Doing a survey: How much time did you take to prepare for the GRE?

[ccarmona]

Hey everyone,

Just looking for some chip shots here. No long elaborate answers needed, just data! If your taking (or took) GRE: Verbal, Quant, and Ant! No scores just time.

Example: 2 weeks or 6 months

Thanks in advance!

Edited March 28, 2012 by ccarmona

[awvvu]

Went through a few practice exams the day before, and did pretty decently. (not to sound like an ass though)

Edited March 28, 2012 by awvvu

[ccarmona]

Went through a few practice exams the day before, and did pretty decently. (not to sound like an ass though)

What percentile?

[awvvu]

86/94% for V/Q. The math section is pretty straightforward so it only required some getting used to of the question structure.

[mallorn]

It took 2 months for me- its expense meant that I would only retake it if I got horrible scores, and I didn't want to even risk doing so.

[TakeruK]

For the General GRE, by section:

Verbal: I studied word lists for about a month before the test date and I also did practice test questions from random websites and the ETS page. Probably 35-40 hours of work in total.

Quantitative: I did 2 sets of practice questions from a sample test I think. My BSc meant I didn't really have to study for this.

Analytical Writing: I reviewed all the possible topics (just looked at them) the week before. I wrote a practice essay the night before the exam.

[ribeth]

I took about 2 months (7 weeks) to study.

My biggest weakness was math, so I spent most of the time reading through solution sets and completing practice problems. I also compiled a vocabulary list and created a huge amount of index cards. I didn't really study for the writing portion at all.

In the end, I think the studying paid off--I could perhaps have improved my verbal score by a couple hundred points, but I plateaued in my math results (according to the ETS PowerPrep software) after a month and a half of studying.

Edited March 28, 2012 by ribeth

[mirandaw]

Quant: went through a study book for 2 months and took 10 or so practice tests. I hadnt taken a math class in UG at all, so it all left me. Average score.

Verbal: Read through word lists, took a couple practice tests. Did very, very well.

Writing: Didn't study at all, no practice tests. (I did a lot of this in UG and before with writing AP tests). Did pretty well.

[Eigen]

Went through the practice exams on the CD ETS sent out sometime before the test, but nothing other than that. I just wanted to have a feel for timing and flow. I also did a quick perusal of the ETS site for descriptions of score brackets for the writing section.

[antecedent]

I gave myself three months, and into the second week I freaked out and cancelled all of my exams. The next time around, I gave myself three weeks, really focused on the strategy of the exam rather than the content, and focused on the part that mattered for me (verbal, AW) and not the quant section. It worked out well, gave me enough time to go in feeling prepared, and I ended up with a 93 percentile in verbal and a 5 in AW (my quant was predictably awful).

[Buckyball60]

Not long. If an Institution is thinking a good GRE means they are getting a good student good for them bad for me.

[ribeth]

In the end, I think the studying paid off--I could perhaps have improved my verbal score by a couple hundred points, but I plateaued in my math results (according to the ETS PowerPrep software) after a month and a half of studying.

LOL. I meant to say that I could have improved my verbal by 20 or so points--not 200. As you may have guessed, I did not exactly ace the quantitative section...

[ccarmona]

86/94% for V/Q. The math section is pretty straightforward so it only required some getting used to of the question structure.

Phenom Job! Congrats! Thanks for your input..

[ccarmona]

It took 2 months for me- its expense meant that I would only retake it if I got horrible scores, and I didn't want to even risk doing so.

Price is factor, wish it was free! Two months is pretty solid in my opinion. What kind of breakdown can you provide in terms of study times and days? Thanks for your input!

[ccarmona]

For the General GRE, by section:

Verbal: I studied word lists for about a month before the test date and I also did practice test questions from random websites and the ETS page. Probably 35-40 hours of work in total.

Quantitative: I did 2 sets of practice questions from a sample test I think. My BSc meant I didn't really have to study for this.

Analytical Writing: I reviewed all the possible topics (just looked at them) the week before. I wrote a practice essay the night before the exam.

Hi, I appreciate your input! Looks like you didn't study much? V + A maybe a total of 45-55 hours? How satisfied were you with your score?

Thanks!

[ccarmona]

I took about 2 months (7 weeks) to study.

My biggest weakness was math, so I spent most of the time reading through solution sets and completing practice problems. I also compiled a vocabulary list and created a huge amount of index cards. I didn't really study for the writing portion at all.

In the end, I think the studying paid off--I could perhaps have improved my verbal score by a couple hundred points, but I plateaued in my math results (according to the ETS PowerPrep software) after a month and a half of studying.

Your study time frame fits with another student in this forumn (2 months). It looks like everyone here is pretty much 2-3 months tops. Some focusing on certain subjects more than others; I think your break down is pretty interesting though. If you didn't really pay much attention to V + A then Q was your main concern. Coming from a non-science/math based program how well did you perform on the Q section? If you don't mind me asking. And how much time in terms of hours or days did you focus on Q?

Thanks for your input!

[Eigen]

Just for future reference, the multiquote functionality here is quite usefull if you want to respond to 3-4 people, instead of writing up separate posts for each.

[ccarmona]

Thanks, Im still in Noob status!

[Pitangus]

3 to 5 hours per week for 3 weeks while working a field assistant position (dawn to dusk, 6 days a week). Took the Powerprep tests, went through the Barron's word list, but mostly did math problems. Read about the writing tasks, but I figured there wasn't much I could do to become good at making an argument without citing sources.

Verbal score was good (99%), Quant could have been better (72%). AW was a meh 4.5, but expected. My responses probably weren't long enough, for a start.

I should have put aside more time for Quant in order to score higher, but I don't regret it that much, since my score did not affect my admissions results, except maybe at Berkeley because I don't know the reason(s) for my (presumed) rejection there.

Edit: This was for the old test. I don't know if my prep/scores would have varied if I took the new test.

Edited March 29, 2012 by Pitangus

[wildviolet]

I started studying about 2 months before my test date in late August. I had the summer off, so I probably studied about 2-4 hours a day, maybe 3-4 days a week. For me, it wasn't so much about time as it was about getting better scores on the practice tests. So, I went through the entire Princeton Review book, the Official GRE, and some of Barron's. I took as much time as I needed to get better, especially on the quantitative section. The week of the test, I took the Official GRE full-length exams to get a feel for timing, and they were pretty close to what I actually got: 94% V, 82% Q, and 87% AW.

[ribeth]

Your study time frame fits with another student in this forumn (2 months). It looks like everyone here is pretty much 2-3 months tops. Some focusing on certain subjects more than others; I think your break down is pretty interesting though. If you didn't really pay much attention to V + A then Q was your main concern. Coming from a non-science/math based program how well did you perform on the Q section? If you don't mind me asking. And how much time in terms of hours or days did you focus on Q?

Thanks for your input!

I definitely spent most of my time on the quantitative--usually about 2 hours a day, 5 days a week. Mostly, I was re-teaching myself the basics since I did a spectacular job of forgetting even basic high school math. I made a 54th percentile with a 630 (old format)--which doesn't sound particularly good, but I did MUCH better than all of my other English major friends. So yeah.

[ccarmona]

3 to 5 hours per week for 3 weeks while working a field assistant position (dawn to dusk, 6 days a week). Took the Powerprep tests, went through the Barron's word list, but mostly did math problems. Read about the writing tasks, but I figured there wasn't much I could do to become good at making an argument without citing sources.

Verbal score was good (99%), Quant could have been better (72%). AW was a meh 4.5, but expected. My responses probably weren't long enough, for a start.

I should have put aside more time for Quant in order to score higher, but I don't regret it that much, since my score did not affect my admissions results, except maybe at Berkeley because I don't know the reason(s) for my (presumed) rejection there.

Edit: This was for the old test. I don't know if my prep/scores would have varied if I took the new test.

Whoa, looks like you had your hands full with the field assistant position. I applied to a few internships (EPA, GAO, and one other government related position) for the summer. I think your load will be similar to mine this summer (granted they call for one of the internships). Financial or accounting functions. The entire summer half should be spent at one internship while the other half will be teaching at a local community college. Time will definitely be at a premium. Kind of like your senario. I am hoping to get as much information from here and apply it during the summer; then take the exam. I think everyone else here is studying around 3-5 days a week with around 2-4 hours a day max. I am not good with V + A so I will have to apply more time toward those. Q will take me about three or four weeks to feel real confident.

The new scoring system seems to account for what? I don't know why they changed it?

I started studying about 2 months before my test date in late August. I had the summer off, so I probably studied about 2-4 hours a day, maybe 3-4 days a week. For me, it wasn't so much about time as it was about getting better scores on the practice tests. So, I went through the entire Princeton Review book, the Official GRE, and some of Barron's. I took as much time as I needed to get better, especially on the quantitative section. The week of the test, I took the Official GRE full-length exams to get a feel for timing, and they were pretty close to what I actually got: 94% V, 82% Q, and 87% AW.

I unfortunately will not have the summer off (I really wish I did)! I took the winter quarter + spring quarter off so I can raise my GPA as high as possible! What exactly is your doctoral program or masters?

I definitely spent most of my time on the quantitative--usually about 2 hours a day, 5 days a week. Mostly, I was re-teaching myself the basics since I did a spectacular job of forgetting even basic high school math. I made a 54th percentile with a 630 (old format)--which doesn't sound particularly good, but I did MUCH better than all of my other English major friends. So yeah.

Not to shabby! Good job!

Edited March 29, 2012 by ccarmona

[Pitangus]

I think you will be able to find the time if you are dedicated to studying. I had evenings and all Sundays off from work, so I had time to study more, but I just didn't put a huge amount of importance on GRE prep. I also could have taken the test earlier, while still in undergrad, but I decided to take Biology subject GRE instead because it's only offered a few times per year.

The new scoring system seems to account for what? I don't know why they changed it?

The new Quant section has some new question types. I think the new Verbal section got rid of a type (antonyms?).

Also, the old test was computer adaptive within each section, meaning you had to answer questions as they came up and could not return to a previous question. I don't think this is the case with the new test.

I really don't know if I would have performed differently on the new test, but I figured it was worth mentioning.

[isawstars]

I attended a 4 day GRE prep course 8am to 4pm... then studied (mostly verbal) for 2 weeks before taking it. Oddly enough I did worse on Verbal and 5 points better on Quantitative. I don't have my Writing score back yet.

[Semester Photon]

I studied about 8 hours total two months before the exam. Then classes got in the way, and I didn't study anymore. I just decided to take it and see. I did well enough that I decided not to retake. I did kinda poorly on the verbal section (560), but it doesn't matter very much in my field (math).

The Gre Math though, I studied over the course of weeks for.