

PS. After I had been in grad school for a while, someone told me that my school didn't really base its admissions decision on the GREs. The test was a formality to prove I was serious. Grades, background, desire, and, i suspect, ability to pay were more important, which is just another reason not to worry. You'll be fine.