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I took them a while ago. My advice is to study a lot of vocabulary and brush up on your grammar.

I don't know if they still have a 'games' section of the test (I took both the LSAT and the GRE), but there are ways to prepare for those as well.

It's frustrating because very little of what you learn in preparing for the test is applicable to anything outside of the test (except the vocabulary part). Standardized tests suck.

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I took them a while ago. My advice is to study a lot of vocabulary and brush up on your grammar.

I don't know if they still have a 'games' section of the test (I took both the LSAT and the GRE), but there are ways to prepare for those as well.

It's frustrating because very little of what you learn in preparing for the test is applicable to anything outside of the test (except the vocabulary part). Standardized tests suck.

i figured as much. also it's funny because this mainly is a writing/analytical thinking/etc test and i want to go to grad school for photography. compleeeeetely unrelated, yet scholarships are awarded based on your GRE score.

did you use any books or study guides that were useful?

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I took a class, which proved to be very helpful. It was pricey, though - I think around $1,000. At the time, I knew I wanted to go back to school, so I reasoned that the cost was worth it if it meant the difference between passing (and therefore being admitted to the program) and not. There might be prep classes offered by local community colleges or libraries that you can take for free, so that's something to look into. Good luck!

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Save your money and don't do the class. Most libraries have test prep books that come with a CD-ROM with example questions on it, which is nice since the test is all comprooterized now.

Based on what you said you want to go to school for I would blow off the math portion, and focus on cramming as much vocab as you can. Math and vocab are really the only things you can study for. The reading comprehension and essays are entirely up to you ability to adapt and process on the spot.

I took mine a few years ago on Dec 27, i didn't start studying until I was home for x-mas break and spent about 18 hours on Dec 26 cramming and was able to blow it out of the water. I wouldn't suggest this method, but don't stress yourself over studying tactics.

I should note that I think there have been changes to the test since I took it, so ignore everything I said.

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Save your money and don't do the class. Most libraries have test prep books that come with a CD-ROM with example questions on it, which is nice since the test is all comprooterized now.

Based on what you said you want to go to school for I would blow off the math portion, and focus on cramming as much vocab as you can. Math and vocab are really the only things you can study for. The reading comprehension and essays are entirely up to you ability to adapt and process on the spot.

I took mine a few years ago on Dec 27, i didn't start studying until I was home for x-mas break and spent about 18 hours on Dec 26 cramming and was able to blow it out of the water. I wouldn't suggest this method, but don't stress yourself over studying tactics.

I should note that I think there have been changes to the test since I took it, so ignore everything I said.

yeah, classes don't usually help me all that much. i believe on the admissions page it said that they only look at your reading/verbal score rather than your math so that's good.

i got a 1390 on my SATs without really studying at all, so i'm not TOO concerned about these. i'm just trying to gauge how much actual studying i'll have to do.

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i didn't know there was a grad school for photography, and i dont mean this in a dick way.

what do you do? is it an art school or a normal school?

two of the programs i'm looking at:

http://www.scad.edu/photography/index.cfm

http://www.risd.edu/graduate_photo.cfm

i have my bachelors in fine art, but i'd like to get my masters in either photography or painting/drawing so i can someday teach at a college level.

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i didn't know there was a grad school for photography, and i dont mean this in a dick way.

what do you do? is it an art school or a normal school?

two of the programs i'm looking at:

http://www.scad.edu/photography/index.cfm

http://www.risd.edu/graduate_photo.cfm

i have my bachelors in fine art, but i'd like to get my masters in either photography or painting/drawing so i can someday teach at a college level.

that makes sense, i want to become a teacher and thatd be the only reason i'd go to grad school.

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I don't understand why photography requires a college degree, let alone grad school. Isn't art something you sort of... just have an eye for? Practice maybe?

College is such a rip-off.

i hear what you're saying and for the most part i agree. a good bit of it is natural talent, but there's a lot of technical aspects to it that make you better. in my opinion, a lot of times people who never took a single class and are self taught are better than people who went to school for it.

however, a lot of employers look at credentials and they care more about those than your body of work (which is, in my opinion, wrong). also, i'd like to teach some college courses someday and i'd need a masters to do that.

you also make a lot of connections at an art school, and in the art world, that's invaluable.

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i hear what you're saying and for the most part i agree. a good bit of it is natural talent, but there's a lot of technical aspects to it that make you better. in my opinion, a lot of times people who never took a single class and are self taught are better than people who went to school for it.

however, a lot of employers look at credentials and they care more about those than your body of work (which is, in my opinion, wrong). also, i'd like to teach some college courses someday and i'd need a masters to do that.

you also make a lot of connections at an art school, and in the art world, that's invaluable.

In addition to that, college is a great place to not only build a portfolio, but get tons of constructive criticism. I got a BFA in graphic design, and the critiques are where people tend to grow the most. It also gives you a platform to work on projects that you might not be able to do once employed/contracted/etc.

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i didn't know there was a grad school for photography, and i dont mean this in a dick way.

what do you do? is it an art school or a normal school?

two of the programs i'm looking at:

http://www.scad.edu/photography/index.cfm

http://www.risd.edu/graduate_photo.cfm

i have my bachelors in fine art, but i'd like to get my masters in either photography or painting/drawing so i can someday teach at a college level.

But SCAD is in THE DREADED SOUTH!

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Man, GREs suck. On top of that, they're expensive.

Like the guy up a few posts says, the verbal part is mainly a vocab test. So the SAT, but with harder/more random words.

I don't know if you care about the math part, but its pretty standard. You need to know mean/median/mode, geometry formulas like areas and such, algebra stuff like the equation of a line and the pythagorean theorem, and little mental math tricks (divisors, prime #s, exponents, etc.). I am told that if you don't do math on a regular basis, you have to review or you won't be able to do it.

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two of the programs i'm looking at:

http://www.scad.edu/photography/index.cfm

http://www.risd.edu/graduate_photo.cfm

i have my bachelors in fine art, but i'd like to get my masters in either photography or painting/drawing so i can someday teach at a college level.

But SCAD is in THE DREADED SOUTH!

are you planning on the SCAD in Savannah? i think you'd dig it. i've always liked Savannah. plus if it's a good enough place for ryan adams to get married, it's good enough for me, damn it!

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