need GRE advise please

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clincialpsystu

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Hi everyone,

I plan on taking the GRE soon and wanted to know if studying for it on my own was a good idea. I would appreciate any advise from anyone who did that and what they thought about it. Thanks in advance.
 
I did all my studying on my own with the Princeton GRE books and got close to a 1600 (though my score on the written test was not so great). With that being said, studying will only take you so far as a lot fo the test is aptitude. But if you don't know the math formulas or vocabulary words then it doesn't matter how much aptitude you have. And the books do give helpful tricks which are worth learning.

The psychology GRE test on the other hand is almost all knowledge. If you could memorize the study guide for that from cover to cover, you'd probably get close to a 800.
 
clincialpsystu said:
Hi everyone,

I plan on taking the GRE soon and wanted to know if studying for it on my own was a good idea. I would appreciate any advise from anyone who did that and what they thought about it. Thanks in advance.
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Hey I'm wondering this too because I also am going to study on my own 🙂

However, from what I've gathered, studying on your own can be an effective technique if you take time to study well and prepare enough. In other words, if you CAN study alone and get a lot out of it then you should be okay. And for me personally I don't have 1000 dollars to take a class so I'm hoping studying a year in advance will be helpful 😛

Anyways, other people will respond who know more than me! Good luck!
 
Like FadedC, I like the Princeton Review books and agree that if you know the math formulas and memorize vocabulary words, you'll be fine.

I have taken the GREs twice in the past 10 yrs (scores really do expire after 5 yrs and you can't extend them) and I recommend taking a course if it has been a while since you were in school.
 
Granted, it was years ago, but I did all my studying using books, too. It is absolutely worth studying in some way; don't go in and take the test blind. I used one of the books with a software component (flash cards, games, etc) which I thought was useful. Be sure to at least download the free prep materials from ETS, and if you can get an understanding of how the Computerized Adaptive Testing (CAT) works, that will help you, too.

Formulas and vocab words are great, but also pay attention to the tips and tricks the books have to offer. Getting a good score on the GRE math and vocab is not necessarily about KNOWING lots of math and words, it's about getting the right answers to the questions. You can get the right answers by knowing word roots, being able to reject answers that are wrong, and finding ways to answer the question without actually needing the formulas.

As for the GRE Psych test, you basically have to memorize an introductory psychology textbook, and you'll be fine. 🙂

My strategy for both was to take oodles of practice tests, then go through each test carefully, making sure I knew why the right answer was right and the wrong answer was wrong. I learned a lot this way and it felt more like a game and less like studying. I abhor flash cards (though I know they work for some people).
 
Thank you all for your advise 🙂. I noticed that a couple of you guys suggest the princeton review book, so is that better than the kaplan review book?
 
I used three Kaplan books to study for the general test: the big book and CD, a vocab flashcard book and the GRE/GMAT math workbook and I got well above a 1500 (though, like FadedC I did not do well on the writing despite my journalism background but NO ONE seemed to notice/care). Other than that I was VERY happy with the Kaplan prep materials.

For the psych subject test I used the Princeton Review book which has very good overviews of the topics, as well as a practice test book by REA which has good in-depth explanations of the responses but not all of the material is applicable. I also found a very old and very cheap version of a Myers intro psych book which was helpful since I'd been out of school for a while. Scored a 760, so I guess it worked.
 
For the general GRE I got both the Kaplan book and the Princeton Review book. While I thought they were both solid, I did feel the Princeton Review guide was the superior book because I liked the advice and tips and tricks it had in it better. Just my opinion though, I don't think you will go too wrong with either.
 
I, too, preferred the Princeton Review's tips and tricks over Kaplan, however it's a matter of preference.
 
dont take advice from anyone who got over a 1500. these people are freaks. statsically speaking, of course :laugh:.

p.s. yes could have used a more accurate word than "freaks", I had a cup of haterade this morning.

p.p.s. contrats to you ppl for doing so well.

p.p.p.s. if you will be applying to clinical psych programs and expect to score in the 1000-1250 range, i asvise you to take a classroom course. I liked how the classroom kaplan course told me what to study when and helped me organize/optimize my time. the class was boaring at times and that is one of the downsides of the course. the computer part of the course let me get extra help in stuff that i needed extra work on. i put the time in studying with books the first time i took the GRE but the course was more effective for me and i went up 150 points from my first score. i could have done better if i studied for a few weeks longer. i advise you to take a course, study on your own for ~3 weeks after the course ends, and then take the GRE.

mucho :luck:
 
numbereight said:
dont take advice from anyone who got over a 1500. these people are freaks. statsically speaking, of course :laugh:.
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OK, so this is kinda true (though I prefer not to think of myself as a freak 😉).

But I guess I would look at your own past performance. How did you do on the SAT/ACT when you applied for college? If you did really well, maybe you're just one of us lucky ones who can do standardized tests and would be fine studying on your own.

And have you taken any practice tests? Are you doing as well on those as you would like? If not, how far off are you from your goal score? If it's a lot (200-300 points or more) I would definitely look into the classes.
 
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clincialpsystu said:
Thank you all for your advise 🙂. I noticed that a couple of you guys suggest the princeton review book, so is that better than the kaplan review book?
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I solved that dilemma by using both. 👍

In addition, I recommend the 500 card set of Kaplan vocab flash cards...saw a lot of those words on the actual test. And I keep encountering them in books I read now--they seem to be sprinkled into a lot of Phillip K. Dick's work.
 
I strongly preferred the Princeton Review books.

For vocab, I'd suggest eschewing rote memorization in favor of a more integrative approach. I used this: say the word, ask a question that uses the word with specific reference to something (i.e. not "Ralph is eleemosynary, isn't he?" but "You know, Bill Gates is very eleemosynary, but do you ever wonder sometimes if those computer donations have a lot of self-serving in them, too?").Then answer the question with the same word, and then make a statement about yourself using the word. This is WAY better than rote memorization or trying to learn roots.

For math, just learn their stupid tricks and remember that if it takes you longer than a minute to answer anything, you're doing it wrong and you have to find a better strategy for that question type.
 
If you are not able to afford or don't feel like spending the $$$ on classes or tutoring, do yourself a favor and buy more than one GRE prep book. I've seen people suggest BOTH Kaplan and Princeton Review which is what I did and I felt fairly well prepared for the tests. Basically, the more practice tests and tips and tricks you can get the better.
 
I am getting pretty depressed about the taking the GRE. I have been studying math with some verbal for about 2 months now and all the practice tests I am not getting above a 950..Such as today i got a 900 on the ETS and I don't know what else to do, I taught myself geometry have been using the Barrons and Kaplan's math workbook.. I want to take the GRE before classes start back up in late August but i am losing hope at this point🙁
 
Out of the guides I used, Barrons was the best GRE prep book hands down. It has a great math review section in the back that reviews all the basic stuff you need to know. It also has a huge vocab list (3500). I was familiar with all of those and I didn't see an unfamiliar word on the GRE. I also got Kaplan and Princeton review but really only used them for the practice questions.
 
i dont find Barrons Math section very helpful at all..i have issues with its organization of topics and tips..everything is crammed together and i just can't seem to focus on any one of the 4 or 5 tips all at once, not to mention the explanations are lacking at times .. I
just went and bought the Kaplan prepbook because I found the layout of and explanations of the Kaplan Math Workbook very helpful..ill try to work through this book and try to muddle through Barrons but i am losing hope and will start trimming some of the phd programs off my list and adding masters as back up
 
twilson said:
I am getting pretty depressed about the taking the GRE. I have been studying math with some verbal for about 2 months now and all the practice tests I am not getting above a 950..Such as today i got a 900 on the ETS and I don't know what else to do, I taught myself geometry have been using the Barrons and Kaplan's math workbook.. I want to take the GRE before classes start back up in late August but i am losing hope at this point🙁
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Twilson -

I totally understand that it is frustrating that you have been studying so much and have not yet achieved the scores that you want. Are you doing a lot better on one section? If so, maybe focus your research time on the other. I have found variation helps me to study - so for vocab I am using memorization, podcasts, and playing a game my friend and I made up with the GRE vocab words. Try to find a friend who needs to study too - it helps with the motivation! Good luck!!
 
Time for my usual reiteration: reading classic literature also helps with the verbal section.
 
psyed4clinPhD said:
Twilson -

I totally understand that it is frustrating that you have been studying so much and have not yet achieved the scores that you want. Are you doing a lot better on one section? If so, maybe focus your research time on the other. I have found variation helps me to study - so for vocab I am using memorization, podcasts, and playing a game my friend and I made up with the GRE vocab words. Try to find a friend who needs to study too - it helps with the motivation! Good luck!!
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I always score higher on the Vocab and know if I study more for it I can get higher scores..I have been focusing primarily on math because I have never been particularly good at it and have been trying to practice as much as possible..I am afraid that after studying for Vocab, I will get a horribily imbalanced score like I do now 500V 300Q or 600V 300Q.. I don't know if it is the setting that I do the practice tests ( my apartment where I melt during the Summer) or if I am not grasping the tips and tricks offered and only understand the math concept, which I suspect can also be the issue
 
If it helps, I started out with a 300 quant score and raised it to 580. I also raised my verbal from 570 to 660, though I was always good at verbal to begin with. I used to cry over my practice GRE scores and how I clearly had no chance of getting into grad school if I couldn't even get a decent GRE score. But, well, I did it and I firmly believe that if I could, anyone can. 😉

Like I said, the prep book that helped me the most was the official ETS prep book. I also got online tutoring through Princeton Review, though.
 
cara susanna said:
If it helps, I started out with a 300 quant score and raised it to 580. I also raised my verbal from 570 to 660, though I was always good at verbal to begin with. I used to cry over my practice GRE scores and how I clearly had no chance of getting into grad school if I couldn't even get a decent GRE score. But, well, I did it and I firmly believe that if I could, anyone can. 😉

Like I said, the prep book that helped me the most was the official ETS prep book. I also got online tutoring through Princeton Review, though.
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Thank you very much for that! It gives me a bit more hope 😀..I am just getting really frustrated and needed to rant a bit.. I appreciate all the comments!
 
cara susanna said:
Time for my usual reiteration: reading classic literature also helps with the verbal section.
Click to expand...

As a math person, I'm not sure which would be less painful: 4000 vocab flashcards or pride and prejudice : P
 
What helped me:

1) Took the test under better conditions (i.e., in a quiet setting)
2) Took CAT tests, especially powerprep (Paper-based prep didn't really work for me because I always wanted to skip ahead and check my answers). I think there's another one out there, but I can't remember the name for the life of me.
3) Relearned all those math "tricks," especially with regards to shapes within shapes and angle and triangle measures--this was probably the *best* thing I did. I used PR's Cracking the GRE, the Kaplan Math Workbook, and the free math review that came with powerprep.
4) PR really helped me learn to approach analogies in the correct way
(though my verbal still wasn't great, it's "good enough" for most of my programs--590)
5) Free rice helped a bit. Also, even though I know last minute studying is usually a no-no, the vocab words I reviewed the day before and morning of the test probably stuck with me more. I think I could have done a better job of studying vocab, though.
6) What didn't work for me: flashcards, number2.com, Kaplan General book. As always, YMMV.

Good luck! Don't give up!
 
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There are schools you can find with low or no GRE cut-offs, as well. That's what I did.

krisrox: Haha, we are definitely opposites then. Seriously, though, I didn't have to study any vocab at all and I credit part of that to reading a lot of classic literature.
 
twilson said:
I am getting pretty depressed about the taking the GRE. I have been studying math with some verbal for about 2 months now and all the practice tests I am not getting above a 950..Such as today i got a 900 on the ETS and I don't know what else to do, I taught myself geometry have been using the Barrons and Kaplan's math workbook.. I want to take the GRE before classes start back up in late August but i am losing hope at this point🙁
Click to expand...

Slowly work each of the problems in the Princeton Book until you can identify the question type and the trick to solve it in the other books and practice tests. The PR book has the best and most useful math section. I went from ~450 to a 740 on the actual test.

Mark
 
Just bought the Kaplan books (General, Psych and vocab) and returned all but the vocab. They really are, pardon my French, crappy. My roommate has the PR General book and loves it, so I'm going to go with that.
 
I think for my second try at the GREs Im going to take a classroom course... how do I find out when/where these are being offered in my area?

I THOUGHT math was my weakness, but was blown away when I did above average in quant and below average in verbal. Go figure. I have a lot of words to learn apparently.
 
Go to Kaplan or Princeton Review's website--they have a "course locator." If there isn't one in your area, you can get online tutoring; that's what I did.
 
I absolutely think you can study for this test on your own if you have the discipline. Practicing under 'test conditions' is also as important as studying for the test itself. I think the best book that I studied from was Barrons.
 
Not everyone can teach themselves--I needed tutoring because I couldn't figure out the test "tricks" on my own.
 
Has anyone been finding wrong answers or error in the Kaplan Math workbook? There have been a few problems that the explanations aren't explaining what you are supposed to be finding.I found some in Barrons also, at first I have been feeling that I was not figuring it out despite agonizing over answers but now I am skeptical because I have been seeing in the pre-med forums that Barrons and Kaplan tends to have wrong answers and errors for MCAT.

I just ran across another one in the data interpretations " Approximately what percent of all the forested land in the contiguous U.S. lies in either New England or Mid-Atlantic Region?"

I went to check my answer but they calculated for New England and the SOUTH, just like the question before it with no explanation of why you would be calculating for the South instead of the Mid-Atlantic..am I really just not getting this stuff or do you think it there are typos?😕
 
krisrox said:
As a math person, I'm not sure which would be less painful: 4000 vocab flashcards or pride and prejudice : P
Click to expand...
The former....as you know the flashcards will eventually end.....not so much for P&P.

--

There will be mistakes in any study guide. I was reviewing for the EPPP (yeah, I know...ahead of schedule, but I wanted to see how I'd score), and one of the pharma questions was not only poorly worded but blatantly incorrect.
 
I figured but I was just wondering if anyone else found anything, my math skills aren't top notch and no one has said anything about errors they have found so I was hesitant to post anything about it lest I be incorrect in my assumptions..Makes me feel better and alittle less crazy 😀
 
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okay, so I'm gearing up to take the GRE on Aug 1st, and I realized that I'm not quite clear on something. I know that you can have official scores sent to up to 4 schools for free... how do you send your scores to the rest of the schools? I'm assuming that there is some kind of charge for this (as if $260-worth of exams isn't enough already). can someone enlighten me please? thanks! 🙂
 
love2bfit said:
okay, so I'm gearing up to take the GRE on Aug 1st, and I realized that I'm not quite clear on something. I know that you can have official scores sent to up to 4 schools for free... how do you send your scores to the rest of the schools? I'm assuming that there is some kind of charge for this (as if $260-worth of exams isn't enough already). can someone enlighten me please? thanks! 🙂
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You can send you score reports to other schools for $20 per school. Here is the website: http://www.ets.org/portal/site/ets/...nnel=c50946f1674f4010VgnVCM10000022f95190RCRD
I have to agree with you on the high cost of sending score reports and taking the 2 GRE exams🙁
 
Yeah, then you also have the subject GRE. And some schools require two sets of GRE scores. It's just great.
 
ahhh my wallet is already crying just thinking about it 🙁
 
I studied on my own and did well, slightly above the average of most of the schools I was applying to, so a very safe number, but not exceptional. I definitely was not as disciplined as I could have been, but nonetheless I am a self-motivated person and was able to study nearly every day for at least 30 minutes in the 2-3 weeks before the test and a fewtimes a week in the month or two prior.

If you know your own level of discipline and you think you might need the course, I'd recommend that you think of it as an investment in your future. There is definitely a financial payoff in doing well on the GRE if you are planning to go to a PhD program as it could be a factor in getting a fellowship or getting into a very competitive program that offers a better financial package. You also could try studying on your own at first and see how that goes. I took a practice test and looked through the books to get a feel for the test before I made the decision to study on my own.

I used two books to study, first Barron's and then Kaplan. I recommend using two books, it gave me a different perspective and reinforced the material.
 
Markp said:
Slowly work each of the problems in the Princeton Book until you can identify the question type and the trick to solve it in the other books and practice tests. The PR book has the best and most useful math section. I went from ~450 to a 740 on the actual test.

Mark
Click to expand...


How long did you spend studying? I am also getting frustrated and am now beginning to feel the time-crunch!
 
The first time I took the GRE, with no preparation, I received an 1110 (500 V, 610 Q). Realizing this was too low of a score for clinical phD programs, I studies my ass off for two months by studying the Kaplan book and taking practice tests. I took the GRE again a couple days ago and scored a 1300 (600 V, 700 Q). So yes, it can be done. My advice is to get your hands on as many practice tests as possible. Best of luck to you
 
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