University Daily Kansan / Wednesday, January 30, 1991
Features
11
Exam frenzy :
Students planning post-graduate studies face standardized tests
By Benjamin W. Allen
Kansan staff writer
Memories from the beginning of many KU students' educational careers may include the dim recollection of letters with small animals next to them posted above the chalkboard in an elementary classroom school.
Reciting the alphabet may be a lesson learned long ago by KU students, but students pursuing a graduate degree may run into alphabet soup again in the form of standardized tests.
The GMAT, GRE, LSAT, MCAT and PST are a few of the acronyms that prompt the imaginations of students, producing visions of mind-numbing, day-long tests that decide their future.
However, Arthur Thomas, acting director of the University of Kansas Counseling Center, said day-to-day preparation for any testing situation
"The mistake many people make in treating test anxiety is that they wait until the day before the test to do anything about it," he said.
Sandra Germain, Cottage Grove, Mimm., graduate student who works in the counseling center's testing department to take the tests as early, as possible.
"You know what your test scores are before you send them to someone that way," she said.
Although the meaning of the acronyms may be unclear to most, the information behind them is relatively straightforward.
The GMAT, or Graduate Management Admission Test, is a nationally standardized test used by business schools as a criterion for admission. The test includes sections covering verbal and mathematical skills.
The KU School of Business requires students applying to the graduate program to take the test but does not have a required minimum score. The school takes the student's SAT scores on account when admitting new students.
The GMAT costs $33 and will be administered March 16 and June 15. Registration deadlines are Feb. 13 and May 13 respectively.
Most of the entrance examinations allow students to register late with an additional fee.
The GRE, or Graduate Record Evaluation, includes two different examinations. The first is a general examination used by many liberal arts schools as an admission criterion. The second is the test that is required. The second is an exam that pertains specifically to a certain subject of study.
Whether a subject test is required depends on the school or university the student applies to.
For example, KU's department of biochemistry requires graduate students to take the general test for which but lists the subject test as optional
Mark Richter, assistant professor of biochemistry, said the optional test was helpful because it gave the student more complete picture of the applicant.
The GRE general and subject tests cost $33 each and both will be administered Saturday and again April 13. The general test only will be offered June 1. It is too late to register for Saturday's test, but registration deadlines for the remaining two tests may March 7 and April 30 respectively.
For state certification, students must take the PPSU. KST's school of Education requires the test to enter the Curriculum and Instruction grad
The PPST, or Pre-Professional Skills Test, is used by graduate teaching education schools as an admission criterion.
The test includes writing, math and reading skills sections and costs $30 to take.
The PPST will be administered March 2, May 4, June 22 and Aug. 3.
The LSAT, or Law School Admissions Test, is required by law schools for admission.
The KU School of Law recommends that students take the LSAT in October or December, although a testing time is available February 9. The LSAT costs $135 to take. The test itself costs $67 with an additional $68 charged for a subscription to the testing service.
cal schools as an entrance criterion.
The MCAT, or Medical College Admission Test, is required by medical schools as an entrance criterion.
The test is an all-day exam that tests student's science, reading and writing skills. It has tapping verbal reasoning, physical science knowledge, writing skills through an essay and knowledge of biological sciences, said Lynn Waltz, pre-med secretary.
The MCAT will be administered April 27. It costs $105 to take the exam. Registration deadlines are usually a month before the test.
Information packets about all the tests except the LSAT are available at the counseling center in 116 Bailey Hall. LSAT information is available from the School of Law in 205 Green Hall.
All entrance examinations are administered at the University.
The KU Bookstore offers many books that give helpful hints on how to take the tests and provide sample examinations for practice.
There are more than 15 different books for the GRE general and subject tests alone. Most books cost about $12.
Thomas said that he was unaware of any preparatory courses for the tests offered on campus but that his school did commercial courses offered outside the university.
The Stanley H. Kaplan Educational Services Ltd., 1012 Massachusetts St., is one business that offers courses. They cost $625 or more, depending on the test the course is designed for.
Kaplan offers courses on all entrance exams except the PPST.
Center helps students cope with test anxiety
By Benjamin W. Allen
Kansan staff writer
Test anxiety often can hinder a student's performance, and if the test may determine the students need to be prepared for increased pressure might be debilitating.
With a GRE test scheduled for Saturday and an LSAT test time Feb. 9, this type of test anxiety may be on the rise. If the anxiety is adequately prepared, efforts to reduce it may be beneficial.
Arthur Thomas, acting director of the KU Counseling Center, said, "There is no cookbook treatment for mental illness in different things with different people.
"People who know they are subject to test anxiety should get in to the counseling center."
He said that the counseling center offered one-to-one counseling to students for a variety of problems. Anxiety was a common problem.
Thomas's suggestions on resting stress include muscle relaxation, exercise and occasional light exercising for entrance examinations.
The knowledge tested by the examinations is gained from many years of learning and a common strategy for taking
test was to become familiar with the test's format, he said.
Eve Heller, Carlisle, Penn,
senior, recently took the GMAT
and said that she had been concerned about the math sections of the test but that because she was not going on to graduate school immediately, the pressure was not as great as it could have been.
"Take it plenty of time in advance," she said. "You just have to relax. You can't go in there stressed out. I just made sure I got plenty of sleep so I was able to concentrate."
General ways to reduce stress include maintaining a healthy lifestyle, by getting enough sleep and exercising and eating right.
On the day of the test, students should have a moderate breakfast and get to the test site early to be tested before the examination begins.
*Students still wanting to register for the LSAT must phone 215-968-1001 by Feb. I and be able to pay fees with Visa or Mastercard.
Melissa Unterberg/KANSAN
MCHA0@1991
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