GRE Psychology Test - Resources

[psychapplicant21]

Hi all, what resources did people use to revise for the GRE Psychology test? Any textbook, YouTube, or other online platforms recommendations welcome :) thank you!

[Giovanni’s room]

I took the practice test that’s available through ets to see what areas I needed to focus on. Then I skimmed an intro to psych book and paid attention to the sub areas I did bad on from the practice test - if you need I can email you a pdf of an excellent intro book.

[Cantremembermyusername]

I did the save as above - took the practice test available through ETS to figure out what I needed to focus on. I purchased the Kaplan and Princeton Review Books and made detailed notes on everything. Any questions I got wrong in the ETS  practice test, I googled the concepts and made notes on those. I then memorized the fuck out of everything (think strategy for 2nd year undergrad content heavy MC exams). I basically rewrite everything and say it outloud to memorize, but I'm sure you have a strategy that works for you. I scored in the 97th percentile in the test - I was honestly shocked, I didn't expect to get that high but I think if you cover all your bases (like I tried my best to do), and memorize everything/familiarize yourself with as many concepts as you can, you can expect to do quite well too. 

[Modulus]

It is a cram test. You will do very well if you have talent for rote memorization. If you do not, you will struggle. 

Fortunately, a lot of programs do not require it. (And I have on good authority that you may do well by just not taking it even if they say they do... but I personally did not risk this.) 

[clinicalpsyhopeful]

I also took the ETS practice exam and purchased both the Kaplan and Princeton Review Book, highlighted everything I didn't understand--would reread the highlighted things every week. I also got the GRE Psychology Exam Prep app on my phone and studied the topics i least understood. I also did these flash cards periodically https://www.varsitytutors.com/gre_subject_test_psychology-flashcards, there's like a couple answers that are wrong but these helped to like keep things fresh in my brain using a multiple choice format. I came from zero background in psych so I probably had to study more than someone who had a good foundation in psych. Doing all of this i got the 87th percentile i think and that was enough to get me into a program... the test itself really isn't that bad... just a lot of memorization, good luck!

[psychapplicant21]

17 hours ago, Giovanni’s room said:

I took the practice test that’s available through ets to see what areas I needed to focus on. Then I skimmed an intro to psych book and paid attention to the sub areas I did bad on from the practice test - if you need I can email you a pdf of an excellent intro book.

That would be so helpful, thank you!

[sparrow123]

Definitely take the practice test on the ETS website! When I took the actual test, there were VERY similar questions so it's a great example of what the test is actually like.

Other than that, I used the Brainscape GRE Psychology deck (https://www.brainscape.com/learn/gre-psychology). You do need to pay to use them, I think it's ten dollars a month? But honestly, this is all I used to study and I scored in the 90th percentile or above for all sections of the test. 

Also fingers crossed they don't lose your test like mine was lost! I had to rewrite it six weeks later with less than two weeks notice

[PsyHike]

I studied by going over the intro to psych book ("Psychology", 8th ed. by Gleitman, Gross, & Reisberg; I rented it from Amazon for the length of one semester) chapter by chapter and supplementing it with Kaplan GRE psych book. After I finished the material, I did the full length tests from Kaplan and the ETS practice test, trying to mimic the conditions of the test (i.e., taking it roughly at the same time as the test would be, with the same restrictions and minimal distractions). I took the exam twice with several years in between, using only the Kaplan book and ETS material the first time. The addition of the intro to psych book definitely helped my score the second time around.

Edited April 30, 2020 by PsyHike

[psychapplicant21]

Thanks for all your suggestions everyone

[lazyxu]

This is not a response to your question but were you able to register for the GRE psych test?

It seems that everything is cancelled, at least in my region, due to the COVID-19 situation..

[yellowbluegreen]

i agree with everyone above me who said to study from an intro psych textbook! A solid intro psych textbook, supplemented with some kaplan (or w/e brand) psych GRE study guides to help pin down names/theories is more than enough!! The test covers broad info across the different domains, but truly doesn't go too deep into any of them. I also found it to be a very straight forward exam. i didn't feel like it was trying to "trick" me or like I had to puzzle/reason too much to get to the answer. It was one of those tests where you either know the answer immediately or you don't (and I would make a best guess) for me at least.

I also found other people's flash cards on quizlet and would practice them when I had downtime or was commuting on the train .

The ETS practice test was also helpful. I researched the q's I got wrong, and focused on my weak subjects. Honestly I think the best thing to do is know what your strengths/weaknesses are. I'm bad with names/popular theories especially in social and developmental, so I focused a lot of that. Whereas I was strong with the more bio/neuro stuff and stats and didn't prep much for that. I started like a month before the exam, but mostly crammed like 1-2 weeks before.

My undergrad degree wasn't in psychology (or a related field), and I took a few post-bacc classes but had never taken social or developmental psych, and still got a 760. I remember being very very nervous leading up to it, and being surprised at how straightforward it was! 

Edited May 3, 2020 by yellowbluegreen

[psychapplicant21]

On 5/2/2020 at 8:52 PM, lazyxu said:

This is not a response to your question but were you able to register for the GRE psych test?

It seems that everything is cancelled, at least in my region, due to the COVID-19 situation..

Hey no I was not, I live in the UK and I have been eagerly waiting updates on subject tests. I am hoping they will become available online like the GRE general?

[psychologytea]

On 4/28/2020 at 11:08 AM, Cantremembermyusername said:

I did the save as above - took the practice test available through ETS to figure out what I needed to focus on. I purchased the Kaplan and Princeton Review Books and made detailed notes on everything. Any questions I got wrong in the ETS  practice test, I googled the concepts and made notes on those. I then memorized the fuck out of everything (think strategy for 2nd year undergrad content heavy MC exams). I basically rewrite everything and say it outloud to memorize, but I'm sure you have a strategy that works for you. I scored in the 97th percentile in the test - I was honestly shocked, I didn't expect to get that high but I think if you cover all your bases (like I tried my best to do), and memorize everything/familiarize yourself with as many concepts as you can, you can expect to do quite well too. 

that's a great score! How early did you study in advance? 

[Cantremembermyusername]

On 5/11/2020 at 12:56 AM, psychologytea said:

that's a great score! How early did you study in advance? 

Thanks! It was actually only about two weeks but I took time off work so it was basically full time. For one week, I spent most about 60% of my time studying for the psych gre and then 40% for the regular GRE and then I think the next week it was just about 6-8 hours a day specifically on the psych gre. On weekends I would study a bit less but it was still pretty full time. As long as you're dedicated and really focus on what your weaknesses are, I'm sure you will do well too!