Catch up on your graduate school tips and news with some of this week’s top articles:

How to Strengthen Your Graduate School Application (Happy Schools Blog)

Read about the various elements of the graduate school application and learn how to construct your best application package.

15 Essential Things To Do Before Starting Grad School (USA Today College)

Your summer before grad school should not be an intense one. USA Today College has 15 things you should do to fill the time.

What’s the Role of GPA in Graduate School Admissions? (About.com Graduate School)

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Take a break from studying and catch up on some of this week’s top articles!

The GRE Tests Give Students More Options than Ever (NewsUSA)

The GRE revised General Test now provides more options and opportunities for test takers. Check out the five reasons why there’s never been a better time to take the GRE revised General Test.

Tips for College: Finding the Right Grad School for YOU (Jobs & Hire)

Jobs & Hire has some great tips to keep in mind if you’re trying to find the right grad school for you.

6 Tips for International Graduate Students Enrolling This Fall (U.S. News Education)

Learn how to adjust to studying in the United States as soon as you get to campus.

Where Will the Money Come From? (Inside Higher Ed)

At a roundtable discussion, research officers discuss the future of federally funded research — and the growth of technology transfer and an emphasis on entrepreneurship at their institutions.

Applying to business school? Many schools, including Stanford, Harvard, and Wharton, accept either the GMAT or the GRE. Which one should you take, and how can you decide? We’ve talked about this topic before, but we’re revisiting it because the launch of the Next Generation GMAT is imminent (there’s a good GRE word for you).

There are two aspects to consider: whether you would have a significant scoring advantage on one test versus the other, and whether certain schools have shown a preference for one exam over the other. We’re going to address the first aspect in this article; we’ll leave the second consideration for the admissions consultants.

Both exams consist of multiple-choice quantitative and verbal sections, as well as an essay-writing section. The GMAT also includes an Integrated Reasoning section. Let’s take a look at the structures of the tests and discuss what is tested.

Quant

The two exams test high-school level math (including number properties, algebra, geometry, and statistics) and have some similar question types. Both tests have standard problem-solving questions “ the basic math multiple choice questions that appear on any multiple-choice math test. The tests also have questions that combine elements of quant content and mathematical logic; on the GMAT, these are called Data Sufficiency and, on the GRE, these are called Quantitative Comparisons. Within its quant section, the GRE also includes a small number of Data Interpretation questions, which include a table or graph, as well as some pick all that apply and fill in the blank question formats.

The general consensus is that GRE quant is more straightforward than GMAT quant; I’ve taken both exams and agree. If math is your weaker area, then put a plus in the GRE column. (This is especially true if we also take into account the new Integrated Reasoning section on the GMAT; more on this topic down below.)

Verbal

The Reading Comprehension questions on the GRE correspond fairly well to the Reading Comprehension and Critical Reasoning questions on the GMAT. The rest of the GMAT verbal section, though, tests grammar (via sentence correction questions) while the GRE tests vocabulary (via text completion and sentence equivalence questions).

If verbal in general is your weaker area, then decide based on this. Is your grammar great? The GMAT may be easier for you. Is your vocabulary so awesome that your friends regard you as their personal dictionary? The GRE is your test.

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Here at Manhattan GRE, we receive a lot of Grad School jokes, most of which are fairly lackluster.  However, we recently came across this LCD Soundsystem parody video, Grad School, I Love You (But You’re Bringing Me Down).  Something about this video drew us in, so we decided to share it with you.

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Last week, an ETS news release gave us some statistics on the 2011 administrations of the GRE. The big news was the huge increase over previous years in the number of test takers. ETS reports a roughly 13% increase in test takers over 2010 bringing the 2011 total to more than 800,000 tests “ an all-time record. Even considering the steady growth in the number GRE test takers over the past decade, this year stands out as a significant jump. Here is a chart of approximate GRE test takers for the past 9 years.

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We are launching a new GRE workshop called Thursdays with Jen and we would like to invite you to attend. Every other Thursday, join MGRE instructor Jennifer Dziura for an hour and a half study session. Regular readers of the blog will probably recognize Jen as the contributor of many of our blog articles. In fact, Jen is our Blog Editor and Lead Content Developer, and the instructor of our first-ever GRE classes.

In these special Live Online sessions, open to the public as well as current students, Jennifer will conduct mini workshops on a few different GRE-related topics. Both the verbal and quant sections of the GRE will be covered.

If you can’t attend the session, don’t worry. A copy of the recording will be made available the following Monday. You can sign up for an upcoming session, or find recordings of past sessions, here: //www.manhattanprep.com/gre/thursdays-with-jen.cfm

Each session will deal with new GRE topics. To suggest a topic or ask a question for next time, email Jen at jdziura@manhattanprep.com. We hope to see you this Thursday for the workshop!

Here is what happened in the world of the GRE this week…

• About Graduate School Guide wrote about goal setting and new year’s resolutions.
• AOL’s Daily Finance wrote about which graduate degrees are worth the cost.
• Finally, in case you missed it, our very own Taylor Dearr wrote about three reasons to start your GRE prep in January.

Have a great weekend, everybody!

Manhattan GRE’s three-day boot camp is a program designed for students who have strong math backgrounds and/or have been studying for the GRE for at least 1 month. Taught by top-notch teachers and built on content-based learning, class sessions are interactive and challenging, building students’ proficiency and confidence for every question type on the exam.

The course includes a complete set of our 8 Strategy Guides, plus access to 6 online practice exams.

Course Details
Date: Friday, November 18th – Sunday, November 20th
Location: 138 W. 25th St (our NYC center)
Price: $590

Detailed Schedule
11/18 – 3 hour session 5:30PM – 8:30 PM Online
11/19 – 3.75 hour Online Practice Exam 10am-1:45pm (online or in our center, space permitting)
11/19 – 3.5 Hour Session 2:30 PM – 6:00 PM
11/20 – 3.75 hour Online Practice Exam 10am-1:45pm (online or in our center, space permitting)
11/20 – 3.5 Hour Session 2:30 PM – 6:00 PM

Please note: The session on Friday November 18th will be held in a Live Online classroom. Saturday and Sunday sessions will be held at the Manhattan GRE center (138 W 25th Street, New York, NY 10001). Student should also set aside time to take two 3 hour and 45 minute practice exams, one prior to each of the two in-person sessions. These tests can be taken at home or in Manhattan GRE’s testing center (testing center availability limited).

Meet the Instructor

Jennifer Dziura is Manhattan GRE’s Blog Editor and Lead Content Developer. She has scored perfectly on the GRE twice, has written or contributed to more than 10 published test prep books, and is the author of Manhattan GRE’s 500 Essential Words and 500 Advanced Words flashcard sets. In her M.S. in Education program, she worked on projects relating to using research into the brain to decrease stress and enhance learning and memory. She has helped over 2,000 people master the content for the GRE and other exams. Jennifer uses her obviously copious spare time to co-host an adult spelling bee.

Note: Images are from our favorite boot camp movie, GI Jane. Actual GRE bootcamp looks more like this (no pushups!)

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