The GRE
The GRE is a test that anyone who has aspirations to Graduate School must suffer taking. It's odd that the test is required as the questions that you have to answer have almost nothing to do with any program that you would be applying. Originally I thought that the general subject test would be useful to gauge the strength of my vocabulary but as I am applying to a Philosophy program the words they were asking me to define (in one of three types of questions) really have nothing to do with the subject itself.

Like the SAT the GRE doesn't examine what you learned but rather what you know. A child with a word-a-day calendar could do just as well on the GRE as an aspiring PhD candidate with a Master's Degree. How ETS has managed to put such a stranglehold on higher education would be an interesting subject for a book, I'm thinking SiCKO meets The Octopus.

I scored a 1230, which is pretty good. This isn't the griping of someone who did poorly on the test. This is the griping of someone who resents having to take the test. I possess a Master's Degree which already establishes that I can attend Graduate school, I have two and a half years (not counting summer classes) teaching undergraduate students making decisions that affect whether or not they can get degrees. Take all that away and the test still has no reflection on my ability to earn a doctorate.

One of my co-workers said that only math and science majors should have to take it given the quantitative section on the exam. I disagree, if those students don't know the formulae required for the geometry, algebra, and arithmetic questions then they wouldn't have Bachelor's degrees in math or science, plus they can use at least a four function calculator. Again I'm not complaining about my performance I scored a 610 on the math.

The only part of the exam that seemed worth it to me were the writing sections. One was to establish a position on a subject and the other was to judge an argument. These actually seemed poignant and relevant, but if I were unable to do that I probably wouldn't have bachelor's (much less a high school degree).

I walked out of the test exhausted, unsure of how good my score was, and thinking that the whole ordeal was a 200 dollar waste of time (140 for the test, about 50 for the book). Today I'm no longer exhuasted or unsure, I'm still pissed off about the price for what really amounts to nothing.

I suppose there is very little I can do about the test being a requirement so I guess I should just offer a bit of advice: why not take it right out of highschool when all those SAT words are still fresh in your memory. They aren't any different.

I would have liked to see a logic section, or something that at least would test the reasoning ability of a prospective graduate student, but that would make things relevant.

Back to my extended review next post.

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