Tell Me About the GRE!

FaithCaitlin

Should I buy a review book? Can you compare it to another test (FCAT, SAT/ACT)?

I'm hoping to take the GRE over the summer and am applying to grad school in the Fall for Spring 2013. 

I'm really concerned about the math portion. 

Thanks!

[Deleted User]

Not bad at all. I think I studied for it a weekend before I took it, and got into one of the top 5 engineering schools in the country.

I did buy a GRE prep book,but the questions are taken on the computer. So if you get them right,they get harder.

The only thing I really prepped for was the time constraint. It is a timed test. So this is where my prep book helped. It got me used to the type of question and what context clues to look for.

Truthfully, I feel at this point how you do will always be in a range. Studying and going crazy and learning a bunch of new things doesn't really help you. You should have a solid foundation and know how to apply that knowledge base. Take a deep breathe, make sure you are in a good mental state, and show them what you know.

For grad school I would make sure your GPA and recommendations are sparkling. The GRE seemed to be a tie breaker because everyone who applies usually has good, or comparable, GRE scores.

Good luck!

iseewholewheat16

I agree with RKJ... I just used the little CD they sent to review the math the night before, but it really depends on what you already know.  It is really strange how the questions get harder and sometimes I could tell while other times, if I knew too many anwers in a row, I would kind of freak out because that meant that I had gotten some wrong.  To me it was kind of a mind game...

MMRoberts11

I purchased a prep book and did some online questions through the princeton review.  I think doing practice tests in a timed manner helped best.

I didn't think it was hard really at all, especially if you are good with timed multiple choice/ fill in the blank tests.  IMO it was similar to the ACT.

notyetavet

I used to be a really bad test-taker and even though I bought a review book and a vocab flip book, I don't really feel like I studied.  The part that most people don't practice is the writing portion, but I think it is worth it to find some suggested topics and work on laying down an outline to organize your thoughts.  It is really easy to get flustered while you're trying to write an essay in a limited amount of time, and then be amped up by the time you get to the rest of it.  

It really wasn't too bad...it's just a stepping stone to other things. The math really wasn't bad at all. It was just a matter of reminding myself how to do the basics. Nothing too complicated!

HeatherMKR

Do as many practice tests as you can...that was the best advice I ever got...and I took that god awful test 3 times

kderagisch

I bought the book, and I thought it really helped a lot! However, I took the old exam. I heard this new one is a lot easier in terms of vocab (they took the horrible analogies section out.) What's nice about the GRE is it's not THAT important. Just about every school I talked to just wants to know that you can do alright on it, but it's your GPA, etc that really matters. Good luck

xxstardust

I found the vocab/writing to be easy, and the math to be uttter torture ... but that's true of my life overall. I hadn't taken a course with any of the math concepts on the GRE since my junior year of high school, though ... so I was trying to reteach them to myself. If math is an issue for you in general, DEFINITELY take the time to study it .I liked the Kaplan book when I took it, I thought it did a good job re-explaining math concepts (not just giving you practice questions).

birdie1020

Ditto xxstardust - I really studied for the math portions using my test prep book because I didn't remember anything from high school math. I'd also recommend practicing the essay section, because at first I found the questions very confusing/intimidating, even though I was an English major and love to write. Once I got used to what they typically asked, it wasn't so bad! Good luck!

jmp2004

I used the Kaplan prep book.  Spend a couple weeks going through the practice stuff and do practice exams.  I felt the exams were more helpful than anything else.

FaithCaitlin

Thank you all!! Off to find the Kaplan book!

dragontrainer

I didn't need the GRE (whoo hoo!) because of the program I am currently trying to get into. They do however expect a great undergrad GPA to get in. Although it seems like a lot of schools require a minimum of 3.0.

chadandsarahm

If you haven't already bought a book, I'd recommend borrowing one from the library. I studied off and on for about a week, nothing too intense, but I also took a couple of practice tests that Kaplan put on for free at my school. For me, the math section was a piece of cake. The vaocbulary section? Well, that's a different story!

carrieloomis

I just took it over the weekend, I highly recommend the Barrons book over the kaplan book. anything in the kaplan book is available online for free through the website. The Barron's book has an extensive math section and lots of tests for vocab.