"putsch, queasy, shindy 這三個字，你認識幾個？" 給我新東方紅寶書的大陸留學生這樣問道，我滿臉疑惑的說 ："請問這是英文單字嗎？"
那一年夏天，當我決定申請研究所之後，GRE就像一個揮之不去的陰影籠罩著心頭。 "太多生字啊！該如何準備呢？" 我煩惱著。美國出版的 GRE 參考書像 Princeton Review 和 Kaplan 太注重於要讓讀者學點東西，裡面充斥著許多艱澀單字的拉丁字根，天啊！那要學到民國幾年！也許美國的參考書是準備 CFA 的好工具，但準備 GRE，我實在茫然失措，毫無頭緒。
"試試看新東方吧！" 好友說道 " 那是大陸首屈一指的補習班！看看那楞頭楞腦的 Rechard ，他可是考了 2300 多分，拿到了全額獎學金呢！"
好友接著道出許多有關新東方的傳奇故事，諸如新東方的講師為了證明他很厲害，考試中途跑出去吃麥當勞，吃完回來繼續考，居然拿到高分2300 多分之類的故事，於是我就死馬當活馬醫了。
夏日炎炎，我搖頭晃腦，非常認真地研讀，每天總會去圖書館旁的學生餐廳解決三餐，連餐廳的菜單細目都背得滾瓜爛熟。下午三點之後，則是去圖書館 Cafe 報到，還記得每日晚上八時，總有一位叫吉米的老先生來到圖書館，要求在圖書館裡打工的學生為他找東找西，而圖書館裡的職員蘿拉，會悄悄在我閉目淺寐時搖醒我，給我一杯咖啡，同時拍拍我的肩膀，鼓勵並祝福我，至今她已成為我無話不談的好朋友。
六十多天的盛夏苦讀，把五千多個八輩子也用不到的單字全都硬塞入腦海裡，我終於考了 2280 分，呵！對了...
putsch：暴動；騷亂；政變
queasy：易於反胃的；不安的
shindy：喧嘩吵鬧；熱鬧喧嘩的社交聚會
記得喔...
"Hey, do you have time tonight? Come to my place to hang out if you want to"
said Mary. "Don't you have GRE exam to take tomorrow?" I asked.
"Nah, I will take it easy." Taking it easy is not a easy thing.
However, this is how American students view GRE in general:
one of the components in the application process.
It is an important but not the most important piece ( LSAT is said to be the most important element for law school applicants since studies found LSAT score has highly positive correlation with the percentage of passing bar exam).
An admission officer at school also told me that
they look at applicants' profile as a whole :
they want to know applicants' personalities and backgrounds
through statement of purpose and recommendation letters;
they want to know applicants' learning potential through
transcripts and GRE score card.
He later on commented : I noticed a lot of students from Asia
only focus on getting good scores on GRE exams
and failed to communicate with the admission officers on issues
and questions in regard to who they really are.
I nodded my head and recalled the time I arrived here : a shy,
conservative girl with 6 years of formal English training
in Taiwan while barely dare to speak a word in class.
Time flew by and I am glad I have changed since.
However, I am still nervous the night before important exams.
I went to the party that night and we had fun.
Mary scored a 1710 next day. Not easy for her to get into Harvard.
Well, I guess it has more do with personalities
than culture differences in this case. :)
字體：小 中 大
