What helped you the most in improving GRE scores?

[bsharpe269]

I took the GRE 2-3 years ago (before my master's program) and scored 157V, 161Q, 4.5.

I took a practice test on ETS last week and scored 154V, 163Q. This is not suprising since im in a bioinformatics masters so I am doing more of that sort of thinking and less writing over the past year.

 

I would like to retake the GRE this summer and am aiming for scores around 160V, 165Q. So far, I have signed up for kaplan's GRE question of the day and have been using http://gre.tyrannosaurusprep.com/Vocabulary/Quiz-Games to learn GRE words.

 

Any one else have a specific site or study method that worked particularly well? Since I am working on my masters and studying for a subject test, I dont have tons of time to devote but my current plan is to dedicate 20mins (10min/section) every morning before class and then take a practice test once a month. Input on this plan and further suggestions are appreciated.

 

I think my older score is good enough that if I end up having to submit that, it will be fairy neutral to my application. Of course I would like to raise it so it can potentially help my application! Goal schools are places like Umaryland, rutgers, UCSF, etc.

[iphi]

I've heard that Magoosh works for a lot of people (it didn't seem to for me). I used Manhattan Elite Prep and it worked pretty well. Really just buying their book(s) and working through them on your own is probably sufficient. Your score seems pretty decent, and I've heard from most grad programs that they're really just looking for a "range" so even improving a few points probably won't make that much of a difference, I.E. Don't bother spending too much money on it!

[GraceEun00]

I really enjoyed using kaplan's quiz bank. You have to purchase the program (around $50 if you use the discount code) but there's a lot of questions and you can choose them based on type of question and skill level. For me, being comfortable taking a computer test was the hardest part and using Kaplan really helped with that. 

[samstrong123]

Hi Decaf,

You mentioned Kap GRE Quiz bank can com ew/ program fro ~$50. But webpage says Kap Quiz bak if of $199 and after consideroing past student discount 10% it can drop down to ~$180. And all Kap GRE prpograms are in range from $500- $1000. So how to get Kap GRE Quiz bank for ~$50. Let me know as I'm thinking to buy one.

 

Hi Caffeinated,

As you rpast GRE in valid for 2 more years, if you want to give GRE again make sure you get sufficient more score or else if you get less score it can only hamr the application. Just a word of cation.

 

Sam.

[GraceEun00]

@Samstrong 123: I'm so sorry--I meant $150. Excuse the typo. But if you use a coupon from this sitehttp://www.retailmenot.com/view/kaptest.com, you can reduce the price from $199-$150. 

[astreaux]

Magoosh worked for me-- bumped my verbal score from 160 on my first practice test to 169 on the actual test two months later. In addition to watching the videos and doing all of their practice questions, I used their vocabulary flash card app on my iPad every night. I had less success with their math prep material, but that was entirely my fault. I just didn't put in enough time with it.

[wruby]

@Mocha, I guess you are confusing Manhattan Prep and Manhattan Elite Prep. The latter does not have any material for the GRE, but poses as Manhattan Prep quite often to confuse consumers. I would recommend to google "manhattan elite prep lawsuit" to find out more.

[themmases]

I used Manhattan Prep (the giant book of practice problems) to study for the math section and it helped a lot. I also used just the Spark Notes overview of what types of questions would be asked, particularly what types of trick questions and things that sound harder than they are. I did not study for the first time I took it, about 5 years ago, because I registered too late to get the ETS materials and was naive enough to think it would be just like how I did well on the SAT without studying. Ha!

 

Anyway, despite not having been in a math class in years, I worked through every Manhattan Prep chapter on a topic I wasn't sure about, stopping maybe every quarter of the way through to check my work and redo missed problems the right way. Then I used one of the free practice tests (I think from ETS but I can't remember now) as a test of when I was allowed to go to bed the night before.

 

I moved up from 164V (93%) 144Q (18%) 5.5W (97%) (all estimates, before the revised test) as an undergrad who didn't study but presumably should have had this stuff fresh in her mind, to 168V (98%) 159Q (75%) 4.0W (54%), years removed from those classes but with about two weeks of dedicated studying. As for the essay... I realized I was writing basically the same thing as last time and it threw me off, is all I can say.

 

I didn't use it for GRE, but I really love Quizlet for learning vocab generally. It's basically internet flashcards, but there are other games you can play with the lists you use and you can use other people's lists rather than type in your own. I used to play the vocab games whenever I needed a break at work.

[bsharpe269]

I didn't use it for GRE, but I really love Quizlet for learning vocab generally. It's basically internet flashcards, but there are other games you can play with the lists you use and you can use other people's lists rather than type in your own. I used to play the vocab games whenever I needed a break at work.

Wow, thats for mentioning Quizlet! I had never seen that before but really like it!

[jin_guan]

Quizlet is definitely useful but there's only a set amount of vocabulary words to test from. I found this tool to be helpful http://www.vbaexceltutorial.com/virtual-flashcards/. It uses Excel and you can create your own lists of vocabulary words. 

[gingin6789]

Kaplan! I took an online course through them.  Every Saturday and Sunday for four weeks, I would take 5 hours worth of classes.  Saturday was Verbal, Sunday was Math! I did miss one week of Verbal for a wedding, though.

 

They gave us homework, reading assignments, told us to do Quiz Bank and full-length practice tests! It was a bear, but it really helped me improve my scores and was well worth the cost ($900+, yikes!).  I could only afford to pay for mine because of my financial aid refund.  (It felt good to put that toward something academic, though, because I know some folks who go on shopping sprees with their refund ... )

 

Anyway, I went from a 146 to a 152 in Quantitative (my highest score was actually a 155 though! I got that score on a practice test), and I went from a 155 to a 164 in Verbal (You'd think that being a sociology and philosophy major would make Verbal a walk in the park ... definitely NOT the case!! That took a lot of practice!).

[adlittle]

The test changing to have an essay question! Srsly my verbal scores were very high, but maths and that horrid logic section were the worst. I scored at 30th percentile on logic, but went up to 5.5 (96th percentile) when it was replaced by the essay.