Nov. 30, 2002 Dear TAC, I thought it might be useful to write a draft description of the proposed GRE preparation course before the upcoming TAC meeting Dec. 3. The details are (of course) open to discussion and modification. However I would hope that if adopted this could be in place for next year's fall GRE. Some of what I've written below is anecdotal; I am happy to relate the evidence I have for it. At the same time by instituting a course I would hope that we could start systematically accumulating statistics on how our outgoing students perform compared to their cohort. I. Rationale for a course on GRE preparation: 1. The GRE tests skills that we do not teach in the regular Physics curriculum, in particular solving relatively basic problems quickly. 2. The GRE is a strong determinant in the success of our students who wish to have a career in physics. 3. Our students, like the students at Harvard, typically do not do as well on the GRE as we would expect or like. 4. Small amounts of preparation and learning specific estimating skills can make a large difference in GRE scores (e.g. William Cottrell). 5. The skills themselves have some intrinsic merit; dimensional analysis and taking limiting cases of well-known formulae, to take two examples, are not taught in our curriculum. 6. By making this a department-endorsed course we make the students aware of the importance of the exam and our concern about their getting into good graduate schools. In addition, it may allow some allocation of student time for preparation. 7. By making this a department-endorsed course we make sure that the preparation starts early enough in the quarter, and is not dependent on volunteer efforts of either the students or faculty. 8. The Department will get data on how our students do on the different areas of physics covered by the GRE. This can provide feedback on the efficacy of our curriculum. II. A Proposal for Physics 990. This would be a numbered course (Physics 990?) meeting once-a-week, starting at the start of fall quarter and going for ~5 weeks, i.e. until the first GRE. The first and last 2 sessions would have a practice exam; the second and third could be a working of the problems with an emphasis on speed and short-cuts such as dimensional analysis and limiting cases. The goal would be to have GRE scores of at least 800 for everybody. To provide a mechanism for the Dept. to keep track of GRE scores on a statistical basis (i.e. anonymous- we would need a way for students to give us their scores without names attached) the last session of the course, which could be an after-exam discussion/party. III. Some other comments. 1. The assignment of Physics 990 could be tied to Physics 300. However I'm willing to do it for the forseeable future if nobody else wants to (but having it as a course will make it much easier to do, make it more effective, and provide feedback.). 2. There is an incongruity in that we pay a good deal of attention to the scores of Seniors of other institutions (as applying graduate students) but very little (none?) to our own. 3. The content of the course is much along the lines of the elective course on problem solving proposed (in draft form) by Adam Aurisano and Matthew Reece. It is interesting that our Physics majors feel the need for these skills. Best regards to all, Henry