[NABS-L] Taking the GRE! What were your experiences studyingforitand what was it like when you took it?

Sun Aug 26 02:31:42 UTC 2018

ETS will also send you one of the calculators you will be using 
to practice with.  It would definitely be nice if there were a 
manual for it though!

 ----- Original Message -----
From: Miso Kwak via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list 
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Sat, 25 Aug 2018 22:14:39 -0400
Subject: Re: [NABS-L] Taking the GRE! What were your experiences 
studyingforitand what was it like when you took it?

Tara, I took the GRE in 2016 in a paper format.
I used the GRE practice materials the ETS provided plus resources 
I
was able to find online.
The resources I was able to find online were mostly for the 
verbal
section and essay prompts.
If you browse around the web, you should be able to find sample
prompts for the writing portion.
Bookshare has quite a few GRE practice books. Most of the verbal
practice materials are useful and only parts of math section are
useful in my opinion.

As far as the actual test, the biggest problem I had was using 
the
calculator that ETS provided. I had no experience with that 
particular
model beforehand, because it was not clear to me what kind of
calculator would be provided. To make things worse, there was no
manual of any kind on how to operate the calculator. I mean, the
calculator was pretty self-explanatory but I think it would have 
been
smoother had there been a a simple, easy-to-follow manual because 
some
of the buttons were confusing.

Best of luck!

Miso

On 8/25/18, Karl Martin Adam via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> 
wrote:
 Hi Tara,

 ETS (Educational Testing Services) is the company that produces
 the GRE.  They have study materials on their website.  Once you
 get set up with accommodations they will also send you practices
 test in Braille, digital practice tests with software you can
 load on your computer that is the same software you would use on
 the test if you took it electronically.  That's good because you
 can practice with the built in screen reader and see how it 
reads
 math formulas.  The online study materials ETS provides also 
have
 math written out in words in the same way that your screenreader
 will read it.  I found the actual test taking quite accessible.
 Unfortunately I can't help with the book.  Maybe if you have
 friends in your old DSS office they would do it for you, but 
they
 certainly have no legal obligation to do that for you.

 HTH
 Karl

  ----- Original Message -----
 From: Tara Briggs via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
 To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
 <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
 Date sent: Sat, 25 Aug 2018 13:10:48 -0600
 Subject: Re: [NABS-L] Taking the GRE! What were your experiences
 studyingfor itand what was it like when you took it?

 Hi Thank you so much for your reply! Who did you say that
 provides accessible study material? How can I get access to this
 material? I gather from your message that the math part is not
 accessible. What I mean is the math study material is not
 accessible. Or, is it pretty much all the material for the GRE 
is
 in accessible except for one specific place? You mentioned 
taking
 the test on a computer, how exactly does that work? Did you use 
a
 screen reader? I am sorry for my million questions but I really
 donâ€™t know where to get started or where to turn. My friend
 mentioned a book that she used to take the GRE. At the time she
 took it, she was doing her undergraduate degree. So she was able
 to get the book made accessible to her by her local university.
 Unfortunately, she doesnâ€™t have the book anymore because it 
was
 on her old computer. Iâ€™m happy to purchase the book I just 
want
 to be able to read what I purchased and printed and I have not
 gotten along since my birthday in 1982. Anyway thank you so much
 for any more assistance.
 Tara

 Sent from my iPhone

  On Aug 25, 2018, at 12:43 PM, Karl Martin Adam via NABS-L
 <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:

  Hi Tara, I took the GRE on the computer.  ETS provides a nice
 set of study materials, but unfortunately I found no third party
 study materials for math that were accessible.  That means we
 blind people are at a significant disadvantage when it comes to
 studying.  I also had trouble with math and didn't do too well,
 but the actual test taking was pretty straight forward.

  HTH,
  Karl

  ----- Original Message -----
  From: Tara Briggs via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
  To: nabs-l at nfbnet.org
  Date sent: Sat, 25 Aug 2018 09:14:09 -0600
  Subject: [NABS-L] Taking the GRE! What were your experiences
 studying for itand what was it like when you took it?

  Hi all! I am writing this email in the hopes of starting a
 discussion. For those of you who took  the GRE  what was it 
like?
 What was it like to study for it? What materials did you use? 
Any
 links would be beyond awesome!! Also, my friend has given me the
 title of a  book but Iâ€™m not sure how to get that book an  an
 accessible format. Can I go back to my alma mater and make a
 request from them? Iâ€™m not a student there anymore but I was.
 When it came time to take the GRE what accommodations did you
 use? How did you get through the math section? Thatâ€™s the one
 that is making me the most terrified! Nath and I have been 
bitter
 enemies for years and I donâ€™t see that changing anytime soon.
 Thank you so much for any help!
  Tara

  Sent from my iPhone
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