GRE study help?

[golfmontpoker]

Well I'm planning on applying to some AA programs for next year. Anyways, are there any GRE forums out there that anyone knows of? I mean there are ones for the PCAT, MCAT, DAT, etc... I just think it would be beneficial to discuss study techniques and tips with other people. Thanks for any help!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Salamandrina]

Well I'm planning on applying to some AA programs for next year. Anyways, are there any GRE forums out there that anyone knows of? I mean there are ones for the PCAT, MCAT, DAT, etc... I just think it would be beneficial to discuss study techniques and tips with other people. Thanks for any help!

Well, I don't know about a forum specific to it, but I will give you my own study tip. Get Word Smart, Word Smart II, Word Smart Genius, and Word Smart GRE. I read and studied all of those over a two week period and got a 680 on the verbal part of the GRE.

 

[Febrifuge]

I've always been a "word guy." I looked up words in the dictionary when I was little, and watched a TON of sitcoms from the '70s and screwball comedies from the '40s. My first undergrad degree is in theatre; I've done Shakespeare. If this isn't your story too, then do what you can to add some of that kind of influence; watching movies and TV is no substitute for studying, but it's way more fun.

The point is, verbal ability is useful everywhere, and good examples of difficult techniques are more common than you might think. Stuff your brain with as much clever, witty, funny stuff as you can. Humor works on understanding. I agree that the point is to expand your working vocabulary as much as you can -- if you're confident about how to read context for words you don't know, and you know a boatload of words to begin with, you'll do well on the Verbal part. Giving yourself two to four weeks is a good idea; you don't want to burn out, but on the other hand repetition and pattern recognition is the key to everything, so it needs to be more than just a week or two.

680 is a darn fine score, Salamandria! Few people score higher...

 

[golfmontpoker]

Thanks for the help, its much appreciated. Well I suppose I will study and try to cram as much new vocabulary as I can 3 weeks or so prior to the test. I figure 2 hours a day should be sufficient. Any good websites out there that you know of that comes in handy for the verbal? other then dictionary.com

 

[Arcella]

I used the kaplan book and crammed 3 weeks before the test. I was in the 80th percentile.

 

[LatinGuitarrist]

What are the requirements to take the GRE? like for mcat is chem, ochem, physics and bio..how about for gre?

Ed

 

[Beau Geste]

There are no real "requirements" for taking the general GRE.

I recommend a good command of the English language since verbal is tested. Quantitative is measured by general math skills, including algebra.

Subject tests are different, and obviously, depending on the subject, you should have good knowledge of subject.

For the general GRE, I didn't study and got around an 1850 (this was in 2001). It was good enough to get me accepted to a graduate program at Northwestern.

 

[Febrifuge]

...I suppose I will study and try to cram as much new vocabulary as I can 3 weeks or so prior to the test. I figure 2 hours a day should be sufficient. Any good websites out there that you know of that comes in handy for the verbal? other then dictionary.com

It's "other than dictionary.com," and that right there is the sort of thing the easy questions are designed to smack people on. Two hours a day is probably fine for the hardcore studying, but you should not wait for a bus or put a pizza in the oven without at least glancing at a word list or a geometry figure, and working on it a little bit. Three weeks is not a lot of time to re-wire your brain; two hours a day for 21 days is still less than two days total. Not to mention, the test is not exactly cheap, and it's kind of important.

I would say the best advice is to go out and get a test-prep book, like Kaplan or similar. I got one that had a CD-ROM, which gave me access to a Web-based diagnostic test, and several practice test sections. I was able to work on Quantitative a bunch of times, and figure out what to study more of. Same deal with Verbal, plus the book had lists of words you "need" to know.

More than anything, you need to diagnose your own weaknesses and strengths, and then learn how the mechanics of the test will be made to work against you. Then you shore up the areas where you're most vulnerable.

Over the course of my three-to-four-week prep regimen, I gained about 50 points on Verbal, and about 150 on Quantitative. Practice pays.