Celsius

Thanks for your comments. There had to be someone out there who'd taken the GMAT.

I'm going to email this thread to my friend.

Ben

Sarah, it is done in three separate sections - essays, quantitative and verbal. Depending on the test centre depends on what order you get these. Both my essays and math were before my verbal, so by the time I got to the verbal I was tired. You can't take food or drink in to the room with you and I made the mistake of keeping going and not taking the 10 minutes break after the essays. The math is 45 minutes long and does include basic arithmatic, algebra, trig and stats. You can't use a calculator but you are given paper. Because students today aren't very good with quick numeracy as you can imagine the actual problems weren't that hard to do. It was more a case of remembering how to do stuff. I got the Baron's GRE book and was recommended it by a friend. Apparently it is the best one out there. I actually didn't use it for the math because my math score wasn't important (doing English at graduate school). I found that as long as I could do my kids math (eldest is in 9th grade), in other words high school math, I was fine and did really well on the math section.

to be honest I found the hardest bit was the verbal. You get 30 minutes to answer 30 questions, some of which are part of reading 3 separate passages. I started to panic by the end of that section and lost points because I had to rush. You just get no time to think at all. Whereas on both the math and the essays I had time to spare, and did very well on the essays.

gruffbrown

My driving theory test, written in American English, multiple choice, how was I to know you're meant to click 'all the above" if it appears

dunroving

I concur with the suggestions to practice. Get the software, not the books. The software allows you to take practice tests and gives you feedback on what parts you need to work on. I have tutored people in the GRE in the past and it can make a big difference to your score. Like many tests, practice helps you feel more relaxed and not panic (so much).

I took the GRE in a sweaty, non-air-conditioned elementary school in the summer of 1990, had never taken a multiple choice exam in my life, and had no idea what to expect. I scored above the 90th percentile on all 3 sections and thought that compared to all the essay and open ended questions on UK exams I'd taken as an undergraduate student, the GRE was cake.

Fortunately, these days if you do poorly, you don't have to wait months to re-take it. Where I took it, for example, it was offered only twice a year.

Bob

That's true, its' usually offered every couple months...and as for not bothering with the books, well the books usually come with practice test software, well the kaplan one does.