Non-native and the GRE

[Beyla]

Hi everyone,

This is my first post on this forum. I am really glad I found it. I recently moved to the US and decided to continue my education here. I have a Bachelor's Degree in Education (international Diploma), worked as a teacher back in my country, and I would like to pursue my Master's Degree in Education now. The programs I am interested in have the GRE and TOEFL tests among their requirements for the students with international diplomas whose native language is not English. I decided to start with the GRE preparation as I know that I need to devote some time for it. Another reason is that the results of this test are valid for five years, in comparison with the TOEFL's results which are good only for two years. I am really concerned about the GRE test, both the verbal and the quantitative parts.

I was just wondering if English is not a native language for any of you , and if there are any of you who has never studied in the US before taking the GRE? How long was your preparation? What were the best techniques for you to improve your vocabulary and analytical writing skills? At what point did you know you were ready to take the test, or did you just decide to try your luck without preparation and see how it would go?

I would be really happy to hear about your experience if you have a similar one! Thanks a lot!

[chaetzli]

Hi, I am also a non-native speaker. I posted this somewhere else and it may help you (however, I need to say that I'm very bad at learning new words):

When I started practicing for the GRE I had a verbal score of 150. I improved my verbal score by 11 points.

1) I installed the "IntelliVocab" app for the iPhone -> 4800 words (I practiced until I mastered 98%)

2) I installed Kaplan vocab app -> those are the most important words!! learn all of them

3) I bought Barron's most essential GRE words -> 800 words that you really should remember

4) Magoosh: while practicing I make notes of all the words that I don't know -> another 200 words

For reading comprehension: Magoosh video tutorials are great.

It took me approximately 4 months to learn all these GRE words. If I were you, I would take the free Princeton Review practice test in order to assess how good you are at the moment. Then you can retake it after a month or two.

[Beyla]

swisschocolate,

Thank you for your thorough and quick response! I appreciate that, and it's good to know that I am not alone.

I've been looking at Kaplan's and Barron's books on Amazon. I haven't come across Magoosh books. I will definitely install the "IntelliVocab" app for the iPhone, and will take the Princeton Review practice test. So far, I have been reading and working through the Math Review PDF file which I downloaded from the official GRE site. I don't think it is enough for me. I need more practice problems to work on to fortify my skills. I hope that I will be ready to take the test in four months but right now I feel overwhelmed and know that I need a lot of practice!

Anyways, thank you so much!

Edited September 7, 2012 by Beyla

[chaetzli]

I think you can do it in less than four month (I am a very slow learner ). Magoosh is an online learning platform: http://gre.magoosh.com - I like it very much (but not everyone does -> especially if you are already very strong it may be too easy)

[Beyla]

Thank you again! I'll have a look. I am not a quick learner, myself.

[Beyla]

It's me again. Maybe someone can help me out here?

I have a question regarding the Princeton Free GRE Online practice test:

http://www.princetonreview.com/grad/free-gre-practice-test.aspx

I needed to register on their site when I tried to download the test. You have to choose a course you want to buy. When you choose the free GRE Online practice test, the total is $0.00. But the wording confuses me as it is unclear. It states: "Total you will pay today". I didn't find anything about the free tests in the Princeton's terms and conditions. My questions are:

- Will they try to charge me later for the test or anything else?

- Do they ask your credit card information while you are checking out, even if you are getting a free test?

- As they ask my shipping address, are they going to send the test to me by mail as well, or is it just a generic form that they have for all of their services and materials?

Sorry for so many questions. I just want to make sure I am doing it right, and maybe there is a simpler way to get this test without giving them my address and personal information?

Thank you!

[alf10087]

It's free and they won't charge, nor you'll have to give any credit card info.

[Beyla]

Great! Thank you!

[Dee1987]

Last time when I took the GRE I got a 320 on my verbal and a 430 on my math so my overall score was around 750. Now I am trying to get a 1300. Will Magoosh help me raise my score. How accurate are they?

[deconstructing]

I'm another non-native speaker and yes, my verbal score is so bad I don't even wish to mention it. I hate the fact my reading comprehension score is bad, but after learning a few strategies, I can say I'm getting better. (The main strategy: read the passage carefully the first time! Yes, you will lose some time, but since all of the answers are similar to each other, you will have to go back at one point anyway.)

There's no quick help for the other part of the verbal test. You have to learn all those words.

Edited September 9, 2012 by deconstructing

[kaykaykay]

ok in my opinion the good news is that non-native speakers can do just as well as native speakers on verbal because native speakers often do not put into the test a lot of effort. The bad news is getting the results requires a lot of mindless memorization of endless wordlists a total waste of time, but it does not require any special skill just sitting in one place for an extended time.

I used Barron's and Princeton's GRE books. Princeton has a much shorter vocab list, I learned them all. Then I started with Barron's and went through as much as I could(it's dense. I think I ended up going through half of the lists and skimming through some more before the test date).I just sat down and went through the lists, one for a day or so. Then I started the practice tests and practice exercises, and went through the techniques that the books recommend (some work for non native speakers some do not. if you have never seen a word it will not ring any hidden memories fro instance no matter how well read you are)

A lot of words that I saw before came up for real which helped me remember later. Barron's 1100 words you need to know is also a neat book, I started later when I knew 60% of the words but I loved that you can practice reading comprehension through real passages constantly and it has fill in the blanks too. Anyway, I got over 90% but it was a summer worth of hard work.

Edited September 9, 2012 by kaykaykay

[Azarashi1]

What I think is that non native speakers, at least those whose first language is a Latin language, actually have an advantage, because the words that come up are mostly latinisms, so a word that is obscure for a native speaker will be very similar to one that in spanish, french or italian is used in daily...same goes for syntax...

[pemdas]

Last time when I took the GRE I got a 320 on my verbal and a 430 on my math so my overall score was around 750. Now I am trying to get a 1300. Will Magoosh help me raise my score. How accurate are they?

magoosh will help you spend money by explaining its benefits for gre prep and giving testimonials of its aspirants who succeeded in exam. It's you who should be concerned with your prep mainly not materials or prep/coach center.

[smartmailman]

Okay, a non-native english speaker here as well. The biggest boost that I got in my score was by increasing my english vocabulary.

I used the following resources:

1) Barron's 4000+ master list

2) myvocabapp.com -- this was the most helpful!

I found that Barron's list helpful, but I need some form of cover-and-recall way of learning (ie. flash cards). So I tried myvocabapp to help me fill the void.

After using myvocabapp, I was able to plot my progress and better understand where I lacked most and quickly picked up there. 4000 words in 2 months!

Anyway, also make sure you don't spend too much time doing vocab and also keep reading to boost your in-context vocabulary.

[Beyla]

OK, I'm fully equipped now. I ordered the following books:

- Nova's GRE Math Prep Course;

- Barron's 1100 Words;

- Kaplan's New GRE Verbal Workbook;

- Kaplan's 2013 GRE Premier (with 5 online practice tests);

- Kaplan's new GRE flashcards;

- Manhattan's Reading Comprehension & Essays GRE Strategy Guide.

It looks like a lot . Now I just have to study hard not to regret my spending. It looks like tomorrow I'll have some time to take the Princeton practice test to see where I stay now and to know my progress in future, if any. Fingers crossed.

Thanks everyone for your answers!