Please guide me through this plan for getting above 1500

[grexam]

hi
I am planning to take my gre exam in august may be in the mid or end of aug......so I am exactly left with 1 and half months.......I am actually planning to follow this way

I have started with Big book quants section and trying to finish all the quant test in it as soon as possible...so that I'll be in a beter position wid my math skills and then later use kaplan and barrons.......and simultaneously mug up words in barrons so ill be in a condition to answer verbal questions....
After this i would deal wid verbal section in bigbook seperately and then attack questions in other books.
Finally attempt CAT tests for both quant and verbal together like a mock Gre exam and practice some AWA........

This is what i am planning do u guys think this strategy would workout for my exam in august........if any suggestions please do help....I need to brush up both and very bad at verbal find it real hard to mug up words.......plzzzz help and I want to get above 1500.....its a requirement........and many people here have achieved this gr8 score........awaiting suggestions reg my plan

[Jeanette]

I did not use the Big Book for quants, but from what I hear those are not the types of questions that are now being tested on the GRE, so you may be wasting your time if you concentrate on Big Book quants. I found Barron's to be an excellent review of the math, and Kaplan's was not as detailed but had some very good shortcuts and tips for common types of problems. Going through the archives on TestMagic in the math section also helped tremendously.

[grexam]

1)do u think attacking one section that is quants section first and simultaneously learning the words in barrons for vocab section ......later attacking the verbal section alone is better???and at last doing both sections together like mock tests is better???

2)Is it required to practice all tests on the computer right from begining or practicing them normally and then doing the final set of mock tests on system is better??

[Jeanette]

I'm not sure what you're asking, but Big Book is very good for verbal practice, not so good for math. I highly recommend the math section of Barron's for a thorough review.

I think starting out with paper test practice is better; save the computer tests for later in your practice when you're feeling well-prepared. If you start too soon with the computer tests you'll probably not do as well as you could, and once you've used up that test you won't be able to practice with it anymore.

[econ_phd_2009]

just like jeanette most of friends who appeared GRE suggested me BB for only VERBAL ! as you have just 1 and half months to go so utilize your time carefully and try to follow the those suggestions which had posted my Zorilla and Ali.

[grexam]

What I am trying to convey is

1)Is it ok to first become perfect with one section that is Quant section and then concentrate on the verbal section

2)What I am doing is practicing the math sections and trying to complete the wordlists only so that after completing the wordlists I can specifically practice the verbal section like am doing the maths section now


3)Do u guys feel I should simultaneously practice the reading comprehensions and other parts of verbal section also wid the math section right now


4)Is it better to start the verbal section practice only after completing the wordlists or it can be practiced and learn new words as I come across them....Which is more effective

plzzzz help as these are the 4 doubts I have got and mentioned them.....Hope am clear this time......I need a gud score of 1500 n above plzz help...

[Oldman]

There are a lot of contingencies involved. How developed is your vocabulary? You can't "cram" for the verbal like you can the math. Most of the math you have learned in high school or intro to college, so you just need to refresh and familiarize yourself with how ETS presents questions. For verbal, if your vocab is below par you will encounter a lot of words you've probably never heard of before. In that sense, the verbal is mostly new material. If your vocab is average, you need to start reviewing word lists now.

I would memorize the high frequency word lists then begin practicing. However, no one learns the same way. Have you experimented for yourself at all? That will provide you with much better feeling of the optimal approach than what we can provide to you over a message board.

For quant, the last sections of the Big Book exams are quality material. In my humble opinion, unless you need to refresh on the fundamentals, I would not waste a lot of time with Kaplan and the rest. There are hundreds of practice questions at your disposal in Power Prep and the Big Book. Also, ETS used to administer the GMAT. The 10th edition of the GMAT guide is loaded with ETS style quant questions and is free if you search in Google. The only downfall is the GMAT does not incorporate quant comparisons. However, there are plenty of QCs in powerprep and the official ETS materials. (Just my 2 cents, I personally don't feel any test prep company gets it right. Only use them if you need to refresh with the basics. Beyond that, stick to official ETS material.) Also, you can take the PowerPrep exams two or three times before you see a lot of repeated questions.

[Oldman]

Also, have you taken a powerprep exam? Familiarize yourself with the question types, then take a full exam, essays and all. You need a base in order to develop a strategy. Saying you want a 1500 is good, but where are you starting? Knowing your base can help you optimize your time and develop an exact plan of attack.

[Wiki]

After doing high frequency word list, evaluate yourself by taking powerprep practice test 1. This will highlight your strong and week areas, save pp practice test 2 for end of prep period. Give more attention on your week areas.

When I tool PP test 1 many assumptions of mine, about my strong and week areas, proved wrong. I was considering DI quant questions piece of cake, but they proved otherwise. Similar is the case with RCs in verbal.

Your basic startegy is correct, that is, workin on vocabulary in parallel to quant and otehr areas. No GRE book will give you enough material on probability and statistics, you have to find yourself.