Physics GRE Discussion Forums

Obviously, we shouldn't discuss problems here, but any qualitative thoughts on the test today?

I found the form of the test I took was much more difficult than the test I took this April, or any of the released pGRE tests dating back to 2001.

Funny. I actually found it a bit easier than April or the previous practice tests. It's weird there were so many questions that were either like high school math, or descriptive (e.g. xx theory can be best described as ..., etc). I really wonder what they're trying to assess via such questions, since this is starting to feel more like an aptitude test.

Just my thoughts though. Also in full disclosure, I did mostly practice on pre 2001 tests this time, so that might have made it feel easier

I'll split the difference here. I thought it felt about the same as the recent practice tests. I don't think I did as well on it as I did on the 2008 practice, but I feel a little better about it than I did with the 2017 practice test. I was surprised at the things that didn't show up more than by the things that did, to be honest.

pankajb64 wrote:Funny. I actually found it a bit easier than April or the previous practice tests. It's weird there were so many questions that were either like high school math, or descriptive (e.g. xx theory can be best described as ..., etc). I really wonder what they're trying to assess via such questions, since this is starting to feel more like an aptitude test.

Just my thoughts though. Also in full disclosure, I did mostly practice on pre 2001 tests this time, so that might have made it feel easier

If you look at the 2017 exam you might have a seizure as to how easy some of the questions are. I feel like I didn't get as many of the definition/no calculation type questions as I usually do. In my form, the high-energy/condensed matter facts were pretty tough (might be because I haven't taken any classes in either of those areas).