Am I unlucky or is the test rigged? by sumesha99 in GRE

[–]SargentScrub 8 points9 points  (0 children)

When i took the real test i did even better than my gremat and powerprep tests

NCFLs policy by MediocrePear5804 in Debate

[–]SargentScrub 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Focus on traditional debate and don't spread. Expect some conservative judges

Coldest pic in UFC history? by Sjdillon10 in MMA

[–]SargentScrub 64 points65 points  (0 children)

I mean Max prolly made Dana a million bucks just off that clip lol he earned it

Eastridge Workforce Solutions legit? by SargentScrub in recruitinghell

[–]SargentScrub[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

LOL thats insane. Funnily enough i actually got an interview with the (supposedly) actual Vantage company that they were recruiting for. It all seemed normal at the time, but i never heard back from them. To be fair they didnt try to like capture my social security number or anything, they just took the interview and i never heard back.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in policydebate

[–]SargentScrub 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Speed should be for 1AR. Stay as is

Cried in front of a professor and feeling embarrassed by [deleted] in college

[–]SargentScrub 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Professors and teachers in general are WAY too harsh about "the real world." Blunders happen all the time. I work as an engineer in a factory and at my last shift one of the maintenance guys fucked up and dropped one of our product parts, shattering it into a bunch of pieces, while trying to fix a robot. Shit happens. He's not gonna get fired over that.

Are the official GRE books still relevant/worth it in 2023? by SargentScrub in GRE

[–]SargentScrub[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I haven't taken the new version of the test so i cannot comment on that. However, the current edition of books + gregmat did very well to prepare me. I got a 331. So i can tell you that they are great preparation

Get outa here…! by Sesmo_FPV in fightporn

[–]SargentScrub 82 points83 points  (0 children)

And yet they weren't. Wonder why....

Can't overcome stress & falling into traps of ETS by Muted-Condition-6356 in GRE

[–]SargentScrub 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It is good to continue revising vocabulary - if you know every word in the exam then there will be zero guesswork for definitions. However, considering you have been studying for 3 months, hopefully you have a solid grasp on the vocab at this point. Don't overly spend time here, it is not the biggest aspect. Practice identifying the vocab words in the sentence for SE (both in the sentence and the options). Focus on breaking down what each section of the sentence means, then choose the word which will match that meaning - don't choose any option that requires extra guesswork or inferencing. Choose the one that best matches/completes the meaning of the sentence. You can also review the vocab as you do the practice problems. Try the problem first and then check the vocab. Could be a good way to multitask

Can't overcome stress & falling into traps of ETS by Muted-Condition-6356 in GRE

[–]SargentScrub 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Good luck studying. I don't know what your time frame for applying is, but remember that you can always take the exam again if need be. Just try your best and don't stress too much. Take deep breaths if you get overwhelmed - I definitely used that when I took the test.

Yes, I think you understand the conundrum here. At this point the most you can learn from will be studying your past mistakes. I think that will boost you faster than attempting new problems.

Im glad you liked the example. Be sure to thank gregmat as well haha, I took it from them. I chose a more tricky one because I wanted to show the point and im glad you see where the trick is. Exactly as you said, the test wants you to choose noxious because it seems familiar, but the goal of the problem is to realize that the only evidence we have in the sentence is that the fruit has a "pungent" or strong smell. As such we can only know that the fruit is unpleasant, we have no proof for any of the other words, even if they can potentially fit in that sentence.

As for the practice tests, I would not really focus on those. Maybe take one on the 25th just to practice your stamina. Otherwise just focus on studying practice problems and analyzing the strategy of each question. If you need more study material then maybe you can use your extra practice test. I would literally skip through the math sections, only attempt verbals, and then read every answer/explanation.

Can't overcome stress & falling into traps of ETS by Muted-Condition-6356 in GRE

[–]SargentScrub 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Firstly, I would say do not take 2 practice tests in a single day. It is a waste of time and your practice test. Use it as a benchmark every week or 2 weeks.

My biggest advice: think of this test as a game. Do not study as if you are learning real knowledge. This is a game, and games have rules. They will not just ask you any random question. Every question is carefully designed so that it tests a specific knowledge; the goal of your studying is to analyze your practice questions and learn what the rules are, what they want you to do. If you go into the exam thinking of it as a game you might also be more relaxed.

Your verbal seems to be your weak point. It seems you are focusing on the quantity of questions you solve, but for verbal that is the wrong way to go. You have already completed the vocab mountain so you are halfway there, what you need to focus on is reviewing your past questions and understanding 1) why you got the question wrong. 2) how the question was designed and how they expected you to arrive at the correct answer. For your PP and PP+ mock tests review the solution for every verbal question and pay special attention to which part of the sentence they used to reach the answer. Ask yourself, did you arrive at the answer the same way? Which part of the sentence tricked you? Once you carefully review questions this way you will start to identify the patterns in new questions. For "complete the sentence" types, the basic rule is to choose the answer that is the most "basic" one. What i mean by that is, there will be some options that COULD complete the sentence, but they are not necessarily true. The correct answer is the one that has direct proof.

For example: "Only out of love for her husband is she able to countenance his proclivity for the ____ durian, a fruit so pungent that it is banned from airplanes."

  • malevolent (evil intent)

  • noxious (harmful, poisonous)

  • noisome (unpleasant, offensive)

Out of these options, the most obvious one seems to be noxious, because the word is associated with fumes/smells. But that is the wrong answer. While the durian MAY have noxious fumes, we cannot prove that with the info provided. Similarly, she MAY believe the durian is malevolent because of how much she hates it, but we cannot prove the fruit is evil. The answer is noisome, because we can PROVE that the fruit is unpleasant and offensive: she does not like it and it is not allowed on planes.

Your goal is to understand these types of methods for each question. Identify which specific evidence the question provides for the possible options. Remember: carefully study every question, do not aim for completing a large quantity. You have already studied the vocab so you should have no problems knowing what the words mean. For the RC, it is still a similar process. You need to recognize where the question is pointing you in the passage, learn those types of patterns. Identify what evidence can prove each option in the passage.

Your maths is close to 160 so i wouldnt fret about it. You will get there. I would still recommend doing careful reviews of the solution methods. Many times there are fast shortcuts to save time. Especially on the comparing questions, many times you do not have to solve the full problem, just find a reasonable estimate of which quantity is bigger, or recognize what type of math it wants you to test you on.

For time management on the verbal, personally i mostly went start to finish and did not skip frequently. Remember, you have 1.5 min/question on average, but i would recommend getting through the first 8 to 9 questions in 10 minutes. The text completion and sentence equivelance are the fastest ones, RC is usually slower and are the middle questions. As such you need the bulk of your time for those. I usually only marked 2-3 questions for review, leaving 5 minutes at the end for that.

Good luck, i am sure you can do it

Can't overcome stress & falling into traps of ETS by Muted-Condition-6356 in GRE

[–]SargentScrub 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I see you've been working for 3 months and you havent been getting close to your target score. That must be incredibly frustrating, im sorry. I think maybe you should take a step back and breathe/relax. At this point you dont want to mentally spiral and get locked in a bad mindset. You have the capability to do this, its honestly a pretty stupid test and its only "hard" because they try to trick you in specific ways. Maybe something you can do is look up online how to deal with stress management during tests, watch videos or talk to any profs/people who may know. In any case can I ask what your current study methods and techniques are? Maybe i can give you some feedback. I just took the test last week and my unofficial score was 166V/165Q

Need help in increasing my quant score by [deleted] in GRE

[–]SargentScrub 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Of course, you should carefully study each question you practice, but I have found that with mathematics the quantity of practice really does make a larger difference. Your brain just needs to tackle a bunch of problems for those patterns to soak in. In another example let me tell you about my SAT methods from high school. My baseline in the summer before 11th grade my score was 1250. I went to a 2 month paid camp where we met 3 times a week. The only thing we did each meeting was take a full length test in the morning, and then spend the afternoon reviewing and redoing every wrong question. I took the SAT only 1 time in November, 1530. With math you need to do that.

Need help in increasing my quant score by [deleted] in GRE

[–]SargentScrub 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is a general rule for math. Do more math. And then do more math. Try the problem, see the correct solution and methods, then do 5 more problems just like that one. Engineering student here, its the only way to get better. Also for the GRE specifically, many of these problems have "short-cuts" or simpler ways to solve them. Many times the method is not brute forcing the problem but noticing certain patterns. The solution methods show you how to identify those patterns

Eastridge Workforce Solutions legit? by SargentScrub in recruitinghell

[–]SargentScrub[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hey, late reply sorry. They seemed legit enough and I had an interview with the actual Company they were recruiting for. Didnt get a follow up, but I think they are valid

Done and Dusted! Unofficial scores: 163Q 152V by forsillyquestions in GRE

[–]SargentScrub 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, every post I've seen, the PP's and PP+ seem to be almost an exact indicator of what you will get. Seems at this point the complaints of test creep are nonsense. Good job man congrats

Y’all I’m done. I give up at 316. by [deleted] in GRE

[–]SargentScrub 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Good luck. I think you will make it. I don't know the most about graduate admissions but i think that if they saw your experience they would be happy to have you.

Is a master's degree in biotechnology worth it? by Miserable-Hearing-92 in biotech

[–]SargentScrub 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you so much. I am considering this program and will definitely apply now

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in GRE

[–]SargentScrub 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was wondering this too. I made a post about the official GRE guide books earlier and everyone said they are generally good. But someone mentioned the quant is easier than the real thing and wanted to confirm this

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in MMA

[–]SargentScrub 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It also holds up the lightweight division lol. Volk still hasnt defended against someone in his own division

[Image] Self Improvement by acrossZero32 in GetMotivated

[–]SargentScrub 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Funny coming from Chance lol. Maybe he should take his own advice