In Desperate Need of GRE Help

[dpthopeful14788]

Hi everyone. I like to consider myself a strong applicant for all of the schools that I am applying to in every area but the GRE. I exceed all of the cumualtive and major GPA requirements as well as hours and think I have good LOR and extracurriculars. I got a 291 on the GRE my first time around, and have only improved by 3-4 points when taking the practice tests (which are known to be easier anyway). I am planning to take it again by the end of this month because some of my apps are due 10/1, but I am really struggling and desperate for any advice you guys can give me to improve my quant and verbal scores. I am applying to 2 programs that have waived their GRE requirement, but I really do not want to go there because of their location and expense. I do want to go to school ASAP though, so this is really tricky for me. Any help or advice or resources anyone could share would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[On-the-way-to-DPT]

I found Gregmat Youtube channel super helpful. He also has a website to better organize the videos Greg Mat

 

[ljgissler]

I haven't taken the GRE, but my wife and a good friend of mine have. From what they've told me (and from my own experience with studying for standardized exams), I think there are three areas of deficiency which can hurt performance:

1) Lack of necessary knowledge
2) Struggling to figure out solutions despite having the requisite knowledge
3) Running out of time

I'm not sure which parts you're struggling with, but here are what I believe to be the best ways to deal with the problems above:

1) Study! I think this is especially useful for the quantitative reasoning portion of the exam, as there are some mathematical formulas/facts that you just need to know. Regarding the verbal section, I'm honestly not sure how effective accumulating a lot of knowledge is, as there are so, so many words to know.

2) Practice problems! Practice GRE problems whenever you can to become accustomed to the way questions are asked and the kind of thinking involved in solving them.

3) Practice tests! Sorta similar to point 2, but with this one, it is important to do actual practice tests with a timer so that you can become competent in moving through questions at a certain pace.

I would suggest identifying one or more of these three areas that you most struggle with, and then make a plan. Don't just keep doing practice tests without a plan! Critically evaluate your performance and see where you most need to improve.

Like I said, I haven't taken the GRE, but these are general strategies that I've found to work well. Best of luck to you!

I agree for quant section studying! For verbal, dont overdo it on the new vocab. 25-50 words per day plus light review. For reading comp, actually read. Read obscure opinion articles in the nytimes and aldaily. Do at least one business/tech article + 1 art/lit article for well rounded studying. Good luck and pm me for more detailed study tips

 

[ya1]

I agree for quant section studying! For verbal, dont overdo it on the new vocab. 25-50 words per day plus light review. For reading comp, actually read. Read obscure opinion articles in the nytimes and aldaily. Do at least one business/tech article + 1 art/lit article for well rounded studying. Good luck and pm me for more detailed study tips

I would suggest quite the opposite. The list of vocabulary GRE manuals provide turned out to be useless for me. I tried to study those words but never saw them again on any tests. So I would suggest not waste your time on those vocabulary lists. For vocabulary, I found it helpful to pay attention/learn the meaning of word roots, prefixed, and suffixes - they may be able to give you a hint for the meaning of the word in the context.
I would also suggest to read GRE text only instead of reading random obscure articles and review questions/answer for each text. You can get older edition GRE books and practice with those. Figure out the way you better answer the questions on comprehension part. Here a few options:
1. Read the text. -> answer questions.
2. Read the questions. -> read the text. answer questions as you are reading. (This option worked the best for me.)
3. Read 1st paragraph. -> See if you can answer any questions. -> Read 2nd paragraph. -> See if you can answer any questions.
If I remember correctly, it's more likely you will find an answer to question 1 in paragraph 1 and not in paragraph 5. So if in doubt where the answer is in the text, chronological order would be a better guess (if you have no other cues of course).

 

[hapa808]

I just took the GRE a few days ago (unofficial 158V 160Q) and I used the official ETS textbook 2017 + 150 Quant workbook + 150 Verbal workbook. Most local libraries have these materials so if you want to get these for free, just look around.

For vocab, use magoosh flashcards and do all the basic and common. The advanced words aren't worth doing unless you're trying to get a perfect score.

For essay and problem-solving I also used a youtuber, "Gregmat." He posts free videos and does a good job at explaining the GRE in a way that makes it a lot less intimidating.

Did not pay a single penny in GRE prep. Let me know if you have any questions.