Monday, August 22, 2011

GRE Verbal Reasoning, Practice Set 1

Just finished and scored my first Verbal Reasoning practice set. This was a timed exercise involving 20 problems to be done in 30 minutes. Like the actual GRE, the set was a mix of the problems I've been practicing: Verbal Reasoning breaks down into Text Completion and Reading Comprehension, with each of these categories breaking down into subcategories of question types (1-answer multiple choice, 2-answer multiple choice, multiple-answer multiple choice, click on a sentence).

Upshot: I scored 17 out of 20, which scales to somewhere in the 740-800 range, which puts me above 730, i.e., into the 99th percentile for Verbal. Huge boost of confidence there. I think I'll have no trouble making MGRE's Verbal requirement on the revised GRE.

Am about to try the fourth Quantitative Reasoning practice set now, and after that I'll be packing up for my house-sitting trip, then hitting the hay. (I'll be sure to post Quant results before I go to sleep, though.)

One remark before I go: my buddy Nathan asked a very intelligent question a while back, and I don't think I ever answered it. He wanted to know whether I could apply to MGRE solely to teach Verbal. I don't know the answer to that yet, but I think the company wants teachers who can teach both Verbal and Quant. MGRE makes a big deal about its rigorous training program, and I have a feeling that the program isn't tailor-made for individual teachers: we all have to go through the same initiation phase. If I'm right about one-size-fits-all training, then I think it's fair to assume that that training will involve both Verbal and Quant. The bridge crew of the Enterprise has been trained to take over different work stations if a crew member goes down; there's value in diversification of the skill set.

Still, there's no harm in asking MGRE what the truth is, so I might just pose the question and see what the company says. It's not a pressing question right now: even if I succeed on this upcoming GRE, I won't know my results for a few months, so I can't even apply for the job.


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