Is this a strong 2 month GRE study plan?

[Lion87]

Hello all, I plan to take the GRE around mid November and I wanted to know if this was an appropriate study plan: study 5-6 days a week for 6 hours from September till mid November?

[dimanche0829]

That seems pretty darn intense. You're the only one who knows how much you can handle, but I would probably burn out after 3 or 4 weeks of that schedule. It's not the quantity of studying that will help you ace the test; rather, it's the quality. The key is really going to be making sure you are studying the right material and giving your brain enough down time to process all of the information you're trying to feed it. Just my .02. Good luck!

Edited August 29, 2011 by dimanche0829

[fullofpink]

Is that 6 hours a week or a day? 6 hours a week might be too little, and 6 hours a day is a bit too much. Roughly, 10 weeks with those time goals results in either 60 or 600 hours of study. Maybe instead of pushing yourself every day, you do some block studying. MWFs, set aside 2-3 hours to scan the vocab and maybe squeeze in a practice test. I also think that studying every day tends to burn people out, especially after 10 weeks. Good luck!

[Lion87]

Thank you dimanche0829 and fullofpink for the advice. Yes, I do plan on studying for 5-6 days a week. I want to get a very high score on this test (90 percentile or higher). If anybody else has any advice, you are all welcome to input.

Edited August 29, 2011 by Lion87

[Astarabadi]

Hi Lion87,

I'd like to share some of my experience:

1. From what you have said about the number of hours, they seem excessive. Best thing to do, really, is to look at how much you want to get in the GRE and aim for. The GRE will test how well you take the GRE, is all (yes, this is frm PR and its true). What I did was look at my target schools and how much the average GRE scores were. This information is easily available if you search their website. I then aimed higher than that average score ( you always have to aim just a little higher) and then made a study plan. You don't need to get a 100%, no-one does.

2. Once you have determined the ideal score (lets say 1350 or 1400) then study for a bit, and then take the practice tests. See how you do. Once you realize your strengths and weaknesses, go back and start again. This repetition helped me, since I was good at vocab and not-so-good at math. All I really needed was to learn test taking skills. I practiced with the proper books (PR and Barrons helped me the best) and then sat down on the computer to test myself. Both parts of preparation were essential, since one is preparation, and the other is actually taking the test (on the PC).

3. Your brain will get fried. What worked for me was 3.5 hours a day, which is still much. 2 hours in the morning, 1.5 in the evening. I would work on math one day, review vocab. I would then switch the next day. Kept doing this for one month, then took a little break of 10 days. Plan to go back for one last month in September and take it at the end of the month.

4. You will have to take the GRE twice. You will do better the second time, that is a guarantee. Use the rights books as well.

Good luck~!

[Lion87]

Thank you SamAli for your informative posts; I will definitely keep your advice in mind.