Shades of Mediocrity

Gearing up for the GRE (maybe)

So I may have finally come around to a decision to apply to a new graduate program and pursue another master's degree, this time in Higher Ed Policy & Administration. Why do I want to do this? Well, because I'm interested in the subject matter, it's almost free (there are a few relatively minor tax implications), and having another advanced degree could help me professionally. Sounds like a pretty good idea, no?

Unfortunately, my original GRE scores hail from 1994, the fall of my last year of college. That means they have long since expired (they do so after a paltry five years), and the only way I might be admitted to the graduate program of my choice is to (shudder) take the GRE again.

I don't exactly fear the GRE; standardized tests of all kinds have always been good to me, and I did very well on the GRE ten years ago without studying so much as a single vocabulary word, geometry figure, or logic problem. But things have changed since then, and not necessarily for the better. First, the analytical section of the GRE has been replaced by a writing section. This doesn't really worry me, since I'm fairly confident in my ability to write passably well off the top of my head (evidence of this blog aside), but it is something new that I haven't done before. Second, my math studies (such as they were) are now ten years further in my past than when I last attempted the GRE. This means I will have to prepare at least a little bit, or risk an extremely embarassing result on the math section. Finally -- and this is my biggest objection -- the GRE costs $115. It really rubs me the wrong way that I will have to cough up a hundred bucks in order to prove that I am capable of graduate-level work when I already have one master's degree and have previously been admitted to the University of Minnesota Graduate School.

And then there's always the possibility that I will take the GRE and discover that I've killed even more brain cells in the last decade than I think I have. How much did my mental capacity decrease over the course of my twenties? Taking the GRE now will give me proof in hard numbers. Yikes.

Well, I can rant about it, entertain whatever crazy fears I want, and bemoan the injustice of the situation, but the fact remains: I have to take the GRE if I want the privilege of spending more time in school. And I do want that -- I'm hard-wired to want it. So I'll pay my hundred bucks, study my math, and do what I have to do. Wish me luck.

Posted by Stacie at January 4, 2005 09:59 PM