I need GRE class/tutor but wonder if it's worth it or if I have enough time.

[Ngozi Onyema]

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In order for me to do well on the GRE I believe I need to take the GRE in-person classroom course but the price is kind of steep (over $1,000 for 8 sessions) and I'm wondering if it is too late for this cycle (which I really need to be accepted in to). Had I known about this GRE in-person classroom course earlier I would have taken it but I thought it was enough for me to just buy the study guide with a couple practice tests. I realized that without a professor/tutor there to give me some structure of study I slack off. Like for instance is there a word bank that the GRE takes from for it's verbal section or is it just random words out of the entire dictionary that one should know? I could also use some guidance and structure in studying the quantitative portion. I just can't do it on my own and I think that's why I've done poorly on the GRE. Just as some people need trainers going to the gym I think I need a trainer/guide for the GRE. I think it's too late for me as far as the GRE and right now I'm hoping on schools that don't require the GRE to accept me or for the schools that do to overlook their minimum GRE requirement for me. Only reason I'm saying this is because it's possible that there could be some time within the next couple of months (supposing that's enough time) for me to get this guidance and have the scores in before some deadlines. I'm 90%+ sure it's too late for that but I just wanted to know for sure if it was too late or not. I'm in the tri-sate area and applying to schools in this area (NJ, NY, NYC, CT, PA) and I think most of those schools have deadlines coming up that are too close to allow me enough time to do this GRE classroom course study. Am I right or wrong?

 

[Myosin]

If you think it's a good idea to pay someone just to hold you accountable, then you're not ready for PT school. Prep classes have pretty much been proven to be a complete waste of time and money. They won't give you anything that you can't do for yourself.

Get the Manhattan GRE prep set off of Amazon. It's an amazing set, that will walk you through everything from the ground up. The verbal sections are somewhat lacking, but the math is amazing and you can easily supplement the verbal sections with online study material

$80 for the set is far better than paying 1k to have a person stand up and teach you the exact same thing.

Here are some the sites I have gathered in my studies that are helping me with the verbal sections

http://www.majortests.com/gre/wordlist.php
http://www.scribd.com/doc/46858829/GRE-Prefix-Root-Suffix
http://dynamo.dictionary.com/test-prep/gre-games

The GRE has a common pool of words, based on their perceived difficulty that it can use. Those lists contain the most common. Unless you memorize the entire dictionary, you're never guaranteed to know every word that comes up on the test.

Got to that first link, majortests, and make note cards of the word lists. Do 10-20 words a day, everyday. After you get the lists done, do the same for the stems, roots, suffixes, and prefixes.

I promise you that you can do this on your own. You're intelligent and determined. You just have to get fired up about it.

 

[nicolej5]

pretty sure you're too late to retake the GRE and allow time for the scores to get to schools. Especially because ETS was having major issues just getting scores out for people who took it in June, July and Aug.

 

[Ngozi Onyema]

Myosin thanks for the information. It motivated me. Nicole thanks too, your information was also helpful.

If I'm going through the studying that Myosin suggests, I figure I'd need about 2 months ( I have no idea but I guess I could study everything in 2 months). So I said I need until Jan. 31st to be ready. So I went to PTCAS and looked up schools that I could possibly apply to that had GRE deadlines on/after March 1st, 2013 (because I have to consider some time for ETS to send the scores) and I found that only 4 schools have deadlines on/after March 1st. So Nicole you're right it is kind of too late and that's not even taking in to account the ETS issue, just the PTCAS GRE deadlines for the schools. But it's still worth trying for those 4 schools so I'm going to follow Myosin's instructions and get that Manhattan study guide set and study those websites and schedule another test for Jan 31st - first week of February.

The study guide that I was using was ETS' "The Official Guide to the GRE revised General Test" I didn't really give the book much chance but some of the questions it it seemed too easy, at least as far as I got in it. One Amazon reviewer says about this book that the actual test is much harder.

Anyway I'm going to give the GRE one more chance for this cycle, at least for those 4 remaining schools that have later GRE deadlines.

 

[nomattic]

I only gave myself 2 weeks of self-study time. I don't recommend this at all, as it was exhausting and I didn't get as high of a score as I would have liked. If you give yourself a month to study everything you'll be fine. In 2 months you'll be golden.

 

[DPTHopeful2012]

Since you don't have a lot of time, I recommend doing as many practice tests as you can. I took the Kaplan prep course and while the instructor was helpful, the practice tests were by far the most helpful tool since that simulated the real exam. It is a long exam so endurance is key.

Essay topics are on the ets website, so I would do some of those to prepare yourself. I saw my essay topic on the website and it helped a lot because I had already did my brainstorming so I had more time for writing. Also, memorizing the 500 Kaplan flash cards helped me a lot. I saw a lot of words on the exam. Study root words & stems also.

For the next month, if I were you I would dedicate all my time to the gre.

 

[BrintRufusMekus]

Prior to even starting to "study," I would recommend expanding your vocabulary. Learn some new words everyday (however much you can handle), and review periodically. Repetition is key.

 

[Ngozi Onyema]

Looking at my PTCAS GPA Calculations I realize that I had a very poor start/foundation to my college career. My worse GPA scores are in English and Math(which I took all in my Freshman year of college). But as I started to get further in my college career (with a greater focus on my major) from freshman to sophomore to Junior to Senior I started doing a lot better. I can see that is the reason I do so poorly on the GRE. I do better in courses linked to a major (it's evident in my transcript) but the basics like English and Math I did poorly.

This is probably a good and bad thing. On one hand schools will see that when it comes to the basic/foundation courses (English and Math) I do poorly but when it comes to courses focused on the trade/major I do well. PT school is mostly courses focused on the major so I hope they see that and realize that I'll be able to do well.

In fact it goes further before my college career. I did not do well on my SATs so I did not get in to any Universities and instead went to Community College. I started off with one major (Computer Science) then I changed my major to Physical Therapy Assistant. I graduated the PTA program and passed the license exam on my first attempt. I figure my graduate career will go the same way. I probably won't get in to any of these graduate schools that require the standardized test but maybe/hopefully I get in to one that doesn't and I'll finish the program and pass the PT license exam on the first try. I see it going that way. Hopefully schools see this too.