Studying for the GRE

[Parisienne]

Hey folks,

A couple of questions about the GRE:

1- How much time did you take studying for it? Haven't started yet, thinking of applying for Fall '11, and I have a full-time job, so...the prospect is stressing me out;

2- I'm not American & haven't studied in the States (except for one year abroad): will that make schools more or less demanding regarding my GRE scores?

Thanks in advance for your helpful answers

[blankets]

I can only speak to question 1, but I studied daily or at least 4-5 times a week for about 2.5 months out of the Barron's book and took the free ETS online tests and test preps.

[curufinwe]

there is detailed discussion on these issues in the GRE forum. Political Science forum is not the place for it.

[catchermiscount]

there is detailed discussion on these issues in the GRE forum. Political Science forum is not the place for it.

Yeah! YOU DON'T DESERVE TO LIVE FOR COMMITTING SUCH A SIN, AND THERE IS NO WAY YOU CAN GET MORE TARGETED ANSWERS FROM PEOPLE INTERESTED IN YOUR FIELD! Seriously, you're going to be a great addition to the poliscijobrumors crowd -- this is right up their alley.

In all seriousness, I didn't study very much -- maybe an hour a week? The math is hard to study for since it's just problem-solving and not really "math." The verbal...well, a lot of people study for it by making flashcards and whatnot. If English isn't your first language, then you can expect a little slack (though not too much!) on the verbal end. Good luck!

[interista]

Yeah! YOU DON'T DESERVE TO LIVE FOR COMMITTING SUCH A SIN, AND THERE IS NO WAY YOU CAN GET MORE TARGETED ANSWERS FROM PEOPLE INTERESTED IN YOUR FIELD! Seriously, you're going to be a great addition to the poliscijobrumors crowd -- this is right up their alley.

In all seriousness, I didn't study very much -- maybe an hour a week? The math is hard to study for since it's just problem-solving and not really "math." The verbal...well, a lot of people study for it by making flashcards and whatnot. If English isn't your first language, then you can expect a little slack (though not too much!) on the verbal end. Good luck!

cut us some slack, we are all mad stressed about these decisions...especially those of us who are still waiting for our first one!

[curufinwe]

lol. All I did was to say "we do not discuss GRE here, there is a subforum dedicated entirely to GRE". I cannot comprehend as to why I get such a reaction. In fact, admins often move such discussions to related forums. Do they get the same reaction as well?

[catchermiscount]

lol. All I did was to say "we do not discuss GRE here, there is a subforum dedicated entirely to GRE". I cannot comprehend as to why I get such a reaction. In fact, admins often move such discussions to related forums. Do they get the same reaction as well?

Depends. Are they awesome? Do they like Das Boot? How about Designing Women?

[Parisienne]

Apologies if I didn't post in the right forum. Honestly I just thought I'd post my question here because I wondered whether applicants to certain fields studied more for the GRE than others (in economics for instance, given the importance of the quant score), so I wanted answers from poli sci applicants -- that said I'm sure the mods will move this post if they deem that appropriate.

Anyway -- thanks for your answers. 1h per week is definitely doable -- I was just wondering how much time commitment is needed to prepare for this properly (for instance, is 6 months a good timeframe for prepping & taking the test?).

[readeatsleep]

to the original poster, please do not take this silliness as indicative of our field.

the key to studying for the GRE is consistency. you want to build up a pattern so that, when you take the actual test, you are totally in the zone and used to sitting for 3 or more hours straight and concentrating. for this reason, begin studying several months before the GRE. study everyday, and take a practice test once a week. if you do this for several months, you will be totally ready for the test!

6 months may be excessive, unless your score really needs improvement. buy a GRE study book and take the 'diagnostic test' to see where youre at. if youre doing well already, you dont need 6 months. i would say somewhere between 6 and 3 months is plenty of time to study and practice.

but rememebr - an hour a day will NOT prepare you for the test, which require more endurance. practice tests are crucial!!

Edited February 5, 2010 by readeatsleep

[curufinwe]

True, for Polisci, it is a bit different, at least compared to engineers etc...

I would suggest you cram for a month, not spread it to a long period of time. As time passes, you will realize it is hard to keep in mind the words you alreayd memorized in the beginning. I studied for a month, an hour or two every day. Memorized 900-1000 words. Got 690 for verbal. As long as you pass the 600 threshold, you will be fine, which is easily doable.

For maths, I have no idea how one needs to study We had a good maths education and questions were too easy for people who had the same education (in Turkey).

[catchermiscount]

Now we're getting somewhere! Way to be helpful to our new friend, d00ds! Woot and double woot! High five here, high five there. High five everywhere.

[tarski]

Apologies if I didn't post in the right forum. Honestly I just thought I'd post my question here because I wondered whether applicants to certain fields studied more for the GRE than others (in economics for instance, given the importance of the quant score), so I wanted answers from poli sci applicants -- that said I'm sure the mods will move this post if they deem that appropriate.

Anyway -- thanks for your answers. 1h per week is definitely doable -- I was just wondering how much time commitment is needed to prepare for this properly (for instance, is 6 months a good timeframe for prepping & taking the test?).

I'm not poli sci so I apologize for barging in . However, I wanted to say that I don't think it's just about choosing some number- 1 hour a week, 2 hours a week, etc. Some of the practice tests, particularly powerprep, predict your score very well. Take a practice test and see where you are, and then you'll know whether you need to study all day or just a little, or somewhere in between.

[applying12010]

I studied for about 1.5 months for the GRE. Most time spent on verbal - remembered about 8000 words from all the GRE vocab books I can find (I actually like to remember words!). I am a non-native English speaker, by the way.

I bought the Kaplan online quiz bank to study for both verbal and math - the questions in Kaplan are slightly harder than the real GRE, which gave me good practice.

Otherwise, I think that the Barron's book is very useful. Additionally, there are also useful GRE materials scattered around Chinese and Indian student forums. Princeton Review is too easy in my opinion.

I think it will be ideal to take about 2 months to prepare for the exam, spending at least 2 hours each day on the GRE. I did the majority of the study 3-4 weeks before the exam, and that was painful. Don't do it!

Final scores: v 770, q 750. quant can probably can be a little better if I didn't take the exam with a fever! I thought I was going to do horrible...

Good luck with the GRE, future generation of applicants!

[peppermint.beatnik]

I spent 2.5 months. Took a course.

[plisar]

I took the GRE twice. Once I studed for two weeks and got a:

600 Verbal, 640 Math, 6.0.

It was about a week after my grandmother died and I was too distracted to do much better. I studied again for about another two weeks and improved to:

650 Verbal, 800 Math, 6.0.

It was well worth taking it again. Generally, I would imagine that you want to try to shoot for about 90th percentile in the verbal (about 630) and at least an 80th percentile in the math (somewhere in the mid 700's) if you want to get taken seriously at a top ten program. There are clearly exceptions, but you have a ton of time to prepare, so why not do as well as you can.

I just used two books. One Barons and one Kaplan. I do not find the courses particularly useful and they are waste of time if you are self motivated. If you need that guided hand and have a 1000 dollars, than by all means, take the course!

Edited February 5, 2010 by plisar

[catchermiscount]

DELETE.

Edited February 5, 2010 by coachrjc

[natofone]

It all depends on where you are at. Take the PowerPrep practice tests and see where you need improvement. A good target score for most schools is 700+ in both sections and close to 800 for quantitative if you're looking to go math nuts. If you need a higher math score, then you need to make sure you know how to tackle every type of problem as quickly as possible. This means practice and practice tests. If you need a higher verbal score then you need to memorize the words and read as much complicated writing as possible across a variety of disciplines.

I don't think that a class is necessary if you are disciplined. If not, then it might be worth the $1,000 to make you study for a few hours every week. Otherwise the books and online material are sufficient. I did buy a few iphone apps that I found very helpful for the vocabulary.

[Parisienne]

Thanks a lot for the very helpful responses everyone!

My problem then, as it appears, will definitely be finding the time to practice intensively & regularly, and getting in the mindset of the exam (especially since we almost *never* take standardized tests in Europe). I definitely don't have the time to take a class, and I guess I'll have to find the motivation to study efficiently for it on weekends -- my job is full-time and pretty demanding in terms of hours.

And thanks a lot for all the references regarding books, practice tests, etc. I'll definitely take a practice test before I dive into this to see where I stand and how much time this will likely take.

700+ was the ideal target I sort of had in mind indeed, so everything that's been said so far in this thread pretty much confirms what I thought.

Thanks again for all the help people!

[NUMDS]

Here, I am an American. So, I can help guide you with what you need to do. The key is practice, practice, practice. I would giver yourself about 3 months to study consistently. If you plan to go over that, you wil burn. out. I did twice. So, pick up these four books...ETS 10th Edition, Princeton Review Cracking the GRE, the Barron's book, and the GRE Math Bible.

Part of the way to improve with math is through repetition. They can only throw so many types of questions at you and you have to know the material cold. Kaplan and the Princeton Review don't tell you how to solve these problems analytically. They just have firedrill methods to get your score from average to above average. Worth through the Barron's guide first. This is pretty rigorous in both verbal and quantitative. I think it would take about 3-4 weeks to do that. Then, work through the GRE Math Bible. This has hundreds of problems to practice on. Once you make it through this book, the other problems are easy.

For the verbal, I would remember the Hit Parade and Beyond the Hit Parade in the Princeton Review. The Princeton Review book will help increase your efficiency. Although there are analytical methods to solve every type of problem, sometimes the quick and dirty method is better.

Barron's will give you two tests and the Princeton Review will give you a couple as well. You can download two more from ETS for free. With about a month left, I would start making my way through the ETS 10th edition. You will be reviewing real problems from the GRE. The math questions are easier than what you will have seen before. With about 2-3 weeks left, download the Powerprep CD and work through the problems they give you. Memorize problems because ETS does test from that bank.

Each week, take a test. This is where you will build the endurance and your time managment. I think this would drastically increase your score over 2.5-3 month period. After 3 months you will be exhausted and sick of the GRE. So take it. If you need to take it again, just think of the first one as a dress rehearsal.

Thanks a lot for the very helpful responses everyone!

My problem then, as it appears, will definitely be finding the time to practice intensively & regularly, and getting in the mindset of the exam (especially since we almost *never* take standardized tests in Europe). I definitely don't have the time to take a class, and I guess I'll have to find the motivation to study efficiently for it on weekends -- my job is full-time and pretty demanding in terms of hours.

And thanks a lot for all the references regarding books, practice tests, etc. I'll definitely take a practice test before I dive into this to see where I stand and how much time this will likely take.

700+ was the ideal target I sort of had in mind indeed, so everything that's been said so far in this thread pretty much confirms what I thought.

Thanks again for all the help people!

[NUMDS]

With "I am an American, so I can help you," I mean that my math education is not as great as others from other countries. But, I am doing well on the GRE. There is a way.

Here, I am an American. So, I can help guide you with what you need to do. The key is practice, practice, practice. I would giver yourself about 3 months to study consistently. If you plan to go over that, you wil burn. out. I did twice. So, pick up these four books...ETS 10th Edition, Princeton Review Cracking the GRE, the Barron's book, and the GRE Math Bible.

Part of the way to improve with math is through repetition. They can only throw so many types of questions at you and you have to know the material cold. Kaplan and the Princeton Review don't tell you how to solve these problems analytically. They just have firedrill methods to get your score from average to above average. Worth through the Barron's guide first. This is pretty rigorous in both verbal and quantitative. I think it would take about 3-4 weeks to do that. Then, work through the GRE Math Bible. This has hundreds of problems to practice on. Once you make it through this book, the other problems are easy.

For the verbal, I would remember the Hit Parade and Beyond the Hit Parade in the Princeton Review. The Princeton Review book will help increase your efficiency. Although there are analytical methods to solve every type of problem, sometimes the quick and dirty method is better.

Barron's will give you two tests and the Princeton Review will give you a couple as well. You can download two more from ETS for free. With about a month left, I would start making my way through the ETS 10th edition. You will be reviewing real problems from the GRE. The math questions are easier than what you will have seen before. With about 2-3 weeks left, download the Powerprep CD and work through the problems they give you. Memorize problems because ETS does test from that bank.

Each week, take a test. This is where you will build the endurance and your time managment. I think this would drastically increase your score over 2.5-3 month period. After 3 months you will be exhausted and sick of the GRE. So take it. If you need to take it again, just think of the first one as a dress rehearsal.

[Parisienne]

With "I am an American, so I can help you," I mean that my math education is not as great as others from other countries. But, I am doing well on the GRE. There is a way.

Many thanks for your advice, it's definitely very useful information. I'll definitely follow your advice when the time comes! Thanks again