Another GRE question

[Mylez]

Hey all,

Thanks so much for your help as I prepare to apply this fall!

I have another question about GRE prep. Has anyone found great books/study preps beyond classes that they found useful for getting ready for the GRE?

How many of you took it without studying and did well?

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[Quaggi]

Mylez,

I would recommend buying a vocab book or making flashcards to learn all those hundreds of words (which probably won't even appear on the test ) also, the main way that I studied was just by going to borders and taking books to the cafe to read/take practice tests from. Once I figured out my weaknesses by taking diagnostic tests, it was easier to go back and just practice those sections in books that I never had to actually pay for, hehe. ETS will send you practice tests too which were very helpful.

good luck...the important thing is to not get stressed out about it, because it's not really a hard test but just because of the way its set up, if you freak out during it you will not do your best and there's no time to calm down and go back to check your work.

 

[Joslin]

I highly recommend the Kaplan GRE prep book. It comes with a CD that has lots of small tests, 3 full tests, lessons, games for vocabulary, etc. The book itself is great too. You learn lots of helpful hints and tricks. There is a vocabulary section where they have you try to learn groups of words with similar meanings, very helpful. Just make sure that if you buy a used one, it is from the last couple of years, since the writing section was only just added. For 2003-2004 editions some had it and some didn't, and there was no way to tell the difference without opening the book (same ISBN number, # pages, cover, etc). I used the book to focus a lot more on the vocabulary the second time I took the test and I boosted my score 50 points. There are newer versions I can't attest to, but this is similar to what I used. Make sure it comes with the cd!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/07...ef=ed_oe_p/102-9713311-2230534?_encoding=UTF8

 

[wishes]

The Flip-O-Matic GRE Vocabulary Word Book is the best thing in the world that I found for studying the GRE. It is available from Amazon.com or any major bookstore for about $12 and I would highly recommend it. I was pleasantly surprised to find that many of the words in the book actually did show up on the actual test, plus the amount of material in the book is very manageable.
The other book I used was Baron's GRE review. It is not that special, but it did come with a CD and I thought it was decently useful as a math review.
I did spent a moderate amount of time studying before I took the test the first time, but was not very happy with my score. I really buckled down and studied hard before re-taking the test and saw significant improvement in my scores the second time. I do think it is worthwhile to study and/or re-take the test if you need to.
Good luck!

 

[kate_g]

I took the GRE without studying 8 years ago and rocked the verbal - but I was an English/linguistics double minor on top of my bio degree so I'd had loads of recent vocab practice. I did worse on the math than I should have, because it requires a couple of those algebra formulas like "a+-sqrt(4b+c)/2ac" or whatever for factoring binomials, and the rules for algebra on exponents and other stuff I forgot after high school. Since my score is long since expired, I'll have to re-take it. I'm planning to do some full-length practice tests to see if I need to brush up on my long-dormant literary vocabulary (and if so I'll get one of the study books recommended in this thread or elsewhere, and also probably make sure I do my summer pleasure reading in old books from the days when people actually wrote with literary vocabularies). And I'm definitely going to memorize those $%#@& math formulas.

 

[eaglemeag]

I used a Princeton Review guide, along with "Word Smart for the GRE" which I think is also by PR. Both were very helpful. The word-smart book is especially great for learning specific vocab; I only studied some of the vocab and some of the prefixes/suffixes listed in the back, and after taking it (and doing not-so-well on the verbal part) I wished I had studied it MUCH more.

I definitely recommend -- if you're going to be applying for next year's admission -- planning to take the GRE right before school starts again in the fall and using the summer to study. I found myself spending an hour or two every week or so, and that really helped, but I wish I had done more.

 

[spikey]

i ordered that flip book that wishes recommended hoping that it will help my score the second time around. i'm thinking of taking it the second time some time around september or so. but i really stink at these tests :[

 

[Ranger7]

I was a science major and didn't better in the verbal, go figure. I did fine and really didn't study. I just familiarized myself with the different test sections and what to expect, which is most important I think.

I hate these type of tests, because you do better every time you take it. My friend in high school took the SAT a lot and ended up with 1600. This was not from being a genius, but just becoming really good at the test.

I think being and avid reader helps best with the verbal, but that's the best case scenario other than being an English major. Also, review pre-calc math rules since calculators are not allowed, and you'll be getting a lot of nasty fractions.

 

[chris03333]

I was a science major and didn't better in the verbal, go figure. I did fine and really didn't study. I just familiarized myself with the different test sections and what to expect, which is most important I think.

I hate these type of tests, because you do better every time you take it. My friend in high school took the SAT a lot and ended up with 1600. This was not from being a genius, but just becoming really good at the test.

I think being and avid reader helps best with the verbal, but that's the best case scenario other than being an English major. Also, review pre-calc math rules since calculators are not allowed, and you'll be getting a lot of nasty fractions.

That is not always true. I know quite a few people which scored LOWER on their second take. This scared me into only taking it once (glad I did well enough to get in).

 

[HorseyVet]

I hate these type of tests, because you do better every time you take it. My friend in high school took the SAT a lot and ended up with 1600. This was not from being a genius, but just becoming really good at the test.

No kidding I knew the same type of people...they literally took the test a hundred times. Many people's parents, perhaps smartly or overzealously, got their kids taking the SATs from about 4th grade on....those people REALLY did well on the standardized tests. It really does show that the tests by far are not a measure of general intelligence and rather simply, how well you are at taking that test.

I think being and avid reader helps best with the verbal, but that's the best case scenario other than being an English major.

That depends .... I knew someone who was in philology grad school (under classics) at the time she took the GRE she had 4 or more years of latin, greek, french, german, and italian....she couldn't break 500 on the verbal. Again, like a lot of others have said, those tests are really about your ability to take tests.

I must say though that I think the subject tests are a little different. I really think if you can't pull over an 80th percentile on the GRE bio and you were a bio major then you either showed up drunk or didn't learn anything in college. I really think those are a much better indication of what you actually know and your ability to retain the information that you've been taught.

 

[zufuss]

I took a Kaplan GRE Classroom course. Expensive but I went up 320 points. I only went up 100 points on my own the previous year.

 

[youthman]

I took a Kaplan GRE Classroom course. Expensive but I went up 320 points. I only went up 100 points on my own the previous year.

Did you do all the homework and assignments that come with it? There's soooo much! Did you go through all the verbal groups? I'm taking the course right now but simply haven't had the time to go through all the at home exercises and have only looked through the vocab pocketbook once. Im hoping I will see good improvement even from in class exercises though.