taking the GRE in 10 days... can i learn math?

[somedude14]

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I feel confident about all the parts of my graduate application except the GRE. Specifically, the math part. I've been studying for months but I still feel like I don't know anything and I cannot score well on a practice test (just got a 280 ugh, i've been anywhere from 200-500 on the math part).

What is my best option for these last ten days? I really feel like the math part will be my demise because its so bad. I've heard about how one can cram the last 2 weeks and do well on the math part.. What steps should I take? I've been studying out of a practice book and with other friends who are taking the GRE. The people I study with are so much smarter than me though so it doesn't help much.

Any advice for doing well on the math part despite not having a lot of time? Or should I just be focusing on reapplying next year? 🙁

thanks

 

[psychmama]

Hi. I also stressed over the Math GRE. I was very nervous because my Math SAT had been terrible. I found studying with others useless -- I could not keep up with many of them, and it was just demoralizing. I opted to just drill the study books (Kaplan, Princeton Review), and then took numerous practice tests until I was familiar with the types of questions showing up most frequently. I started all of this a good 6 months before the GRE -- it took me that long, but I ended up with a respectable Math score in the 650 range.

I'd suggest you take stock of your situation -- have you put many months in trying to study and improve your math score, or could you benefit from taking more time?

Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

[futureapppsy2]

Learn all the "tricks"--especially the rules regarding angles, triangles, exponents, square roots, fractions etc. I got significantly better at this section of the GRE when I realized it was less about logic and knowing the rules and tricks ETS uses to make up their questions. Definitely use PowerPrep (from ETS) if you haven't already, including the sample tests and practice problems. Ironically, my GRE score (660 Q, 590 V) was the opposite of pretty much every other standardized test I've taken in that I scored higher on math than verbal (as you likely know, psych grad programs tend to look for higher quantitative scores than verbal scores, so this was better than the opposite imbalance).

Good luck!

 

[deleted176373]

Anything is possible... I improved 300+ points in 3 days of studying!

Mark

 

[JockNerd]

Learn all the "tricks"

THIS.

If it takes you more than a minute to do any problem, you've missed a trick. It's less math than quasi-reasoning and logic. Do lots of practice with the *real* GRE items (I noticed that practice tests from other places had more real problems and fewer tricks than the ETS tests) and note all the little tricks they throw.

 

[somedude14]

thank you all so much for your replies, i'll try to cram as much as I can in this last week.


but can i ask how can i learn all the tricks everyone speaks of?
is it just the tricks they tell you in practice books like "don't do more work than you have to" "draw a diagram" ect.? those don't help very much.. is there somewhere else that is like a gre math trick database? i'm guessing if there was i would have found about it already..

 

[GreenPsych]

thank you all so much for your replies, i'll try to cram as much as I can in this last week.


but can i ask how can i learn all the tricks everyone speaks of?
is it just the tricks they tell you in practice books like "don't do more work than you have to" "draw a diagram" ect.? those don't help very much.. is there somewhere else that is like a gre math trick database? i'm guessing if there was i would have found about it already..

You will need to purchase or borrow test prep materials such as Kaplan/Princeton Review etc... just get the books...make sure you get the ETS book.

 

[deleted176373]

thank you all so much for your replies, i'll try to cram as much as I can in this last week.


but can i ask how can i learn all the tricks everyone speaks of?
is it just the tricks they tell you in practice books like "don't do more work than you have to" "draw a diagram" ect.? those don't help very much.. is there somewhere else that is like a gre math trick database? i'm guessing if there was i would have found about it already..

Work the problems in the Princeton book, learn to understand the tricks for each problem to solve it fast. This will prepare you well for the test. Learn to categorize the problems and learn the shortcuts (including making the numbers easier), memorize the sqrt of 2 and 3.

Just practice and get faster. Speed is what you need for this test. If you don't know an answer, guess intelligently and don't waste your time. Budgeting your time is the most important part of this section.

Mark

 

[Peaches3]

I'd like to find a gre math trick book....or something along that line. I'm also taking the gre in 10 days. Good luck somedude.

 

[ClinicalTrainee]

(as you likely know, psych grad programs tend to look for higher quantitative scores than verbal scores, so this was better than the opposite imbalance).

I've never heard this before! Is this a perception from your program or is there data on how psychology programs/mentors use the GRE?

 

[ClinicalTrainee]

but can i ask how can i learn all the tricks everyone speaks of?
is it just the tricks they tell you in practice books like "don't do more work than you have to" "draw a diagram" ect.? those don't help very much.. is there somewhere else that is like a gre math trick database? i'm guessing if there was i would have found about it already..

No, it's not just the tricks in the practice books. Rememebr that the GRE math section (which is easier, mathmatically speaking, than SAT math) isn't about knowing how to do math. It's about knowing how to get the right answer. Sometimes that means actually NOT doing the math itself, because that'd be time consuming, but figuring out how to quickly elimiate responses that cannot logically be correct. The other posters are absolutely right--logic is more of your friend than math itself. Which may also help you approach the problems if you're math-phobic. 🙄

 

[BSWdavid]

I feel confident about all the parts of my graduate application except the GRE. Specifically, the math part. I've been studying for months but I still feel like I don't know anything and I cannot score well on a practice test (just got a 280 ugh, i've been anywhere from 200-500 on the math part).

What is my best option for these last ten days? I really feel like the math part will be my demise because its so bad. I've heard about how one can cram the last 2 weeks and do well on the math part.. What steps should I take? I've been studying out of a practice book and with other friends who are taking the GRE. The people I study with are so much smarter than me though so it doesn't help much.

Any advice for doing well on the math part despite not having a lot of time? Or should I just be focusing on reapplying next year? 🙁

thanks

This site really helped me
https://www.yourteacher.com/lessons/main/index.php

 

[RisumCattus]

Personally I've had the exact same problem as you (I'm beyond terrible at math) and I've found the Princeton Review for the GRE (about $35 at Borders) has helped A LOT. It contains useful tips and tricks on how to take the test and if you're stuck how to "guess correctly" If you need hard problems to memorize and study this isn't a good book to get, but it's perfect for strategies.

 

[somedude14]

Well I received a 520 on the math... kind of a bummer but sadly that's a personal best for me.

I borrowed enough money from friends so I can take the test again. I'm planning on retakeing and hoping I can break 600. I'm starting to learn very slowly how to do the problems.

I just hope a potential 70-80 points is worth the money 🙂 Right now sitting the the 31st percentile can't be good for any cognitive neuroscience program

 

[attackemu]

I had a lot of trouble doing the quick shortcuts that are required to finish the quantitative section within the allotted time. My advice is to spend as much time as you need on the first half of the questions: I ran out of time and ended up having 2 minutes to eyeball the last 8 (4 of them I spent about 20 seconds on and made semi-educated guesses, and the final 4 questions I literally answered in 8 seconds, just clicking an answer and submitting it). I still managed a 710.

I'm obviously not saying that this is going to happen every time, and I'm sure I got lucky with a few of the last guesses, but if you're pressed for time and know that you're going to go over the time limit, focus on those earlier problems.

 

[Student4Life0]

I had a lot of trouble doing the quick shortcuts that are required to finish the quantitative section within the allotted time. My advice is to spend as much time as you need on the first half of the questions: I ran out of time and ended up having 2 minutes to eyeball the last 8 (4 of them I spent about 20 seconds on and made semi-educated guesses, and the final 4 questions I literally answered in 8 seconds, just clicking an answer and submitting it). I still managed a 710.

I'm obviously not saying that this is going to happen every time, and I'm sure I got lucky with a few of the last guesses, but if you're pressed for time and know that you're going to go over the time limit, focus on those earlier problems.

Agreed. I focused most of my attention on the first half, and rushed through the second half, often guessing. I managed a 640. Not an unbelievable score...but over 200 points higher than my original.

 

[cheeze]

elimination does magic! haha i seriously got a decent score and guessed around a 1/3 of the questions, of course knowing the common rules (like comparing x and x squared is always D) and stuff helps

 

[hellosunnydays]

I had a lot of trouble doing the quick shortcuts that are required to finish the quantitative section within the allotted time. My advice is to spend as much time as you need on the first half of the questions: I ran out of time and ended up having 2 minutes to eyeball the last 8 (4 of them I spent about 20 seconds on and made semi-educated guesses, and the final 4 questions I literally answered in 8 seconds, just clicking an answer and submitting it). I still managed a 710.

Thanks to you and the others in the thread for all the tips! I've been studying/practicing and spend way too much time actually understanding and doing the problems, versus making educated guesses and eliminating answer choices to save time 🙂