GRE - is panicking a bad method?

[ciistai]

I plan to take the GRE later on this year (in the fall, hopefully). I haven't been enrolled in a math course in about five years and I really don't know what to expect.

I plan to buy as many different study books and practice tests as possible, because I'm freaking out a bit, but I'm wondering if that might actually be detrimental. Is it better to stick with one sort of study plan, or to take bits from them all? Or will the latter method only serve to confuse me?

Also, is a GRE prep course worth the ~$500 fee? That's a hit on my wallet but I think it could be worth it in the end if I did well and managed to secure a spot + funding somewhere.

[psychgurl]

Yes, prep courses are good. I did Kaplan and was very satisfied with my score. You can also prep yourself if you are self-disciplined...for quant, buy as many quant books as possible and do MANY practice problems. Also, practice doing them at the pace you would for the real test, as timing is the only thing that makes the quant section hard. For verbal, I would recommend Kaplan flashcards (I think you can buy from barnes & noble). Learn all 500 words. Use Barron's vocabulary book as a secondary method if you have time.

I know this sounds excessive, but unless you were born an amazing test-taker, I firmly believe that you can increase your score tremendously with the right practice. I think my first "cold" GRE (no prep, not really understanding timing) was around 1150. After my prep it was ~1400. Good luck!

[coonskee]

I think that all of the test prep courses are a waste of time/money (no offense, psychgurl). To do well on quant (and verbal, really) you just need to do practice questions. That might mean a crap tonne of practice questions in some cases, but the great thing about the GRE is that the questions are short and, once you refresh on basic maths skills, you can "steal time" to do the questions - for example, when I was taking my test, I brought my practice question book to the lab where I'm working. The times when I'd have a reaction incubate for 2 min or 5min before the next step, I'd turn to my book and answer a question (or two) if I could. Instead of paying several hundred for a course, yo ucan spend $100-200 on books (if you buy LOTS of them) and get similar results.

Also, don't bother buying flashcards if you have an iPhone/iPad/Android phone/tablet. you can get a Kaplan vocab flash card app for free.

Good luck!

[psychgurl]

I think the main thing prep classes are good for is learning a variety of quant techniques to solve the problems quickly. I considered myself very good at math before prepping, and I even thought their shortcuts were useful. As coonskee pointed out, you really have to weigh the cost of the class against what you think you'd get out of it. It's not great for everyone. Good luck

[emmm]

I think the courses can also be good to provide structure. ciistai does not, right now, sound to me like someone who is really comfortable with the thought of self-studying. Has he/she even taken a full-length procatice test under test-like conditions to see how much work actually needs to be done? I was having trouble getting myself to study, so I took the GRE early. If I had not done well, I was seriously considering enrolling in a course, so I wouldn't keep procrastinating. I also found the books not very helpful. Had I gone to a class, I would have hoped for a studying plan that focused on my weaknesses. The books seemed to include too many problems I did not need to practice.

[Hillary Emick]

I'd been out of school for 6 years and in my first practice tests did fairly bad on the math sections. I did the Princeton Review's free practice tests, which don't just give you a score but also identify the specific areas where you missed questions. I then used a variety of resources to review those areas and math concepts and raised my score to an acceptable one (80th percentile).

[Pitangus]

I agree with emmm that a course is something to consider if you think you'll have trouble setting aside time to practice.

I took the ETS Powerprep tests and I thought I did fine, so I got just the Barron book for the vocab list and math problems. I did a bit of studying, but I did not feel the pressure to do as much as I originally planned to do.

Fortunately I did fairly well overall (1440, in case your definition of "well" is more stringent than mine ), but my Quant score could have been better.

I think taking a course would have given me needed structure, since I had not made improving my score a priority on my own.

I also think you should try to take as many practice tests under timed conditions as possible. I think one of my problems with the Quant section was that I didn't pace myself correctly. I was afraid of running out of time at the end, so I went too fast through some of the early questions - a big no-no on the old test, which was computer adaptive within each section (meaning your performance on early questions determined the difficulty of of later questions in that section, and wrong answers early on had a greater impact on your score).

I believe the new test is not computer adaptive within each section and is instead adaptive between sections of the same type (someone please correct me if I'm wrong). In any case, it will still be helpful to practice pacing yourself under the test conditions.

Edited March 14, 2012 by Pitangus

[TropicalCharlie]

For books, you can save a lot of money by checking them out from your local library. I was able to check out Princeton, Kaplan and Barron GRE prep books from my library and only purchased Nova for its extensive quantitative section. I did not take a prep course but was very disciplined in my studies. I studied for at least 1-2 hours each day and did well enough on my first attempt that I didn't have to retake the test. As for vocab, google GRE vocab. There are tons of free flashcards that previous test takers created online which I used to study with. Most of these were taken straight from the prep books.

[StephanieJ]

I bought a book on Amazon for $15...

[habanero]

It depends on how you study. I didn't take a prep course, and I scored 330/340/5.5. However, I had a really good start and I am a disciplined study-er. If you feel like you need it, drop the money down. Some people really respond well to classes. If you're nervous with math, a good tutor could make a world of difference!

[rockhopper]

I think that all of the test prep courses are a waste of time/money (no offense, psychgurl). To do well on quant (and verbal, really) you just need to do practice questions.

I completely agree. I bought a new Kaplan book and highlighted the sh*t out of it, memorized all of the vocab words, and downloaded their app. If you set aside the time to do ALL of the practice tests you can find after going through the book a few times, I think you'll be ok! GOOD LUCK!

[TropicalCharlie]

Also, check with your library to see if they have online practice tests. Through my library, I had free access to 2 online timed practice tests for both the verbal and quant sections which I found to be extremely helpful.

[constantSun]

I think you should give panicking a try! I might!

[TheFez]

I repeat some thoughts here that I shared in similar threads...

The type of preparation depends on the score you need, and where you are when you start.

If you need to be in the top 10% (old scale of say 750Q 650V) then you need more tools/tricks than some of the programs offer. If you can get by with 600Q, 5550V then a less creative approach is needed.

Also - it depends on what your current level is. I needed to score >750Q and about 600V. My verbal was pretty good (>650) when I started - so I just did some vocabulary (flash cards and iPhone apps).

My quant was too low (about 650 on my first test) and my problem was time management. So I focused on doing hard problems in less than average time. I bought several math books (used on Amazon they are cheap), and did about an hour a day for many weeks. I ended up with a 760Q which was good enough (though not great). If you only need a 600Q then you can just get good at practice problems. If you need >700 Q you will need to develop some tricks, shortcuts and intuition.