This morning I took the GRE test. I had to be at the test center at 8:30am but I was anxious this morning and woke up around 5am. I ate some small snacks at 7-Eleven and took a taxi to the campus since I was going to a different test center than last time and wanted to make sure I could find it without any problems. The GRE is split up into three different sections: analytical writing, quantative, verbal. I already took the analytical writing portion in August so I just had to take the quantative and verbal portions today. Since there have been numerous cases of cheating going on around East Asia, the GRE is only applicable in a paper-based test format instead of a computerized test like in the US. I was a lot happier when I found this out a couple of months ago because I didn't have to worry about time, however, the questions would be harder.
I got to the test center/campus early and it cost me $270NT which is pretty expensive considering I found out that I could have taken the MRT for a much cheaper price. Luckily NTU (National Taiwan University) was helpful and they placed signs on campus to help people find the building/test center. The university is #1 in Taipei and the campus is gorgeous! The first picture is one of the main streets and the second picture is one of the buildings. The gates were closed and lots of students were sitting on the stairs. I was there almost an hour early so I was just waiting. I know the stereotype that Asian families have as the parents are strict and want their child to succeed and do well on their tests. While I was sitting down, I saw how the boys who were going to take their tests were accompanied by their parents. Their parents were telling them that they will be fine and that they will do well. By just looking at these boys with their parents, I even felt pressured. One mother gave her son McDonalds as a good luck test charm. They weren't scolding them but it was surprising they were with them before the test and patted their shoulders and asking them if they were ready.
I realized as it was about 30 mins before I had to be in the classroom that I could enter the building by walking up the stairs. The GRE is only offered twice a year and surprisingly there were a lot of students taking the test. There were at least about 10 classrooms opened for the test takers. It was a much easier process than last time since I already did my registeration from before. I just had to find my seat since they assigned the desks and they look at your passport and registration number. It took forever to actually get started since the instructor had to go over the instructions and everything was in English. The lady knew how to speak English and it was a little funny since the instructions to fill out the test form was on a recording so she was playing the cd.
I'm surprised they didn't speak Chinese but it is an English test after all so they would speak English. I realized as I was filling out my bubble sheet that the test consisted of 4 sections, 2 verbal and 2 quantative. I don't know why I didn't realize this before but because I took the computerized test last year, I only had to take 1 verbal section and 1 quantative so I assumed it was the same thing this time. Since it's the paper-based test, I had to take 2 sections each, only for 30 mins. The good thing is that if you answer incorrectly, it won't hurt your score since it won't be counted so to maximize your score, the best thing to do is to answer all the questions even if it's just a guess. There was no break and it was pretty intense. It took 2 hours and it was non-stop as we would finish one section and then stop, then in one minute start the next section.
Before the test I could really feel the tension and stress. I think the students around me are incredibly smart though. The GRE is hard enough but to take it when English is not your second language is insane. When I was leaving, this American guy was asking the instructor when we would receive our scores and she didn't know and I tapped him on the shoulder and told him. He was really surprised I could speak English but yeah I just told him the information. The lady was surprised too that I knew the answer although she must know I can speak English well since she saw my passport and I'm from America. When I was taking the subway home, there were some people that took the GRE test standing near me and they were talking about it and one of the boys told the girl that he just wasted his money since the test was super hard. Two people in the classroom canceled their scores. I felt a lot more tension, pressure, and anxiety this morning since I was crammed in a stuffy classroom and the people around me were groaning and sighing but at least I know I'm not the only one suffering from the test lol
After the GRE, Cala and I ate hot pot since I took today off. I usually work 10-7pm on Saturdays so it was nice just to relax and eat. We ate a lot and we got home around 2pm and took a nap. I took a 3-4 hr nap. I'm still tired but I feel SO MUCH better that I'm done with the test!
-Chihchat
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