GRE preparation thread

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cara susanna said:
Breathing exercises, also remind yourself that it's just a test. And a little anxiety is perfectly normal.

I can't talk, though. By the end of both of my testing sessions, I was shaking.
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When the computer asked if I wanted to see my scores, my heart was beating so fast I thought I might pass out! Definitely one of the scariest moments of my life!
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Took a paper-based test from ETS tonight and scored a 700 V and 730 Q! I guess the weekend off of studying and rest and relaxation helped me out :) I'm stoked because this is the highest score I've had to date. I don't know how accurate the paper-based ETS scores are in comparison to the real thing, but hopefully not too far off....
 
dying from stress of GRE prep
................................................ scared.....so scared
 
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scienceisbeauty said:
dying from stress of GRE prep
................................................ scared.....so scared
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you will do it, you will handle this, this will be fine!

breathe in, and out. repeat.

you may wanna check out Bourne "anxiety and phobia workbook" for some anti-anxiety affirmations and exercises.
 
scienceisbeauty said:
dying from stress of GRE prep
................................................ scared.....so scared
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Use mindfulness! Mindfulness helped me out a lot. :D That's what I research though so I may be biased. Most importantly, though, remember that it's JUST a test.

Anyway, mplsgirl: It may not be entirely accurate because it's not a CAT. But I don't know because I've never taken a paper-based one.
 
I agree...I know I've heard that the scores are supposedly "comparable". I guess I won't know until I take the real thing!
 
Just...took a practice GRE that I BOMBED
think 500s in the math, 620 verbal (Kaplan Premium Online)
It's 2 wks to test date.
WHAT DO I DO?

On a different day, 2 wks ago, I took a GRE power prep test and scored 700 verbal, 630 math
WTF?

I'm so scared. PLEASE SOMEONE HELP...any math tricks anyyything PLEASE (post in the tips / tricks if you can)

I feel like I wasted my entire life. I feel so down. So discouraged.
 
It's only a Gross Ridiculous Exam. It's only a Gross Ridiculous Exam. To schools, if you have the right mask on, you get your toe in the door, but if you're wearing the right costume (rest of things beside doing well on the Gross Ridiculous Exam) you might win them over. It's only a Gross Ridiculous Exam.

SIGH.
 
Was your quant high enough to equal a 1200 overall combined with your verbal?

Remind yourself that Power Prep is the most accurate, much more accurate than
Kaplan.

Also, an 1100 isn't bombing it. We tend to think that it is because clinical programs have such high requirements and we're surrounded by smarties with 1400s, but there are a lot of people who don't even break 1000. So don't downplay your intelligence like that.
 
I'm probably not a good person to ask because I only got a 580, but in quant comparison, always plug in the number in the other column and see what happens if that number is used.
 
scienceisbeauty said:
Just...took a practice GRE that I BOMBED
think 500s in the math, 620 verbal (Kaplan Premium Online)
It's 2 wks to test date.
WHAT DO I DO?

On a different day, 2 wks ago, I took a GRE power prep test and scored 700 verbal, 630 math
WTF?

I'm so scared. PLEASE SOMEONE HELP...any math tricks anyyything PLEASE (post in the tips / tricks if you can)

I feel like I wasted my entire life. I feel so down. So discouraged.
Click to expand...

Just to share my experiences a little bit.. I took the GRE last Friday. It was my second time taking it, as I took it exactly a year ago. Scored and overall 1310 (720Q and 590V), but I really wanted to score higher on the V which is why I ultimately decided on retaking it. Last year I took a princeton review prep course, which helped me study. This year, I obviously was not interested in repeating the course, so I used Kaplan's book that has the CD with the 3 full tests and PowerPrep. I was consistently doing worse on the Kaplan tests.. However, I was doing fairly well on the PowerPrep. The night before the actual test, I took a full PowerPrep test and scored 680V and 710Q, so total of 1390. And when I took the actual exam the next day, voila, I scored exactly a 1390 (tho the individual tests were a little different.. 640V and 750Q).

So all in all, have faith, and don't let those Kaplan scores bring you down. Just see it as tough practice questions. Some of their questions are weird, and it's not really the whole CAT system, because I've retaken some of their tests over and over, only to see that the questions come out in the exact same order, no matter how well or badly you do.

Good luck and just stick to it! I know it's easier to feel like giving up, but you've worked way too hard for that. :)
 
I second what bellecalle said. the powerprep practice tests are the most accurate. i scored a 1410 on one and a 1400 on the other, and got a 1400 on test day. i also agree that even the discouraging, harder tests are helpful, because they might present a word or math problem that you hadn't seen before. for that reason, i took the last practice test i had the day before the real test. i was so sick of taking them, but i couldn't go into the test knowing that there was a test that i hadn't done, and, potentially, without knowledge of a vital word or problem. that test didn't provide any help on test day, but it could have! good luck!
 
Hey, would anyone be willing to critique and comment on/"rate" a practice essay I wrote in preparation for the GRE? I take it on Friday!! Let me know if anyone is around that could take a look- I would really appreciate the feedback! ;)
 
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scienceisbeauty said:
It's only a Gross Ridiculous Exam.
SIGH.
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sciencesisbeauty.. you are funny. I am scared of the exam, too. Took Powerprep today, 1 test trail Verbal = 370:eek: Quan = 660, 2nd test verbal= 510 Quan = 690. :( Six days left for me (not including the days I have to work).
I need at least 1200.

I guess after a few trials, Powerprep score (the best prediction) won't be accurate due to the repeated questions... so now I don't have more chances to accurately predict my score:(. I still can use Princeton online. Is it accurate?
Can I purchase more than 2 powerprep tests

This will be my retake. However, I didn't study much because I have to work and study for my classes too.

Like many people here, my financial and academic plans depend on this test. It will be a big relief after this is over with.. I want to move forward..

Congratulations for those who have achieved their scores!
 
That second score would get you a 1200, if it helps. And it's better to have low verbal and high quant than vice-versa. :/
 
SCORES TODAY (prac):

Princeton review: 500 quant, 670 verbal.
Kaplan: 670 quant, 600 verbal

*not a typo*
What's going on???????????????

I took these tests in the same day.

Rather than the questions being harder or easier on one prac test than another, do you think it's the way they have their scoring system set up? I mean, ETS has one secret formula that's not completely decipherable ....so Kaplan and PR have diff scoring sys and that's why my scores were so wack?

What do you guys think? what should I do?
 
Kaplan usually overshot me, and PR usually undershot me (this is online, though, I haven't taken their CD tests, which I've heard overshoot you).

And, yes, no one really knows how ETS scores the GRE, so they just take their best stab at it.
 
does anyone know if ETS makes powerprep for macs? Or is there a paper-based test for practice? I think there may be, but I'm not sure.
 
I just wanted to reiterate what others have said about Kaplan's practice tests: They are MUCH harder than the real GRE. When I was applying to grad school, I would also bomb those tests but did really well on the real GRE.

Looking back, I would have just not taken the Kaplan tests because they are so grossly misrepresentative of the real test.
 
But 670 vs. 500 seems so discrepant, and Cara said that Kaplan always overshot...so is my true math score somewhere in btwn the two?

On PP before, like 3 wks back? 2 wks back...I can't remember, I scored a 630 on the math. but I fear that might have been from doing the ETS prac book and the prac questions on the PP software...
*sigh*
I want a 670 on math and 700+ on verbal.
 
scienceisbeauty said:
SCORES TODAY (prac):

Princeton review: 500 quant, 670 verbal.
Kaplan: 670 quant, 600 verbal

*not a typo*
What's going on???????????????

I took these tests in the same day.

Rather than the questions being harder or easier on one prac test than another, do you think it's the way they have their scoring system set up? I mean, ETS has one secret formula that's not completely decipherable ....so Kaplan and PR have diff scoring sys and that's why my scores were so wack?

What do you guys think? what should I do?
Click to expand...

You should stop worrying soo much.
 
I also wouldn't shoot for a 700 verbal. It's EXTREMELY difficult to get that. It would be, like, 98th percentile or so.
 
Rather than the questions being harder or easier on one prac test than another, do you think it's the way they have their scoring system set up? I mean, ETS has one secret formula that's not completely decipherable ....so Kaplan and PR have diff scoring sys and that's why my scores were so wack?

What do you guys think? what should I do?
Click to expand...

what is hardest for you? what do you tend to know quickly, and what leaves you blank or requires lots of work? regardless of how they have thier scoring system set up, what can you do? you can study and do your best. if those scores are wonky, if they are not, you'll still want to do the same thing, and you can't really know if they are wonky.

scienceisbeauty said:
But 670 vs. 500 seems so discrepant, and Cara said that Kaplan always overshot...so is my true math score somewhere in btwn the two?

On PP before, like 3 wks back? 2 wks back...I can't remember, I scored a 630 on the math. but I fear that might have been from doing the ETS prac book and the prac questions on the PP software...
*sigh*
I want a 670 on math and 700+ on verbal.
Click to expand...

all you can do to do well is to study for the test and to try to control your stress level. you know what is hard for you-- practice that, make sure to keep reviewing what your good at (you may want to end you study session on that to keep up your spirits) and get lots of sleep, eat tasty and healthy food, and remember that you are you regardless of what score you get. i know this test is hard and scary, but regardless there is only so much you can do, regardless of what the practice tests say -- you can study for the test and take care of yourself. it sucks, but you can't control what questions you get or what order they are in, and you just can't totally know if x powerprep test is harder or easier than the unique gre you will end up with. give yourself a time limit, x hours, x nights a week til test time, and make sure to do something you enjoy that day, even if it's just spending 5 minutes before bed reading a short story or chatting with a friend. take extra good care of yourself the week before and focus on speed and on what you're good on. i know you want to work and work and work on your weaknesses, but don't forget that the better you are at your strengths, the more time you'll save for the tricky ones. let your strengths make you confident, not only in the gre either. seriously, look as sweet gifts or notes from friends or loved ones, happy photos., remind yourself that you are awesome when you are feeling over stressed or panicky.

a few cents!
 
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you make me happy. (hug). *thank you for the above post* (hug).
it made me happy and feel better.
 
I took the GRE today and scored a 670 Quantitative and 690 Verbal. I took a Kaplan practice test yesterday and scored 570Q/620V, so I guess I'm pretty happy with my scores. That's the only practice test I took, so I have no idea whether/how much studying helped.

I think the Kaplan book was pretty good, but late last night I discovered a good (and free) math review on the official GRE website. Too bad I didn't check that out sooner...if I had to do it over (what an awful thought), I would've studied more than one source. I think it would've considerably enhanced my Verbal score to look at more than just the words in the Kaplan book.
 
1st power prep test: 630 math, 700 verbal
1st princeton reivew: 540 math, 770 verbal
1st kaplan test: 670 quant, 600 verbal
2nd princeton review: 500 math, 670 verbal
2nd power prep test: 660 math, 640 verbal
1st Arco test: 430(!!) math, 800 verbal
1st Barron's test: 460(!!!!!!) math, 800 verbal
 
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Honestly, I think that you need to stop taking practice tests. Just relax until your test day comes.
 
Today -- well, at least from now till the day's end --- I'm going to spend all day away from the laptop taking tests. I'm going to only read vocab words.
 
I am taking the test Oct 4th, and I am freaking out!!!

I took a prep course through my university which uses the ETS book & then another book put out by my university. I plan on studying religiously for the next week minus the day before to rest my GRE filled head....

My target score is 1100+, with a 1200 preferred. ***crossing my fingers b/c the practice tests haven't been going well!!***
 
scienceisbeauty said:
1st power prep test: 630 math, 700 verbal
1st princeton reivew: 540 math, 770 verbal
1st kaplan test: 670 quant, 600 verbal
2nd princeton review: 500 math, 670 verbal
2nd power prep test: 660 math, 640 verbal
1st Arco test: 430(!!) math, 800 verbal
1st Barron's test: 460(!!!!!!) math, 800 verbal
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can I borrow your verbal skills???? lol.
 
*SCARED* *breathes deeply* so scared. so soon. so scared.
*closes eyes* I am still the same person after whatever GRE score. I will be strong. It's normal to be nervous. But my fellow SDNers survived. So will I.
 
scienceisbeauty said:
*SCARED* *breathes deeply* so scared. so soon. so scared.
*closes eyes* I am still the same person after whatever GRE score. I will be strong. It's normal to be nervous. But my fellow SDNers survived. So will I.
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We did, and so will you. I had almost unbearable math anxiety, and have math related learning disabilities, and yet here I am, GRE'd and whole. Do everything you can to decrease your anxiety, take very good care of yourself, sleep, cut back on the caffeine if you drink it (probiotics and ginsing tea are my fave non-anxiety producing energy suppliments), and increase your postiive feelings about all in your life that is not the GRE.
 
psybee said:
yet here I am, GRE'd and whole. .
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Aww psybee that made me laugh until I cried. You're awesome.
I got another way to think of what you said: WOO HOO THE GRE won't make holes in me :p But yeah I know what you mean.
Thanks.
AND gl to everyone taking it before and after me.
 
One problem one prac tests I have is that it's hard for me , after I've chosen an answer NOT to go and check if my answer is correct...sigh, so I know I can't do it on the real test...just arugh. test coming up soon.
 
3 more full study days...I hope I still have a soul after all this is over...
 
I've started GRE prepping (will be taking in August, probably) and on the two practice tests I've taken so far, there's been a huge discrepancy (960 Kaplan v. 1300 on Powerprep--I'd be walking on air if I got the 1300 on the real GRE!:)). Is one generally considered a more accurate predictor?
 
biogirl215 said:
I've started GRE prepping (will be taking in August, probably) and on the two practice tests I've taken so far, there's been a huge discrepancy (960 Kaplan v. 1300 on Powerprep--I'd be walking on air if I got the 1300 on the real GRE!:)). Is one generally considered a more accurate predictor?
Click to expand...

I remember Kaplan as being harder than the real test, but not by THAT much. Maybe you got used to the timing (assuming you took the Powerprep second). Many people find Powerprep the most accurate mock test. You should take another powerprep test and see how it fares.
 
I Took the second Powerprep--I got a 1220 (lower but still much higher than the Kaplan). How odd.

Can we buy additional Powerprep tests? I'm finding them really quite helpful!
 
biogirl215 said:
I Took the second Powerprep--I got a 1220 (lower but still much higher than the Kaplan). How odd.

Can we buy additional Powerprep tests? I'm finding them really quite helpful!
Click to expand...

I don't think you can buy additional powerprep tests, but just remember that you can take them multiple times and each time it will be slightly different. So just because you already took Test 1 doesn't mean that it will be exactly the same the next time you take it. Even though you will see some repeat questions, there will be a lot of different questions on there.. I think when I studied for the GRE i took 2 of the powerpreps over and over (and I saved 1 to take the night before the exam)

Another trick in powerprep (told to me by another test taker, to give them credit) is to keep taking it many times and basically memorize the answers to some of the easier questions you see, so that you can get a feel for what the real hard questions will look like on the actual GRE. So of course the scores you get won't be accurate, but still, you can get a feel for the difficult question types.

And in my experience, I took a powerprep the night before the actual exam and the next day I pretty much scored the exact same. So it was an accurate predictor for me.
 
I found Kaplan Quiz Bank to be an incredibly helpful, cheap resource. It is online, and it is just a bank of 1,000 questions (and you can take GRE tests as well). They have questions of all levels as well as explanations to answers. You could also mark certain questions to review later. I can't remember exactly the price of this service, but I believe it was around $200 (could be less!)
 
Uggh... One week until my test date... Read through the entire PR 2009 book today and started working with the Kaplan Math Book (learning those geometry tricks--geometry has always been my weakest point). Also played free rice (freerice.org) for some vocab prep.

Oh, and I thought of a solid way for me to study vocab--I had a grad student friend who would use GRE words in normal correspondance and so I was always having to look up words like "inchoate," "ineffable," and so on just to understand her emails--words that now are ingrained in my memory. Thus, as a way to study, I'm writing a letter to her using all of the words on a vocab list... not planning to send it, of course, but it actually has helped to put the words in a context that both has personal context and an association with the GRE.

Any other odd study tricks out there?
 
Reading, actually! A lot of words I knew just from classic lit. Jane Austen tends to use a lot of GRE words. :D
 
I should add that I have extremely illogical ways of remembering things. Among other things, I remember the words "perspicacity" and "specious" because they were on The Simpsons. On a slightly more usual note, I've found knowing even the little Spanish I know helps with some of the vocab.

Any tips for analogies? I find I can make a sentence out of almost any combination, so that doesn't really work for me.
 
Haha, I remember that episode.

Have you been making defining sentences? That worked the best for me. A really specific defining sentence, mind you.
 
futureapppsy2 said:
I should add that I have extremely illogical ways of remembering things. Among other things, I remember the words "perspicacity" and "specious" because they were on The Simpsons.
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So true! The Simpsons is how I learned the word "referendum."
 
I am hoping to take it end of July or beginning of August.. I have the Barron's GRE book, the Kaplan math workbook, then realized i couldnt teach myself geometry, I never learned, so easily so I just got Geometry for Dummies..
I have been doing the mini practice verbal tests in the barrons book atleast everyother day,reading and practicing geometry, and doing the practice quizzes for the math I do know..
I am beginning to feel mildly obsessed about the GRE:laugh:
 
Really good thread, I need all the motivation I can get! I started studying a couple months ago, but then I stopped! Ahhh.. I haven't registered yet, maybe if I do that will keep my motivation going? Spending over $100 for a test is ridiculous, maybe that will help!

On a side note: I have already taken the GRE's about 2 years ago, when I thought I was going to grad school right after undergrad. I didn't study much, and it showed. :(

Here's to doing the best we can!! :xf:
 
Barron's prep tests are by far the hardest. I used Barrons and Kaplan and there was usually a 200 point difference between my scores, Barrons being lower. Kaplan was higher - but that's because they just use a normed scoring system, instead of the actual scoring system used by the test itself with all depends on the last year's taker of the test.
 
MyGRETutor.com is a great site with tons of practice questions and five practice tests, all for $7.00. I wish I had known about this site before I spent a lot more money on books/tutors.
 
I'm a rising junior and I've got the summer pretty free (unfortunately no summer research or job at the moment :() and I'm wondering if I should take the GRE at the end of this summer (since it seems that I will have to take both the GRE and GRE Subject Test) or if this would be too early/somehow detrimental?

thanks!
 
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