obviousbicycle

I'm applying for fall 2014 session and my GRE scores are just well above the 55th percentile mark for all sections. I can't be bothered to retake it again since all the spots are full and the deadline is due really soon.

Good luck to both of us, powerlifterty16!

I totally agree with this.

lol I can tell that you're on a vocab spree hahahah

That's a good idea and I honestly have thought of that but what worries me is that I will most likely waste more time adjusting the response to make sure it fits the prompt rather than analytically writing the essay. And you still have to come up with specific examples for every point you make, which I think are unique to the prompt.

haha. I'm not sleepy so I guess I'm going to do some practice questions. I'm taking Friday off from studying so I just have to get all my prepping done by tonight. Good luck!

haha I love how you sort of liveblogging about your progress. Fyi I'm taking the test this Saturday as well (also at 12!) and I'm freaking out too. I took Powerprep II today and I found the quant section 2 questions really challenging. Kinda demotivated a bit but I can't do anything except keep on practicing. Like you, I'm aiming for a 310 too. We can do this. But don't forget to get enough rest!

wait, does Powerprep actually provide 4 tests? I thought they only give 2?

While I agree that knowing that you won't do extraordinarily good isn't good for your morale, but you MUST try to get used with the format and structure of the exam. I have a friend who did poorly not because she wasn't good, but it was because she got herself confused on the test day: "Are we done? Wait, why is there another section of verbal? I thought I've done both sections already?" After all you have set in your mind that you will "fail" the GRE (I didn't say that you will, but you mentioned it yourself) so you shouldn't be too demotivated if your practice test scores are not great.

Yay! Thank you! This is exactly my take on Kaplan and it is all that I needed to hear from someone who has used it.

I heard they won't let you wear a watch too.

Anyone? I've taken all 5 and my verbal did not even hit the 150 mark which is odd because I did fairly well in other tests (Manhattan, Powerprep, Magoosh) i.e. >153. I am freaking out because I'm taking my GRE this Saturday! For those who have used it - especially those who are struggling with verbal - do you think their verbal questions are relatively harder? Surprisingly I didn't find them ridiculously hard, that's why I was confounded when I saw my scores.

I haven't taken the GRE yet (I'm taking it this Saturday *hyperventilates*) but I honestly don't plan on using those bombastic GRE words like the ones you see in verbal section. I'm not sure if this will work out well but my strategy is to just focus on the content, flow, structure and length rather than attempting to intrigue the examiners with the use of those flowery words.

My practice scores are all over the place - ranging from 153-163 for quant and 148-158 for verbal, so I really have no idea where I stand right now. And my test is on Saturday. Yay.

I'm taking mine this Saturday. Although I thought I have prepared well, my practice test scores show otherwise. My verbal scores are going downhill and my quant, while significantly higher than my verbal, is inconsistent. Powerprep I, however, gives me scores that I need so I'm basing my hope on this. I'm freaking out but there's nothing I can do but to stay optimistic.

Do you mind to share your Manhattan practice test scores? My Manhattan scores are exactly the scores that I want, so if you don't mind sharing that'd be great.

This list might be helpful: http://magoosh.com/gre/2011/new-gre-book-reviews/

ha, sorry, I think I misunderstood your post. Anyway I personally don't think Magoosh wordlist is enough though. While they have good words, there also words that are not included in Magoosh questions that appear VERY frequently in Manhattan & Kaplan tests. I think if you're short of prepping time I highly recommend Barron's list of 333 high frequency GRE words to complement your Magoosh wordlist. There are many words in Barron's 333 list that appear in Manhattan word list , but Manhattan list has 1000 words (500 essential and 500 advanced) which is probably too many to be memorized in a very short time.

If you sign up for Magoosh premium you'll get 500-ish questions and each question is equipped with a explanation video. They will also pull some questions from this pool to create practice tests with scores.

I'm with you. My scores for Manhattan and even Kaplan are hovering around my target scores. Magoosh, however, predicting my scores to be a few points lower than what I need. Ugh.

I am in the exact position as you. I've done 8 practice tests (still have some left) and I have yet to take Powerprep. I would love to see some responses from those who have taken it!

Check out those vocab flashcards on Quizlet. The ones from Manhattan (essential and advanced) and Barrons should have all the most common words. You might also want to take a look at Magoosh vocab flashcards as well. I'm an international applicant but I have yet to take my GRE. But judging from my practice test scores I can say that I don't do really well in verbal - it's ridiculously tough to break the 80th percentile barrier (or even 75th for me). Nonetheless with a good amount of practice, I think everything is possible.. I'm taking it this October and I'll let you know how it goes.

Is it worth it to go through the pool of topics and brainstorm some key points for each prompt (there are like 240 of them uhhhh)? I thought by having a rough idea on which side you're on and some examples in mind, it would save me a few minutes on the test day. English is my third language and I'm not really good at writing within a time constraint so I wonder if this is a good strategy or is it just a waste of time?

I am an international student too and I understand that GRE vocab is ridiculously tough for non-native English speakers. I suggest you to use Magoosh Vocabulary Flashcards and perhaps just go through Manhattan vocabulary words (at least the first 500 essential words). I don't think you should even attempt to do 5000 words because you'll get all confused and jumbled up due to the time constraint. I've been prepping for a month and I don't think I have memorized more than 1000.