OMG, I'm ******ed! (GRE related)

[LivestockDoc]

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HELP! I need a few words of encouragement.

I am studying for the GRE, and I'm going insane. I haven't had some of this math for 30 years. You learn it in junior high and high school and then you never use it again. I'm fine with the verbal because it involves skills we use our whole lives, but the math....(fractional exponents in the denominator of a fraction?? What????)

The more I study, the worse I get. I'm using Princeton Review & Kaplan books, and I have Cliff's Math Review for Standardized Tests. I can't afford a tutor.

3 weeks ago, I got a 610 on the math section of my practice test (my highest score). A few days ago, I got a 510. The math makes less sense every day. Problems I could do a month ago look like gibberish now. I'm melting!

Please, can someone tell me it's going to get better (even if it isn't)?

Sigh...preparing to smack self in head with frying pan....

 

[Lckynmbrslefman]

It will get better! Don't worry! I took a practice test before I started studying for the GRE and got a 390 on the math section. I hadn't seen that type of math since....god knows when. I couldn't afford a tutor either, so I bought Kaplan's "Cracking the GRE" and learned how to see through the questions, so to speak. I highly recommend that book. It gives you strategies for picking answers, even if you have no clue. I eventually got up to 660 on the real GREs so it can be done!!

Just do a little bit of studying each day and keep doing practice tests. Give yourself enough time to go back over the sections over and over again, a little at a time. I hope that helps...don't give up hope!!

 

[SmallAndLA]

The book I used for the math section was Barron's GRE book. I thought the way it went through the math was awesome -- it breaks it down into sections and basically re-teaches the concepts and provides lots and lots of practice problems. And it explains how to do the problems in the practice sets in a way that's easy to understand, in my opinion. I wish I had it with me so I could give an example, but it's not with me at school.

The GRE for Dummies is a great book to use as well -- with some nifty, nifty tips to help solve problems faster. That book has a nice math section as well but I found myself looking at the verbal section much more.

One more thing -- I found out that the practice test scores were not indicative of how test day turns out the hard way. I wouldn't worry so much about the number at the end but rather the types of problems that are being missed.

Lcky's got the right way to study already in here, but I'll add one more thing: stop studying when your head hurts or you get tired. You won't retain much if you push on and you'll just get frustrated or discouraged.

Good luck studying!!

 

[bmichs75DVM]

Here are a few things that helped me with the math section. When you get and algebraic question with a variable and they ask you whether its larger, smaller, the same, or not enough info than some other variable in the other column. I would always start by putting in 0 for both variables. Then once I got that number, I would put in 1 and solve, and negative 1 and solve. Then if that doesn't take to long, put in another number like 6 or 10. With all of these answers, you should be able to get the right answer. I don' know if it will work for you, but it worked for me.

 

[sumstorm]

I 2nd GRE for Dummies. Math section is brief, clear, and with good tips.

 

[246202]

I was in the same boat. I actually found a few websites that were helpful. YourTeacher.com was the best math help. (I get tired of reading, so the quick 5 min. video lessons were refereshing.) You can skip around to whatever you need. They have a program designed to target the GRE questions and there is a demo to show you what you get. I used it for a month and performed well on the GRE. Of course, I am an older applicant and had not seen the GRE type math questions in ~20 years.

Also, I recently found a cool site that may have some free math help too: http://freevideolectures.com/ They also have some other cool classes to take that are at the college level.

Stay encouraged! You can do it.

 

[catlover]

I also hadn't had math for a long time. I went to the library and got things like algebra for dummies, geometry for idiots, etc. I could go through them pretty fast, but they helped remind me of the basic principles. Then I started practicing from the GRE books.

 

[prevet09]

while math has always been one of the subjects i was better at growing up, i was struggling w/gre math b/c i was just making stupid mistakes etc. b/c you're right, we haven't practiced it in so long! and i was freaking out because i took some of those practice tests (i think from princeton review.. it was on the computer to simulate the real situation), and i was getting 510 when i thought i could get an 800 no problem. BUUUUUUT. just keep practicing the problems! soon your intuition will come back to you, and even though all my practice tests showed that i would get a certain score.. i scored circa 200-300 points higher on the real thing. just trust yourself! good luck!

 

[LivestockDoc]

Thanks so much, everyone!

I am really getting frustrated with this, and I'm sure that's making it worse. Thank goodness tomorrow is Horse Day (I shadow an equine vet on Fridays), so I can take a break from this crap!

I'm going to check out all the resources/methods everyone's mentioned. Something's gotta click sometime. The school I'm applying to doesn't care much about GRE scores generally, which makes me feel even more stupid. All I have to do is be average, and I can't even do that lately. Sheesh!

LiveStockDoc...who DOESN"T CARE how many marbles Bob has left in his jar after giving 2/5 of his red ones to Jerry in exchange for 3/4 of Jerry's blue ones!

 

[smm482]

I agree with SmallandLA that the Barron's Math review is amazing. I was really struggling with the math sections when I first started studying for the GRE. Barron's book goes through a section by section review of all the math concepts you'll need. I stopped trying to do practice tests after my first few study sections, and took the time to go through the review. It made such a difference and eliminated a lot of the frustration. I found that once you can practice all those lovely math concepts you once knew and have been long since forgotten, the math gets a lot easier. It's still not fun, but it gives you a fair chance to take a crack at each question. The less time you spend making yourself feel dumb, the happier you'll be and the better you'll do!

 

[spikey]

i got a horrible score on my verbal section and i still got there. i know its rough, but hang in there! 👍