How pwned the GRE today

[JohnMiltonsStapler]

So today was my second time taking the GRE, the first time with the new test format. I am applying to a top 40 university, but the opportunity to move to the area came up suddenly, so I had to get everything in my application together quickly. I wanted to take it again to see if I could improve my AW score from back in 2011 (4) and possibly bump up my verbal. I honestly did not care about the Quant, but paid it attention since it, too, had new sorts of questions that were interesting at the very least. My other scores in 2011 were: 600 (84th % for that year) Verbal, and a 300 something that I am embarrassed to mention. Then I had plenty of time to study. 

 

Because of the rush, I registered for the GRE 11 days ago. I took a ton of practice tests to familiarize myself with the format. That's about it. I did not study the GRE per se, I studied what makes the GRE tick and how you can crack it. And I developed my own methodology (for the verbal) that I want to share. It is quite simple. 

 

When you open each section, quickly go through each question and, just at a passing glance, rate its difficulty on a 1-3 scale on your scratch paper. If a question is particularly difficult ( like a sentence completion that you have no idea what any of the words mean) but a star by it. Some people say go for the reading comp sections first. I find that it can often let time slip away. I made very efficient use of time by using the review function to skip back and forth. I started with the most difficult questions. 12 minutes in, I had all of them done. I completed the rest of the section in 9 minutes, so when I finished I had time to spare. I then went *back* to the '3' questions and checked again, changing my answers on a couple of them. 

 

 

It plainly worked. I scored a 166 verbal (96th %). Will it work for everyone? Probably not, but no methodology does. My biggest impediment to sucesses on standardized tests has always been time constraints. So I worked out a way to neither rush, nor slug through, but prioritize. I used this same method on the Quant, and my jaw dropped when I saw that I got a 158 on the Quant. I had expected to christmas tree it. But, given the relaxed nature of my working and the inclusion of a calculator, I suppose I was able to crack that today as well. 

 

 

I say out of this not to brag (okay, I am bragging a bit) but instead to share this methodology with anyone who might be having similar problems with the time limits on the new GRE. The GRE is a beast whose nature we know, and so I think its high time all of us stated developing ways to combat it. Until, one day, it finally disappears and the monopoly of ETS-Prometric is broken. I am all for a post-undergrad standardized test. But it should test aptitude and not intestinal fortitude. 

 

Love to hear everyone's thoughts. Ill add my AW scores when I get them. 

[TakeruK]

I agree that tests like the GRE are really more about knowing how to take the test than necessarily knowing the material. But the method to best "crack" the test is probably very person-dependent, so I wouldn't advocate for any particular method. However, I do enjoy reading other methods.

 

I like your method of going through all of the questions and rating them based on difficulty. One alternative to what you did would be to start with the easiest questions. In each individual section, all of the questions are worth the same amount of points, so why not work your way from the easiest up? Getting 5 easy questions right will do the same to your score as getting 5 hard questions right, provided that all of the questions were in the same section. I also agree that leaving the reading comp. questions until the end is the best idea, because they take the longest! I wish that I was able to skip these questions and go back to them when I was taking the old GRE test. 

 

When I took the old GRE test, we were much more restricted so I don't think any of the time management strategies from pre-August-2012 would really apply to the Revised GRE test! 

[JohnMiltonsStapler]

Oh, as I said, I took the old one too. I miss the analogies, but I am a Structuralist so I suppose that comes with the territory.