GRE scores, Kaplan practice exams

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annie800

annie800

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Could we say that a 1250-1300 + GPA 3.6 is possible for most schools? I am still taking Kaplan practice tests and I only have two more to go. I don't even understand how I ended up paying so much money for 6 practice tests. I wish there were more tests.

What did you find helpful? Was there a book that you really liked-- anything you can recommend?

Are there many people who took Kaplan and scored much higher on practice exams than on the GRE? <--- My fear.

I hate these tests. Who's with me? lol.
 
Not to scare you, but my roommate used one of the books for months and then she didn't do too well on the GRE (not awfully, because she's a smart girl, but her score definitely didn't reflect her hours of studying). I don't think she actually ordered the tests, but her book had a couple of practice tests in it that she took.

I took the GREs barely knowing what would be on the test-- got a 1210 or something along those lines, but did awfully on the verbal section. So now since I'm not applying for a while, I'm going to take my time and work through a lot of vocabulary and just those sections of practice tests.

If you can pinpoint your problem areas from your practice tests, I would take the time to strictly work on those sections.
 
I used the kaplan books, and I think it worked pretty well for me. I also got random vocabulary lists off the internet, which difinitely worked.

To answer one of your questions, I was getting 1250-ish on the kaplan practice tests, ended up scoring much much higher than that on the real test. May it was just luck, maybe not. It definitely varies for different people, but most people tend to say the kaplan practice exams are pretty difficult compared to the real thing. I don't think i would've done as well however, without the extra word lists.
 
I still like the GREbible. I wish that I had found it sooner. It has great vocabulary games and great quantitative review. It also has sample essay answers in it. It also has unlimited CBT practice exams. You pay $30 and then they send you an e-mail with how to download the program. Good Luck!!! :luck:
 
DVMDream said:
I still like the GREbible. I wish that I had found it sooner. It has great vocabulary games and great quantitative review. It also has sample essay answers in it. It also has unlimited CBT practice exams. You pay $30 and then they send you an e-mail with how to download the program. Good Luck!!! :luck:
Click to expand...

That looks awesome and soooo affordable in comparison to the $1400 I paid for Kaplan. THANK YOUUUUUUUU! :0)
🙂😀😉😎🙄😱👍:xf:
 
DickVetPlease said:
To answer one of your questions, I was getting 1250-ish on the kaplan practice tests, ended up scoring much much higher than that on the real test. May it was just luck, maybe not. It definitely varies for different people, but most people tend to say the kaplan practice exams are pretty difficult compared to the real thing. I don't think i would've done as well however, without the extra word lists.
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That is really motivating and such good news. It was so expensive, I had to save for a few months. I hope it helps. 😀 Word list? Tell us more!
 
marycatherine said:
Not to scare you, but my roommate used one of the books for months and then she didn't do too well on the GRE...
If you can pinpoint your problem areas from your practice tests, I would take the time to strictly work on those sections.
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Maybe she didn't memorize the basics and build from there? Maybe she spent the time studying concepts she already knew? I don't know, but that IS scary. The geometry and bizarre antonyms are my worse.... would soooo much rather do without that. Wouldn't we all?
 
I didn't take a class. I got hand-me-down Kaplan materials from a friend, and checked out all the GRE materials my local library had. IMO the books had the same content but layed it out differently. Scan them for yourself and see which you like best.

I scored lower on the practice tests than I did on the real thing. I got a 1330.

I stuck to a study schedule for three months. My reward to myself for being diligent was buying a MacBook Pro with the money I would have spent on the class. 😀
 
Not to scare you or anything but I was scoring 1250-1300 (even got a 1420 on the 2nd to last one,) on all my Kaplan GRE tests and only ended up getting 1170 on the real test. I actually did lower on the verbal section on the real test then the very first day I started. The math was accurate however.
 
Hey there.

I recommend number2.com for GRE prep. You can go on there and do a few questions at a time, during breaks. It also has the strategies for taking the GRE.

I used Kaplan flashcards and books. The Kaplan website was good for keeping me on track for the exam, but I didn't think they had enough practice material. That's why I used the math prep book by Princeton Review, also.

There are also word of the day services through dictionary or other websites that you can get through your e-mail.
 
If it helps, I got to speak with the Dean of Admissions (for the CVM) at UC Davis through an awesome connection. I did TERRIBLE in the verbal section (too embarrassing to post), well in the quantitative (710 I think), and a 5 on the writing (I think those were my scores). I asked if I needed to retake the GRE to get better scores, and he said I didn't need to. He said they don't care too much about the verbal, but focus more on the quantitative score (since it's math and geared toward the sciences, and none of us are english majors). He didn't say anything about the writing, but I'd assume it's fairly important to be able to write a good essay. Of course it doesn't hurt to get great scores! 🙂
 
chii chan said:
He said they don't care too much about the verbal, but focus more on the quantitative score (since it's math and geared toward the sciences, and none of us are english majors).
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*coughs* I was an English major. I graduated from UC Berkeley intending to go into Journalism. Needles to say, my qual. percentile was 92 while my quant. was 69. What you say the Dean said kinda bums me out now. 🙁

It is frustrating because I asked that question to an advisor I was told they didn't weigh the quant. scores more heavily. I kinda feel like they just bull**** us allot.
 
squibby said:
*coughs* I was an English major. I graduated from UC Berkeley intending to go into Journalism. Needles to say, my qual. percentile was 92 while my quant. was 69. What you say the Dean said kinda bums me out now. 🙁

It is frustrating because I asked that question to an advisor I was told they didn't weigh the quant. scores more heavily. I kinda feel like they just bull**** us allot.
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Oops! Sorry!! Wrong assumption, obviously.

Yeah, he reviewed my 2009-2010 application. He also mentioned he's looked at over 10,000 applications. But, maybe only Davis does it this way? I don't know what most schools do. Sounds like you had good GRE scores anyway! It probably helped you out immensely being an English major and trying to get into a Science heavy field.
 
Your good verbal percentile will help you, don't worry. I think a lot of people spread a lot of hyperbole. 🙄

10,000 applications when? In the last 7 years?
 
I found the princeton review pretty helpful with math (you can get the books in Barnes and Noble, etc). And the kaplan verbal flash cards helped too!
 
nyanko said:
Your good verbal percentile will help you, don't worry. I think a lot of people spread a lot of hyperbole. 🙄

10,000 applications when? In the last 7 years?
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Yeah. The higher the better, obviously. I was just saying, if your verbal sucks, it's not that big of a deal.

He was referring to the amount of time he's had that position; so yes, probably in the last 7 years. =P
 
Sharpei5 said:
Not to scare you or anything but I was scoring 1250-1300 (even got a 1420 on the 2nd to last one,) on all my Kaplan GRE tests and only ended up getting 1170 on the real test. I actually did lower on the verbal section on the real test then the very first day I started. The math was accurate however.
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I had pretty much the same experience. I took the in-class Kaplan course and studied from a few other books as well. I scored quite a bit higher on the practice tests than I did on the real thing, but my end scores were in the acceptance ranges for the schools I applied to. So, I'm still happy I took the class. Plus, for us older students no longer under our parents' tax dependency, my CPA took the Kaplan course as a school deduction for this year's taxes. 🙂
 
ive have taken kaplan and princeton review (for SATs), Kaplan was by far much better.

I f'ed up my verbal just because i didnt pay attention to time so i wont tell you my trend on that because i honestly think i would have scored the same as my practiced if i had paced myself without freaking out.

I was scoring around 650-700 on my practice tests and then i got a 750 on the real thing! i couldnt believe it! Make sure you put just as much time in on the subject you are strong at as well as the one you are weak at, because it is def possible to kick butt on your strong subject and it will help your score if you f up on the hard one (like me).

I used a Barron book and HATED IT. let me tell you, i found SO many mistakes in it and im sure that i am right because i always ace all of the quantitative problems if i have open ended time to work on them. i would not recommend Barron. I also used GRE for dummies. I really recommend the Kaplan books.

OP-you complained that you spent so much money for 6 tests, did you pay for the online thing only? im pretty sure if you pay for the online thing only or the full in classroom, you get online homework problems and quizzes right? It is IMPOSSIBLE to finish everything in the 4 weeks of class. If someone can finish the take home book, the hw, and quizzes i would drop dead. i dont believe them lol. there are seriously about 100+++++ quizzes and homework+supplemental hw, AND you can "make your own quizzes" and choose which questions you want to be put in them and have it TIMED too! its so great. if you think there isn't enough practice work given, ask your teacher or call them to find out how you make your own practice tests that are timed because i think that is just as good as the 6 practice tests
 
I took a quick look at the GRE Bible study packs. The math part isn't what I need, many it gets better. The presentation of the word list is interesting though. Might have to get it - only $30.
 
Armymutt25A said:
I took a quick look at the GRE Bible study packs. The math part isn't what I need, many it gets better. The presentation of the word list is interesting though. Might have to get it - only $30.
Click to expand...

I thought the same thing too, but luckily I wasn't worried about math. So I got with the intention of just using it for verbal stuff. They have a section called verbal workout and that section gives you tips on each type of question they could ask antonyms, analogies, etc. Then, they have a verbal test bank. There are 5 tests in each type of question antonyms, analogies, etc and 30 questions per test. So you have a total of 20 tests each with 30 questions. Then they have the vocabulary bible and when you go into that section there are 10 sets and each set has 10 wordlists. After you choose a word list you can pick what you want to do: review the words, use flashcards, use reverse flashcards, play matching game with the words and definitions, do sentence completion, multiple choice, and a few other types of games to learn the words. Then for the quantitative stuff they have a quantitative workout which gives you tips on how to do every type of math problem on the GRE and a separate section for data analysis on the GRE. Then they have a quantitative test bank which is smaller than the verbal one but it has 5 comparison tests (column A vs. column B) and 3 problem solving tests. Then there is an area called special focus where it takes you through step by step on how to solve certain problems (probability, statistics, geometry) that you may be having problems with. The math section is definitely smaller than the verbal but there was way more on there than I thought there would be. Then, you also get an essay workout which has tutorials on how to write both essay types and then you also get what they call “books” for each essay type. Inside each “book” are 50 essay each with a different topic and sample answer. Then, you also get unlimited CBTs that are different every time you take them and they actually resemble the difficulty of the GRE and they grade them the same way the GRE would be graded and it gets you used to the way the computer works (not exactly identical but close). There is also a section for “after the GRE” which guides you through how to make a good application and how to write a statement of purpose. (I did not find this section to be that great, but there were a few good tips in there). I sound like a really long-winded infomercial, but IMO it was worth the $30 and I wish I could have had more time to study with it. Good Luck to you on the GRE!!! :luck:
 
if you've run out of practice CBTs with Kaplan, i recommend downloading the (free!) PowerPrep software from ETS (www.ets.org/gre/stupubs). it includes two practice tests set up just like the actual exam since ETS is the company that produces the GRE.

i also used a Kaplan book...nothing too fancy, about $20-$30 at Borders. i found it useful for reviewing the math section and learning some strategies for the verbal section, but didn't really like their practice tests. i found that i was consistently scoring 60-100 points lower on Kaplan tests than on the ETS tests and the real thing.

side note: if you ever find yourself wasting time online FreeRice.com is a fun & addictive way to get some vocab practice 🙂 it's not geared specifically to the GRE or anything, but it's as fun as vocabulary can really be
 
I looked at number2.com for a little while before my GRE. It was hard to get much done with my dial-up at home, but I think it was really helpful for the math, maybe not so much for the vocabulary... I couldn't do the PowerPrep (again, dial-up) but there is a lot of helpful stuff just on the GRE website.

Good luck!!!
 
squibby said:
*coughs* I was an English major. I graduated from UC Berkeley intending to go into Journalism. Needles to say, my qual. percentile was 92 while my quant. was 69. What you say the Dean said kinda bums me out now. 🙁

It is frustrating because I asked that question to an advisor I was told they didn't weigh the quant. scores more heavily. I kinda feel like they just bull**** us allot.
Click to expand...


I'm an English major too, however weirdly enough I score better in math every time.
 
FYI- kaplan says they try to make their practice material harder so that you will score higher on the real test. i think it is a good strategy. on the real quantitative part i felt so comfortable and i thought the questions in the beginning were really easy compared to what i was used to practicing. if you study from their books and are scoring lower than the real ets tests, that will just make you work harder. if you take an ets test and ace it i doubt you will be studying as much. its good to push yourself, and your score my shock you..in an amazing way 😀

I do recommend taking the ets exams (and so does kaplan, it is on their "calendar" of what to study) they say you should take them towards the end of your studying time to see how much you have accomplished. Im sure you will score higher on these and i think that is why they feel comfortable recommending you take them last when you feel comfortable with the computer set up and the problems
 
BlacKAT33 said:
FYI- kaplan says they try to make their practice material harder so that you will score higher on the real test. i think it is a good strategy. on the real quantitative part i felt so comfortable and i thought the questions in the beginning were really easy compared to what i was used to practicing. if you study from their books and are scoring lower than the real ets tests, that will just make you work harder. if you take an ets test and ace it i doubt you will be studying as much. its good to push yourself, and your score my shock you..in an amazing way 😀

I do recommend taking the ets exams (and so does kaplan, it is on their "calendar" of what to study) they say you should take them towards the end of your studying time to see how much you have accomplished. Im sure you will score higher on these and i think that is why they feel comfortable recommending you take them last when you feel comfortable with the computer set up and the problems
Click to expand...

I took the Kaplan course and the practice math problems weren't nearly as hard as the real test (that could be because I did really well on the math so it just kept getting harder). The strategies Kaplan teaches for the verbal section are really helpful especially if you are not as strong in this section. I felt like even if I knew the meaning to the words, I struggled making the connection. So the Kaplan strategies were very helpful. (So learn the 300-500 most common words plus the strategies)
 
I really liked the $30 Kaplan book that someone else mentioned. It comes with several practice tests that are slightly harder than the real thing, so the real thing turns out to be easy. I also found their test taking strategies to be very logical and helpful.

Definitely get the ones from ETS, since they are free and just like the real thing.

Another thing that really helped me (especially on the math) were the practice tests from 800score.com--I think it's about $30 for 5 practice tests. They are REALLY hard--WAY harder than the real thing--but by the time I got done with all 5 of those, the real thing was a piece of cake. One nice thing about 800score tests is they help you learn how to pace yourself.

Between those three tools, I raised my total score by almost 150 points.
 
I got the Kaplan book with the CD for 25 or 30 bucks, went through the tips (esp. the math help) and vocab, and completed all of the practice tests on the CD several times (they, like the real GRE, are adjusted as you go along, so I don't think I ever took the exact same test twice except for the first few answers). The CD exams were helpful for me because they're timed, and it automatically closes when the time is up. No stopping your practice timer to get a cup of tea or walk the dog in the middle of the quant section! As far as accuracy goes, by the time I finished preparing I was getting in the 1450-1500 range, which I didn't even think was POSSIBLE for me (up from 1200 initially), and that was more or less what I scored on the actual test. So yeah, definitely recommend Kaplan. I also used Barron's vocab book, 800 essential words for the GRE or something like that.
 
Wow! This is so much helpful info. I already have the Kaplan books/course. I found the online material much more helpful than in-class material, but my online material expired. So I am happy to try out number2.com, GRE bible, and PowerPrep ETS tests 1 and 2. So cool. So helpful. I adore you all. 🙂
 
How could GRE bible claim an unlimited number of GRE CAT tests? Do they mean CBTs?
 
I did WAY better in verbal than in quant. Well, I mean that my percentile was higher - my actual scores in both were nearly identical. Anyway, I had trouble with the verbal previously, but I borrowed a set of Kaplan's flash cards from a friend and they helped me a LOT. I think they would be a worthy purchase, and if I have to take the GRE again (please God no 🙁) then I will buy a set for myself.
 
Was anyone else surprised by schools' consideration of 70th percentile as "good"? I thought that was kinda low, dunno, maybe I have us all on a pedestal and think that we should all be in the 90th.
 
squibby said:
Was anyone else surprised by schools' consideration of 70th percentile as "good"? I thought that was kinda low, dunno, maybe I have us all on a pedestal and think that we should all be in the 90th.
Click to expand...

considering you can get near perfect for quantitative and still be in 80% i can totally see why they think 70% is good. also, if you get a perfect 800 on quat. it is only 94%.
 
i scored in the mid 80s for percentiles and I used only number2.com (free) and the ETS gre book, which was 20 bucks or less on amazon...no need to go to a class imo...really expensive. i think the biggest thing is keeping on top of your time.

the scores i got on the practice were pretty close to the actual score i got despite some sneers i had gotten from haters who heard i had only been using the book and not classes.

sings "hate on me hata" from glee as he rides off on mr. horsey into the sunset
 
jesiah said:
the scores i got on the practice were pretty close to the actual score i got despite some sneers i had gotten from haters who heard i had only been using the book and not classes.

sings "hate on me hata" from glee as he rides off on mr. horsey into the sunset
Click to expand...

lol i think its great you were able to perform as well as you wanted without a class. Personally, i really needed that class for time management, confidence, and general help/support. i think its great if you can score as well as you want by just the books, if i could have done that, i would have been better off. there are just some people who need the class for their own personal reasons, so i like to give my opinion of kaplan. no hater here 😀
 
annie800 said:
How could GRE bible claim an unlimited number of GRE CAT tests? Do they mean CBTs?
Click to expand...

No. They mean CAT tests (I actually just went into a test in the GRE Bible). It is adaptive to your previous answers and looks exactly like the real GRE tests. It is also at a much higher difficulty than the actual GRE (this is what they say and IMO it is just as much if not more difficult than the actual GRE.
 
I found what I will call a really good demo version of GREBible (2.1) floating around out there. Started to take one of the antonym tests without looking at anything else. That about kicked my butt.
 
BlacKAT33 said:
lol i think its great you were able to perform as well as you wanted without a class. Personally, i really needed that class for time management, confidence, and general help/support. i think its great if you can score as well as you want by just the books, if i could have done that, i would have been better off. there are just some people who need the class for their own personal reasons, so i like to give my opinion of kaplan. no hater here 😀
Click to expand...

fo sheezy hahahahah. i wasn't trying to put anyone down on the forums. the haters were at my school in my classes

i didn't see/think about others view point so u make a good point there...if u do try the workbook way and it doens't work out, workshops are the way to go

btw: i love glee! :luck:
 
Quick question - is the writing piece really writing or is it typing? The massive cramp my hand just developed from writing a sworn statement made me think of this. I guess I need to start working out my hand.
 
Armymutt25A said:
Quick question - is the writing piece really writing or is it typing? The massive cramp my hand just developed from writing a sworn statement made me think of this. I guess I need to start working out my hand.
Click to expand...

It's typing in a VERY basic word processor. If I recall, you can cut and paste but not much else.
 
squibby said:
Was anyone else surprised by schools' consideration of 70th percentile as "good"? I thought that was kinda low, dunno, maybe I have us all on a pedestal and think that we should all be in the 90th.
Click to expand...

All the engineering majors that take the GRE screw up the curve, so to speak, for the rest of us. For instance, I got a 670 on the quant portion of the test, and that's only the 64th percentile. However, my 630 qual score was at the 90th percentile.
 
The math on the gre I heard is similar to high school math, so is it basically algebra I and II and geometry?
 
smilin1590 said:
The math on the gre I heard is similar to high school math, so is it basically algebra I and II and geometry?
Click to expand...

I would call the math more college-level algebra, geometry, etc. It is kinda fun to learn and build on, but like someone said above, engineers, math, and physics majors mess up the curve.

One of Kaplan's problems:
After 5 males leave an office, there are twice as many females as there are males. Then, 3 females leave the office and there are twice as many males as there are females.
Which is greater?
a) The number of people left in the office after the 5 males leave.
b) 4 people.
 
PrimalMU said:
All the engineering majors that take the GRE screw up the curve, so to speak, for the rest of us. For instance, I got a 670 on the quant portion of the test, and that's only the 64th percentile. However, my 630 qual score was at the 90th percentile.
Click to expand...

Haha about that.... I might've done well on the quantitative (i.e. 740), but all of that math is stuff I hadn't seen in over 4 years, plus there was stuff I swear I never even learned, but since I like math, I picked it up fairly easily.

For the qualitative section, I even raised my score from when I first started studying and taking practice tests, but my score only turned out to be a 470. As an engineering major, I use words that Word/Firefox/Google Chrome don't even know, but none of it helped me because it's all jargon, and no one knows or uses such terms outside of this field. (I should note that I don't read for fun. To me, it currently wastes too much of my time because I'm focusing my last set of engineering classes (i.e. senior design). Plus, it takes me forever to read. I wish I read more solely to be familiar with a greater variety of words but... I tried 2 years ago and it just didn't work out.)
 
nyanko said:
It is very basic math. I don't really think it is harder than anything that was on the SAT to be honest.
Click to expand...

I agree. I learned this math in middle school/high school. algebra, geometry, word problems etc. I honestly think the GRE math was easier than the SAT for 2 reasons 1) i scored way higher in GRE math and there was no diff in studying 2) for SAT you can use the calculator and they have more odd types of numbers because of it. for the GRE you are not allowed to use the calculator, they choose numbers that can easily be maneuvered together like easy fractions, or decimals or things you can convert into the same format. i def had to spend time remembering the basic math skills like multiplying fractions and other things. but the bottom line is the questions are similar, but the math/numbers are easier for GRE because they know you dont have a calculator to whip crazy calculations out in a second. i think it takes longer to refresh your memory since the last math you probably would have taken was calculus freshman or soph year of college
 
I've been using the verbal section of GREBible for a week or so and have a few evaluations:
1. It's buggy. Not so much the function as the content. One of the tasks available is to match a word to the definition. In some cases, the definition for the word is not among the choices. It also says you responded incorrectly for some terms when you responded correctly.
2. There's a lot of mispelled words, incomplete definitions, and typos.

Overall, it seems to be a good approach with a variety of reinforcements. Looks to be about 3000+ words. I think it would be good for studying, but I would seek an external source for evaluation of learning.
 
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