A How To for the GRE (by flounder)

[ironeye]

Great post Ali..!! thanx so much!!

I was wondering if u can provide some insight into the follwoing plz... would u recommend memorising a whole list of words - say Kaplan's 500 word box, or the High Freq Words - BEFORE starting with the GRE practice tests?? i mean u can only answer so few correctly without really craming large sums of vocab words, no??

Thanx..

[Manah]

Many thanks Ali. Every bit of this info is very useful.

[neikel]

Thank you, Ali
This article boost me so much.

[knightpraetor]

.
Ok first of all, if you have the time available, I would suggest a 3-4 months prep time. Why? Well, since many of us come from Eng

Q How to prepare? Why just follow the posts on TestMagic of course.
Q Where to prepare from? I'd recommend in order of preference (difficulty from challenging to a bore): Power Prep, Big Book, Barrons, Kaplan and maybe Princeton Review
Q What to prepare? How much time needed to prepare? Read on )



Vobabulary Building?

Ok, well and good. How to go about the vocabulary building? Well many people have suggested many different techniques, and at the end of the day, the one that will win is the one that suits you. I prefer the flash cards, and making them myself. They don't have to be cards, just get plenty of A4 size pages and and a paper cutter and start cutting cards of the apposite size. Make plenty of them. You can never have enough. And even after your GRE, you can still look at them to jolt your vocabulary. Maybe your kid brother and sister might use the same for their SATs or GREs or GMATs or if they are in good shape and you have no intention to humor the words further, you can sell them for some quick bucks he he he. I am sure many people would be interested hehe.

Another excellent source of words is the Big Book. It has some 27 actual administered paper GRE tests (2q and 2v sections each). Start giving the tests asap, and while you are at it, learn the new words from these tests. Remember these are the real tests, so you should know these words. By the end of the 27 tests, your vocabulary will be richer by another 500 or so words, not found in the previous lists.

Side by side, I'd suggest the use of some vocabulary building software like Guru's GRE (freeware available and can searched for on google.com). Its a nice easy way to learn new words. By now you would have learnt many words. So I'd suggest that you take all the 51 tests in Guru's GRE. You would know around 50-60 percent of the words. Don't guess on the words you don't know. The good thing is that the software remembers the words you didn't attempt. You can then continue to learn those ones.

Number2.0 has a good vocabulary building online engine. I'd recommend it wholly. Ok, now you can come back to the world of Barrons. I am assuming you still have some weeks left before the test. Go through the more common letters first like O, E, I, D, P, R, S, T, A, you etc. you and D help a lot with a lot of antonyms as in usage like dis- and un- which reverse the word. So you would be learning two words with each word.

Verbal Section:

Ok, apart from the vocabulary building, the


Thats it. That ladies and gentlemen, is the whole truth behind the GRE. Timing and pacing yourself, keeping a cool head, a good vocabulary and practice. You can signifantly improve your scores from those first dismal power prep scores, even by as much as 400 to 500 points. But practice and consistency would be the key.

Get the big book. It costs a lot, but its every penny worth it. No other book even comes close to the amount of practice that big book can offer you. Give the verbal tests. The timing is stringent as compared to the current GRE and that helps you to develop a good pace for attempting questions. The reading comprehension is difficult as hell, which is a good thing coz in the actual GRE the same is the case. And its a good vocabulary building exercise too.
Regards,
Ali

I think my favorite part was your mention of engineering students. I was a physics major and I just got owned by the GRE after studying for a month or so to improve my score. I basically learned all the Barron's words and increased my vocabulary by about 400 words (you're probably thinking that I didn't study much, and you would be correct..though i crammed hardcore the last 2-3 days...and most of it has stuck..i didn't have many words to learn anyways).

However, I ended up with the same score as before almost.. earlier i had a 780 math/630 or something verbal..well the verbal study must have helped a little because on the entire GRE there was only one word taht I did not recognize at all. However, i still got a 750 on verbal, meaning that i missed a lot. I don't think i've ever missed a sentence completion, but i have weaknesses on critical reading (due to sometimes inferring things from outside the passage instead of from the passage as it states....or by poor understanding in choosing between two similar answers) and i also sometimes have weak understandings of closely related words...that's what i spent most of my time trying to improve while studying the small list of barron's words.

i'm looking for a better list with harder words now...although, it is mostly for completion's sake..i love english, and want to know as many useful synonyms for adjectives and adverbs..or even various epithets with which to refer to things (i thought of the word soubriquet..can't seem to remember whether that has any difference in meaning..will look it up later)...


the math section, which i had originally thought was pathetically easy for a physics major..owned me..i just worked way too slow...just a few months of no math slowed my skills down immensely...what i get for underestimating the test...but can you blame me? when you study quantum theory and end up doing complex difeq, vector calc, and matrix algebra...you aren't likely to take a test involving mere geometry and a few functions seriously...but I've learned my lesson...even if knowledge of how to solve something is in your head..if you haven't used it in ages, you will be too slow.

I was thinking about how you said the GRE doesn't have anything to do with intelligence..and i've always told people that as well..yet at the same time..i can't understand it when i face people who spend literally 100x more time studying for the GRE and still get owned by it really hard. However, perhaps they really are just that far behind in vocabulary and basic math skills.

Anyways, the people here really make me feel like working hard..when i think about my attempts to learn a 2nd language...i shudder to think of taking a test in that language. I know 2 years worth of japanese...but I don't have that much interest in learning the language due to the difficulty of kanji..if they converted over to a pure hiragana/katakana system..then i would willingly devote my time to that language since the grammar isn't too hard..and i love anime...but as it is..i find it unlikely that i will go to japan in the near future because I would rather learn korean. It's always painful to be surrounded by korean people in america...and no, there are no people fluent in korean who speak in just english..they will speak in korean when spoken to in korean..that's just reflex..and no, it is not enough to just hear part of the conversation..

anyways, i have promised myself not to worry about learning korean until i make my way into a good grad school or find a job. Unfortunately a physics degree is pretty useless for someone who doesn't want to be stuck in a lab..very few engineering jobs seem to take physicists..thus i need to get into an engineering program or something. I have a dual major in finance, so i am also looking for jobs involving that..such as consulting or financial analyst jobs, but most business jobs involve accounting it seems. Does anyone know other job position titles that would relate to finance? I would love to have some more places to apply to.

wow, i rambled on in a rather desultory manner..i meant to ask whether you think I should go through the big book or the guru program would be more difficult? also, i can't seem to find that other program called number 2.0

[Palomino]

Very useful thread.
Thank you.

[cambridgedove]

As you are well aware, you'll be taking the GRE on a computer. This computer version is called the CAT, and here are some tips for killing the kitty:

• The 10 first questions of each section are the most important ones. Why? Because as you know, the GRE adapts itself to your answers, so if you get the first question wrong, your next question will be easier. The test proceeds as such, pinpointing your score. But if you get the first ten questions wrong, you'll have to answer a whole bunch of questions correctly to dig yourself out of the hole. Did we just lose you? Then think of it this way: the tougher questions are worth more points, so you get a better score by answering the hard questions correctly. But the only way to get to the hard questions is to get the first few questions right. Yes, it's a bit confusing, but all that matters is that you should devote about half of your time to the first 10 questions.
• There is no penalty for guessing. That's right. None. Not even an Indian burn or a pile driver. So NEVER leave a question blank. Flip a coin, spin a bottle, ask a Ouija board, pray for divine intervention, but you must guess. Besides, you can't skip questions either, so you might as well take a guess. Below, we'll give you some tips for effective guessing on each section.

Verbal tricks
The verbal section is one of the toughest sections to handle, because it's so based on whether you know the definitions of words or not. But there are little tricks that can help you out.

• First and foremost, PRACTICE these questions over and over. You can get your hands on practice GREs at bookstores, so buy the book and PRACTICE. Sometimes the same words (or variants of them) pop up on multiple tests.
• Study vocabulary words that commonly appear on the GRE. Many preparation booklets have lists of these words, but you can also buy GRE study cards here and here.
• For the ANALOGIES:

  The most important thing to do with analogy questions is to turn the relationship between the two words into a sentence. Write that sentence down on your scratch paper so you don't forget it.
  
  Some of the most common relationships to look for are: part to whole, cause to effect, person to occupation, word to definition, and synonyms.
  

• For the ANTONYMS:

  Antonyms can be tough because you have no context to work from; either you know the word or you don't. If you get a word you don't know, first try to pick the word apart. If part of the word looks familiar (for instance, it starts with "bio"), then use that information to try to guess at an answer ("bio" means "life," so the right answer will have something to do with "lack of life").
  
  Second, try to get a sense of the mood of the word. Even if you don't know what the word means, you can often tell if it's "good" or "bad." So if you have a gut feeling that the word, whatever it means, is a "good" thing, then it's opposite should sound "bad."

• For the SENTENCE COMPLETIONS:

  Before you look at the possible answers, try to fill in the sentence with your own word. It'll make it easier to go through the answers.
  
  Use the context of the sentence. If the sentence implies that you're looking for a "good" word, then your answer should be a "good" word. The context can tell you tons about the sentence. For instance, you should look for buzzwords like "nevertheless," "although," and "moreover," which can give you clues.
  
  If the sentence has two blanks, then make sure that BOTH words fit nicely.

• For the READING COMPREHENSION:

  Read the passage as carefully as you can, no matter how boring it is. They make it boring on purpose, to get you off your rhythm.
  
  Read ALL of the choices before you pick an answer.
  
  The best way to prepare for the reading comprehension section is pure PRACTICE.

Mathematics tricks
In order to ace the math section, you merely have to brush up on very specific math skills: algebra, fractions, percentages, geometry, and data analysis (reading graphs). We're not going to re-teach you algebra, so you gotta bone up on that stuff on your own. A study book would REALLY come in hand for re-familiarizing yourself with these concepts.

• Use the process of elimination. Often times, you don't need to do any work when you can merely eliminate the wrong answers. For instance, what if you're presented with the question "What is 326 multiplied by 458?"

  A) 149,303
  B) 149,305
  C) 149,308
  D) 149,311
  E) 149,313
  

  You don't even need to bother doing the math. An even number multiplied by an even number ALWAYS has an even result. 326 and 458 are both even, and the only even choice is C) 149,308. So answer C and move on. Don't even bother doing the work.
• Use your scratch paper. The drawings on the computer screen will be all out of proportion, and doing math these kinds of math problems in your head is impossible (unless you're Rain Man or Good Will Hunting). So make use of the scratch paper you're given, and feel free to recopy diagrams or charts.
  Analytical tricks

The biggest problem people have with the analytical questions is not that they're hard, but that they take too much TIME. There's an easy way to fix that:

• PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE. The only way to improve your speed on the analytical problems is to get used to the kinds of questions they ask.
• When you read the rules to a logic problem, immediately write ALL of the rules down on your scratch paper BEFORE you try to answer any questions. Find the connections between the rules and map it all out, drawing pictures if necessary. It speeds things up enormously.
• Abbreviate things. If they give you the names of colors, people, rivers, whatever, just use the first letter.
• Never assume anything unless you're explicitly told it's so. The analytical section is basically testing if you jump to unfounded assumptions or not. Prove that you're a "not" and follow exactly what the rules tell you to do.

[Arun_narayan]

I'm planning to take GRE on this september ... Is it advisable .. Will I be able prepare for it full fledgedly ??

[GRE Lover]

Arun,

Give yourself enough time to assess yourself before deciding on booking a slot.

I am sure the comments in this thread will help you a great deal in the run up to your exam.

Good Luck!

--
GRE Lover

[Rania99]

Fantastic Posts!!! you guys are all great help. Forums are awesome when it comes to test preperation. I've had a previous experience to another test/Forum and yes I GIVE a lot of credit for the posters. I am extremely new to the GRE. I am planning to apply for Masters of Architecture Fall of 2010 (Application Due January 2010 including GRE Results) which leaves me 9 months to research, study, practice practice and practice!!!!! 4 out of the 5 programs in the southern california area require GRE! My first question is: Is there a passing number/score on GRE? Does each university ask for it's own standardized score?
Thanks, Rania Thanks Much Ali.

[akshaya]

hi.. I am giving my GRE in a month..I got a score of 510(v) and 590(q)in the last practice test that i took..I am very confused as to how to prepare...I found a lot of tips in your blog..but with one month left..how do I go about it? I am working on my essays and Reading comprehension...I have done the hit parade and beyond in princeton and now plan to start barrons high frequency...I need to improve my quant badly and work on verbal a bit..any advise will be a help!!