Benny

I concur with starmaker regarding studying the vocab. I spent the weeks leading up to my GRE with a box of 500 flashcards and a handful of other words. Sort them into know, kinda-know, and don't-know groups, then barrelhouse the kinda-know and don't-know words until you have them down. If you continuously have trouble with some of the words in this new group, set them aside and spend more time on them (I spent about a week working on 10 words that were especially troublesome). Then, just before the test, throw 'em all together and test your memory. You might not memorize all of the words you study, but the GRE uses enough words frequently enough that you're likely to come across two or three that you learned from studying the vocab - and that's a good feeling. Hope this helps! Good luck raising your verbal!

Hello all! I'm an incoming senior at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, with a double-major in political science and Spanish. I'm considering pursuing a PhD in political science, and am in the early stages of the application process for the Fall of 2012. I've already found loads of helpful tips and suggestions from lurking here at The Grad Cafe, and I thought I might apprise (I had to work in a GRE vocab word somewhere!) this community of advisers of my personal circumstances to get some specific advice. GRE: 1580 (780V, 800Q) G.P.A.: 3.859 Undergrad "Specialization": Political behavior Currently I am looking at five institutions: Georgetown (reach), Minnesota-Twin Cities, Nebraska-Lincoln, Notre Dame, and the University of South Dakota (safety). I also took an LSAT last October, so I have a few law school application fee waivers to maximize my options. Am I looking in the right direction? Should I be applying to other schools, and, if so, which ones? What else should I be doing to put myself on the road to success? Thank you for all the help your posts in other threads have given me already, and I am looking forward to your advice! Regards, - Benny