Test is tomorrow! I'm freaking out!
Anyway, I thought I should update my book reviews. I have changed my opinion of the ARCO GRE Psychology book. Now that I have gone through it more thoroughly, I think it is equal to either the Princeton Review book or the Kaplan GRE Psychology book. Those three are about the same, so anyone out there preparing--buy at least one of them, they're good.
And I gave in and bought the old ETS book. I noticed the price had dropped when I checked again on amazon. Does that happen every year right before GRE time? Regardless, don't waste your money on this one. The one I purchased is very slim. I really just wanted to get my hands on a real ETS practice test. I was disappointed, because the 1993 version in this book was crazy easy. I got a ridiculously high score on it. The 2000 version they send you seems more application/scenario based than the older version.
I still don't like the Barron's GRE Psychology book. I still think the REA book is a decent gauge of your progress.
I wish ETS would recommend some specific prep books for this. It was frustrating for me to know where to begin my studying. They recommend " a thorough review of your undergraduate courses." Or something similar. I only took one undergrad general psychology class!
Anyway, for all the people who come here after me looking for advice, I promise to update here after I actually sit the exam tomorrow. But in the meantime, here's a few things that have helped me so far:
I am a member of
InstantCert.com: Leader in Online CLEP and Dantes Exam Preparation, and this is a really good site to review many undergrad classes. It's mainly for people who, like me, are testing out of undergrad classes via CLEP and DSST exams. It's only $20 a month, and I have found the flashcards very helpful. There is also a forum connected to this site, where I have shared more about my GRE experience. Here's the link:
"CLEP discussion forum for CLEP Study Secrets and Strategies for the CLEP Exam to help you earn college credit by acing the CLEP test. I think there may be many others on this forum who are also members of Instantcert, but if you haven't heard of it, there you are. I suppose it's a bit of a shameless plug, but it's actually very educational. And of course the forum is totally free to join.
Also, I have taken to using mnemonic devices for remembering so much information. I have found this site:
Episode 72 (video): Memorize the Parts of the Brain | The Psych Files Podcast very helpful for remembering parts of the brain and Erikson's stages of development.
Well, that's all for now. I sure hope this helps someone. I have had a really hard time finding meaningful advice for this test on line. This forum was the most relevant, and there's not much here for this test as of this posting. Hopefully more people will contribute their experience in the future. Although it's understandable, after I take this test tomorrow, I hope not to think about it ever again!