How did you guys prepare for the GRE?

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Mount Sinai

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Hi.

I am applying very soon, but have not taken the GRE yet?

Can anyone give me some insight on how to prepare efficiently for it. There are so many study materials out there.

Thanks.

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I found these guides to be the most helpful. Set a realistic timeline for studying for the GRE. Don't give yourself too much time or too little time to study.

1) The Official Guide to the GRE revised General Test (GRE: The Official Guide to the General Test)

2) New GRE Verbal Workbook (Kaplan GRE Verbal Workbook)

3) New GRE Math Workbook (Kaplan GRE Math Workbook)

4) New GRE 2011-2012 Premier with CD-ROM (Kaplan GRE Exam Premier Live)

Out of these, I'd say that ETS's official guide was the most helpful. They're the people who created the exam, so I found their practice questions to be the most accurate. Kaplan's workbooks were also tremendously helpful.
 
Thanks a lot!! by the way, is the resolution on the computer screen decent?
 
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Thanks a lot!! by the way, is the resolution on the computer screen decent?

You mean on the computer screen that you take the exam on? It's not bad... nowhere near as good as a MacBook Pro or something like that, but it shouldn't strain your eyes either. It didn't bother my eyes at all or make my eyes feel tired.
 
I like Barron's prep books. I used them for the GMAT a few years ago, and for the GRE last year. Both times, I set aside about 15 mins each day to review and prepare for the tests. I did this for a couple of months before the actual test dates, and am very glad with my results. OTOH, some folks prefer to cram for a solid week before the test. Use whichever method you prefer.
 
First I studied random vocab words
Then I used Kaplan's online stuff (which is free). They have a free test, quiz, and class-type events. I used those services for about 3 weeks.
Then I used the Kaplan Verbal and Math workbooks for another 5 weeks.
I was studying between 2-4 hours, mostly closer to 4, pretty much every day.
In my opinion, ideally you should give yourself at least 2 months to study for it, preferably more.

I forget what my exact scores were, but I was in the 67% percentile for quantitative and 62% for verbal. The resolution was fine, as was the computer. It didn't bother my eyes.

Also, just keep in mind some schools have a limit on when you can take the GRE. I know I've seen on at least one school they want to see you took the GRE at some point during 2011.
 
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I was lucky enough to have been part of a research program on campus that provided a free GRE study course. By the time I took the exam it was one year later, so all of the info was pretty much gone by then. I still had the book and went over it a couple of weeks in advance & I managed to get a . . . well, acceptable grade for the PT schools I applied to. xD I think if you give yourself enough time to study (as stated above, not too much time or too little time) and be diligent about it you'll be fine.
 
I picked up a GRE prep book from the library, did a bunch of practice questions so that I'd have a good sense of the common types of questions, and read about overall GRE test-taking strategy.
 
You can't really study for the exam really. I mean you can get a feeling of the format and how the test is but there material is hard to prepare for.
 
I just picked up a copy of The Princeton Review's GRE test prep book from my bookstore. Seems pretty helpful so far, lots of strategies "proven to raise GRE scores" and lots of vocab words. Has anyone else tried this book?
 
You can't really study for the exam really. I mean you can get a feeling of the format and how the test is but there material is hard to prepare for.
I disagree. Some specific problems Kaplan emphasized did end up on the test, particularly the math section.
 
I just picked out a $40 general book and went through all the problems. For the verbal it was all about getting comfortable with the format. I wouldn't recommend the flashcards. My friend memorized every single flash card and none of them were on her test. Practicing the basic math problems increased my score the most. So I would focus on the math problems.

GRE: 1280 V: 570 A:710 W:4.5

I disagree. Some specific problems Kaplan emphasized did end up on the test, particularly the math section.
 
The flashcards def didn't help. look at my V score. I used my book to get used to the format of the verbal questions but since i have a terrible vocabulary, i didn't do well. but i'm naturally good at math so I didn't actually have to study that. i gave myself a total of 3ish weeks.
 
I just picked up a copy of The Princeton Review's GRE test prep book from my bookstore. Seems pretty helpful so far, lots of strategies "proven to raise GRE scores" and lots of vocab words. Has anyone else tried this book?

Be very careful with Princeton Review's guides, because they tend to be chock full of errors and typos.
 
I honestly didn't even study! But I don't advise it though! How are the new GRE exams?
 
I used Kaplan's? review book, I think. Reviewed some math, didn't look at the verbal stuff at all, peeked at some essay questions, and took 1 practice test.
 
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