GRE Resources

[psycho12]

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Hi all! I am getting my MA in general psych and am beginning to study for the GRES (general and psych). I am in a masters program (instead of going straight for my PhD) so I can get my GPA up, get some more experience and of course to get my GRE scores higher. I did almost perfectly on my writing, but did not really study much for anything and did not do well in V & Q.

Does anyone know:
1) Which books are the best (Kaplan, Princeton, etc.)?
2) Would GRE classes help?
3) Any extra info about studying for GREs.

I appreciate your help so much!
Thanks.

 

[krisrox]

Hi all! I am getting my MA in general psych and am beginning to study for the GRES (general and psych). I am in a masters program (instead of going straight for my PhD) so I can get my GPA up, get some more experience and of course to get my GRE scores higher. I did almost perfectly on my writing, but did not really study much for anything and did not do well in V & Q.

Does anyone know:
1) Which books are the best (Kaplan, Princeton, etc.)?
2) Would GRE classes help?
3) Any extra info about studying for GREs.

I appreciate your help so much!
Thanks.

STUDY! That's why you didn't do well. I liked the Princeton books, and I hear Kaplan isn't that good, but anything is better than nothing. You NEED to study, especially for the vocab. Don't study writing because psych schools don't care about it and you already did well. Buy a few books and teach yourself unless you lack motivation and want to dish out the $$ for a class.

 

[psycho12]

Hahha, of course I know I should study. I will look at other forums from the past to find my answers, but thanks anyways.

 

[CounselingGirl]

I used Kaplan and Barron and preferred Barron. Barron has the most comprehensive word list (3,000 words).

 

[PrisonPsych]

I used Kaplan and Barron and preferred Barron. Barron has the most comprehensive word list (3,000 words).

My girlfriend about went crazy quizzing me off of the Barron lists...

 

[krisrox]

My girlfriend about went crazy quizzing me off of the Barron lists...

I third the Barron vocab. That's all I studied. Every day for about an hour a day. (Brought me up over 150 points!)

Like I said before, don't bother taking a class unless you seriously lack motivation.

 

[psycho12]

Thanks everyone! Barron sounds like the best then, i feel relieved to get some structure. Anyways thanks a millllllllllllllion!

 

[kbean]

I liked Princeton's online tests--they're adaptive and I thought they were the closest to the actual test in terms of difficulty, personally.

What helped me most with vocab was "Word Smart for the GRE"--it has silly sample sentences that I thought were ridiculous at the time, but then I found myself remembering them weeks later. I went through the book and made a flash card for every single word I didn't know in there, memorized all of them, and did pretty well.

 

[wrsparks]

So I am in the same boat you are. I am in a MS program and took the GRE before without studying, and didn't do as well as I wanted. I did the accelerated online Kaplan class and was very pleased. I am a procrastinator, so accountability was something I needed. I felt like my teacher was very helpful and willing to answer questions. They also give you TONS of material to study with and have adaptive tests to practice with. They also have these "smart reports" which were awesome if you like data 🙂 Overall, I was pleased. But like anything, it's about what you put into it. One down side is that it's kind of expensive ($1000). But for me, the improvement (150pts) was worth it. I think you need to evaluate how far off your ability is from your score. Like I REALLY felt like I could do better and asked my professors if they felt like I could do better with some studying. I'm all about cost vs. benefit. 🙂

Another option is hiring a math tutor... Had a friend who that method really worked.

 

[psychgirl05]

i took a kaplan class and the amount of extra material was really really helpful!!! the full length online tests were definitely invaluable because they really do simulate what it will be like on test day (ie. adaptive tests, time constraints, ect). it's expensive, but the extra study material really did improve my score by over 100 points