PART TWO — GUIDE TO GRADUATE STUDIES IN THE UNITED STATE OF AMERICA (US)

• Hi, I hope you had a good read in my last post, which was the first part of this article. If you missed it, you could read it here https://bit.ly/352le79. I got a lot of responses from people about what is possible or not possible during application. Many also wanted to know if their profiles qualify for admission and funding. The truth is, in this process, many rules have been broken, as most schools use a holistic approach to decide admission and funding. I advise that you apply to schools that match your profile so you can get a better chance. Also, you would need to prepare and study hard for your tests to achieve a high score. As your standardized test scores are major determinants of the admission opportunities you would qualify for, and the funding options at your disposal after that.

Welcome back! In this part, I will be talking about how best to prepare for the GRE and TOEFL tests, samples of e-mail to send to professors, statement of purpose (SOP), and letter of recommendation (LOR). For ease of navigation, I have sectioned this article into the following:

· Brief Introduction into the GRE

· How Best to Prepare for GRE Quantitative

· How Best to Prepare for Verbal

· How Best to Build Vocabularies

· What You Need to Know About Mocks

· SOP, LOR and MAIL samples

SECTION ONE: BRIEF INTRODUCTION INTO THE GRE

The GRE tests for three things

1. Your basic Mathematics skills — Quantitative Sections

2. Your basic English skills — Verbal Sections

3. Your Writing skills — Analytical Writing (AWA) Sections

As believed by the exam makers Education Testing Services (ETS), these three language skills are required in graduate school. Though most of the questions on the test may not be directly related to your program, however, it tests your ability to learn fast and adjust to academic materials and tasks. So give every section your best.

There are two sections for each of the Quantitative, Verbal and AWA. When you sit before the computer to take the actual GRE test, the very first two sections you would take are the AWA sections (first is an issue essay, second is an argumentative essay). Following that, you can have any of the verbal or quantitative sections — take note that the verbal and quantitative sections would come interchangeably. For example, after your AWA sections, you can either have Q-V-Q-V or V-Q-V-Q (where Q is the quantitative test, and V is the verbal test). Each section of the verbal test has a total of 20 questions, and you would have 30 minutes to complete each section. On the other hand, each section of the quantitative test also has a total of 20 questions but you have 35 minutes to complete each. You can skip and return to questions within each section, but you have to complete each section within the allocated time frame. For the Quantitative section, you would have access to an on-screen basic (not scientific) calculator. As much as you’d loved to use it, know that it can also be a distraction and waste your time. So, use it only when you have to do so, and use it smartly.

It is also good to know that there would be an additional experimental section in the GRE, which does not count to your score. It would either be a verbal or quantitative test and yes, you won’t know which of the sections is experimental, so don’t try to figure out which is experimental. One thing you would sure know is, if your first test after the AWA is verbal, then you would have a verbal experimental test (in total V-Q-V-Q-V), and if your first section after the AWA is quantitative, then you would have a quantitative experimental test (in total Q-V-Q-V-Q). I will say it again; you would never know which is experimental among the tests, so give every section your best.

SECTION TWO: HOW BEST TO PREPARE FOR GRE QUANTITATIVE

Those who have attempted the GRE or currently preparing would know the test can be daunting, especially for those who don’t have a strong mathematics background. However, you can learn to master the tricks and basics, and you would have a good walkthrough. I would do my best to guide you through. There are myriad materials out there for the GRE, but you sure can’t afford to go through them all as you don’t have the time to do so, and only a few are helpful towards having a good score in the test. So, it would be good to take my word and save yourself the stress –you should not attempt to study all the preparatory materials that come your way.

I had a 164 in Quantitative, though my target was for a perfect score of 170, but I am satisfied with what I had (smiles). From my experience, I can guide you through on how I successfully attained a good score despite the limited resources available to me. Be free to use other books if my advice does not work for you. For the Quantitative, apart from the ETS official guide book from the test makers, I believe the Manhattan Strategy Guide (MSG) books are the best. First, MSG has 5 or 6 books for quantitative, which has are sectioned according to major topics (Numbers, Geometry, Algebra, etc.). Manhattan did a great job of explaining all concepts from scratch to an advanced level. If only you take enough time to peruse the material, you will have little or no issue with the GRE Quantitative. Few people tell me they have completed the whole MSG books and are still struggling to solve basic quantitative problems. To me, I find it difficult to believe they studied the book well enough because I had once been in their shoes. I rushed the materials and skipped a lot of topics with the usual saying, “Oh, I know Algebra and Geometric, I have been doing it since age 7”. But after skimming through those topics, I found it hard to solve simple geometry problems. You need to be patient to follow the strategies described in the study pack without skipping any page or topic. Even if it appears that you are a genius, still take your time to go through it word for word, and solve every exercise.

It is important to tell you that there are few topics like statistics and probability that the MSG does not treat well enough. For these topics, you may need to turn to other resources. I would advise you to use Magoosh videos for those topics. You can Google for links to the free Magoosh videos, or you pay for it if you can. With that, I believe you are all set for the GRE quantitative tests. What you have left is to practice continuously, learn to avoid silly mistakes, and learn from your mistakes. Also, you would need to work on your timing–the time it takes to solve each question.

SECTION THREE: HOW BEST TO PREPARE FOR THE GRE VERBAL

The GRE verbal is also tricky as you are not looking for the right answer as there could be many options that fit the blanks; your goal is to look for the best fit. To score high in the verbal section, you would need to improve your grammar, vocabulary, and reading speed. The books I found helpful are:

1. ETS Official Guide

2. Cracking the GRE by Princeton Review

3. Verbal Grail

Other materials are also helpful, but I found the above much easier to comprehend. There are tricks for cracking each question, and these study materials would teach you that. I must say you would need a lot of practice to master the tricks, and many options on the test (and during your practice) are tempting. I will encourage you never to give up if you don’t score well in the first few days or weeks of your study. Keep at it, it is a skill, and you can learn it.

SECTION FOUR: HOW BEST TO BUILD VOCABULARIES

It is blatant that while preparing for GRE Verbal, you would get several questions wrong just because you don’t know the meaning of some words. This explains the need to build your vocabulary for GRE test. You would need an average of a thousand words to get going, but I have seen people who learned over 2000 GRE words before the test date. A good way to learn vocabulary is by using the Magoosh Flashcards App. You can download from Google Play Store for Android users. They also have a version for iPhone users. Ensure you go through the decks of words and revise them regularly. Many complain about how to remember the words learned as they soon forget after a while. Indeed, remembering words could be an arduous task, but for me, I use them in my daily conversation and chats. Yes, many people would think you’re braggadocios and perhaps trying to get attention, but I think you don’t have to worry about that, you have a goal and if that helps you, go for it. A piece of savvy advice is that you should try as much as possible to use new words learned in the right context in your daily communication, as contextual meaning matters a lot. Maximize your lunch breaks at work to revise those words. Use your time in the toilet, in public buses/cars, or any other free time to get into the app and revise. Do not dedicate study time only for vocabulary; improve your vocabulary alongside Verbal or Quantitative skills. Vocabulary building is an add-on, so it should not be learned in isolation.

SECTION FIVE: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT MOCKS

Mocks are good, and they are there to test your level of preparation for the actual test. Many books advice taking a full length mock before you begin preparing for the GRE, so you can know the stage/level you started from and what amount of work you need to put in to achieve your desired score. This is good but not compulsory. If you can’t, don’t worry, you would be fine.

There are few full-length mock tests that, to a large extent mimic the actual GRE, so you won’t want to waste them. Begin to take full-length mock tests when you know you’re 70% ready for the actual test, and you have completed the Manhattan Strategy Guide Quant books and at least a verbal book also. Then, you can take mock tests weekly. The mock tests show you which area needs more attention, so you can go back to the study materials to learn more about that topic. When that is done, take another mock test after a week, and so on.

Finally, when your actual test date is close (say about 2 weeks), take full-length mock tests every day and review each mock to see what you got wrong and why.

Below is the list of good full-length mock tests

1. PowerPrep I (by the test maker — ETS)

2. PowerPrep II (by the test maker — ETS): Keep this till 1 or 2 weeks to your actual GRE test

3. Kaplan Mock Tests

4. Princeton Mock Tests

5. Manhattan Mock Tests: This is very good for testing your quantitative strength. Do not be concerned with your verbal score here because the Manhattan Verbal score is not a good reflection of the actual GRE; just look out for your Quantitative score.

6. Magoosh Mock Tests

SECTION SIX: SOP, LOR AND MAIL SAMPLES

I have provided images of samples of Statement of Purpose, Letter of Recommendation, and e-mail samples sent to professors and you would find the link to the files below each image. This is just a guide to how it should be constructed. Do well to prepare yours, using this as a guide. Enjoy!

Here is the PDF sample https://bit.ly/2VeU74q

Here is the PDF sample https://bit.ly/2oM67Oy. You can find many more online.

Here is the PDF https://bit.ly/31JQ1U7

CONCLUSION

I hope the words above were helpful, and I would aid your preparation for the standardized tests. Looking forward to seeing you here in America. If you eventually complete your graduate school applications successfully and get an offer of admission with full funding, I would love to hear your testimonies, do well to reach out to me on Facebook. Likewise, I would love to get feedback on your high GRE scores and share with others to encourage them. I must confess, I most often have tight schedules and tasks to complete, but I consider helping others the greatest gift I can offer to humanity. I will do my best to give responses to your questions as soon as I can. If you find this helpful, you can share with others. I wish you all the best in your endeavours.

Credit to Sijuola Wahab and Fabiyi Victor who helped in reviewing this article.