Last week on this very day - Tuesday - I gave the GRE, and scored right on target; well, my personal target! Managed to get 800/800 in the quantitative analysis section, and 530/800 in the verbal section, thus scoring 1330/1600.. The analytical writing score will come a little later, but I'm pretty satisfied with what I have written there too..
Agreed my score in verbal is not a brilliant score as such, but considering I'm looking towards a PG in engineering, quant is what matters most. Also, considering last few years' median scores of top universities for my area of specialisation (Civil Engineering), I'm safe to apply. But GRE is just the first step - now I have to really keep good acads and keep doing good project work etc to boost my admission chances along with a good scholarship/financial aid..
To be very honest, now looking back a little, I sometimes feel I had aimed low.. From day one of my GRE preparation (which was really just a matter of last fortnight before the exam!!) I have had this subconcious comfort, that I do not need a very high score as such to get admit in a top univ. This further made me more lethargic to put in my hundred percent.. (I'm already a lot lethargic when it comes to study!!) To worsen things, I cannot mug up things for a fact; and its not a mystery that those who score high in verbal section are really great at by-hearting (ok I don't like to use the phrase "mugging up" here 'coz it has a little negative taste to it..) those thousands of words - words which many people rightly describe as "those which we have never seen, and will never use in future!" Agreed half of those are regularly used by people having decent command over the language, but there are still the dreaded "other half".
PS: all of the above is just a matter-of-fact record of my thoughts rather than some justification of my score; I look with sheer admiration to all those who have scored higher, and do not claim to be able to score as high as them. I "could have" and "would have" is all meaningless if I "did not"!!
Then again, who doesn't try to justify his deeds? Within us lies a great conflict - a conflict between the real us and a third person us. The third person is an inner voice, the good voice, inculcated within us through years of upbringing.. It is this voice to whom we try to justify every action of our perceived "us". We are only answerable to our inner voice; but more often than not we keep it locked in some corner of our heart and strive to answer all the voices outside its cage..
My father once told me something; that which I consider perhaps to be his best teaching to me - "Whenever you're in a state of chaos as to how to operate in a situation, ask yourself "Am I being fair to everyone involved? Am I being fair to myself?" and if both the answers are yes, just go ahead and He will be with you."
This perhaps was said to him by his father too.. and will definitely be passed on to my son/daughter..
Agreed my score in verbal is not a brilliant score as such, but considering I'm looking towards a PG in engineering, quant is what matters most. Also, considering last few years' median scores of top universities for my area of specialisation (Civil Engineering), I'm safe to apply. But GRE is just the first step - now I have to really keep good acads and keep doing good project work etc to boost my admission chances along with a good scholarship/financial aid..
To be very honest, now looking back a little, I sometimes feel I had aimed low.. From day one of my GRE preparation (which was really just a matter of last fortnight before the exam!!) I have had this subconcious comfort, that I do not need a very high score as such to get admit in a top univ. This further made me more lethargic to put in my hundred percent.. (I'm already a lot lethargic when it comes to study!!) To worsen things, I cannot mug up things for a fact; and its not a mystery that those who score high in verbal section are really great at by-hearting (ok I don't like to use the phrase "mugging up" here 'coz it has a little negative taste to it..) those thousands of words - words which many people rightly describe as "those which we have never seen, and will never use in future!" Agreed half of those are regularly used by people having decent command over the language, but there are still the dreaded "other half".
PS: all of the above is just a matter-of-fact record of my thoughts rather than some justification of my score; I look with sheer admiration to all those who have scored higher, and do not claim to be able to score as high as them. I "could have" and "would have" is all meaningless if I "did not"!!
Then again, who doesn't try to justify his deeds? Within us lies a great conflict - a conflict between the real us and a third person us. The third person is an inner voice, the good voice, inculcated within us through years of upbringing.. It is this voice to whom we try to justify every action of our perceived "us". We are only answerable to our inner voice; but more often than not we keep it locked in some corner of our heart and strive to answer all the voices outside its cage..
My father once told me something; that which I consider perhaps to be his best teaching to me - "Whenever you're in a state of chaos as to how to operate in a situation, ask yourself "Am I being fair to everyone involved? Am I being fair to myself?" and if both the answers are yes, just go ahead and He will be with you."
This perhaps was said to him by his father too.. and will definitely be passed on to my son/daughter..
1 comment:
a very thoughtful take on mindset...
and congrats on the score!
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