Brent@GreenlightGRE

Hi wannabeZoologist, I'll answer a few of these questions. The best way to find out exactly what you're in for is to take an official PowerPrep practice test: https://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/prepare/powerprep2/ I always encourage students to take a practice test VERY early in their studies (within the first week of preparing). I do this for several reasons: - Students should know, as soon as possible, exactly what they will be preparing for over the coming weeks and months. - The results of this test help students gauge the amount of work required to reach their target score. - These practice tests help build confidence, since scores inevitably improve as the student prepares. If you're interested,we have a free 9-minute video summary of what the GRE is about. It's video #1 at http://www.greenlighttestprep.com/module/general-gre-info-and-strategies You also asked how one gets started preparing for the GRE. Many test prep companies have Study Guides that direct your studies from Day 1 to test day. We have one such Guide here: http://www.greenlighttestprep.com/study-guide/overview This ensures that you cover everything that the GRE tests. I hope that helps. Cheers, Brent - Greenlight Test Prep

When studying words, be sure to engage with each word in a variety of ways to help you memorize it. For example, try to think of at least one synonym and one antonym for that word. Say the word aloud. Doing so requires multiple areas of your brain to participate, and activating different parts of your brain will lead to greater retention. We offer several other tips for memorizing GRE words in our free video: video #9 at http://www.greenlighttestprep.com/module/gre-sentence-equivalence Cheers, Brent - Greenlight Test Prep

RC is probably the one topic that takes the longest time to see improvement, since these questions are strongly related to your reading skills. When it comes to Reading Comprehension, I don’t believe that there’s one specific approach that works best for everyone. I always recommend that students spend some time experimenting with different strategies to see which one best suits their memory, reading speed and English proficiency. Having said that, when reading ANY Reading Comprehension (RC) passage, it's crucial that you engage 100% in the passage. So, rather than approach a new passage with dread ("I don't enjoy reading it at all"), try to feign interest ("Excellent! This passage is about stock market regulations in Peru!"). The better your engagement, the better the results. If you're interested, we have a free video series covering all sorts of Reading Comprehension strategies: http://www.greenlighttestprep.com/module/gre-reading-comprehension Cheers, Brent - Greenlight Test Prep

I can assure you that our course covers everything that the GRE tests. Cheers, Brent - Greenlight Test Prep

Hi jayeshbadwaik, You might want to post your question in the main forum. This thread is devoted to free GRE resources, so you may get more feedback by re-posting your question as a new thread. Cheers, Brent - Greenlight Test Prep

I think it's a good idea to start with your weakest section (quantitative or verbal). This will give you more time to practice and review concepts. However, regardless of which section you start with, be sure to start building your vocabulary from Day 1 and devote time each study session to learn more words. Cheers, Brent - Greenlight Test Prep

While many test-prep companies (like Manhattan Prep) have great practice tests, those companies would never suggest that their tests are as accurate as the official ETS practice tests. The 3rd-party tests don't use retired GRE questions, they don't use the official scoring algorithm, and the data collected on each question cannot be as accurate, because the students taking the tests aren't doing so in a formal testing environment. So, while 3rd-party tests are great for practicing your test-taking skills, and for identifying weaknesses, you shouldn't use them as the sole basis for gauging your progress. That said, you may indeed need some extra work to reach the 160's. I suggest that you carefully analyze your practice tests to identify any remaining weaknesses you may have. While analyzing your practice tests, there are four main types of weakness to watch out for: 1. specific Quant skills/concepts (e.g., algebra, statistics, etc.) 2. specific Verbal skills/concepts (e.g., text completion questions etc.) 3. test-taking skills (time management, endurance etc.) 4. silly mistakes For the first two weaknesses, the fix is pretty straightforward. Learn the concept/skill and find some practice questions to strengthen that weakness. If your test-taking skills are holding you back, then you need to work on these. Finally, if silly mistakes are hurting your score, then it's important that you identify and categorize these mistakes so that, during tests, you can easily spot situations in which you're prone to making errors. Cheers, Brent - Greenlight Test Prep

There are a lot of great websites out there to learn mathematical concepts, HOWEVER none of them address GRE-specific concepts and strategies (quantitative comparison strategies for one). Also, users are often exposed to concepts that are not tested on the GRE, and this can waste what remaining time you have. If possible, I suggest sticking with resources that a specifically towards the GRE. Cheers, Brent - Greenlight Test Prep

We have compiled a list of free and paid resources for GRE practice questions here: http://www.greenlighttestprep.com/resources/practice-questions Also, on our all-free website (http://www.greenlighttestprep.com/) at the bottom of each module page (e.g. Statistics, Geometry, etc), we have tons of topic-specific practice questions. Cheers, Brent

I'm pleased to say that our 31-hour (500+ videos) GRE prep course is now completely free: http://www.greenlighttestprep.com/ and our 35-hour (500+ videos) GMAT prep course is now free: http://www.gmatprepnow.com/ Cheers, Brent

Here are a few ideas: Pros: - If the role of the university is to help build better societies, then universities should meet the demands of job market (by educating students to meet those demands) - Students need to find work after they finish school, so they should look to the job market to guide their academic choices Cons: - If the role of the university is to meet the needs of students, then universities should help students in whatever fields of study they wish to pursue - Students should choose fields that interest them, otherwise they may be unhappy with their jobs - Just because jobs in a certain field are plentiful, doesn't mean they are good jobs - If everyone chooses fields of study in which jobs are plentiful, those jobs may not be so plentiful in the future Cheers, Brent - Greenlight Test Prep

Here's our general strategy: Read the entire sentence to understand the big picture. In other words, what idea is the sentence expressing? If the sentence is quite long or complex, try to paraphrase the main idea to yourself. As you’re reading the sentence, be sure to identify words/phrases that provide context for the blank. In particular, pay very close attention to descriptive words/phrases and relationship words. Once you’ve identified key words and phrases that provide context for the missing word, predict a word that fits the blank. More importantly, be sure to make this prediction before checking the answer choices. If you don’t make this prediction first, you will waste time trying to verify whether or not each answer choice completes the sentence Cheers, Brent - Greenlight Test Prep

When it comes to examples, you can always make up personal examples (if they pertain to the prompt). For example, if the prompt asked you to discuss whether or not honesty is the best policy, you could provide fake examples in your personal life that highlighted your position. For the AW section, the most important thing is to have an essay template in mind for each prompt. Then it's only a matter of filling it in. We have a complete set of free videos that cover everything you need to know about the AW section: http://www.greenlighttestprep.com/module/gre-analytical-writing Cheers, Brent

Memorizing a ton of words is a pain. If you really want those definitions to stick, you need to engage 100% in each word. I suggest that, for each word: Identify at least 1 synonym and 1 antonym Indicate whether the word is positive, negative, or neutral Identify prefixes and roots Say each word/definition aloud (this activates a different part of the brain) Write/say a sentence that uses the word Use imagery and mnemonic devices We have a free video on this topic. It's video #9 here ​In my opinion, it's better to focus on 20 words and have them memorized for ever, than try to learn 50 words and forget most of them. Cheers, Brent

If you're looking for interesting, GRE-like content, here some additional suggestions. For Science passages, try: - New Scientist - Nature - National Geographic - Popular Mechanics - Scientific American For Humanities/Social Sciences, try: - Washington Post - New York Times - Guardian - Atlantic Monthly - The New Yorker And for Business, try: - Fast Company - Newsweek Business - The Harvard Business Review - BusinessWeek - Economist - Financial Times As far as GRE vocab goes, we have 2 free GRE word lists on Quizlet: - 500 commonly-tested GRE words (basic): http://quizlet.com/1...c-flash-cards/# - 500 more GRE words (advanced): http://quizlet.com/1...ed-flash-cards/ Cheers, Brent - Greenlight Test Prep

We have 2 GRE word lists on Quizlet: - 500 commonly-tested GRE words (basic): http://quizlet.com/1...c-flash-cards/# - 500 more GRE words (advanced): http://quizlet.com/1...ed-flash-cards/ Cheers, Brent - Greenlight Test Prep

Regarding the Analytic Writing section: when you take the GRE, you should have a template in mind for how you want to present/organize your essay. In fact, before test day, you should test out this template at least once for each essay type (using the OFFICIAL prompts!). If you'd like some additional tips on organizing your essay, we have a series of free videos on the topic of Analytical Writing: http://www.greenlighttestprep.com/module/gre-analytical-writing Cheers, Brent

Keep working on that vocabulary - that's crucial for a solid verbal score. Here are 2 GRE word lists on Quizlet: - 500 commonly-tested GRE words (basic): http://quizlet.com/1...c-flash-cards/# - 500 more GRE words (advanced): http://quizlet.com/1...ed-flash-cards/ Cheers, Brent

When you write the GRE, you should have a template in mind for how you want to present/organize your essay. In fact, before test day, you should test out this template at least once. If you decide to choose one side and defend it, then you will need only one template. If you want to leave room for choosing (and defending) both sides, you will need two templates. If you'd like some additional tips on organizing your essay, we have a series of free videos on the topic of Analytical Writing. Cheers, Brent

If careless errors are hurting your score, then it's important that you identify and categorize these mistakes so that, during tests, you can easily spot situations in which you're prone to making errors. This should help reduce some of the silly mistakes. Cheers, Brent

Most test prep companies have tons of free resources or offer some kind of free trial period (or both!). So, you can always "test drive" a few resources to see which one(s) best suit you. Cheers, Brent

We can also solve this question using 1 VARIABLE. Let x = the NUMBER of double burgers purchased Since a total of 50 burgers were purchased, we know that... 50 - x = the NUMBER of single burgers purchased single burgers cost $1.00 each and double burgers cost $1.50 each So ($1.5)(x) = the total COST of the double burgers And ($1)(50 - x) = the total COST of the single burgers The total cost was $72.50 So, (1.5)(x) + (1)(50 - x) = 72.50 Expand: 1.5x + 50 - x = 72.50 Simplify: 0.5x + 50 = 72.50 Subtract 50 from both sides: 0.5x = 22.50 Divide both sides by 0.5 to get: x = 45 So, 45 double burgers were purchased. Cheers, Brent

ETS (the GRE testmaker) has a $13 service where you can get your essays scored by e-rater, the official essay-scoring program : https://www.dxrgroup.com/cgi-bin/scoreitnow/index.pl Cheers, Brent - Greenlight Test Prep

To improve your quantitative score, I believe that you should compartmentalize your learning and take the time to master each topic (e.g., percents, ratios, exponents, statistics, etc.). This means that, for each topic, you should: 1) Learn the underlying concepts (rules, attributes, notation, etc.) 2) Learn GRE-specific strategies related to that topic 3) Practice dozens of questions all related to that one topic. 4) Don't stop working on that topic until you have mastered it Then, and only then, move on to the next topic. I hope that helps. Cheers, Brent - Greenlight GRE

We've now made our entire Sentence Equivalence module (39 videos) free: http://www.greenlighttestprep.com/module/gre-sentence-equivalence Cheers, Brent - Greenlight Test Prep