My weakest link -- my Achilles Heel if you will -- in academia is my inability to understand the methods of taking a standardized test since I've been taught my whole life to actually question things. Now, for four hours, I'm supposed to totally turn that off and simply put out. Well, that's just not how it works for me!
I've taken the GRE three times (2x in 2003 and one time in 2009), and I made the same score (within 10 points) each time that I took the exam. My preparation didn't make one iota of difference. I think that I'm probably bad at standardized tests for a number of reasons. I like my thesis adviser's explanation the best. She said that I'm not silly enough for that test. It's true, I'm a serious student...the comedy that comes from my schoolwork typically stems from me working or trying too hard, not actually being funny about something. I'm also bad at them because I just don't get these standards.
The bottom line, though, is that this test is not meant to evaluate what I know, it is meant to rank me in a very specific and non-nuanced way against other people competing for the same spots in grad school as me. So, I have swallowed my pride and am starting a prep course for the GRE tonight. There is nothing worse than having to take a class that tells you how to succeed in proving what you already know. But I'm doing it. PhD applications are a pure numbers game since each school gets 500-700 applications with funding for only 5-10 spots. So, I'm not taking any chances...and I just hope that the time and effort I put into this actually translates into a competitive score. One thing working in my favor is that this year is the debut of the revised GRE, which allows you to tag questions and return to them later. I think this feature will really help me a lot!
Anyone have awesome or awesomely terrible standardized test stories for me? I'd love for you to post them!
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