So, who else is studying for the GRE?

[Yetanotherdegree]

How is it going?

When is your test?

What are you doing to prepare?

Any tips for others?

I'm bored with the math stuff.

Test is August 31

Preparing by morning through most of the Manhattan Prep series. Currently, finished all the vocal/text stuff and bogged down in book #2 of the math stuff. My goal is to put in an hour a day of effort.

The only tip I have is to keep going and get it over with

[sacklunch]

Retaking this coming Monday. I am planning on taking the thing five times this year (max) to ensure my 'best' (which is still going to be lower than 'great').

 

The great thing about the new test is you can send in individual score sets without them knowing how many times you have taken the thing. I suppose this is good, though it may cause me to retake more times than necessary...

[xypathos]

On second thought, I've decided to apply to Harvard MDiv. I really love what the school is doing in theology, I like the ministry resources available in the greater Boston area, it's a member of BTI, etc.

 

Anyway, b/c I want to apply to Harvard, I'll need to begin on the GRE studying.

 

So far my plan is to hit up some Manhattan Prep books and Magoosh, both of which I've heard wonderful things about. I've also heard Magoosh+Manhattan is overkill, which is probably true since it's an MDiv program and Harvard is the only school that I'm applying to that wants them.

 

Considering the deadline for Harvard Div is January 15, realistically, what's the latest that I can take the GRE? I'm guessing an early December test date.

 

I'm severely overworked with work and school as is but I know I'll kick myself if I don't at least apply

[11Q13]

I just retook it a couple weeks ago. I had to retake it because my scores expired. 

 

I honestly only spent a couple weeks preparing, which broke down to a few long haul sessions reviewing math and cramming vocab for the last week. I used the princeton review's most recent book to study, and it seemed to work well. I don't know math very well at all, so that was my biggest concern, and there were actually some question types in the exam which the book didn't prepare me for so watch out! I also did the free exams on the ETS website, I would definitely recommend doing those because they'll help you get down the pacing. 

 

You didn't ask, but I'll post my scores anyway because I was practically jumping up and down in the testing center when I got them and this is one of the few places where people might actually care  :

V: 166 Q: 156 AW: 5.5

[Yetanotherdegree]

Jdmhotness, how did it go? I'm so not enjoying the GRE prep and I feel like its getting in the way of everything else. I'm seriously considering moving up the date, doing a few weeks of heavy cramming, and being done by mid-July. That way, I would get my summer back.

[sacklunch]

Jdmhotness, how did it go? I'm so not enjoying the GRE prep and I feel like its getting in the way of everything else. I'm seriously considering moving up the date, doing a few weeks of heavy cramming, and being done by mid-July. That way, I would get my summer back.

 

I mentioned it in my recent post...but it went 'ok.' I scored around 85% verbal (still waiting on writing), and shit quant (no way!). I will likely take it again, just for good measure, though I'm not terribly worried....I can only devote so much time to the thing, and if I don't get accepted into a program because 85% isn't good enough...then so be it? I guess if it isn't good enough I can apply again next year after more studying. 

How is the prep going?

[HinnehMahTov]

I'm shooting for an early September test. I'm using a combo of Kaplan and Manhattan stuff. Today I took my first diagnostic quiz on the verbal section -- around 80%. Math . . . well, math won't be that good. Not even close.

[Café com Leite]

For what it is worth, I took the GRE for the first time in Jan and here's a couple of my "revelations" after completing it:

1. Focus on Vocab: Everything says to focus on vocab, so that's no surprise, but honestly, when/if I take it again, I will probably ditch a lot of other studying and books, and just practice vocab words. I think covering a list of 3,000 vocab words will pay off better than reading several guides.

2. Don't over-study: This may just be my opinion, but aside from vocab, I would not spend more than 4-6 weeks studying in advance. Most of it is easy to understand strategies (basic standardized test stuff) and unless you are trying to ace the quant. section, there's no need to spend more than a month or so reviewing basic math concepts. A friend suggested doing a 3 month study plan that would take up less time per day, but by the end (or middle) of it I was burned out before I even got to the test day.

3. Don't be fooled by easy tests. I took Kaplan tests several times and aced them, even the first test without studying (that was my first sign something was up...). Fortunately, I abandoned Kaplan early on and used the Manhattan guides, which worked great. I was shocked on test day how dissimilar the actual test was (esp. quant) as compared to Kaplan's practice tests.

4. My personal recommendation for materials would be to use only one guide series (Manhattan would be my suggestion). I think covering one guide series really well is better than jumping from guide to guide. I was happy with my score using the Manhattan materials, but I'm probably going to try again just to see if I can increase it, and I'm planning to use Magoosh's online study guide. I've used the free side of the site to answer several questions I had, and since it has a guarantee, I figure there's no harm in trying!

Hope this helps!