Richard Severe

Increasing Minority Students Verbal and Writing Scores on the GRE

Abstract: The Purdue Summer Research Opportunities Program (SROP) hosted by Purdue Universitys Graduate School has been an important program for the recruitment of minority graduate students since 1980. As part of the program, SROP offers six workshops specifically geared towards the Graduate Record Exam (GRE)an essential component of the graduate school admissions process. My project is to create a supplemental instructional disk that will be sent to all SROP participants prior to attending the eight week summer program. This disk will include tips and information on how to prepare for the verbal and writing sections of the exam in addition to attending the six workshops. Although some of the same tips presented in this project are available in other marketed instructional materials, participants may find the culturally-laden language in other texts difficult to infiltrate. Thus, this project is unlike those materials in that it (1) presents the information in a less nuanced manner by highlighting the most significant areas students need to target and how to approach them in order to truly improve their test scores and (2) is an interactive tool designed specifically for students attending the SROP program at Purdue University. This resource will introduce the students to the GRE, provide test-taking tips, time tables that should be implemented and followed prior to taking the exam, and supplemental tools that will useful in preparing for the verbal and writing portions of the exam.