anyone take the MAT

Re: anyone take the MAT

• mygrosek

  May 2011

  I took the MAT about a year ago and it is not mindblowing. I did study a little bit to get familar with the test format and types of questions. Just make sure you sleep and eat well, use the bathroom before you take the test, wear comfortable clothing and take deep breathes.  I ended up doing average on the MAT and got into grad school fine. However, I have to complete this mindblowing research project for class.

  Good luck!

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• pammieface

  

  May 2011

  i took it.  i thought it was pretty fun.  i also took the GRE.  i guess it depends on how your brain "works"--the MAT was like a game to me (i'm an English, literature, grammar, word game person) and i ended up scoring in the 91st percentile on it.  i did well on the GRE, too, but not quite as well.  i would suggest getting a practice book so your brain is in the groove of the question style, then practicing as much as you can.  make sure when you take the practice tests, you read the reasons why the answers are what they are.  this can help you to understand a lot as you go along.  good luck!

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• goldenshell84 member

  May 2011

  I took it earlier this year. All the research I did said that it was a lot easier than the GRE and that is why I took it. I would say I spent about an hour, total, preparing by researching test taking tips online and that was basically it. That said.. I thought it was HARD!! Much harder than I was expecting. Some of the questions were just totally over my head. I do agree with PP that it was kind of like a game, but a hard game and an exhausting one. I was so wiped out at the end I could hardly walk out of the test center. I ended up getting a 93%, but I would not say it was easy by any means. Although I never took the GRE so who knows if that is even worse!

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• Go_Dawgs

  May 2011

  I took it when I thought about going to grad school rather than law school.  I am very good with analogies (or so I thought), so I did not prepare and thought the test would be a breeze.  I ended up being surprised.  What I found surprising was the knowledge that the test taker must have to understand the analogy.  For example, I remember one question where I had to know that in the Bible, Lot's wife turned into a pillar of salt.  It was Lot's wife : Salt, and then I can't remember the rest of the analogy.  I got the question correct, but remember thinking that many people might not have the knowledge to know how to answer.

  I remember there was another question that required knowledge of different parts of a ship to understand the analogy.  I stared at the question and just had no freaking clue because I was not familiar with any of the terms.

  Another analogy was Icarus : Sun (and I don't remember the rest of the analogy).

  I ended up scoring in the 65th percentile, which was a huge blow to my ego  I scored in the 90th percentile on the SAT and the 85th on the LSAT.

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