betty_rubble

I would try emailing ETS to find out for sure...

No, your test won't be invalid, but you'll have a 0 for the AWA. Are you SURE the school(s) you're applying to don't need it? I don't think I'd risk it unless you have a guaranteed admission to a school you're 100% positive you want to go to, because if that doesn't work out and you have to apply elsewhere, you're going to have to retake the GRE to get an AWA score.

The GRE didn't really change in October 2007, so don't worry about that. They added some experimental questions, which don't count toward your score. Here's a link to a page on the official site with info about changes: Important Update: Revisions to the Computer-Based GRE General Test in 2007-08 The Barron's word list is huge, so I wouldn't start with that. There's a much better hit list in Cracking the GRE, a prep book from Princeton Review. They have some good tips for learning new words too. If you can find that book, I would get it. Made my prep a lot easier.

Do a search and see what you can find on those sites here. I've heard of 800score.com but not the second one. I didn't use either of those, though. I have done the PR tests and those were very good, very close to Powerprep.

Nothing is automatic, my friend! Erin is much more likely to be a woman's name than a man's, but not for our Erin.

Yep, it's a book from Princeton Review. It is excellent.

Erin is a he, by the way.

A picture dictionary? For adults? No, I don't think that's necessary! Can't imagine the pictures that would be used for GRE words anyway. I used Word Smart for the GRE and it had excellent tips for learning new words. I would recommend that book, but leave the picture dictionaries to the kids!!!

8 hours a day would be way too much for GRE studying anyway...you'll burn out and won't be able to absorb it all. Cut it back to 3 hours a day max. Do one question type at a time for a good 30-45 minutes and then review the results. You'll figure out your mistakes faster that way.

Go to GRE: Graduate Record Examinations Information for the latest.

Try Googling this...

Yes, that is correct.

Best tests to use to get a feel for how you'd do are Powerprep (free from GRE: Graduate Record Examinations Information) or Princeton Review's tests. They have a free one on their site, The Princeton Review, but then you have to buy their book, Cracking the GRE, to get the rest.

The GRE is a required part of your application for most graduate programs, so it helps you get into school!

The best two places I got info about the test were the official site, GRE: Graduate Record Examinations Information, and The Princeton Review.

Well, I don't think there are 15 CATs out there worth taking, honestly. Not all of them are good. But you really don't need that many to prep. Maybe 5 or 6. Don't use prep tests as the primary way to prep...do practice questions in between and work on weak areas that way, along with learning test-taking skills. I didn't know Peterson's had a free test, good to know. Princeton Review has a free one on their site, The Princeton Review. I have their Cracking the GRE book, and the DVD comes with access to the tests online (there are 4). There are few tests free online that are legal (most are pirated copies), but you can get prep books pretty cheaply on Amazon or Ebay.

I think raza gave you some good info, so I won't repeat what he said, just add to it. There's a lot of good info about the test on GRE: Graduate Record Examinations Information and also The Princeton Review. You will definitely have to at least take the general GRE, but I don't know about the CS one. The schools you want to apply to will tell you if you need to take it, so check their Web sites once you figure out which schools you might want to go to. How much time to prep also depends on where you're starting from...verbal is usually a challenge for engineering/CS people because they're so focused on quant. Also if you're not a native English speaker, you'll need to work more on vocab. So definitely plan on at least 3 months and see how you do as you go. To study, I would at least get these books/tests to start with: Powerprep free practice tests from gre.org Princeton Review Cracking the GRE. It has the best overall review of the test and very good strategies, and I liked the tests a lot too. Word Smart for the GRE, for vocab Not sure about the Official Guide...some are saying it's too easy, but they did put out a new one not too long ago, so it's probably worth getting. Hope this helps!

Ok, I think you're taking the mods way too seriously. Prepping vs. preparing is not against the rules in any form. It's when u rite lik dis dat it's ur prob.

Yes, definitely retake. Don't do it by just taking tests every day...work on individual practice questions, one type at a time. That way, you can pick up on your patterns of errors. Can you take a prep class like Princeton Review? That would probably help you the most. 10 days is not enough time to raise your score sufficiently. You need to raise verbal too, esp if you need to get a visa. Are you in the U.S.? And I didn't think you could retake that quickly either, but I wouldn't. Give it at least a month, if not more.

It means you've scored higher than 37% of other test-takers in verbal.

I would definitely report it, but that won't explain a score as low as 370. I would highly recommend taking a prep course or getting a tutor. The problems you had at the testing center were only a part of it.

Yeah, people say the ones on gmatclub.com are really good. Go to that site and you'll be able to read what people say.

I took GMAT a while ago...best book I used was Cracking the GMAT. GREAT review and the tests are very good too. And yes, get OG!! GMATPrep too.

That's probably really helpful for generally improving vocab. Thanks for the link! But for GRE studying, definitely GRE word lists. I thought the best one was Word Smart for the GRE. I don't like the massive word lists, and WS is nicely condensed.

Um, I was deliberately writing prepping, which is shorthand for preparing. You know...GRE prep books, etc. I can see that reading is definitely a weakness for you. And it's not wise to insult someone who's trying to help you. Especially when your grammar skills aren't very good.