I am officially DONE with the GRE.
After 6 weeks of cramming obscure words in my head and trying to bend my mind around mathmatical equations, it's over. Preparation was a bit of a roller-coaster. I took at least 6 full-length practice exams (created by various companies) at home and my scores were all over the map. I honestly had no idea how I'd do on the real thing, but I felt like I had put all the study time I could afford into it.
The real thing felt just plain awful. The math was HARD and I didn't finish that section in time. (Argh!) The verbal section seemed way too easy (which can be a bad thing on the GRE ... it might mean that you've answered questions incorrectly so the computer has bumped you into a lower bracket). I was so spent by the end. I had this awful feeling that it had been a disaster. But when the scores came up on the screen I just sat there stunned ... and the tears started flowing. Happy tears!
We are just delighted with how well it went. God's tender mercies were so evident this week. I had such peace about taking the test (in spite of a number of low-scoring practice runs), and I felt so surrounded by love and prayers. I'm afraid when the testing company finds out how many friends were praying for me they will revoke my scores and say there was supernatural interference. :) They have no idea what a lifeline I had!
Showing posts with label GRE. Show all posts
Showing posts with label GRE. Show all posts
Friday, January 29, 2010
lifeline
Dr. Carmen Imes is the Associate Professor of Old Testament at Biola University in La Mirada, CA, and serves the broader church through teaching, speaking, writing, and creating YouTube videos. She earned a PhD in Biblical Theology (Old Testament) from Wheaton College under Dr. Daniel Block, an MA in Biblical Studies from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (Charlotte), and a BA in Bible and Theology from Multnomah University. She and her husband, Daniel, served as missionaries with SIM 15 years. They have three children: Ana, Emma, and Easton.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
i had no idea ...
... that studying vocabulary for the GRE would help me with motherhood. This week I was reading one of Beatrix Potter's stories to Emma, when one of my new 25-cent words nearly jumped off the page. The flopsy bunnies discovered the soporific effects of lettuce, and it almost landed them in Mr. McGregor's stew! In case you are as unenlightened as I was just 6 weeks ago (before I learned this most useful word), soporific means 'sleep-inducing.' (Think "turkey dinner" or "warm milk.") The bunnies ate too much lettuce and it made them fall asleep so they were captured by Mr. McGregor. Thankfully, they were rescued just in time.
If you want to learn other useful words such as this one, click on the 'Free Rice' icon below and to the right. You'll be a smarter parent in no time! :)
If you want to learn other useful words such as this one, click on the 'Free Rice' icon below and to the right. You'll be a smarter parent in no time! :)
Dr. Carmen Imes is the Associate Professor of Old Testament at Biola University in La Mirada, CA, and serves the broader church through teaching, speaking, writing, and creating YouTube videos. She earned a PhD in Biblical Theology (Old Testament) from Wheaton College under Dr. Daniel Block, an MA in Biblical Studies from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (Charlotte), and a BA in Bible and Theology from Multnomah University. She and her husband, Daniel, served as missionaries with SIM 15 years. They have three children: Ana, Emma, and Easton.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
switching gears
When was the last time you were asked to calculate the slope of a line perpendicular to a line whose equation is y = 5x + 9? If you're like me, it's been at least 14 years! But in order to score well on the GRE such skills must be retrieved from the forgotten back corners of the closet, dusted off, and put to good use again. And all the math review I've had in the past two weeks should serve me well in coming years as Eliana moves past simple multiplication to algebra and geometry. Bring it on!
Don't worry. We did bake cookies, make gingerbread houses, attend a Christmas Eve service, go on a family vacation, wrap and deliver presents to the neighbors, bake cinnamon rolls, open presents at home, play games, watch movies, and have a birthday party for Jesus (not in that order). I've had plenty of time to play. I even worked on our family scrapbook and got it caught up!
But it's time to switch gears again - to order books, plan the semester and take lots of deep breaths. This will be a full one, and as usual I'm in syllabus shock. We'll just have to take it one page at a time!
(By the way, in case your wheels are still turning ... the slope of a perpendicular line is the negative reciprocal of the first line, so in this case the answer is -1/5. Now isn't that inspiring?!)
Don't worry. We did bake cookies, make gingerbread houses, attend a Christmas Eve service, go on a family vacation, wrap and deliver presents to the neighbors, bake cinnamon rolls, open presents at home, play games, watch movies, and have a birthday party for Jesus (not in that order). I've had plenty of time to play. I even worked on our family scrapbook and got it caught up!
But it's time to switch gears again - to order books, plan the semester and take lots of deep breaths. This will be a full one, and as usual I'm in syllabus shock. We'll just have to take it one page at a time!
(By the way, in case your wheels are still turning ... the slope of a perpendicular line is the negative reciprocal of the first line, so in this case the answer is -1/5. Now isn't that inspiring?!)
Dr. Carmen Imes is the Associate Professor of Old Testament at Biola University in La Mirada, CA, and serves the broader church through teaching, speaking, writing, and creating YouTube videos. She earned a PhD in Biblical Theology (Old Testament) from Wheaton College under Dr. Daniel Block, an MA in Biblical Studies from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (Charlotte), and a BA in Bible and Theology from Multnomah University. She and her husband, Daniel, served as missionaries with SIM 15 years. They have three children: Ana, Emma, and Easton.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
free rice!
One of Eliana's teachers just clued us in to a really great website. At http://www.freerice.com/ you can test your vocabulary, practice identifying countries of the world, quiz your math skills and more. And it's better than free! For each answer you get right, sponsors will buy 10 grains of rice for undernourished families through the UN World Food Program. Harvard developed the website and it's slick. The computer quickly figures out your knowledge level and works to increase it, recycling questions you get wrong so you can answer correctly the next time.
Eliana and I are both addicted to it. As we play the grains of rice pile up before our eyes! It's a better-than-free way to get ready for the GRE and the EOG (End-of-grade test for 3rd graders). And it accomplishes the unlikely task of uniting all 3 of my passions: my kids, academics, and missions!
Check it out!
Eliana and I are both addicted to it. As we play the grains of rice pile up before our eyes! It's a better-than-free way to get ready for the GRE and the EOG (End-of-grade test for 3rd graders). And it accomplishes the unlikely task of uniting all 3 of my passions: my kids, academics, and missions!
Check it out!
Dr. Carmen Imes is the Associate Professor of Old Testament at Biola University in La Mirada, CA, and serves the broader church through teaching, speaking, writing, and creating YouTube videos. She earned a PhD in Biblical Theology (Old Testament) from Wheaton College under Dr. Daniel Block, an MA in Biblical Studies from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (Charlotte), and a BA in Bible and Theology from Multnomah University. She and her husband, Daniel, served as missionaries with SIM 15 years. They have three children: Ana, Emma, and Easton.
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