Word Problems. Two simple words that evoke more fear and loathing than most other math concepts and question types combined. When the subject of word problems arises, you might envision the following nightmare: Two trains are loaded with equal amounts of rock salt and ball bearings. Train A leaves Frogboro at 10:00 a.m. carrying 62 […]
Let’s do some GRE math practice. Combinations and permutations problems often leave students wondering where on earth to begin. Knowing the equation for each operation is helpful, but not enough—you also must be able to determine which formula is necessary to answer the question at hand. The rule of thumb is that combinations are unordered and […]
Imagine you walk into a college class. When the professor walks in, they proceeded to tell you that if you hadn’t started reading your Biology textbook yet, then you were already behind. They go on to say that you all were currently failing the course. Everyone was starting with the same score—a big, fat 0—and it was up to you all to earn the […]
Function – or structural – questions ask you to identify “why” the passage contains certain information or “how” the relevant passage is structured. These questions ask you to understand the author’s motives for presenting certain information in a particular manner. Here are two examples of a function question. The author’s discussion of the Hadron […]
As surprising as it sounds, the summer after MS1 year is the last one medical students will have free for awhile. The time after MS2 year is busy with USMLE Step 1/COMLEX Level 1 exams, and MS3/MS4 is generally taken as one monolithic block. For many students who desire to stay busy, research is both […]
You’ve made it. It’s GRE Test Day. You’re ready with your snack for the break, admission ticket, photo ID, and directions to the test center. You’re dressed in layers to make sure that you can adjust to any temperature, and you’re getting ready to go. You know you’re going to do a lot of math problems, […]
Each of the four modules of the IELTS is scored on a scale of 1.0 to 9.0, in half-point increments. These scores are then averaged together for the overall score. This overall score can either be a whole or half band. Each band corresponds to a global descriptor, summarizing each of the nine levels of […]
Flaw questions are another often-seen challenge on the LSAT. The central error in reasoning on LSAT flaw questions always comes down to the same thing: the evidence presented doesn’t logically lead to the conclusion. You can’t argue with the evidence itself, so don’t be distracted by answer choices that directly contradict what’s stated in the […]
The medical school application is your single best opportunity to convince a group of strangers that you would be an asset both to the school and to the medical profession. It’s your opportunity to show yourself as something more than grades and scores. Granted, every person who applies will have strengths and weaknesses. But it’s […]
Reading comprehension on the GRE has a number of question types you can expect to see on Test Day: Main Idea, Detail, Function, Vocab in Context, etc. These are slightly easier ones, but there are also some that tend to be a little harder: Inference, Application, and Logic questions. Logic’s a method of reasoning based on inference. The GRE has reading […]