how difficult is the GRE and the MCAT? please give details out these tests.?

Question

I plan to take these soon and I don't have how they score or what so ever. give me some pointers b/c I plan to go to graduate school or med school after my undergrad and I would like to know what are these tests like and the lowest scores I need to make.

Answer 1

Honestly it really depends on where you are planning on applying. The GRE is similar to SAT tests you may have taken in high school with a verbal and math section. At most testing centers they are taken on computers and you cannot have a calculator for the math section, only scrap paper. Also the sections are timed and you can pass a question but you can't go back to it (at least that is how it was when I took the test in 2004). About the scoring- I worked in the Graduate Admissions Office at Emerson College in Boston, MA. When people were applying, we told them to score above the 50th percentile to remain competitive. However, GRE scores were used to determine merit based aid. The higher the score, the better chance of financial help. Of course, we are a creative college- someone majoring in biology or physics might want to score much higher than 50th percentile. Often you can call your perspective grad schools and ask them what their minimum or suggested GRE score is.
As for the MCAT, many of my college friends who were applying to med school would not submit an application with a score lower than a 30. I believe it is on a scale of 46. A friend of mine who scored a 42, however, was lauded as a genius among them. With a score of 30, many of my friends were still denied admission their first time applying.
Like an application to undergraduate school, grad school and med school applications do depend significantly on the other parts of the application: your experiences and activities, essays, GPA, and recommendation letters. However, a great score on one of these tests can really get your application noticed.

Answer 2

How difficult they will be for you depends on how much you know about what they are testing. I highly recommend that you look into the study guides available for any of these graduate school tests. They will show you what the tests are like, give you material to study for the test, and let you take practice tests. It's well worth the time and money. I did this quite a few years ago. There are probably other test guides in other formats these days. Maybe something on the www.

Answer 3

I would recommend for one that you contact the organizations that create and print out these tests directly. For a nominal fee (usu. less than $20? Am I right? Willing to be wrong) some testing organizations are willing to allow students to purchased tests from previous years. You actually have copies of the tests to study from, get a feel about, and get a feel for.
I would also recommend to go to the university library and start doing homework about the tests themselvs. For example, the Law Schools Admissions Council publishes a book called, I kid you not "So you want to be a lawyer." In the thin volume, it covers what it means to go to law school, to enter law school, how to get a job if you graduate (note the word "if"--graduate school entrance does not necessarily mean graduate school graduation), and how to finance your education. The American Medical Assn. will difinitively have advise on taking the MCAT, preparing yourself for it, and other test that will follow it, such as med boards, the USMLE (for your residency) and what it means to be "liscensed" within states and surgical teams.

Answer 4

nothing is difficult if you are prepared.

Just before starting go through the format of the paper and the sample papers.

Give enough time to yourself for preparation. Every person has different capabilities, so don't compare yourself with anyone.

Answer 5

have no idea