[ekitten]

This forum has been invaluable to me. Thanks you guys, for all your support, and here’s my payback to you:

My Story:

I haven’t taken a math test in over 15 years. If you’re “mature” and post-partum like me, have faith and read on. The first time I took the exam, I was young and foolish and walked in COMPLETELY cold. I did just OK. It was a long time ago, but I got maybe 500’s on Quant, 400’s on Verbal, and at that time, Analytical was a math test too, on which I scored in the 700’s. Fortunately, my grades and my exceptional Analytical score pulled me through and I was accepted to my choice of graduate schools.

Flash forward to today and you have a non-traditional student returning to school after an abeyance from a lucrative career to raise a couple of kids. I knew I had to ace my exam if I had any hope of proving that “I still got it”, and I hoped a little prep would pay off. It did, in spades. Here’s what worked for me:

ekitten’s GRE prep plan:

1) Vocabulary: words stick with me, but I’ve never actively studied them, not even in grade school. The first thing I did was purchase a digital dictionary to try to cultivate a true passion for etymology. Having a good friend to discuss newly acquired nuggets helps tremendously. Barron’s 3500 word list is great but NOT adequate; it doesn’t even include the word adumbrate. It is excellent, however, if you already know all the SAT words. If you don’t, make sure your digital dictionary comes with an SAT word list. Bring it everywhere and use it often.
2) Reading comprehension: If you can’t read exceptionally fast and comprehend well, you simply won’t excel on quants or verbal. The good news is that absolutely anyone can learn these skills. Visit the library and get this book, dedicating at least a half hour every day to practice: Break Through Rapid Reading by Peter Kump. Be patient and in a few weeks, you’ll be rewarded.
3) Quantitative: For me, complicated logic was never a problem, but I would balk at adding two numbers in my head. So I bought a Nintendo DS and started exercising my brain everyday with “Brain Age”. I had no idea how weak my math facts were until I began that program.
4) Study guides: ETS was the most helpful (PowerPrep and Big Book), followed by Barron’s, and then maybe Princeton or Kaplan. The key is to just try to get in as much exercise as you can, consistently, before the big test.
5) Timing: timing would have destroyed my score if I didn’t practice. For that alone, the 800Score.com tests are good, although not really of the same spirit as the GRE questions, and perhaps not worth it if you’re short on study days. Just be aware of how much time it should take you to do the different types of problems (Kaplan breaks it down) and record the time it takes you to do EVERY practice problem you attempt. I have great analytical capabilities, but need to employ a lot of time-management strategies, as I seem to lack an internal clock. My secret weapon for Quants: during the GRE, write down the time when you start a new question. It helps you quickly track if you’re ahead or behind.

2 weeks before exam:

I had to drive about an hour to an unfamiliar test center, so I made a dry-run on the same weekday that I would take the exam, during the same time of day, two weeks prior. That way, if I really got lost, I could try again the next week. Also, 2 weeks isn’t so much lead time that I’d forget my way on the day of the test. The trip proved valuable, as I discovered it difficult to find valid parking. This would not have been a welcome surprise. I was also pleased to see the center used Windows. I was able to gauge the climate and adequately plan a comfortable outfit.

1 week before exam:

Schedule a massage for the day before the exam (REALLY!) & clear your calendar. If you have kids, have a friend or family member to cover for you. Schedule a backup in case the friend gets sick, you don’t want to worry about this. Plan your snack and set aside an outfit to wear, as you don’t want to be hunting for clean clothes on the day before the exam.

2 days before exam:

Buy perishables you might want for your game-day breakfast and snack, FILL YOUR GAS TANK. Review vocab words (by now, you know those 3500 Barron’s right?), review notes on any concepts you might have forgotten, and most importantly, take a practice exam or two to make sure you’re comfortable with the timing. PowerPrep is best for this of course, but Cambridge Review is also great. You might be lucky and find it on esnsips..com, otherwise see if you can get it out of the library. If you don’t do well, don’t be discouraged. My practice exams never came to 800, but then again, I never took them under the same conditions as the real GRE. Be sure to get in some light reading to exercise comprehension and speed.

Day before exam:

Relax! You’ve worked hard and you’re as ready as you’re going to be. Keep telling yourself that you’re going to do great and go get your massage/pedicure/yoga class or whatever. Make a list of things to do tomorrow before test. They should include a practice reading (I used Scientific American), a couple of easy practice problems (I used Big Book), and most importantly, some light physical exercise. Pack your bag (sweater, ID, cell phone, ETS voucher, simple math questions/paper/pencil and reading) and put your snack together in the fridge. Double check you have what you need for breakfast. That night, eat a healthy, bland and carb-rich dinner, eat early, and do everything in your means to get a full, normal night’s sleep.

Exam day:

Get up early, but not too early. Wake up with a shower. Wake your body with some light exercise/stretching. Wake your brain with some simple math facts (I used Nintendo BrainAge). Pack your snack (Carrot juice, water and Odwalla bars for me), eat your breakfast (eggs toast and tea for me) and head out. If you have a long drive as I did, make sure you stretch, move, read, calculate again just before you check in. Also, make sure you have done all these things the day before, and don’t try any new foods, soaps, fabrics, etc. – the last thing you want is an adverse reaction on exam day!

Exam:
I read somebody got blue paper, but I got pink, unlined paper. I was not offered earplugs, but they were readily available for the asking. I wasn’t accustomed to them during preparation, but the earplugs were invaluable. I highly recommend you use them. I had plenty of paper but I got more during the break anyway, just in case. During the break, I visited the bathroom, stretched and moved around. In fact, I moved my arms and legs at every opportunity. This was essential for me as I was so pumped full of adrenaline.

The quants portion was just too easy. I figured there was an even chance that I’d bombed the first question and was on my way to another 500+ score. I’m not sure if the practice tests are that much more difficult, or if the actual test-taking conditions are just that much more conducive to focus. I would strongly recommend you resolve to keep your scores, no matter what.

By the way, for the writing, the Ctrl-ins and Shift-ins worked; don’t know if that’s standard.