GRE classes, tips, tricks, advice from those who have written

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Members don't see this ad.
justme - congrats on passing the 1200 hurdle! I too have bought multiple books but keep getting frustrated with difficult questions.

Yes, it does sound like we have the setting a date in stone theory the same. However, now that the date is getting close, I am getting worried I won't clear that 1200 mark. That is a good idea to just focus one week out from the exam; I am getting burned out on studying for this exam.

Haha - yes, before I started memorizing vocab words, my Q was higher than verbal too. Funny how that works 🙂 Thanks for the advice. It gives me some confidence that you were able to review for the math portion in just one week.

Best of luck with your applications :luck:
 
I am nearing the end of my doctoral program but remember how stressful it was to plan and prepare for the GRE. I studied vocabulary flashcards (about 3000) over the course of about 6 months (always carried them around in stacks of 50 in my car, purse, etc...) whenever I had a free moment I would pull them out and study. I did not cram for vocabulary I just slowly built up my word base. I found that the GRE sometimes focuses on the more obscure meaning of words (ex.- the second definition listed), this isn't always the case but maybe about 25-30% of the time (in my experience). I also liked the Barron's book, especially for the vocabulary. I think the ETS test prep materials are the best and I got several older copies of the materials from Ebay. The Test Prep software and my score were very close. I also learned how to decipher the analogies by focusing on the relationship between the words- so I would read the words as a sentence for example DEVASTATED:SAD- I would say in my head Devastated is a much more intense type of sadness- then I would transfer this to the analogy choices below looking for the set of words that fit the sentence _____ is a more intense form of _______. I didn't miss a single analogy and I personally believe this strategy really helps even if you only know the meaning of one of the words. I only took two weeks of cramming to study for the quantitative section because I thought my score was ok and didn't feel the need to aim for perfection ( I am not really a math person either). Quanitative questions are tricky but generally not overly difficult. I remember thinking the test was super difficult when I took it and almost chose to not report my scores out of anxiety. I practiced the writing essays only once before the exam- just too taxing to practice them over and over. My final scores were V-790 and Q-710, writing 5.5. I missed 2 near the end on verbal and 8 on the quantitative (spread throughout).

In my program 1200 is considered the cut-off and then applications are looked at based on essays and other information. Most students in my program have GRE scores better than 1350 but the director of clinical training once told me that a 1500 is virtually the same as a 1200 to them- at this point its the personal statements that set people apart, and after that the interview. Back in 2006, I applied to 10 schools, got 7 interviews and 7 offers. I did put a lot of energy into my GRE scores and personal statements. I had a decent GPA 3.84 (state school), 4.0 in psychology. Best of luck to all of you about to take the GRE or apply.

Just a side story- I was able to immediately see my score at the testing center after I took my exam and starting crying out of relief. I am sure that everyone thought I had just bombed the test but I couldn't stop because I was so relieved that I wasn't going to have to retake it. :laugh:
 
I am writing the GRE tomorrow morning! Any last minute advice regarding the process?

Also, a quick question- does the timer show up on the verbal and quantitative sections? When I took the CATs from the powerprep software, it did not show up.

Thank you in advance
 
I'm registered to take the GRE this Saturday, but I feel anxious and unprepared. However, I think I'm still going to go (it's too late to cancel/reschedule anyway) and complete the test with the intention of canceling my scores at the end (unless I feel really good about it). My Verbal is pretty solid, but quant. is my weakness. I've been studying on and off for about 2 months now, but whenever I take practice tests, it's as if I completely forget all of the strategies I (sort of) know and try to get through it as fast as possible (time is another one of my weaknesses-- I always run out!). I'm aiming for a 1300, but last night I took a practice test and only got an 1190, which was weird, because on the practice test I took a few days before, I got a 1280. Basically, I'm freaking out. I don't work or have any classes tomorrow so I'm probably going to devote most of the day to studying (even though I know you're supposed to relax the day before); does anyone have any tips on what exactly I should focus on tomorrow? Taking practice tests? Beefing up strengths? Working on math? Memorizing flashcards? It just sucks that my ability to do 9th grade math at 9am on a Saturday morning will determine my future. Also, if it matters, I'm applying to half university-based PsyD programs and half balanced PhD programs.
 
GradHopeful1 said:
I am writing the GRE tomorrow morning! Any last minute advice regarding the process?

Also, a quick question- does the timer show up on the verbal and quantitative sections? When I took the CATs from the powerprep software, it did not show up.

Thank you in advance
Click to expand...


The timer showed up when I took it- so I knew exactly how much time I had left. Just try to manage your anxiety and no last minute studying if possible. I wish you the very best and hope you score is better than expected. It's almost over!
 
The timer showed up for me on the powerprer software on the top left but only the minutes until it gets to 5 min. remaining and then the timer shows the seconds too.

Best of luck with your GREs tomorrow. I am taking mine this weekend as well. I just took 2 powerprep tests and got an 1140 on 1 and a 1070 on the next. I am so frustrated at this point. My tutor thinks I can reach my 1200 goal score with a few more weeks of studying, but I'm going to take the real thing this weekend anyway since it is too late for me to re-schedule too. I was told not to take any practice tests before the day of as well. I think what I'm planning on doing is some of the practice problems (i.e. no depressing score to see at the end, only the problems on there) and also memorize formulas. I would probably not stress too much about vocab at this point because it is difficult to learn more than 40 words or so in a day. I can totally empathize with you since I am anxious and stressed and just really want my 1200 goal score!! Good luck on your GRE :luck:
 
"Just a side story- I was able to immediately see my score at the testing center after I took my exam and starting crying out of relief. I am sure that everyone thought I had just bombed the test but I couldn't stop because I was so relieved that I wasn't going to have to retake it. :laugh:[/QUOTE]"

I laughed when I read this. I would probably think that the person had done terrible if they cried to. But congrats on doing so well and being near the end of your program!

Thanks for the advice. The verbal part that messes me up the most is reading comp because I take too long and then run out of time. If I could just get timing down, I'd be golden for verbal. Math on the other hand is my nemisis. I have taken tons of practice tests and I typically score around 550-600 on Barrons math tests but then score lower on the actual practice tests. I don't think cramming for math will work for me, but I will keep it in mind for the next exam! I'm not optimistic that I will get my 1200 goal score this weekend 🙁 Good luck to other's who are taking it!
 
Hi everyone,

I am so happy that it is over and done with. Thanks for your support! I did not do amazing (1210), but I am just happy to have come out alive. If anyone has any questions, do not hesitate to let me know. Best of luck to everyone writing it in the next few weeks!
 
In regards to studying I prepared quizzes for the Barron's 4,500 vocab list. The quizzes are in 60 question quiz files made specifically for a program called Quiz 3.4.3. Here is more information regarding all of this.
http://www.urch.com/forums/gre-verbal/125436-barrons-gre-words-quizzes-4500-words.html

I will attach the quizzes at another time. But if anyone wants them in the meantime, just PM me and I will send them.

As far as math goes, I found an amazing article from sparknotes which goes into extreme detail on all the math sections. Helped me a ton.
http://www.sparknotes.com/testprep/books/gre/chapter1.html
 
i took a princeton review class, and it was the best thing ever. my score for both v and m went up about 200 points.

now, if you're a very self-motivated person, you may not need to take the class, you might only need the book. the biggest thing, really, is practice practice practice. i personally really appreciate and believe in the "tips and tricks" that TPR teaches, but i know that my score went up MOSTLY because i did all of the homework consistently and incessantly.

learn math shortcuts. learn vocab. do the work. you'll be fine.
 
scienceisbeauty said:
wasting my practice full online GREs. I have 4 from Princeton Review, 2 from ETS, and 1 from Barrons. (I had 5 from PR but took one)

I want to use them when the time is right...when I feel like I've studied enough. I took one and scored crapily, like ~500 in the quant but ~650 in the verbal. 🙁
SAD.

I just want to up my quant score so desperately.
Click to expand...

You can do it! I brough my Quant score up from a 570 to a 690. I did do the Kaplan course, which I honestly think helps in two ways that were essential for me. A) It gave me the "structure" I needed, a timeline, etc...and B) they have excellent materials. There are almost endless quizzes, etc..that are online (they give you access through the class) and for me it helped me to get used to doing the math in an online format. I did almost nothing but math drills for months, and it paid off. I went from an 1170 to a 1400 in a year. It can be done! Good luck!
 
I took the Princeton review course. And I definitely disagree with people who say only those who cannot self pace/self motivate need to take courses. Honestly most people who say this do not say it out of experience of having tried both


I think the difference is the fact that strategies really helped. And I had trouble comprehending what HOW they worked. A live person that would answer questions really helped. Vocabulary does wonders. And please try really hard to stay calm. Stress makes everything go downhill. And a strategy of my own (that is if your not aiming for 700s in verbal) guess the reading questions if your running out of time, 5 analogies correct better than 1 reading question correct. Elimination does wonders on the math. I guessed 5 questions and did good
 
Last edited:
scienceisbeauty said:
There's a thread like this somewhere, so MODS feel free to redirect, move, whatever. BUT I think combined with the registration for GREs ...we need serious hard advice.
The more people who respond, the more representative our sample will be.

Best GRE class?
Is it better just to register for the online course?
You know how they give you online quizzes and things in Kaplan/Princeton/whatever course packs - are those worth buying for $599, say instead of taking the course?

Any advice, shall be utmost appreciated 🙂
Click to expand...

I would take the online course. You will learn the same things they teach in the class and you have access to the question database, which in my opinion is the most useful part of their classes.

One thing I noticed about Kaplan, is that the test scores you receive from their practice tests are lower than what you will get on the actual GRE. They even admit this when you talk to them on the phone...
 
Last edited:
Hey all,
I did OK on my GRE (1430, 680 Verbal, 760 Math), and I didn't spend a single cent on expensive books or classes.

For math, (which I'm usually terrible at), you should go to your local library, make friends with the librarians there, and check out all of the GRE prep books you can get your hands on. Once you get through their whole stock of books, they can always loan different books from other libraries as well- all you have to do is ask. I would take out one per week, try to go through every practice test, return it and take out a new one. I got through about 8 of them, doing all of the math questions. The thing that helped me the most was seeing the variety of math questions that the different brands of books had.

As far as verbal goes, I concur with everyone else who says vocab vocab vocab. It also helps a LOT to do as much practice testing as you can to get your timing down and help with understand how the questions are typically asked. You will never be able to memorize the entire dictionary, so you have to try to get in the head of the test makers and understand what they are going to be asking you to know, and how they want you to answer.

best advice- go to the library!!
 
My bane is d reading comprehension section. Was meant to take d gre on d 17th but rescheduled for d 31st. My powerprep score was 800 (q), 640 (v) and got like 7 out of 9 RC questions wrong. I however did better in the gre bible CATs 800 (q), 730(V) n 750(q), 780(v). I hope I can keep it up for d main test. Any tips for d AW sections? Pls help
 
Just had my gre this morning - 800 (q), 620 (v). My 2nd powerprep was much better though - 800 (q), 710 (v) -but its all good, I guess. Thanks for all d tips - this forum rocks
 
I got 690V (97%), 710Q (72%), and 740 (91%) psyc subject. So take my advice for what it is worth.

-practice test scores aren't all that predictive, but practice tests are important to help you get used to the timing and format.

-timing!!!! If you are a slow reader, the passages on the verbal will get you. If you aren't the quickest at identifying math solutions, the timing on the quant. will get you. If you aren't a fast typer or can't formulate an essay quickly, the timing on AW will get you. I messed up on timing on the Quant, and had to guess through the last couple questions.

REVIEW BOOKS
-Kaplan books for verbal were good, but the best thing you can do is learn a ton of vocab. For starters completely memorizing the kaplan top 500 vocab flashcards is a must! But don't stop there. Kaplan Quant problems were too easy compared to the real test.

-A combination of reading through the Kaplan and Princeton psyc books, making flashcards of all the notable people, theories and concepts, worked for me.

STUDY TIME
3 months at about an hour a day average overall (time split between the three tests). Still felt like I could have used more vocab and spent more time on PSYC. For quant I should have done alot more practice test questions.
 
Distraught - AWA score came back as 3 - hope it doesn't hurt my chances real bad (esp scholarship).
Q (800) V (620) AWA (3)
Aaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhh.
 
AcronymAllergy said:
Depends on the individual program. None of the schools to which I applied (way back when) required it, so I personally never took it.
Click to expand...
Thank you, that's good to know. Are you in a clinical or research oriented program?

I hope to apply the year after next (so that my application will be as good as possible). Assuming the world has gotten more competitive since you got in, would it make sense for me to take them (General + Psych) this coming November, since I'll have time to study this summer? Or should I just wait until I'm ready to apply to grad school as everyone else seems to be doing?
 
JuniperTree said:
Thank you, that's good to know. Are you in a clinical or research oriented program?

I hope to apply the year after next (so that my application will be as good as possible). Assuming the world has gotten more competitive since you got in, would it make sense for me to take them (General + Psych) this coming November, since I'll have time to study this summer? Or should I just wait until I'm ready to apply to grad school as everyone else seems to be doing?
Click to expand...

I'm in a scientist-practitioner program, so it emphasizes both clinical work and research. There's a fairly even split in the number of students predominantly interested in one or the other.

As for the GRE, if you feel you'll be ready to take it in November, I don't see why that would be a bad idea. The scores are generally "good" for five years, which would still allow you to go through multiple application cycles if necessary. I took mine the year before I ended up here, and it doesn't seem as though things have changed too much in the few years between then and now.
 
My advice to anyone in high school/early undergrad: don't take any advanced math. You just screw yourself over with standardized tests.

I took AP Calculus and Statistics in high school, and it ended up destroying math test-taking skills (AP Calc AB in 10th grade, AP Calc BC in 11th, and AP Stats in 12th grade, 4s and 5s on all). I can still do derivatives or a chi-square, but those aren't what you need to go to grad school. When I got to undergrad, all I had to take was an advanced Stats class and a research methods math class. All that work in math was pointless.

I should have been studying rudimentary geometry and algebra up through senior year of high school and started basic stats in undergrad. The fact that I have to re-memorize all the equations I'll never need to know again (i.e. the circumference or area of a circle) makes me want to breakdown.

It looks like I'm getting rejected across the board this year, and I know my low GRE scores probably lead to immediate disqualification everywhere I applied. My near perfect writing score should have indicated my barely-500 verbal score is clearly not accurate. I'm in tears at the prospect of retaking this test again.

Do you think a local high school would allow a 24 year old (with a Bachelors from a prestigious university, two years post-undegrad experience in a neuropsych lab, and 4s and 5s in every AP Math class in existence) to study basic algebra for the GREs?

[Sorry for the negativity and the ranting. I'm losing my mind. :cry: ]
 
Last edited:
I would suggest that, unless you need the structure of a class to compel you to study (which you probably don't, seeing as you're a would-be grad student), you don't waste your money on an actual "course." Yes, definitely buy the Kaplan book, but don't think you need to fork over $300+ for an actual class. I had the good fortune of scoring 1450V/Q, and this is solely because I studied my ever-loving rear off. Ain't gon' need none a' that fancy class baloney. When I saw those numbers pop up on the screen after the test, I nearly shot through the roof.

When you study, take very seriously the vocabularly sections. When experts say those words appear frequently on the exam, they most certainly do. I had some fun with them: I wrote out wacky sentences for many of the words and those sentences served as excellent mnemonic tools. The Kaplan book encourages you to study Latin roots, but honestly, I found that to be a waste of valuable study time. I was one of those folks who managed to score higher in V than Q, which is apparently not the standard. As for math, get your algebra and geometry game down. Geometry problems (in my opinion) were the most time consuming, so you may want to spend extra time on your formulas, etc. But almost every problem, if I recall, incorporated algebra.

And here's another math tip: when a GRE math problem is considered "hard," it isn't necessarily because the math is complicated. It's often because it's a problem that involves a hodgepodge of little tricks you have to (a)., be able to spot, and (b)., be remember how to successfully compute. Sort of like those little Russian dolls. And practice your math on paper; once you get the hang of it, it can actually become fun.
 
nomnom said:
Hey all,
I did OK on my GRE (1430, 680 Verbal, 760 Math), and I didn't spend a single cent on expensive books or classes . . .

best advice- go to the library!!
Click to expand...

Smart man/woman, nomnom, smart man/woman!
 
scienceisbeauty said:
There's a thread like this somewhere, so MODS feel free to redirect, move, whatever. BUT I think combined with the registration for GREs ...we need serious hard advice.
The more people who respond, the more representative our sample will be.

Best GRE class?
Is it better just to register for the online course?
You know how they give you online quizzes and things in Kaplan/Princeton/whatever course packs - are those worth buying for $599, say instead of taking the course?

Any advice, shall be utmost appreciated 🙂
Click to expand...
How to improve your vocabularry more? If you have iPhone/iPad use FREE PowerVocab for GRE and GMAT app (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/powervocab-lite/id413511366?mt=8&ls=1#_
It has intelligent engine that completely controls the learning process. The more Iyou are practicing, the more it learns about you and builds vocab tests on your level and the words that are difficult to you.
 
As of Friday, I'm done with the GRE: 790Q, 680V. Very happy!

I improved by about 250 points from my initial practice test, which I took 2 months ago. To improve my score, I took a Princeton Review online class and used the following app for vocab memorization:

http://www.tyrannosaurusprep.com/

I'm not sure whether it works on browsers other than Chrome. If you use Firefox or Safari, the switch to Chrome is worth it for this app alone.

G'luck to all 🙂
 
Why is V scores always so much lower than Q? That never made sense to me. Shouldn't they make it sort of even? Weird.
 
Triken said:
Why is V scores always so much lower than Q? That never made sense to me. Shouldn't they make it sort of even? Weird.
Click to expand...

Actually, I scored substantially higher on my verbal than quantitative (math has never been my strong suit). i'm amazed at all the people scoring so high on the quantitative, really! i think it takes more brains. verbal is really only a matter of memorizing words.
 
hey everyone... based on a quick skim i don't think this has been posted before but..

at the end of the GRE sections, if the test has done it's job as intended (which it almost always does) you should only be getting about 50% of the questions correct -- so if you feel like you're bouncing back and forth between knowing the answer to a question and being confused, don't worry- that's how it's supposed to be.

the GRE has narrowed down your score and flipping back and forth between items you should be able to answer and items you should not be able to answer. there shouldn't be be much score fluctuation after that point so you can relax even further. since the GRE analysis is proprietary and i'm not an expert on the GRE, i'm not 100% sure this is true, but i think they use a 3PL item response theory model to score the test and think that this is how it's done.
 
What's going to be different about the GRE starting august 1st? How will people have to change how they prepare?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

P
One of those things we fear
Replies
13
Views
909
clausewitz2
clausewitz2
cara susanna
APA guidelines for working with individuals who have complex trauma histories
Replies
16
Views
2K
albatross_at_crossroads
albatross_at_crossroads
H
PhD/PsyD From Psychotherapy to Assessment/Testing
Replies
28
Views
2K
PsyDr
PsyDr
borne_before
New to RVUs—Looking for Tips on Maximizing as a Psychologist Doing Lots of Testing
Replies
42
Views
4K
PsyDr
PsyDr
E
Minimum GRE Scores?
Replies
2
Views
741
Epak333
E
Top