Open Bar MMXIV^2: Solace of Quantum

[Don Coyote]

The GRE sucks balls. I am going to cry tomorrow.

In other news, the Pope is Catholic.

What about it is getting  to you? Curious because at some point I need to start actually preparing for it so I can brush up on my weak areas.

Yeah...I'm getting all apprehensive and I haven't even completed my BA....

[Suu]

The GRE sucks balls. I am going to cry tomorrow.

In other news, the Pope is Catholic.

What about it is getting  to you? Curious because at some point I need to start actually preparing for it so I can brush up on my weak areas.

It's an adaptive test, so you need really pay attention to what it throws at you in the first 5-6 questions. If you screw up, your score is going to drop.

Now, I am a history major with significant study in Latin and a hellavalatta writing. The 2 essays don't scare me. The verbal is remarkably tricky in the way that the questions are presented. Especially the ones with 2-3 answers, because if you miss one word out of all of them, you miss the whole question. There is no partial credit. So know your roots, every word, backwards and forward, flashcards, etc. Reading comprehension for me is cake.

...and then there's math. For you it'll probably be a cinch, but for me, 

I get a lot of the questions, because it's mostly logic based than hard problem solving. The test is timed, so you only have so much time per question to allot for. So you have your obvious answers, and then you have your, 'DEAR GOD I HAVEN'T BEEN FUCKED LIKE THIS SINCE GRADE SCHOOL' questions.

It's also long. 2 essays, and 2 sections of verbal and quantitative plus an experimental section which is ungraded, but you won't know which one it is, so you can't slack. 4 hours.

I think my brain is just fried from studying math concepts I haven't seen since 11th grade.

[Suu]

On the bright side, practice questions are often more difficult than the actual exam. Kaplan (the book I am using) is notorious for it. Buy the book new so you can get access to the online interface.

next time: I'm prepping for 3 months like it's suggested. Cramming in 1 month was a bad idea.

The downside, is that grad schools are tightening their belts on scoring. It used to be, "We'll look at your GRE, and need all the other stuff." Now it's, "The economy sucks and everyone is coming back to school, you need this score before we'll even look at the other stuff."

So the pressure is ON. I'm probably going to take it twice.

[Cardinal Pizza Deliverance.]

Stephen Colbert's mom died last week.

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/427309/june-19-2013/remembering-lorna-colbert

[Pope Pixie Pickle]

Holy fuck, mojitos are evil.

[Freeky]

My friend and his wife's car set on fire at their place of business today.  Friend and wife both got a face full of car fire smoke, for him the second time in six months.  He looked like shit when I left, she looked less affected.  I hope he recovers somewhat quickly again, he really doesn't need that crap on top of the rest of him breaking down. I hope my impression that she is okay is correct, or that she gets better quick too.

[Nephew Twiddleton]

My friend and his wife's car set on fire at their place of business today.  Friend and wife both got a face full of car fire smoke, for him the second time in six months.  He looked like shit when I left, she looked less affected.  I hope he recovers somewhat quickly again, he really doesn't need that crap on top of the rest of him breaking down. I hope my impression that she is okay is correct, or that she gets better quick too.

Maybe I don't understand Tucson after all.

[Suu]

Holy fuck, mojitos are evil.

Yes. Especially when made with fresh limes and mint. Oh LAWD.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

The GRE sucks balls. I am going to cry tomorrow.

In other news, the Pope is Catholic.

What about it is getting  to you? Curious because at some point I need to start actually preparing for it so I can brush up on my weak areas.

Yeah...I'm getting all apprehensive and I haven't even completed my BA....

I have two years before I really need to sweat it, but the strategy I decided to adopt is to buy the Kaplan book and just run through the online practice tests now (while I still have a couple years) so that if there are areas I'm really weak in I can get tutoring, and overall so I can increase my fluency with the test.

The book is only about $15 on Amazon. Totally worth it even if you just skim through it.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

The GRE sucks balls. I am going to cry tomorrow.

In other news, the Pope is Catholic.

What about it is getting  to you? Curious because at some point I need to start actually preparing for it so I can brush up on my weak areas.

It's an adaptive test, so you need really pay attention to what it throws at you in the first 5-6 questions. If you screw up, your score is going to drop.

Now, I am a history major with significant study in Latin and a hellavalatta writing. The 2 essays don't scare me. The verbal is remarkably tricky in the way that the questions are presented. Especially the ones with 2-3 answers, because if you miss one word out of all of them, you miss the whole question. There is no partial credit. So know your roots, every word, backwards and forward, flashcards, etc. Reading comprehension for me is cake.

...and then there's math. For you it'll probably be a cinch, but for me, 

I get a lot of the questions, because it's mostly logic based than hard problem solving. The test is timed, so you only have so much time per question to allot for. So you have your obvious answers, and then you have your, 'DEAR GOD I HAVEN'T BEEN FUCKED LIKE THIS SINCE GRADE SCHOOL' questions.

It's also long. 2 essays, and 2 sections of verbal and quantitative plus an experimental section which is ungraded, but you won't know which one it is, so you can't slack. 4 hours.

I think my brain is just fried from studying math concepts I haven't seen since 11th grade.

Yeah, the 4 hours of testing things just seems cruel. Do they do it all in one go or do you do it in sections? Sections I can deal with a bit better than one grueling 4-hour chunk.

[Cainad (dec.)]

It's in sections, with a 1-minute break between sections and a 10-minute break after the first three sections. The current ("new") GRE is adaptive by section, rather than by question, as the old GRE apparently was.

I went in blind, and scored almost perfectly in thirds: 99th Percentile for Verbal Reasoning (as long as you don't fuck yourself up with second-guessing or overthinking, pretty much all of you are gonna nail this part), 66th for quantitative (the maths in these sections are weird and not at all like any math problems you may have dealt with in typical college math courses. Spending 2 years learning Calculus was not the best prep for this section), and 33rd for writing because, since I was flying blind, I had no fucking clue what format of essay response they wanted, and I had not written an essay like that in years.

[Suu]

The test is a trap.

Off I go.

[Cain]

Students are desperately trying to drag me into their money disputes.  "Someone owes me £700!"  "Well he owes me £2800!"

Well, I don't give a shit.  You're stupid enough to lend your money out without guarantees, don't be surprised if someone takes you for a ride.  It's capitalism kids, ask your parents. 

Besides, this is all just residual butthurt over a finished friendship, manifesting through the lense of money owed.  I still don't care, however.

So, this escalated into a three-way streetfight today.

Well, four way with my involvement.  Police were called, but two of the students were leaving when the incident occured, and so are at the airport right now.

My boss is "talking" to the remaining student.  Because a stiff chat is clearly the correct response to a student who attempts to attack another student, and is violently trying to push and shove their way past a member of staff (ie; me) while shouting in their face.  Oh, and his director of studies will be informed. 

Wow, scary consequences.

I've taken the rest of the day off.  Well, I say rest of the day, this all took place in my off-duty time.  I have not yet decided whether I will come back tomorrow.  I may make it a condition that the remaining student is made to leave the building before I will work my shifts again.

I have been warning that this studen is short-tempered, threatening and violent since March, as well. 

[Q. G. Pennyworth]

Jesus, Cain, how much longer are you stuck there?

[Suu]

It's in sections, with a 1-minute break between sections and a 10-minute break after the first three sections. The current ("new") GRE is adaptive by section, rather than by question, as the old GRE apparently was.

I went in blind, and scored almost perfectly in thirds: 99th Percentile for Verbal Reasoning (as long as you don't fuck yourself up with second-guessing or overthinking, pretty much all of you are gonna nail this part), 66th for quantitative (the maths in these sections are weird and not at all like any math problems you may have dealt with in typical college math courses. Spending 2 years learning Calculus was not the best prep for this section), and 33rd for writing because, since I was flying blind, I had no fucking clue what format of essay response they wanted, and I had not written an essay like that in years.

MLA style 5 paragraph standard. Thesis, body, conclusion. Make your point and GTFO. I can knock these out in 15 minutes, and then I just move along. I also don't use that 1 minute break. Pound through.

I also hate standardized tests and notoriously do not do well on them. I'd rather write a thesis.