jlee306 Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 Hello, I am having a really hard time studying for the math section on the GRE. I have always disliked math and it has never came easy to me. Now I am trying to reteach myself this basic math and having a really hard time understanding it. I am signed up to take the test on the 27th (two weeks from today), so I would really appreciate any advice I can get from yall! Thank you. Oh yeah, I have The Princeton Review: Cracking the GRE 2012 edition study guide and it is great...just having a hard time with the math. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogue Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 After the thread about studying for the verbal section, I'm almost afraid to reply, but... I had a hard time remembering how to set up some of the word problems since it had been forever since I needed to do that sort of math. I found these books to be helpful. They break things down with good explanations and have lots of practice problems. How to Solve Word Problems in Algebra (Mildred Johnson) Math Word Problems Demystified (Allan Bluman) Bob Miller's Algebra for the Clueless That said, I was sort of disappointed that I only got a couple of word problems on the test. But the problems in these books also gave me plenty of practice in working out all the other types that were on the test. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amyeray Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 I'm in the same boat you are, I've never liked math, don't remember much of it, and certainly never dreampt of doing any of it without a calculator. I enrolled in the Princeton Review online class, bought the Kaplan math book as well... and when I found out that I needed to look at even more basic math concepts (like remembering how to multiply fractions) I went to Target and grabbed the program "Math Advantage". I am scheduled to take the test Sept 1st so I don't know what is the most helpful... and while the Math Advantage Program doesn't mention anything about specific strategies for the GRE it did explain the basic math concepts in a way that I could understand them again. I wish you luck in finding the best possible method of study for you... and break a leg on the GRE! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Green Star Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 I'm in the same boat as everyone else. I got the Princeton and Kaplan books and made a ton of flash cards with problems, formulas, etc. on them. My goal is to just learn how to solve the problems and get a respectable score. Lucky for me I'm not getting an MA in anything remotely related to math, but I'd still like to get the score to a decent level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
circumfession Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 This is a bit off-topic, but I'm rather amazed that there even is a Cracking the GRE 2012 edition study guide...considering that it's currently 2009. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natofone Posted August 15, 2009 Share Posted August 15, 2009 There are some ok GRE math iphone applications. One called GRE Math by Indiram was especially good. It has explanations and formulas for some problems that the gre math books just suggest that you use intuition. For example, they have a formula for 'Combination with selection' [m!/(n!*(m-n)!)] that works great on all of those pesky combination problems. I looked through most of the books for a good explanation and couldn't find any. I also suggest really learning the tips in the kaplan/princeton review/barrons books. They save you time and make things really easy. As another suggestion, I made a ton of flashcards with all kinds of random rules (side lengths of a 30-60-90 triangle are the ration 1:square root of 3:2) and common math figures (the square root of three is 1.71) so that I really have these ingrained in my thick head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NervousNellie Posted August 15, 2009 Share Posted August 15, 2009 Calculators aren't allowed? Seriously?! Oh, this just gets worse and worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natofone Posted August 15, 2009 Share Posted August 15, 2009 No, but the calculations themselves are usually very simple, especially if you know fractional equivalents like 1/6 = .166 and 1/8=.125. Converting to fractions and canceling/simplifying makes your life considerably easier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlee306 Posted August 15, 2009 Author Share Posted August 15, 2009 This is a bit off-topic, but I'm rather amazed that there even is a Cracking the GRE 2012 edition study guide...considering that it's currently 2009. Oops, sorry. It is a 2010 edition...didn't even notice I had done that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NervousNellie Posted August 15, 2009 Share Posted August 15, 2009 Okay, um crap, no calculators. But you are allowed to bring along paper for doing calculations. Right?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brwneyez1983 Posted August 15, 2009 Share Posted August 15, 2009 Okay, um crap, no calculators. But you are allowed to bring along paper for doing calculations. Right?! They actually provide you with scrap paper to do your calculations just unfortunately no calculators. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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