Question about GRE verbal/ Princeton Review

[2013grad]

I'm planning to take the GRE in August. I'm using the Princeton Review 8 week plan as a guide to prepare for it, which includes learning all the vocabulary words in the Cracking the GRE book (I think 400-500 words). I took a diagnostic test before I started studying at all and got 158V and 150Q. I'm not worried about math; I know I can increase that if I refresh my memory on some things. My concern is verbal. I'd like to increase my score to the mid 160s. Good news is that I got all my reading comprehension questions right on my diagnostic practice test, so it's really just vocabulary standing in my way.

My questions: is studying the Princeton Review vocab going to help? Has anyone else used the GRE prep book or taken their tests? How reliable are they? I have a friend who scored 164V with no vocabulary studying at all. He saw my GRE book and said he never saw those vocabulary words on the test.

Any advice? Additional tips or suggestions for the verbal sections are also appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

[crazygirl2012]

162 (my score) is 90th percentile, so mid-160s would be quite high! What field are you in? Does it need to be that high? It's great to aim high, but don't let it discourage you if you can't quite get to the mid-160s. Being really good at reading comprehension will help you a lot. I used the Princeton Review book as well but I didn't really study vocabulary much. Gaining a solid understanding of Latin roots and reviewing prefixes and suffixes will serve you better than memorizing a bunch of words. You can usually deduce the meaning of a word, or at least eliminate some answer choices, if you can identify and understand the root of each word.

[2013grad]

Thanks for the input. I'm looking at public administration or education policy programs. It doesn't necessarily have to be that high (for instance, one school I'm looking at has an average 158V), but I would like for top tier schools to be an option, so I'm shooting high.

[Physwimic]

I used the Kaplan book, which had a list of 300 or so words. I studied them, and believe this did indeed help. I saw several of them on the test, and it probably added a few points to my score. The 300 words was worth it to me for the few points. I had a friend who used a book with 1000+ words. According to her, she didn't see any of them on the test.

Edited June 25, 2012 by Physwimic

[2013grad]

Thanks physwimic. I have some Kaplan flash cards, so I plan to study those words too. It seems like the GRE can really be luck of the draw on vocab.

[Daria Morgendorffer]

I used a free phone app called GRE Tutor. I have an Android - not sure if it's on other platforms or not. Regardless, having something always on me when I was bored, sitting around, waiting on something, etc. was a nice way to fit in some extra studying. I think I picked up 4 or 5 questions I wouldn't have otherwise gotten and ended up with a 169V. So - find an app! Good luck!

[2013grad]

Thanks Daria. That's encouraging to hear. I made flashcards from the Princeton Review that I carry with me, but I also downloaded the Kaplan app on my iPhone. I'm able to use that when I don't have my flashcards with me. Hopefully it'll help!

[bfat]

Hi 2013grad,

I had good luck with the PR "hard" drills in the online content, and I supplemented with the Kaplan verbal book. The Princeton Review drills were harder than the actual test (which was kinda nice) but the Kaplan review was more relevant as far as frequently appearing terms. I just kept a list of all the terms that i didn't recognize as they came up during drills, and looked over them tons before the test. I'd recommend this for vocab building, especially if you're already good at reading comp.

[2013grad]

Thanks bfat! I'll definitely look into that. Where are the PR drills online? My practice book says I have access to them, I just can't seem to find them anywhere. Would you say Kaplan is the best for additional verbal practice? I have the ETS book, but I was thinking about getting an additional book to use for practicing.

[karthik1]

hey,

I followed the PR hit parades.. 600 words.. just make sure that u know the words cover to cover... i ended up with 165V

[bfat]

The Kaplan book was good as far as exercises and drills, but I also had the Barrons 800 GRE words book--but that took a loooong time to go through and the exercises weren't GRE-based, just general vocab exercises. Most of the really important, frequently appearing words (in Barrons) were also covered by PR or Kaplan.

I had registered for a Princeton Review course, and just payed a little extra to maintain my access to the online content (all the drills and supplemental materials), so I got to it through my student site--not sure how you'd access it otherwise.

Good luck!

Edited July 10, 2012 by bfat

[2013grad]

hey,

I followed the PR hit parades.. 600 words.. just make sure that u know the words cover to cover... i ended up with 165V

Great! That's exactly what I'm doing. Did you find that your score improved from a diagnostic test before studying to the actual GRE? Also, did you study anything for verbal in addition to the hit parade?