Only 4 weeks!

[summernights77kt]

Hello Everyone,

I only have exactly 4 weeks to prep for the GRE. I've only taken a practice test so far and I need to improve my score by about 200 points ATLEAST! What should I do? Is this even possible? Should I be memorizing words day and night? What's the best way to prep for the math section? How much time do people generally prep for the GREs?

Thanks for the advice in advance!

[wormwood_radiation]

What score did you receive on the practice test? And what practice test did you take? (Barron's? Kaplan? PowerPrep?) I would recommend, if you haven't already, download the free PowerPrep software from ETS and taking the first CAT simulation practice test. Use that score to gauge your weaknesses.

My major weakness was quantitative, after failing most rudimentary math courses through my entire high school career - and Barron's has been invaluable. Do the Math Review and as many practice questions as possible to both polish your skills and get into the mindset of "GRE Math" which is a fairly unique animal. Most problems will not require you to solve them "brute force" through protracted, painful calculations but to identify some sort of shortcut or trick within the numbers provided.

Honestly, if I had to recommend one GRE prep book, it would be Barron's. The word lists - both the "hit parade" of high frequency vocabulary, and extensive alphabetical or themed word lists will be incredibly helpful to you if you're studying on a tight schedule. The quantitative review was excellent - dividing the sections into specific question types (Quantitative Comparison, Data Interp, etc) or by type of math (geometry, number theory, probability, etc). The practice tests that come with Barron's, however, are not the best reflection of the actual exam (as far as I know) but that is what the PowerPrep software is for.

I take the GRE in 3 days, and of the $200 I spent on various GRE materials, I wish that I only bought the Barron's book. Take my advice with a grain of salt, however - I can't be 100% certain how prepared I am until I take this damn thing. I'll post an update once I finish the exam with additional thoughts.

[American in Beijing]

What score did you receive on the practice test? And what practice test did you take? (Barron's? Kaplan? PowerPrep?) I would recommend, if you haven't already, download the free PowerPrep software from ETS and taking the first CAT simulation practice test. Use that score to gauge your weaknesses.

My major weakness was quantitative, after failing most rudimentary math courses through my entire high school career - and Barron's has been invaluable. Do the Math Review and as many practice questions as possible to both polish your skills and get into the mindset of "GRE Math" which is a fairly unique animal. Most problems will not require you to solve them "brute force" through protracted, painful calculations but to identify some sort of shortcut or trick within the numbers provided.

Honestly, if I had to recommend one GRE prep book, it would be Barron's. The word lists - both the "hit parade" of high frequency vocabulary, and extensive alphabetical or themed word lists will be incredibly helpful to you if you're studying on a tight schedule. The quantitative review was excellent - dividing the sections into specific question types (Quantitative Comparison, Data Interp, etc) or by type of math (geometry, number theory, probability, etc). The practice tests that come with Barron's, however, are not the best reflection of the actual exam (as far as I know) but that is what the PowerPrep software is for.

I take the GRE in 3 days, and of the $200 I spent on various GRE materials, I wish that I only bought the Barron's book. Take my advice with a grain of salt, however - I can't be 100% certain how prepared I am until I take this damn thing. I'll post an update once I finish the exam with additional thoughts.

I second the Barron's recommendation. I was in the same situation as you, OP. I gave myself only a month to prepare for the GRE (both times . . . I didn't really learn). But I was able to raise my cumulative score by 500 points with the help of Barron's (and a LOT of flashcards . . . ).

Don't panic. It's doable. You're going to do great! Good luck!

[emmm]

One other thing to consider -- I took a practice test at home and was not thrilled with the result. I also realized I would not prepare seriously without "real" proof that I needed to, so I took the GRE last month with essentially no prep. I was pleasantly surprised to find that my real score was considerably higher than my practice score, so much so that I won't be retaking. I think I jut couldn't recreate the right testing atmosphere at home and couldn't focus enough to do my best. The same may end up being true for you.

[TheDude]

I have found my vocabulary increasing exponentially now that I have basically taken about 15 words a night from the Barron's Frequent list and writing those words in full sentences. I look up the word, think of a proper sentence, write, midway through the process I spot check the words and then once I am done I test at random. The next day I pick a new 15, look over the old 15 for review and repeat the whole process. I also have a Kaplan flashcard app on my iPad, but that just doesn't do it for me.

As far as math goes. I pick a concept go through Barron's examples and keep a running tab of what the hardest problems are then revisit daily before diving into a new concept.

I have given myself until the end of this month before I take what I deemed my "marker" test. I just needed 2 months of total math review from the ground up before I even discovered my weak points. I then plan on targeting those weak spots into the end of September.

That is the most effective way I have found to study. In 4 weeks if you put in several hours (6) a day you should be able to get through a math review easily.

Why is everyone writing the test so damn early? Am I crazy waiting until September 20th? I figure even if I screw up and need to retake I have a whole other month to cram even more.

Unless you are an engineer of naturally good with math 4 weeks is going to be tough and you should bank on finding several hours a day to study and write practice tests.

Edited July 23, 2010 by musicforfun

[emmm]

I took the exam a month ago, figuring it would give me the summer to prepare before I took the exam "for real" But now it's done.

So, I'm glad I took it early and now have one less thnig to worry about. Still plenty of other things to stress over, however. I am certainly not a "perfect" applicant (Oh well. . . .).

Edited July 23, 2010 by emmm

[summernights77kt]

Actually, I'm not taking the GRE until the very last possible minute- probably around Nov. 20th and all my applications are due on Dec. 1st. The reason I only have four weeks to study is because I don't get back to the country until mid-September. I'm currently abroad on a Fulbright scholarship and have no time or resources to prepare for the GRE. I have exactly four weeks between when I get back and the latest possible test date. Sadly, even if I do poorly, I won't actually have time to retake it. Ugh!!!!!!!!!

[Lizzla]

For the verbal section, I used Barron's list and Word Smart for the GRE. Personally, I think Barron's is a better resource overall, but Word Smart was useful because it pointed out alternate meanings of relatively simple words that I might not have bothered to study otherwise. Keep in mind when you take the test that if the word seems really simple, there's probably a secondary meaning.

If you're running out of time and you feel like you need to acquire a whole lot of vocabulary, I'd stick to Barron's (you don't even need to buy the book--just google Barron's gre vocab list). If you feel like your vocabulary base is pretty solid and just needs some polishing, spend some time paging through Word Smart. It's worth pointing out that you don't need to score as high on the verbal section to get a good percentile as you do on the quantitative section, so if you take one of the ETS practice tests and get a solid verbal score, your time might be better spent on the math. Say you're aiming for the 80th percentile--you only need a 570 or so on the verbal, but you'd need a 740 quantitative, since so many people get an 800 Q. So..basically what I'm saying is don't just study hard, study smart Good luck!

[summernights77kt]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. Very, very helpful. Please keep them coming.

Edited July 26, 2010 by summernights77kt

[Eigen]

Along with all the other advice, I would suggest that you not worry too much about the GRE.

While it is certainly field dependent, no one in my entering class (or the students I know from previous entering classes) spent much, if any, time studying.

Your score needs to be solid, but it's often the rest of your application and not the GRE score that will make it or break it, in my experience.