Best study book(s)?

[katie_h17]

Hi everyone! I'm sorry if there is already a similar post here.

I'm planning on going to grad school for speech language pathology. I still have about 2.5 years before I can apply, so I have quite a bit of time to study. However, standardized tests kind of freak me out, so I do a lot better when I study. On a side note, how much time did you dedicate to studying for the GRE?

I want to start studying now so it will seem less overwhelming. I hate cramming and cannot do it well. What is the best study book to buy? Would it be best to buy several books and sets of flashcards, or is one book enough?

Thanks!

[TropicalCharlie]

It's great to see that you are planning ahead. Everyone here will have a different opinion on which book or combination of books helped with their GRE studies. For me, I borrowed both princeton and kaplan books from the local library and bought nova as it has extensive quantitative practice problems. For vocab, you can find many free online flashcards that people have put together using princeton, barron and kaplan vocab lists which eliminates the need to buy them. I believe there is a GRE vocab app for the iphone as well.

My local library also has 2 free computerized GRE practice tests which are different from anything being offered at the time that I took it. I found this very helpful as it helped with time management during the test. You may want to check your library for such resources.

Don't start studying too early as you will not retain much by the time your test date comes around. For someone like you who plans on going straight from undergrad to grad school, I think 6-8 weeks would be sufficient prep time.

[Deenadragon]

I would study at least 2 hours every day for one month before you take the test. The amount of time could change depending on how difficult the material is for you. The best books on the market are the Cliffs Notes GRE with CD-ROM and the Official Guide to the GRE. You may want to attend a prep class as well. Good Luck!