GRE exam

[SSmith]

One of the perks of the new position I will be moving into is how close it is to a university (UAH) that offers an engineering PhD program. Part of getting my application package ready was taking the GRE. You have the option to either take the paper based test or the computer based test. The paper based exam is like the standardized tests we all now and love from public school. The computer version of the exam has about half as many questions at the cost of only seeing one question at a time. The test then scales up or down based on the accuracy of the response creating a shorter, but much more intense exam.

One big perk about the computer exam is that you get the scores immediately at the end of the exam instead of waiting weeks. My scores this time were 600 verbal/790 math. They are high enough to exceed the minimum requirements of the program, so Im not going to take it again (and save another $140). But Im curious if other engineers had similar trend of strong math performance with weaker verbal.

Anyone have any other thoughts about the exam?

 

[benbo]

One of the perks of the new position I will be moving into is how close it is to a university (UAH) that offers an engineering PhD program. Part of getting my application package ready was taking the GRE. You have the option to either take the paper based test or the computer based test. The paper based exam is like the standardized tests we all now and love from public school. The computer version of the exam has about half as many questions at the cost of only seeing one question at a time. The test then scales up or down based on the accuracy of the response creating a shorter, but much more intense exam.
One big perk about the computer exam is that you get the scores immediately at the end of the exam instead of waiting weeks. My scores this time were 600 verbal/790 math. They are high enough to exceed the minimum requirements of the program, so Im not going to take it again (and save another $140). But Im curious if other engineers had similar trend of strong math performance with weaker verbal.

Anyone have any other thoughts about the exam?

Those are good scores. If you look at the typical score of people going to the best grad schools (I mean like MIT, etc) those are right up there. Most engineers at those schools have verbals in that level. It may be partly because there are foreign engineers, I don't know. But you would expect engineers to have better quant scores than verbal.

For some reason I do better on verbal. I think I make stupid mistakes on math. Although it has been a while since I actually took this test for real. I think it is fun to practice these kind of tests.

 

[SSmith]

I think I make stupid mistakes on math.

The math questions are tricky--especially the ones where you have to evaluate which one is larger, the same, or cant determine. Most of those are set to have the initial response that you can think A or B is greater. But thats only true for variables >0. If you consider those <0, it goes to cant be determined. *shrugs*

MIT, really? I wasnt expecting they were on that level. Although Im afraid I should have taken them sooner. Having a wife and kid makes investing that much for full time school is impossible.

 

[ODB_PE]

I had 780 math, 750 analytical and 560 verbal - the 780 seemed almost pedestrian in my program - I know at least 5 who had a perfect on the math. I thought I had the perfect on the math myself, but obviously no.

I've always done well at standardized tests. One of the benefits of being a white middle class male I suppose.

 

[benbo]

The math questions are tricky--especially the ones where you have to evaluate which one is larger, the same, or cant determine. Most of those are set to have the initial response that you can think A or B is greater. But thats only true for variables >0. If you consider those <0, it goes to cant be determined. *shrugs*
MIT, really? I wasnt expecting they were on that level. Although Im afraid I should have taken them sooner. Having a wife and kid makes investing that much for full time school is impossible.

Obviously you don't need much help with that math strategy anyway! They recommend trying four numbers, a positive, negative, zero, and a fraction. The problem with the CAT test is that if you miss a couple early questions, you're pretty much screwed. You can't make it up later. That's why they recommend being really careful at the beginning, and then WAGing if you have to at the end. Because missing early quesitons and not finishing is what they really nail you for on the test.

 

[Capt Worley PE]

I took the GRE 20 years ago. I have no idea what I made. I wonder if I still have the results in my old bedside table at Mom and Dad's.

 

[squishles10]

I got 790 analytical, 780 math, 520 verbal hmy: But if I was supposed to read and write I wouldn't be an engineer so I guess that were fine with it. I took the computer version and liked it- it is kind of annoying to realize you messed up and not get to go back, or to keep getting easy questions which means you keep screwing up. ldman: I don't remember if I studied or not- probably did the verbal a little but I was still in college so I didn't have much spare time.

 

[Guest]

If you look at the typical score of people going to the best grad schools (I mean like MIT, etc) those are right up there.

Yeah .. but can they perform stormwater modeling, the hardest thing to do in civil engineering??

That is the question! :laugh:

JR

 

[benbo]

Yeah .. but can they perform stormwater modeling, the hardest thing to do in civil engineering??
That is the question! :laugh:

JR

I knew the answer was no, so I didn't pose the question.

Interesting, I have no idea what stormwater modeling entails, but I do know it is the single hardest thing in civil engineering.

 

[Guest]

^^^ Actually, you should have responded:

What in the HEC-RAS are you talking about fool??!!

JR

 

[adr]

Check out the MIT admissions website:

http://web.mit.edu/admissions/graduate/pdf...rtment_info.pdf

EECS (Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, page 8) doesn't need GRE! My guess is they look at letters of recommendation, GPA, reputation of undergraduate school etc.

 

[benbo]

Check out the MIT admissions website:
http://web.mit.edu/admissions/graduate/pdf...rtment_info.pdf

EECS (Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, page 8) doesn't need GRE! My guess is they look at letters of recommendation, GPA, reputation of undergraduate school etc.

I'm not really sure what your point is. Nobody is talking specifically about applying to EECS at MIT. We are talking about the quality of GRE scores. I just mentioned MIT as an example of a top school. I didn't expect somebody to fine tooth comb their admissions requirements.

Plus, who said anything about electrical engineering. I think SSmith is an industrial engineer. I don't even know if MIT has that department.

But according to the thing you posted every other engineering discipline requires the GRE

For example, most people on this website are civil engineers. MIT requires the test for this -

http://cee.mit.edu/index.pl?iid=4455#tests

I could find the ranking website to support my statement about SSmiths quantitative score being top-notch, but I don't think that's necessary. I mean, you can't really do much better than 790.

Well, just in case-

http://www.universityportal.net/2008/04/am...ngineering.html

http://post-gre.blogspot.com/2007/06/top-5...schools-us.html

 

[rdbse]

Relax benbo.

I am sure adr was just pointing out a very interesting fact about MIT's admission requirements.

 

[benbo]

Relax benbo.
I am sure adr was just pointing out a very interesting fact about MIT's admission requirements.

What makes you think I'm not relaxed?

 

[adr]

I'm not really sure what your point is. Nobody is talking specifically about applying to EECS at MIT. We are talking about the quality of GRE scores. I just mentioned MIT as an example of a top school. I didn't expect somebody to fine tooth comb their admissions requirements.Plus, who said anything about electrical engineering. I think SSmith is an industrial engineer. I don't even know if MIT has that department.

But according to the thing you posted every other engineering discipline requires the GRE

For example, most people on this website are civil engineers. MIT requires the test for this -

http://cee.mit.edu/index.pl?iid=4455#tests

I could find the ranking website to support my statement about SSmiths quantitative score being top-notch, but I don't think that's necessary. I mean, you can't really do much better than 790.

Well, just in case-

http://www.universityportal.net/2008/04/am...ngineering.html

http://post-gre.blogspot.com/2007/06/top-5...schools-us.html

It was just an interesting thing I noticed. I certainly didn't mean to offend anyone.

 

[SSmith]

I think SSmith is an industrial engineer.

I have 5 years in my career and I still dont know how to answer that question.

Undergrad -- Chemical Engineering

3 years working Operations Research for the Army

Masters -- MBA

2 years working as a Reliability Engineer for the Army

PE -- IE

Doctoral Program -- Either Engineering Management or Systems Engineering

Does that qualify me as an IE? (For what its worth, when I got out of school I was offered a job as a Civil Engineer in Hawaii for USACE but had to turn it down because they called to make their offer literally 3 hours after I had accepted an Operations Research job at Fort Knox.)

 

[wilheldp_PE]

I have 5 years in my career and I still dont know how to answer that question.
Undergrad -- Chemical Engineering

3 years working Operations Research for the Army

Masters -- MBA

2 years working as a Reliability Engineer for the Army

PE -- IE

Doctoral Program -- Either Engineering Management or Systems Engineering

Does that qualify me as an IE? (For what its worth, when I got out of school I was offered a job as a Civil Engineer in Hawaii for USACE but had to turn it down because they called to make their offer literally 3 hours after I had accepted an Operations Research job at Fort Knox.)

Operations Research and Engineering Management are both taught by the Industrial Engineering department at UofL, if that helps your decision out any. I just finished up the MEM program there last summer. And they didn't require a GRE score for that program.

 

[Capt Worley PE]

Interesting, I have no idea what stormwater modeling entails, but I do know it is the single hardest thing in civil engineering.

I went mechanical, simply because I was afraid of stormwater modeling. It is the Chuck Norris of engineering specialties.

 

[benbo]

It was just an interesting thing I noticed. I certainly didn't mean to offend anyone.

No problem. I wasn't really offended, although I guess it could seem that way by how much I wrote. I'm no admissions officer but I'm sure that many places don't require GRE, and that there is no plance that uses it as a sole determinant of getting in.

This thread has really traveled a circuitous path!

 

[What!!]

I have taken GRE twice. Once in 1997 with Paper test. Got 790 Math, 650 Analytical, and 500 verbal. With that score, i got accepted everywhere i tried. Took again in 2003 with computer, got 790 Math, and 650 verbal, did not have analytical, only analytical writing (5 of 6 or something like that). My brother had perfect score in math, and about 740 verbal. Still he did not get accepted in top universities. So, i guess just the GRE score does not matter for the admissions. They look at other things as well.