The month of September was one of the most hectic months of my life. It was one of those times when the song 'Wake me up when September Ends' by Green Day started making sense in my case. I, an Indian student, have decided that I have to pursue my areas of interest in Engineering by getting an MS degree from any reputed college abroad, in the United States preferably, because, GOD, I love that country.
Coming back to India from my visit back in June this year, I was convinced that this is where I want my studies to flourish. The amount of exposure students get over there is astounding and the facilities are top class. But the main reason is the welcoming nature of the people over there. They want you to learn, they want to make sure you lead a happy life as they lead. Be happy, make happy. Their respect for rules and decorum and other people's privacy is something I don't usually see in India, at the same time, they become fast friends and are often so kind to everybody. I really think that those people who hate the United States, should go there atleast once, and I can guarantee that their opinion changes,
Anyway, to apply for colleges I had to give two badass exams.
1. The Graduate Record Examination (GRE).
2. Test of English as a Foreign Language (ToEFL).
Many people give the two exams, and I have often seen them get frightened or hopelessly nervous before the two exams. I am here to tell you the key to cracking the two exams is having the calm mind. Of course, hardwork and persistence matters. But being the face of procrastination, I want to appeal to those who are scared about the two exams and need some guidance.
SELECTION OF DATES:
This is probably the most important time when it comes to giving the two exams. It is best to get done with the exams as soon as possible, yes, but if you feel that you are not ready for it, then DO NOT BOOK IT EARLY. It is best to book the dates of the two exam well apart from each other. You will need sufficient rest time after each exam and sufficient study time for each exam as well. Another thing to be sure of is not to be influenced by friends. Just because your friends are giving the exams on a particular day, does not, and I repeat, DOES NOT, mean that you book it on the same day. Some things obviously can't be helped, if you're in a committed relationship, your special someone may want to give it on the same day. That, I'm afraid, is none of my business. Anyway, I booked by TOEFL first, because I was more confident of my verbal knowledge than I was of my Quantitative Skills, and I wanted to be done with it.
TOEFL:
Personally, booking of the TOEFL before the GRE is a better option, contrary to what everybody else does. Many believe that: Oh! GRE is tougher, I will concentrate on it first and then give TOEFL, which is only based on language, a part of which I can do in GRE as well. It happens, of course. It happened to me too. Fortunately, I did not get the date or a desired centre to give the TOEFL after the GRE. So I had to book it before the GRE. Now, this was one of the best decisions of my life. Many were like, TOEFL ain't that important, why are you doing this? But I booked anyway. Going to give TOEFL before familiarized me with the centre, knew how the Prometric centre works and since TOEFL is comparatively easier, I enjoyed the test and was mentally prepared for the GRE.
GRE:
GRE is the tougher exam, no doubt. But with smart preparation and good mental awareness, freshness of mind and readiness, it is not that tough. I didn't really do the exams that well, but it wasn't that bad either. 166/170 in Quants and 152/170 in Verbal, yeah I know, I blog and stuff, but my verbal sucked! Anyway, the key to studying in GRE is not cramming books all the time. Testing yourself is one good method. But do not waste time on those tests given out by those classes. They give out challenging questions no doubt, but are seriously a waste of time. What you would want to do is solve the tests given out by ETS themselves. Now for the studying part. If you are taking classes for GRE, like I did, you'd notice that many techniques which they have suggested work only for their own questions, and you end up wasting time blindly following their techniques on new problems. I was lazy in my preparation, until their was only a week left to give the exams. Then I frantically googled 'HOW TO STUDY FOR GRE IN A WEEK'. And the answer came to me.
Day1: Give an ETS test.
Day2; Work on problems you had in the test.
Day3: Test yourself on those kind of problems by timing yourself.
Day4: Give Test no 2.
Day5: Work on problems you had on the test.
Day6: RELAX! You've worked your ass out in the previous week. Tomorrow is your GRE, meditate, and read the Magoosh book, things to keep in mind before giving the test.
Day7: Avoid too much reading before the exams. You can read the Magoosh book. Be confident and all shall be good!
In the end, I would like to say, is that I am so sorry that I have not been writing that much in recent history, as I have been busy with my final year in College. All the best to everybody. You shall hear from me soon!
Coming back to India from my visit back in June this year, I was convinced that this is where I want my studies to flourish. The amount of exposure students get over there is astounding and the facilities are top class. But the main reason is the welcoming nature of the people over there. They want you to learn, they want to make sure you lead a happy life as they lead. Be happy, make happy. Their respect for rules and decorum and other people's privacy is something I don't usually see in India, at the same time, they become fast friends and are often so kind to everybody. I really think that those people who hate the United States, should go there atleast once, and I can guarantee that their opinion changes,
Anyway, to apply for colleges I had to give two badass exams.
1. The Graduate Record Examination (GRE).
2. Test of English as a Foreign Language (ToEFL).
Many people give the two exams, and I have often seen them get frightened or hopelessly nervous before the two exams. I am here to tell you the key to cracking the two exams is having the calm mind. Of course, hardwork and persistence matters. But being the face of procrastination, I want to appeal to those who are scared about the two exams and need some guidance.
SELECTION OF DATES:
This is probably the most important time when it comes to giving the two exams. It is best to get done with the exams as soon as possible, yes, but if you feel that you are not ready for it, then DO NOT BOOK IT EARLY. It is best to book the dates of the two exam well apart from each other. You will need sufficient rest time after each exam and sufficient study time for each exam as well. Another thing to be sure of is not to be influenced by friends. Just because your friends are giving the exams on a particular day, does not, and I repeat, DOES NOT, mean that you book it on the same day. Some things obviously can't be helped, if you're in a committed relationship, your special someone may want to give it on the same day. That, I'm afraid, is none of my business. Anyway, I booked by TOEFL first, because I was more confident of my verbal knowledge than I was of my Quantitative Skills, and I wanted to be done with it.
TOEFL:
Personally, booking of the TOEFL before the GRE is a better option, contrary to what everybody else does. Many believe that: Oh! GRE is tougher, I will concentrate on it first and then give TOEFL, which is only based on language, a part of which I can do in GRE as well. It happens, of course. It happened to me too. Fortunately, I did not get the date or a desired centre to give the TOEFL after the GRE. So I had to book it before the GRE. Now, this was one of the best decisions of my life. Many were like, TOEFL ain't that important, why are you doing this? But I booked anyway. Going to give TOEFL before familiarized me with the centre, knew how the Prometric centre works and since TOEFL is comparatively easier, I enjoyed the test and was mentally prepared for the GRE.
GRE:
GRE is the tougher exam, no doubt. But with smart preparation and good mental awareness, freshness of mind and readiness, it is not that tough. I didn't really do the exams that well, but it wasn't that bad either. 166/170 in Quants and 152/170 in Verbal, yeah I know, I blog and stuff, but my verbal sucked! Anyway, the key to studying in GRE is not cramming books all the time. Testing yourself is one good method. But do not waste time on those tests given out by those classes. They give out challenging questions no doubt, but are seriously a waste of time. What you would want to do is solve the tests given out by ETS themselves. Now for the studying part. If you are taking classes for GRE, like I did, you'd notice that many techniques which they have suggested work only for their own questions, and you end up wasting time blindly following their techniques on new problems. I was lazy in my preparation, until their was only a week left to give the exams. Then I frantically googled 'HOW TO STUDY FOR GRE IN A WEEK'. And the answer came to me.
Day1: Give an ETS test.
Day2; Work on problems you had in the test.
Day3: Test yourself on those kind of problems by timing yourself.
Day4: Give Test no 2.
Day5: Work on problems you had on the test.
Day6: RELAX! You've worked your ass out in the previous week. Tomorrow is your GRE, meditate, and read the Magoosh book, things to keep in mind before giving the test.
Day7: Avoid too much reading before the exams. You can read the Magoosh book. Be confident and all shall be good!
In the end, I would like to say, is that I am so sorry that I have not been writing that much in recent history, as I have been busy with my final year in College. All the best to everybody. You shall hear from me soon!
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