In case you’re wondering…

…I am still alive and well.  Just been so busy with work and applicating that I’ve hardly found time to write something out here. Few updates….

[rant]

I am being downright honest when I am saying this, the process of writing your tests ( GRE and TOEFL) and then creating a list of universities you would like to apply to and then eventually applying to them is one pain in the arse job. Why so? Well firstly, you spend an unbelievable amount of moolah.  You probably will not realize the amount you have spent until you see your credit card bill statement soon after.

Then there is the pain of actually writing two extremely stupid tests, GRE and TOEFL. This from a guy who has already given CAT once, the mother of all stupid tests, and screwed it up royally.

But the real ‘fun’ is when you are applying to universities. Going through each university’s web page, mailing some arbit lecturers, begging profs from your college and maybe even your manager at work for a recommendation and then the actual process of sending the application packets and sending queries to the university as to whether your application is complete only to find out that the person answering your queries is a dodo.

[/rant]

The ‘applicating’ part seems to be drawing to a close ( relief ! ). And I just hope that I get ONE admit somehow!

Meanwhile, I was following Sachin’s century on cricinfo on the final day of the recently concluded Chennai test between India and England. What a wonderful knock ! And I felt happy for Sachin because it was on the same ground that he was criticized for not guiding India to victory against Pakistan. Fools still hold that against him without even considering the fact that not one in the Indian batting line up stood up to the likes of Akram, Waqar and Saqlain Mushtaq except Sachin on that day. Also read this gem of an article by Peter Roebuck. Brillaintly worded and emphasizing the importance of sport in a way that I have never known it before.

Work is boring and very uneventful. Nothing much to write there. Just a big yaaaaaawwwn!

I finished reading this book  called ‘Business Stripped Bare‘ by Richard Branson.  Im sure people who know me well will know for a fact that I am not someone who shows keen interest in books on business strategies or the likes. I am not sure why I picked up this book on a dull Sunday afternoon at a Crosswords store. But I couldnt let go off it once I started reading and managed to finish it in one go.  Branson’s approach to explaining things is simple and easy to follow. But his ideas are very unique and interesting.  It is amazing how he is able to draw the same picture that you would probably see at your work place day-in and day-out, problems with the picture, and the solutions that he has learned through his experiences.  Worth a read!

I am currently reading ‘Shantaram‘. I have heard a lot about this book from my brother and some friends.

Ok thats about it for now.  Planning to go home and spending new years with folks! Wishing my readers a merry Christmas and a happy new year in advance!

More later…

Tips for GRE takers

Ever since I have finsihed giving my GRE, a lot of queries have come my way regarding the exam. Hence this post. Use this post like a FAQ document. Hope it helps!

How much time do I need to prepare for GRE?

I think this is one of the most common questions. It really depends. I think the first question you need to ask yourself is: what kind of source are you looking for?  This inturn depends on the universities you would want to apply to eventually for the course that you are looking at. Given a choice, everybody would want a 1600! But is that really required ? Is the time and effort that you put into this really worth it? These are questions that you need answer to. Quite a few of us have other responsibilities too while we are preparing for the test. Some of us work. Some of us are still doing our graduation. So its important to see how one can effeciently dedicate time for this purpose.

I got a 1330. According to me, it is not a great score. But it is good enough to work with. I gave myself just a month’s time to prepare for the exam. This while I was also battling some deadlines at work.

Wordlists are a pain! Is it really worth dedicating so much time to them?

This is a key question because this is where most people get it wrong. I am not really sure if covering all the wordlists at you disposal is really going to help you maximise your score in the antonyms & analogies sections of the GRE. The most common approach that most people take is to start with the Barron’s word list. I really dont think it is worth all the effort. Instead, I think it is important to develop the habit of making ‘educated guesses’ as to what the word might mean in the context it is being used and then answering the questions that follow. Negative/Positive connotations , Elimination, Is the word a noun/verb/adjective ? , building strong bridges in analogies etc. These are more important than mugging up day in and day out. I found Kaplan’s workbook excellent in developing these habits. I am sure there are other equally good alternatives. Another useful resource are the set of audio files for Barron’s word list which I used to listen to while at work. You can find them here.

RCs, Quant…

I think these are the two important sections in the GRE. The quant section is easy. I have also heard that the sums have become a little calculation intensive. But honestly, it still seems pretty easy to score. If you are looking at doing your masters in engineering, you MUST get a 750 even if it is a horrible day for you at the test. I would say this is the par score.

The reason why RCs (reading comprehension) requires some practice is because for some, it may not be an easy task to read off the computer screen. Especially long passages. Sometimes your eyes start hurting and you are not able to concentrate. Sometimes, it hard to maintain sync in terms of continuity i.e you might get lost when moving from one line to another. Therefore practising as much as possible is important. Also, try and practice on the computer instead of a book. It makes a huge difference ! Buy/Beg/Borrow/steal a computer from some place if you dont have one with you.

AWA

Do not disregard the writing section. In the heat of preparing for the other sections, sometimes, we tend to forget about this section completely. Try and practice atleast one or two times. After that developing key ideas for any argument/issue topic can be done mentally. If you blog a lot, I think you will have an advantage here. If not, it is still not that much of an issue really.

Test preparation materials

This is confusing. With so many test preparation materials around, it can get hard to know which one suits you the best. In my opinion, the following materials are great :

1. GRE powerprep : Especially the practice tests. From what I have seen and heard, your final scores will hover around your scores in these practice tests. I suggest you to save one of these tests for someday close to the test. The writing section in this s/f is also great. It gives you an idea as to what the test evaluators are actually looking for in your passage.
2. Kaplan : I think the verbal tests in Kaplan are harder than what is eventually going to appear on the test. The quant section is of the same difficulty level. I liked the feedback they give on how you performed in your tests. In particular, it tells you which areas are your weak points and how much time you spent on each question versus the recommended amount of time that you ought to have spent on those questions. Get hold of this software. It is pretty useful.
3. Big Book : Quite a few guys advised me to go through the big book atleast once before giving the test. I did not go through it eventually because I had ran out of time for preparation (and I was also terribly bored with going through the same routine over and over). Moreover, the big book was available to me as a part of several pdf files. I was somehow not comfortable with the whole idea of using that as an indicator to how good my preparation was.

There are lot many more options available apart from these. The likes of barron’s, cambridge, nova etc etc. But I suggest you to stick to these ones. They are good and they are tough and ,consequenlty, they will give you the true picture of how well you are prepared rather than giving you false impression.

I will keep adding information here as when I remember them. All the best to all GRE takers!

Update : One of the readers of this post called Raghu requested me to put up this link here so that it might help out some GRE aspirants. Raghu, if you are reading this, thanks for sharing this link with us !

GRE done!

Yup. I have finished giving my GRE. Got a 1330. More than anything else, I am just relieved that the test is over.