GRE Math Bootcamp

I am conflicted about my next step in terms of my educational plans and I have been trying to clarify in my mind what I ought to explore next. For the engagement in a career services activity, I have chosen to explore taking either the GRE or the LSAT. Presently, I am in a master’s program through the political science department, which I will achieve in the Spring of 2013. That is essentially one year from now and I am trying to prepare for what will happen after that. I am interested in international human rights law and justice, especially as it relates to gender. For some time I thought I might like to get a PhD and remain in academia, but I am leaning towards wanting to be an activist rather than being so distant from the issue in cipher of academia. Therefore, since I have some time to decide, I thought I might use the career services portion of this class to look further into taking the GRE or the LSAT. 

Thus, today I took a prep class offered through ASU by Princeton Review for the math section of the GRE. It was held at the downtown campus in the UCENT from 10am to 1pm. The instructor was Andrew Ruiz and he was both knowledgeable and charismatic, which made the class more palatable. While math is not my strong suit, I am also no slug either. The topics covered were basically related to basic mathematics principles. They provided you with a 20 page packet that included concepts such as number properties, absolute value, factoring, percentages, and basic algebraic principles. The class was preparation for both the GRE and the GMAT. Andrew explained that the differences between the tests was that the GMAT does not allow any calculator whereas the GRE does allow one and that the GMAT has a much more significant math component. I spoke with him after class and he explained the structure of the GRE. He noted that it is 5 sections, one of which is called an experiential section that does not count toward your grade. There are typically two math and two verbal sections with a writing component thrown in for good measure. There are 20 problems for each math section and you area allowed 35 minutes to complete. The timeframe is limited to 30 minutes for the verbal components. 

What I liked the most was that he didn’t try to overly sell me on their product.He genuinely seemed to want to help and answer questions to help with demystifying the test. He strongly encouraged us to at minimum take a practice exam first, so that you might feel more oriented going into the exam. He noted that ASU offers them throughout the year. I am going to provide the link to the graduate studies calendar in case anyone is thinking about graduate school and needs to take the GRE or the GMAT. In two weeks I will take the practice LSAT. I am a little worried, only because I have done absolutely nothing to prepare for it. I will definitely be going in blind, but I think it will be helpful to know where I am at and what I should think about doing to prepare. Sometimes I perform a lot better without preparing too much because it lessens the pressure. 

Here is the link to the calendar: http://graduate.asu.edu/calendar