IS THE GRE GOING TO KILL ME? really though. ugh.

[dnr307]

I will begin sending out applications in September, which seems a far way off... but my GRE is fast approaching in May, and I am a wreck.  I have a study plan and I am working diligently until then, but the practice tests keep throwing me through loops and causing me headache after headache... so yeah, I am stressing pretty badly over these exams!  Any advice or encouragement would be GREATLY APPRECIATED! 

 

[gordyn]

Practice, practice, practice, but also relax! Make sure you have some downtime to internalize what you are learning.  The GRE isn't really testing your intelligence, it's testing your ability to learn a new system.

The best resource I've found for GRE study is MAGOOSH (was $99 for 6 months I think.)  When I used it, they had over 1000 practice problems, each of which had a written explanation of the solution, a video showing the solution, and links back to resources on skills and methods required to answer the question properly.

Drilling questions and practice tests will help you. However, treating the GRE like the game it is and spending time on learning a strategy will ultimately lead to more confidence in yourself and a higher score.

To be honest (and I wouldn't recommend this) I slacked pretty hard on GRE study until a few days before my exam but still managed to hit my target scores. If I had taken the time, completed every practice problem on Magoosh, and watched every strategy video/skill video, I know that a perfect score on the Q/V sections would be within my reach.

Believe in yourself and Good Luck!

Edited February 2, 2016 by gordyn
accidentally cursed :*

[RCtheSS]

The GRE will not kill you.

Just had to get that out of the way. 

You have given yourself plenty of time to study the test materials, essay prompts, and question formats. You can "beat" this exam. Even if you don't score in the 99th percentile in V/Q/A, you can achieve the scores you need to be a competitive applicant.

I'm someone who only ever experienced test anxiety over the GRE. It really, really sucks. BUT you can get through this like the rest of us here have! Prepare so well that you'll only have to take it once and never ever think about geometry again. 

[graciasadios]

Besides the aforementioned Magoosh, here is the best resource I have found for the GRE. I think the best part is the practice tests in the links on the right. To answer your question, the GRE will not kill you. I recommend just seeing it as a test of how badly you want to go to graduate school. Certainly, there will be lots of studying in grad school. This is an opportunity to prove to schools and to yourself that you have what it takes to succeed. I studied for about 10 months probably 10 hours per week and was happy enough with my scores to not have to re-take the GRE. Study, study, study and then you can be confident going into the test. You can do this!

[zipykido]

GRE is designed with a lot of traps in it. Like everybody has said, make sure you practice and stay relaxed. If the other parts of your application are strong then the GRE should have very little weight. 

[Extra Espresso]

Other than Magoosh (which, like I others, I highly recommend), my favorite study resources were the ETS GRE books. The main book comes with two more practice tests than what you can get for free online, and they are an excellent indicator because they come from the people who make the test. My score on the real test was slightly higher than what I made on the practice test I took two days before the real thing, but it was very, very close. Also, their math and verbal practice books have tons of GRE-style questions, and you know they are quality because they make the test. 

I HIGHLY also recommend the GRE vocabulary sets you can find on memrise.com. The way memrise does their vocabulary testing and reminders is excellent, and the words really stuck for me (at least until I took the test). The system has you learn the words in sets of 10, and it has you match the word to the definition, the definition to the word, gradually raise to more options being shown for each question, then finally type the word when given the definition. If you miss a word, it automatically adds it back into the rotation. It also says each word to after you answer the question to help auditory learners. Then, it does the staggered repetition thing where it prompts you to review words about a day after learning them, then two days after that, then about a week after that, and so on with increasing time between repetitions as you learn the words. If you miss any words, it has you review them more often until you are consistently right. My favorite three sets were the Manhattan Essential 500 Words, the Manhattan Advanced 500 Words, and the full Magoosh vocabulary list with audio. (Make sure you find the versions with audio for each set!)

I ended up being very happy with my score after a month of heavy prep with those resources. 

[ts1493]

I took the GREs twice.  The first time I had a tutor and he was great but my scores were just okay.  The second time I took the test was recently, and since I'm living abroad I don't have access to a private tutor.  I decided to use Khan Academy, the free online math resource, to study for the topics I just wasn't getting for math.  I really wish I had done that sooner!  The videos are super clear and it has a great progression method that allows you to test your skills over and over.  It was really enjoyable!  This time I studied almost exclusively for math, which went up 6 points to a much more reasonable level.  Good luck!  

[ts1493]

Oh, and as others have suggested the Magoosh resources are great.  I downloaded the vocab app and found it very helpful! 

[MrBixler]

On February 2, 2016 at 4:41 PM, dnr307 said:

I will begin sending out applications in September, which seems a far way off... but my GRE is fast approaching in May, and I am a wreck.  I have a study plan and I am working diligently until then, but the practice tests keep throwing me through loops and causing me headache after headache... so yeah, I am stressing pretty badly over these exams!  Any advice or encouragement would be GREATLY APPRECIATED! 

 

As others have expressed, Magoosh is indeed fantastic! Magoosh has a GRE Vocabulary Flash Card app and a GMAT Math Flash Card app that I found very useful for my GRE preparation. 

I supplemented Magoosh Quantitative preparation with a private tutor (Skype sessions) who is absolutely outstanding! PM me if you'd like his contact information.

Good luck!