April 2018 GRE

Forum for the GRE subject test in mathematics.
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ponchan
Posts: 126
Joined: Sat Apr 14, 2018 6:30 pm

April 2018 GRE

Post by ponchan » Sat Apr 14, 2018 6:31 pm

Anyone here take the GRE today? Thoughts?

DDswife
Posts: 161
Joined: Thu Aug 14, 2014 5:29 pm

Re: April 2018 GRE

Post by DDswife » Sat Apr 14, 2018 8:26 pm

Did you?

blahquaker
Posts: 44
Joined: Thu Jan 11, 2018 10:36 am

Re: April 2018 GRE

Post by blahquaker » Sat Apr 14, 2018 9:17 pm

I didn't manage my time well at all. No idea what my score will be, so I'm preparing for the worst. Good thing I can take it again in the fall if I choose.

DDswife
Posts: 161
Joined: Thu Aug 14, 2014 5:29 pm

Re: April 2018 GRE

Post by DDswife » Sat Apr 14, 2018 9:44 pm

This exam is way to long. Everybody has trouble with the time. So, who knows? Maybe you did better than you expect

Xtbdx
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun Apr 15, 2018 5:02 am

Re: April 2018 GRE

Post by Xtbdx » Sun Apr 15, 2018 5:26 am

Insights:
1- I believe it was easier than the practice test offered in ets website, however, how easy or hard it is is subject to your background and what questions they chose to ask.

2- I was shocked that the time for filling out information in the answer sheet was part of the allocated time of 2:50 hours (is it true, or were we screwed by our administrator?)

3- Number 2 and my ego to solve every problem screwed me over so I had to completely guessed 5 problems which I would have probably solved if I just had skipped lengthy or difficult problems.

Although I expect a score of over 700, I will definitely take it next september with more awarness given to time.

BOTTOM LINE:
My advice to anyone taking the test:
1-Run thought the rest as fast as you can but make sure you dont make stupid computational mistakes.

2-If you read a problem and you dont know how to tackle the problem as soon as you finish reading it, then skip it and comeback to it when you finish all of the problems you felt confident about. This way you will feel more relief and when you come back to the more difficult problems and re-read them you would have a new view or idea (if you had time that is).

3- Dont be greedy and expect to solve every problem, in particular, the ones that make you struggle. This way, you would probably face some shortage of time in the last 10-6 problems although you know how to solve every one of them (happened to me yesterday)

P.S. I think these advices are similiar to the ones in the practice book, but I believe they are really important.

I am not sure why am I writing this whole reply in the first place :D
Good luck in your next exam.

packagednoodles
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun Apr 15, 2018 8:28 am

Re: April 2018 GRE

Post by packagednoodles » Sun Apr 15, 2018 8:30 am

I thought the beginning questions were way harder than any practice exam, but then it seemed to level off. I've gotten upward of 90% on some practice exams, but I'm worried about how the scaling is on this. Does anyone know? I'd say I missed between 10 and 15 questions.

packagednoodles
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun Apr 15, 2018 8:28 am

Re: April 2018 GRE

Post by packagednoodles » Sun Apr 15, 2018 8:39 am

Xtbdx wrote: 2- I was shocked that the time for filling out information in the answer sheet was part of the allocated time of 2:50 hours (is it true, or were we screwed by our administrator?)
You should report that...that's not supposed to happen

ponchan
Posts: 126
Joined: Sat Apr 14, 2018 6:30 pm

Re: April 2018 GRE

Post by ponchan » Sun Apr 15, 2018 9:34 am

It seemed liked the difficulty was similar to the practice exams, however the difficult was more evenly distributed instead of gradually increasing, which screwed with my confidence from the start.

djysyed
Posts: 359
Joined: Sat Oct 28, 2017 9:59 pm

Re: April 2018 GRE

Post by djysyed » Sun Apr 15, 2018 9:41 am

packagednoodles wrote:
Xtbdx wrote: 2- I was shocked that the time for filling out information in the answer sheet was part of the allocated time of 2:50 hours (is it true, or were we screwed by our administrator?)
You should report that...that's not supposed to happen
When I took the exam, we had 2:50 hours for the actual test itself...

packagednoodles
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun Apr 15, 2018 8:28 am

Re: April 2018 GRE

Post by packagednoodles » Sun Apr 15, 2018 10:07 am

ponchan wrote:It seemed liked the difficulty was similar to the practice exams, however the difficult was more evenly distributed instead of gradually increasing, which screwed with my confidence from the start.
same! I was so thrown off because of that. I got flustered on that second question with the series, but then it definitely seemed to level out. Some of the later questions weren't as intimidating as I expected

ponchan
Posts: 126
Joined: Sat Apr 14, 2018 6:30 pm

Re: April 2018 GRE

Post by ponchan » Sun Apr 15, 2018 10:42 am

I know what you mean. I was upset because I was only up to question 48 when the proctor told us we had 10 minutes left. So I flipped through the last 18 questions and saw a bunch I would have definitely been able to solve if I had skipped over some of the trickier ones earlier on. In the practice tests, questions in the 50-66 range are always the hardest (apart from the occasional algebra definition question). Oh well. I just wanted to feel this one out to know how to actually prepare for the September one.

lothiriell
Posts: 40
Joined: Fri Dec 08, 2017 4:28 am

Re: April 2018 GRE

Post by lothiriell » Sun Apr 15, 2018 11:02 am

packagednoodles wrote: You should report that...that's not supposed to happen
Really? As far as I know you don't get additional time for the GRE Subject tests to mark the answers (unlike GRE General). So unless the rules changes from this October then I think the administrator was right.
Also, you don't get the 5min warning before the end of the exam like you do during the General one (I think you get a 20(?)min one).

Edit: Okay, did I completely misunderstand this? If he's referring to the actual personal info at the beginning, then, yes, that should be reported.
Last edited by lothiriell on Sun Apr 15, 2018 11:07 am, edited 1 time in total.

junglemath
Posts: 33
Joined: Sat Apr 08, 2017 10:44 pm

Re: April 2018 GRE

Post by junglemath » Sun Apr 15, 2018 11:04 am

Xtbdx wrote:
2- I was shocked that the time for filling out information in the answer sheet was part of the allocated time of 2:50 hours (is it true, or were we screwed by our administrator?)

.
Where did you take this test? You should definitely report this to ETS and ask for a refund of your test fees. You are supposed to have 170 minutes to solve the test, and filling in your name and other information is NOT part of the test. Please report this.

blahquaker
Posts: 44
Joined: Thu Jan 11, 2018 10:36 am

Re: April 2018 GRE

Post by blahquaker » Sun Apr 15, 2018 11:09 am

ponchan wrote:I know what you mean. I was upset because I was only up to question 48 when the proctor told us we had 10 minutes left. So I flipped through the last 18 questions and saw a bunch I would have definitely been able to solve if I had skipped over some of the trickier ones earlier on. In the practice tests, questions in the 50-66 range are always the hardest (apart from the occasional algebra definition question). Oh well. I just wanted to feel this one out to know how to actually prepare for the September one.
Same here except the proctor announced 30 minutes remaining, so I at least had time to read all of the remaining questions. There were definitely some reasonable questions toward the end that I just didn't have time to do properly.

calisapna
Posts: 10
Joined: Tue Mar 06, 2018 3:25 pm

Re: April 2018 GRE

Post by calisapna » Mon Apr 23, 2018 11:06 am

This is late but I took it and thought the first parts were easier than I thought. I definitely didn't manage my time well enough and found myself guessing the last maybe 15 questions. One of the questions was exactly like one of the questions in the practice pdf

FtYoU
Posts: 24
Joined: Thu Apr 26, 2018 5:25 pm

Re: April 2018 GRE

Post by FtYoU » Thu Apr 26, 2018 5:31 pm

Hi all !

I took the test that day, I couldn't create an account because of captcha issues but now I've managed to create it!
My experience :

- First test, I panicked and pass a lot of the first questions thinking they will require a lot of my time. Funny enough at the end when looking at them again, I've managed to answer most of them...

- Went into a long calculation on the area of triangle question. Didn't manage to find an answer.. funny again later at home I found it in 30 seconds...

- Questions were pretty much the same levels of preparation test I've took at home

- really surprise by one question where I had no idea how to answer ( didn't even understand the property describe in the question )

- The chain rule question was hard and spent way too much time on it. I finished by guessing it.

Most important point, our proctor said that the test will finish at a certain time and I've managed my time to leave me 5 minutes to guess all the remaining questions. Proctor called pencils down 5 minutes before and I ended up not answering 10-15 questions. Really unfair.

I will take it again in september.

Banach-Steinhaus
Posts: 9
Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2018 10:17 pm

Re: April 2018 GRE

Post by Banach-Steinhaus » Fri Apr 27, 2018 10:23 pm

Yea, there was some issue with making a new account on this website for weeks, but I'm glad it's finally been resolved. I took the April test and it was definitely harder than any of the practice exams I found online. There were definitely a few questions from topics that I didn't expect to see on the exam and didn't study at all. I really wish this exam was offered more than three times a year. You only have three opportunities not to mess it up before you have to apply for graduate programs, and I know I messed up this one... I'm not excited to see my score.

Junaid456
Posts: 188
Joined: Thu Mar 23, 2017 7:55 pm

Re: April 2018 GRE

Post by Junaid456 » Sat Apr 28, 2018 6:04 am

Banach-Steinhaus wrote:Yea, there was some issue with making a new account on this website for weeks, but I'm glad it's finally been resolved. I took the April test and it was definitely harder than any of the practice exams I found online. There were definitely a few questions from topics that I didn't expect to see on the exam and didn't study at all. I really wish this exam was offered more than three times a year. You only have three opportunities not to mess it up before you have to apply for graduate programs, and I know I messed up this one... I'm not excited to see my score.
I am interested to know which topics were tested on the exam which you weren't expecting to appear on the exam?

JL_MATH
Posts: 14
Joined: Mon Apr 23, 2018 12:24 am

Re: April 2018 GRE

Post by JL_MATH » Sat Apr 28, 2018 10:32 am

- Went into a long calculation on the area of triangle question. Didn't manage to find an answer.. funny again later at home I found it in 30 seconds...
This happens a lot. Often times I figured out the answers or my mistakes right after I handed in the answer sheet :evil: :evil:

Most important point, our proctor said that the test will finish at a certain time and I've managed my time to leave me 5 minutes to guess all the remaining questions. Proctor called pencils down 5 minutes before and I ended up not answering 10-15 questions. Really unfair.
I can never understand this. Is it so hard to set a clock in front of the test room or remind people how much time is left 5 minutes before the time is up?? What's the point of having people guessing about the time??

Banach-Steinhaus
Posts: 9
Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2018 10:17 pm

Re: April 2018 GRE

Post by Banach-Steinhaus » Sat Apr 28, 2018 8:58 pm

Junaid456 wrote: I am interested to know which topics were tested on the exam which you weren't expecting to appear on the exam?
Mostly things like statistics (not probability, which I was expecting) and logic

cater99
Posts: 16
Joined: Mon Apr 30, 2018 1:29 am

Re: April 2018 GRE

Post by cater99 » Mon Apr 30, 2018 1:30 am

Two more weeks guys! Finger crossed...

mathandchocolate
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Apr 30, 2018 5:57 pm

Re: April 2018 GRE

Post by mathandchocolate » Mon Apr 30, 2018 6:00 pm

Can anyone recall whether the complex line integral contour contained a pole? Afterwards I panicked thinking maybe I misgraphed and it was sneaky and avoided the poles...

The waiting is so long!

Personally I found it pretty straightforward for the topics I had studied but skipped all the diffeq lol.

FtYoU
Posts: 24
Joined: Thu Apr 26, 2018 5:25 pm

Re: April 2018 GRE

Post by FtYoU » Tue May 01, 2018 1:48 pm

Can anyone recall whether the complex line integral contour contained a pole? Afterwards I panicked thinking maybe I misgraphed and it was sneaky and avoided the poles...

The waiting is so long!

Personally I found it pretty straightforward for the topics I had studied but skipped all the diffeq lol.
I remember the complex line integral question to be straightforward. I think I calculated only one residue.
The diffeq were also pretty easy, usually they all are because you have 2min 30 per questions ...

calisapna
Posts: 10
Joined: Tue Mar 06, 2018 3:25 pm

Re: April 2018 GRE

Post by calisapna » Fri May 11, 2018 3:28 am

Just received an email that scores are out :shock:! My score was eh, but my percentile was low so I imagine people did really well.

mangomango
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri May 11, 2018 6:06 am

Re: April 2018 GRE

Post by mangomango » Fri May 11, 2018 7:00 am

Received the score today. the score and the percentage match, though I didn't do a good job :cry: . And yes, totally I have issue with time management in this test, is it because it's the first time or just you can never finish the whole thing? :roll:
and plus I am planning to take another test in September. However, I have done all the practice book I have(totally 5). Any idea of new practice book or test for practice that I can try?

cater99
Posts: 16
Joined: Mon Apr 30, 2018 1:29 am

Re: April 2018 GRE

Post by cater99 » Fri May 11, 2018 1:20 pm

A 830-84% here. So lazy to take it again = =

I think this should get me in a masters.

bunnyatoms
Posts: 3
Joined: Fri May 11, 2018 1:45 pm

Re: April 2018 GRE

Post by bunnyatoms » Fri May 11, 2018 1:47 pm

cater99 wrote:A 830-84% here. So lazy to take it again = =

I think this should get me in a masters.
I know tons of people who have gotten significantly lower scores than that that have been admitted to PhD programs. You must know that is a great score, right?

cater99
Posts: 16
Joined: Mon Apr 30, 2018 1:29 am

Re: April 2018 GRE

Post by cater99 » Fri May 11, 2018 4:27 pm

bunnyatoms wrote:
cater99 wrote:A 830-84% here. So lazy to take it again = =

I think this should get me in a masters.
I know tons of people who have gotten significantly lower scores than that that have been admitted to PhD programs. You must know that is a great score, right?
I think PhD application in general is more complicated. There are people with 99% get rejected and those with "no score" get admitted (for those schools not requiring it). That's why I feel I should not waste time (and unwillingly) studying for it.

bunnyatoms
Posts: 3
Joined: Fri May 11, 2018 1:45 pm

Re: April 2018 GRE

Post by bunnyatoms » Fri May 11, 2018 5:50 pm

cater99 wrote:
bunnyatoms wrote:
cater99 wrote:A 830-84% here. So lazy to take it again = =

I think this should get me in a masters.
I know tons of people who have gotten significantly lower scores than that that have been admitted to PhD programs. You must know that is a great score, right?
I think PhD application in general is more complicated. There are people with 99% get rejected and those with "no score" get admitted (for those schools not requiring it). That's why I feel I should not waste time (and unwillingly) studying for it.
You are correct, it is more complicated that just your math subject score. By your logic (ie, people in the 99th percentile get rejected and people with no score get admitted), there is no point in applying at all because it's a crapshoot even if you did score higher. If other areas of your application are decent (GPA, letters of rec, etc) you should be able to get into a really good school. Just saying.

djysyed
Posts: 359
Joined: Sat Oct 28, 2017 9:59 pm

Re: April 2018 GRE

Post by djysyed » Fri May 11, 2018 5:55 pm

bunnyatoms wrote:
I know tons of people who have gotten significantly lower scores than that that have been admitted to PhD programs. You must know that is a great score, right?
For a domestic student, certainly. I've noticed schools expect foreign students to have at least a 95%.

cater99
Posts: 16
Joined: Mon Apr 30, 2018 1:29 am

Re: April 2018 GRE

Post by cater99 » Sat May 12, 2018 7:08 pm

bunnyatoms wrote:
You are correct, it is more complicated that just your math subject score. By your logic (ie, people in the 99th percentile get rejected and people with no score get admitted), there is no point in applying at all because it's a crapshoot even if you did score higher. If other areas of your application are decent (GPA, letters of rec, etc) you should be able to get into a really good school. Just saying.

Yeah they can only hurt you if the score is too low, but they cannot help you if your score is high enough. It is a combination of different stuff leading to a decision. Sometimes, even if everything works out, if the department may not have funding for you, they will not take you either.

Mathworm
Posts: 1
Joined: Sat Sep 15, 2018 9:45 am

Re: April 2018 GRE

Post by Mathworm » Sat Sep 15, 2018 9:50 am

Anyone remmember the questions ?

djysyed
Posts: 359
Joined: Sat Oct 28, 2017 9:59 pm

Re: April 2018 GRE

Post by djysyed » Sat Sep 15, 2018 2:16 pm

Mathworm wrote:Anyone remmember the questions ?
I don't think discussion of the problems are allowed.

BCLC
Posts: 36
Joined: Mon Oct 24, 2016 1:10 am

Re: April 2018 GRE

Post by BCLC » Mon Sep 17, 2018 5:07 am

What's the topology coverage of your exam? I mean, is there anything there past compactness and connectedness eg metrisation (I'm referring to Munkres Topology)? http://www.mathematicsgre.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4552



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