Burned out

[Parnassus]

Does anyone else get burned out studying for the GRE? How do you deal with it?

[Monochrome Spring]

I stop studying for the GRE when I'm burnt out on the GRE. You can't study when your brain is dead.

 

Remember that, at the end of the day, what matters is your mental and physical health. Don't push too hard. Keep a balance.

[MsDarjeeling]

I set a time limit of an hour and force myself to take a 10-15 minute break then.  I also don't study every day, 4-5 days a week is plenty.  Working yourself until you reach burn out is not healthy and it won't help you perform well on the test.  There is no way to know absolutely everything that will be on the test.  All you can do is learn what you can, take a deep breath, and try your best.

[Eigen]

Also, don't overstudy. 

 

Take a practice test, see where you rank, and study accordingly. 

 

The GRE is such a small part of your graduate applications, that you definitely shouldn't spend more time on it than absolutely necessary- put the extra time into writing samples, SoP, research experience, reading papers of faculty you're interested in working with, etc. 

[timmyz]

I take breaks often, when I say breaks, I mean once I'm burnt out, just take a couple days/weeks off. Then start back at it, and see how I do. 

The main thing is keeping your cool during the test. 

[obviousbicycle]

I haven't burned out yet - perhaps because I'm still on my summer break so I don't have much to do other than studying. But school starts next week and I'm just hoping I still can steal some time for prepping.

[Parnassus]

Those are all good points. I think I just see this test as a huge part of the application, which in reality, it isn't.

[Eigen]

It's probably the smallest part, but more importantly it has hugely diminishing returns. 

 

Getting up to a reasonable score (say, department and school minimums) is hugely important. With a score below those, you often won't be considered. 

 

Past that, it's usefulness drops off pretty steeply, imo. 

[wandajune]

Take a break and relax. Becoming too stressed will only hurt your performance

[obviousbicycle]

I am on the edge of burning out because I have been prepping intensively for the past 20 days (5-10 hours a day). I have covered pretty much everything (except the analytical writing part) so I guess it's time to slow down a bit...?

[Parnassus]

Take some time off. Watch a movie, read a book. I took a week off. It was glorious! Now back to the grind!

[social_treehugger]

I'm giving some serious props to you, obviousbicycle. 5-10 hrs/day for 20 days is amazing, at least in my eyes.