Standardized Tests...

...blow. I hate them. Loathe them. Bomb them.

I registered for the GRE last month, which was $160. I bought two practice books (one math, one verbal), and devoted some time to studying, although I'll admit that I lost steam rather quickly and decided not to try anymore. Oops. People said, "It's not that bad!"

It was that bad. I guessed on so. Many. Questions. Both in the math and verbal sections. Which is pathetic. I'm supposed to be smart. All these people think I'm smart. And I blew it.

I'm not going to post my scores here. I'm not particularly happy with them. Suffice to say, I scored well below average on the quantitative section, and above average, but not as high as I would have liked, on the verbal. I cried afterward. Yes. I felt that defeated.

Not only did the test itself suck, but I spent all that time and money on it, and I really just don't feel like a standardized test is a good measure of everyone's intelligence. I don't do well on objective tests like that, where there's one correct answer. I like a good essay question, where I can explain my logic.

Plus, I felt like I was applying to be a spy or something. They actually used metal detectors (ha, freudian slip...I just typed mental detectors -- no brains allowed!). I had to turn my pockets inside out. Etc. Overkill, maybe? No?

I'm applying to MFA programs. From what I've read, they don't care much about the GRE scores. Let's hope that's true.