Another Test

I'm not actually sure why I continue to torture myself with more tests, but I do. The SSAT, the SAT, the MCAT, the GRE, etc. etc. I might as well just take the LSAT and GMAT, and that way I'm covered for all the graduate schools for the next five years. So today, in order to propitiate the admissions committees at prospective public policy schools, I took the GRE. And although it was painful to study during my "week off" (orientation for the longitudinal program this week!), I did learn a few things. With the goal of taking the positives out of every situation, I can admit that absconding down to Greenville, South Carolina for the afternoon was not time wasted (yes Mother, I did "abscond" - I left Asheville "hurriedly and secretly to avoid detection or arrest"). This is what I learned...

• However ephemeral, I did learn a few words. I used the Kaplan book and memorized the 150 most used words on the GRE. I would say that at least 10 of these were part of questions on my exam (hint hint for anyone out there). There are three types of verbal sections on the "new" GRE: fill-in-the-blank with the appropriate word, fill-in-the-blank with the two most appropriate words that complete the sentence (in an equivalent fashion), and the typical reading comprehension passages + questions. This is wonderful because it means there are no more of those damn analogies... "oxen yoke" is to "North Korea" as "cattle prod" is to... blank. You know, I just don't care. No patient, attending, grocer, financial advisor, or parent has ever asked me a question is this form before. Let's keep it that way.
• I know triangles. Like, I really know them. In the biblical sense. I'm a little rusty, so I probably knew them better in the ninth grade, but damn it feels good to 5-12-13 again. You want me to solve for an angle? Length of the side? How about the area of the space between a circle a triangle inscribed in said circle? One half base times height. BOOM. It is a skill that is literally only useful for standardized tests and for those that sell triangles (maybe architects too... or painters), so who cares? Don't even give me a calculator. Pythagorean Theorem? Pythagorean Theorem-schmearem! And now I will promptly forget it all. As the Dean of Admission of UNC School of Medicine, Dr. Robert Bashford, once famously said, "I learned the Krebs Cycle five times in my life for a total of 17 minutes. That's all." I think the same applies for triangles.
• This blog is not helping my test taking skills. While I am accustomed to the typical weekly opprobrium (actual word that was on my exam) from my mother with regards to my liberal variations of English language words, I did not recognize the damage it's done until now. Generously expanding the meanings of words to fit my own creative insights actually made it difficult to answer the "fill-in-the-blank-with-two-synonyms" practice questions. I prefer to use my imagination and pretend that words can be similar if you just give them the right inflection. My guidebook proved me horribly wrong, and I was appropriately conditioned to black and white definitions. Poo-poo.
• A 4 hour exam is not grueling. While I must forgive Kaplan's chicanery, I'm just not impressed. Step 1, an eight hour exam, is grueling. This was just a drop in the bucket. I'm getting used to the 3-4 hour test length with the Shelves each Block. No, I don't need to do deep breathing, Kaplan!

Sorry to be so laconic this post, but there just isn't much to say about a test that caused me so much capriciousness for the entire week. If there's nothing further, I'll be off to my usual daily nepotism.