So I've got to take the GRE (general) this semester to start my MS in CS in January. Anyone got any study tips?

Get plenty of sleep the night before the test.

the will send you out a CD if you sign up early enough with some practise stuff, just go over that to know what to expect.

I took it last tuesday so I will tell you what I did. The best thing to do is to take practice tests. The math section is pretty simple but it can be tricky. By taking practice tests you can find where your common mistakes are and be aware of how you can eliminate them. I went from a 650 on my first practice test to an 800 on the real thing so taking a few practice tests really does help. If you have enough time, the best thing to do for verbal is to just learn as many new words as possible and expand your vocabulary as much as possible. Also, study books and guides can help you develop techniques for eliminating answers. The analytical writing section is tough to prepare for. Just get your hands on a few "6" essays and notice how they attack each topic. For CS, the math section is probably most important...you are gonna want to get 750 or better. What you should really focus on is the CS subject test. That is going to be more important than the general if you plan on going anywhere decent for your masters. Good luck!

I took it last week and the test is not that bad. The math section is algebra and trig ( simple trig, no proofs). The essay section depends on how well you can write. The verbal is a BITCH...I bought a book with examples and tips for the verbal part.

The math part is really hard. It was almost exclusively multi-variable calculus and a lot of partial differential equations. I'd recommend at least two calculators, TI-92 and an HP. I studied for the english part for about 2 months, approximately 2 hours every day. On the weekends, I'd tend to study for more like 4 or 5 hours. I failed the GRE the first 2 times I took it. The third time was a charm for me.

But really, the test is easy. All I did was look at the test format the night before and then tried to get enough sleep. That's it.

you had me goin until the 2 calculators part. Nice try though, that was good.

Don't bother bringing anything; they won't even let you take your own pen/pencil into the testing center.

The testing center in Jeff City is underneath an Aflak building at the end of some strip mall. Just be sure to wander around until you find it. You can also request to take the test any time during the day; just call them and ask.

I think that's about it. The test is cake and UMR's requirements are pretty easy to meet unless you've been out of class for a year or more.

The GRE isn't too bad. I've got two big pieces of advice for you.

First off, take the practice tests. You don't have to email off for a CD, they have at least two of them available for download on their website. This way you can be used to the format of the test, and the types of questions used.

Secondly, know what they are looking for in the written portion. Structure, clear exploration of thought, etc. Write a couple of practice ones given the sample questions that they provide. You might even consider taking them to the writing center to be critiqued if you want to be really hardcore. I just practiced doing them twice, then went over them myself. Got a 6 on that portion of the exam.

I don't really have a lot of advice on the qualitative portion of the exam (not math/not essay), much of it is stuff you can't just study for. (Vocabulary, word relationships, summarizing, etc.)

The math is mostly algebra, with a little bit of geometry thrown in. Much of it can be thought of as a logic puzzle.

Hope that helps.

There should be a list of all possible essay questions/topics on the GRE website. FYI, nothing is as good as having a faculty contact in the program you're interested in even if you have perfect GRE scores (although that helps). Grad school entrance isn't like undergrad, have an insider who knows your competant and can do work and they'll let you in. If your scores are really bad, they'll probably even pull to get you in with some contengencies. It really is all about who you know.

As Van Wilder said, take a really big shit right before the test.

The practice tests are very important for doing well, knowing what to study etc.
If you are like me I would bring a granola bar, and a drink of some kind to eat during the break because I remember being really wishing I had a coffee or something by the end.

Thanks for the tips.
I've already been accepted to UMR's CS MS program (contingent on submitting GRE scores obviously), so hopefully if I don't do too good on the GRE for some reason they'll give me some options other than not attending.

I took it last year to get into the Eman Masters thing and I dind't prepare at all, I got 1100 on math and verbal, and I forget what on analytical but it wasn't very good.

I got my undergrad here too and I always thought I was dumber than most students here. So moral of the story is that I'm not that smart and I took it un-prepared and it was enough to get me accepted (requirements for eman masters have since been upgraded I hear) so I would say that in a majority of cases UMR students are smart enough to do well without preperation.