How did you do well on the GRE?

[mckennahslp]

Hi all!

I will be taking the GRE likely before the end of the summer, and curious as to how each of you did well? I have Magoosh but have been lazy about using it (doesn't expire until July though so still time). I bought a book but it was so thin and I finished the questions in it within four hours. I have flashcards which I definitely need to study more because I have realized vocab is difficult for me. Please let me know what you found to be effective/enabled you to do well! Also, for how long did you study?

Thanks SO much!

[SLPhopeful2019]

Hi there! I scored 163 on verbal (93rd percentile), 149 on quant (34th percentile) and 5/6 for written (92nd percentile) so I’ll speak only to verbal and written LOL.  Honestly those flash cards were super important in helping me score well in my verbal section, I got the app on my phone and studied them in any given free moment and then just practice questions to get used to the format. I never actually did a proper full practice exam or a practice written section, I just reviewed the examples of what a high score in the GRE practice book were considered and did a few practice timed verbal sections. I’d say three months is a good amount of time if you don’t want to rush/ if you have other commitments (I had work). I started studying in September and I scheduled to write in November but I did postpone mine by a month because I was freaking out on how little math I had practiced but then didn’t end up having much more time to learn it anyways. My friends who scored very well on the math section told me practice questions were key because they use such a similar style in their exam that it’s just about getting used to solving that style of problems. 

Hope this helps, good luck! 

[Rezzy S.]

I got 155 on math despite sucking at it. I used the Princeton Review book to learn the concepts, and the 5lb. Book of GRE Questions to practice. The practice made all the difference. 160 on verbal. I learned some good strategies for that with the Princeton Review book, but a lot of it came down to vocab drill apps. You don’t have to know all of the words, just some and at least the connotations (good/bad) of others, to get by.

[daspyki]

My results just came in. V161 Q163 AWA4.0. Preparation duration ~45days. I went through magoosh vocabs (Common & Basic) for the first 15 days with continuous article reading from aldaily (1 article/day). I was pretty confident in my maths skills so it was pretty easy for me to brush up my quant ability, completed one module per day from magoosh. Verbal was very tough for me as a non-native speaker, so I had to focus really hard on my english for the last 20ish days: Lots of article reading and problem solving + magoosh videos as well as revising my vocabs (After completing the magoosh common and basic decks, check greg mats list of vocabs). The most important thing in my opinion is to practice both maths and verbal Every Single Day. I was pretty bummed with my quant score which was my own fault for not practicing my maths in the final few days. For AWA, practiced four essay writings in practice test sessions (Followed greg mats instructions). Finally use the practice tests very wisely and don't skip the writing sections. It really helps building up the stamina to sit through the 3.5 hours long exam.

[nwslp]

I did okay, I studied (sort of) but it's hard to really prepare for just sitting in a room for such a long time. I ended up with 158Q, 142V, and 4.0W. Have had a horrible application cycle but not sure my scores being higher would've changed anything!

[vish123]

Hello, I did quite well in my GRE. 165Q, 162V, and 4.5W. All the credit goes to Galvanize's GRE Test Prep App

[Pollitopinpin]

I had a 3.9 gpa but a terrbile gre score 143 verbal 140 quant. I got into 10 schools and received interviews. I only got rejected from 2 schools.