GRE Subject Tests

[NAP]

That's incredible Kaz! Congratulations! Excellent job!

Do you think it was helpful to have a "practice round" in the Fall and take it again in the Spring?

[Kaz]

That's incredible Kaz! Congratulations! Excellent job!

Do you think it was helpful to have a "practice round" in the Fall and take it again in the Spring?

Thank you! Yes, basically. I say basically because I wouldn't "take it just to take it". I would definitely attack it every time. But like everything experience helps. I even had the exact same proctor in the exact same room! It adds to the confidence: a "been there, done that" sense of being.

One thing I expected to not care about wound up being pretty helpful: the sub-scores. ETS's GRE online stuff is down right now, but I'm pretty sure that my first time through I was in the 77%tile for the Experimental subsection and the 67%tile for the Social. I figured that I should feature Social more the second time through because that's where I left the most points on the table. And it worked. My second set of scores are 88%tile Experimental and 90%tile Social.

Also, if time isn't of the essence, it takes a lot of pressure off knowing that you don't have to nail it on the first try. I knew I wasn't going to clear the whole major on the first test, and it made me much more relaxed. Ooo! That just reminded me of something else. You might surprise yourself! :eek: I thought I was going to get a mediocre score the first time through. Turned out that I got 27 of the 30 credits I would need. It was a total surprise! That gave me an option I hadn't expected, that being I could take one 3 credit upper level course and be finished instead of taking the GRE all over again. I decided to do it again anyway, but I had an extra angle I hadn't previously expected to have. Good stuff.

[NAP]

Hi Kaz!

Thanks; your posts are always helpful.

I don’t remember what Excelsior’s policy is about double majors. Do you think you will take the Research & Writing in the major course and finish a Psychology major? Are there any other requirements you need to complete that major?

[Kaz]

Hi Kaz!

Thanks; your posts are always helpful.

I don’t remember what Excelsior’s policy is about double majors. Do you think you will take the Research & Writing in the major course and finish a Psychology major? Are there any other requirements you need to complete that major?

Glad to help in anyway I can! I definitely want the double major. My understanding is that I'll need to complete the R&W course for that major to get it and that's my plan. Their math major doesn't require R&W but it does require 33 credits instead of 30, so 80%ile on the GRE isn't enough to clear the major. I believe Alissa got official confirmation that a score of 780, which at the time was the 83%ile, was good enough for the 33 credits.
http://www.degreeforum.net/excelsior-tho...#post45051

[NAP]

Hi Kaz!

I am glad you are going for a double major. You have already put in most of the effort, so I think you deserve it. I was just talking with someone else about getting a double major at EC. Can you tell me where they state their policy? I wasn't able to find it. Is "You are limited to two majors" in the liberal arts catalog the only written policy? Does it only require 120 credits for the whole degree, including 30 (or 33) per major?

Do you think that EC has chosen a specific score to award the full GRE credits? I thought I would need 85th percentile for the Math GRE, but a specific score would mean some variation in percentile among test dates would not matter. This seemed to happen with the latest test takers and I was surprised by that.

[BrandeX]

Has anyone been able to confirm with EC that credit for GRE exams will NOT be dropped?

[TMW2010]

Has anyone been able to confirm with EC that credit for GRE exams will NOT be dropped?

There hasn't been any official decision so far... I hear they got a bit of an outcry about the idea of killing off the GRE subject tests for credit.

[BrandeX]

I am interested in doing a subject GRE, but I wouldn't be looking at a grad date at EC until sometime in 2012 at this time. I wouldn't want to take the GRE prior to enrolling only to find out a year or two later it is no longer accepted for credits.

[NAP]

There hasn't been any official decision so far... I hear they got a bit of an outcry about the idea of killing off the GRE subject tests for credit.

That is great news! They need to know and/or be reminded that these exams are important to current and future students. I'm glad to hear that other students are contacting them about it.

I am interested in doing a subject GRE, but I wouldn't be looking at a grad date at EC until sometime in 2012 at this time. I wouldn't want to take the GRE prior to enrolling only to find out a year or two later it is no longer accepted for credits.

BrandeX, if you haven't already, I think it would be worth it to consider contacting EC and telling them why the GRE is important to your educational goals. They may not realize that people are counting on this opportunity for several years from now. I hope they will take that into account, if they decide to make any changes to the policy.

[Kaz]

... I wouldn't want to take the GRE prior to enrolling only to find out a year or two later it is no longer accepted for credits.

What NAP and TMW2010 said. Also, "grandfathering" under academic policies is the norm. When contacting them be straight-up and say that you'd enroll ASAP if it meant you could "lock in" your policy and guarantee that you could use the GREs. If you couldn't then you'd have to explore other options. Either way, you should get a human on the phone and ask direct questions. The existing, circulating publications and common knowledge are not up to date.