Prepping for the GRE

PleasantOne

PleasantOne

CAGiversary!
Feedback
8 (100%)
Ok, who's been there? And what do you think are the best materials to use?

I'm trying to find a good vocabulary building computer program right now, but most of them seem to be fairly crummy. Anyone know of a good one?
 
I bought a book to help me study, but never cracked it open.

Ended up getting about 1200.

My only advice is know where you are taking the test. I needed it done as soon as I could, so I just took the earliest date possible at LSU. A good idea, except it was during a football game so navigating the campus was a pain in the ass.
 
haha, my mozilla homepage is called iGoogle which is like google but u can customize it with cool stuff like weather and news and crap...

so one of my modules is the GRE Word of the Day

unfortunately, the words are a good step below what you would see on the actual GRE...
 
fuck the GRE... I hated that test. I took the general and the psychology version. On the general I got a terrible score.. something around 1060 or something. On the psychology GRE, I did really well... upper 25th percentiles in all three sections.
 
[quote name='PhrostByte']fuck the GRE... I hated that test. I took the general and the psychology version. On the general I got a terrible score.. something around 1060 or something. On the psychology GRE, I did really well... upper 25th percentiles in all three sections.[/quote]

Ooo! Ooo! Another Psych person... how was the Psychology GRE? Someone told me if I just review a general psychology book, I should do fine?

And JEKKI, I find that a lot of the GRE vocab stuff I've found online has been like that. It pisses me off that people are pushing this stuff as legitimate study material.

Someone told me they used a program that had the whole databse of GRE words, and you could create crossword puzzles, matching, etc. They said it was from REA, but the only thing I can find from them is the book with CD - no idea if that particular software is on it or not.

I think I'm most freaked out by how few questions there are... so much is riding on every answer :cold:
 
[quote name='terribledeli']
My only advice is know where you are taking the test. I needed it done as soon as I could, so I just took the earliest date possible at LSU. A good idea, except it was during a football game so navigating the campus was a pain in the ass.[/QUOTE]

:rofl::rofl::rofl:

You think they'd not have it on that date. But no, that would make too much sense.
 
Buy the Barron's book. One of the essays I got was a variation straight out of the book. I ended up getting a six on that section and an 1130 overall (I took it right after finals and was burnt out, plus I have not had a math class in four years).

Also if you do bad in the verbal compared to math, don't sweat that too much. I got a 590 on the math and was in the lower 50 percent where as my 540 in the verbal section placed me at 71 percent.
 
I took the GMAT, but I'd echo what a previous poster said in taking as many practice tests as possible. Getting familiar with the format/style of the exam seems like a minor thing, but these types of tests psyche out a lot of people, causing them to score lower than they would otherwise.

I bought a couple books filled with practice questions and computerized (is the GRE computer adaptive?) practice tests and scored a 770 (out of 800).
 
Just to reiterate a couple of things from other posters, definitely do a ton of practice exams. Honestly, most people don't have the discipline to sit down and take more than one or two full-length exams. By the time you get in the testing room, you don't want to be surprised by anything. I know this sounds like a dumb procedural thing, but it really builds your confidence level, and I think it contributed more to my LSAT score than any amount of studying.

Also, look at the logistics of getting to the location, but also try to find out what room you will be taking the test in. I know that the shift to a computer-based GRE largely eliminates this problem, but I ended up having to take the LSAT in a cramped classroom on a tiny desk. I found out later that several locations near me had more open space with large tables, and anything that makes you more comfortable is helpful.

Good luck!
 
Thanks for all the input, guys. We have exactly one location that administers the GRE here in town, so I guess I'll be going there ;) It's some special test center, not on campus.

I have some more books coming from Amazon today... after which I will have the Barron, Princton, and Kaplan reviews... two vocab books... two other Kaplan books... refresher math books... I think my biggest problem right now will be overwhelming myself with material :p

That and freaking out, so like people have said, the practice tests will probably help a lot. It's just so disturbing to have so much riding on so few questions... if I don't get at least a 1200, I'm screwed, but I really need more like 1300 or 1400. I test well, generally, but not when tests have such a short time limit :/
 
Also keep in mind that the math portion is about of the same difficulty as those sections found on the SAT, or at least it was when I took the GRE three years ago. The reasoning is that not everyone takes math courses beyond high school.

Verbal, on the other hand, is much more difficult in comparison to verbal sections found on the SAT. The assumption here is that if you attended any sort of higher education you should have more familiarity with unique and distinct vocabulary.

Just do all of the practice exams you can and find out where you are weak in each section. What worked well for me in terms of vocab, both for the SAT eons ago and the GRE, was using the newly-learned words as often as I could. I would pepper them into my speech and throw them in online posts as if I was using those words since I was 6. For some people it ends up cementing the word and usage in their memory, at least in a recognizable aspect.


[Edit:] If you don't do well with time limits that's where doing as many practice tests as possible will help you out. You will start understanding how each section works so you can save time by not reading the instructions. By recognizing questions you can easily answer you can speed up the process a great deal. If you can identify questions that usually give you a bit of trouble you can pass over those and save them for the end, just in case you run out of time. Better to guess on four questions that you weren't sure you were going to get as opposed to guessing on nine questions, five of which you could have nailed.

Just keep practicing, it'll reduce the anxiety by a bit.
 
[quote name='Kapwanil']
Just do all of the practice exams you can and find out where you are weak in each section. What worked well for me in terms of vocab, both for the SAT eons ago and the GRE, was using the newly-learned words as often as I could. I would pepper them into my speech and throw them in online posts as if I was using those words since I was 6. For some people it ends up cementing the word and usage in their memory, at least in a recognizable aspect.


[Edit:] If you don't do well with time limits that's where doing as many practice tests as possible will help you out. You will start understanding how each section works so you can save time by not reading the instructions. By recognizing questions you can easily answer you can speed up the process a great deal. If you can identify questions that usually give you a bit of trouble you can pass over those and save them for the end, just in case you run out of time. Better to guess on four questions that you weren't sure you were going to get as opposed to guessing on nine questions, five of which you could have nailed.

Just keep practicing, it'll reduce the anxiety by a bit.[/quote]

Well I'm glad to know the math isn't so bad, though that was BY FAR my weakest section on the ACT, I think I got 21 :/

From what I understand, now that the GRE is computerized, you can't skip over questions and go back to them later. Since it's adaptive, you HAVE to answer one question before you can move onto the next. I have to wonder if in the reading comprehension bits, that means it also takes away the passage so you can't go back and review it to answer the questions? Anyone?

That's a really good point about using the vocab, though. Thanks :)
 
[quote name='PleasantOne']Well I'm glad to know the math isn't so bad, though that was BY FAR my weakest section on the ACT, I think I got 21 :/

From what I understand, now that the GRE is computerized, you can't skip over questions and go back to them later. Since it's adaptive, you HAVE to answer one question before you can move onto the next. I have to wonder if in the reading comprehension bits, that means it also takes away the passage so you can't go back and review it to answer the questions? Anyone?

That's a really good point about using the vocab, though. Thanks :)[/QUOTE]

The passage is always there to look at. The main thing with the GRE is understanding how much time you have for every question, I strongly suggest doing a bunch of the practice tests to get the timing down.
 
I haven't taken them (yet) but the best advice I've heard is look into how much emphasis the school you want to go to places on them. It may help to alleviate some stress.
 
I used the Kaplan book. I recommend that series. It seemed like all of the math sections were extremely simple compared to anything I studied for.

I took both the general, and the Computer Science GRE's.
 
[quote name='PleasantOne']Ooo! Ooo! Another Psych person... how was the Psychology GRE? Someone told me if I just review a general psychology book, I should do fine?

And JEKKI, I find that a lot of the GRE vocab stuff I've found online has been like that. It pisses me off that people are pushing this stuff as legitimate study material.

Someone told me they used a program that had the whole databse of GRE words, and you could create crossword puzzles, matching, etc. They said it was from REA, but the only thing I can find from them is the book with CD - no idea if that particular software is on it or not.

I think I'm most freaked out by how few questions there are... so much is riding on every answer :cold:[/quote]

Yea it really depends on what you're into and what you're good at. See, my forte has always been humanities and social sciences. Psychology is one of my majors.. but I've also done really well in sociology, English, history, and philosophy classes. I've never done very well in math or science classes. Typical, huh? :(

Also, I've been working in an undergraduate research laboratory (studying addiction) for about 2 years now, so I'm very familiar with the way psychological testing and article publishing works. I'm fairly adept with EndNote, SPSS, and some of the other tools of the trade.

Basically, if you know your psychology, you'll do well on the Psychology GRE. And if you know a bunch of useless math and obscure vocabulary words that you'll never use, you'll do well on the regular GRE.

By the way, about the testing logistics of the GRE... it's not the best criterion construct for success in graduate school. The GRE is basically a stupid filter test used by admissions boards to weed out people they feel are "sub-par". As long as you get an acceptable score on it, your actual score is fairly irrelevant. This is what matters:
  • your GPA
  • what classes you've taken, make sure you take some complex psyc classes such as experimental design, psychological testing, and whatever requirements fill your concentration (if you have one)
  • research experience
  • work experience
That is all.
 
[quote name='PhrostByte']Yea it really depends on what you're into and what you're good at. See, my forte has always been humanities and social sciences. Psychology is one of my majors.. but I've also done really well in sociology, English, history, and philosophy classes. I've never done very well in math or science classes. Typical, huh? :(

Also, I've been working in an undergraduate research laboratory (studying addiction) for about 2 years now, so I'm very familiar with the way psychological testing and article publishing works. I'm fairly adept with EndNote, SPSS, and some of the other tools of the trade.

Basically, if you know your psychology, you'll do well on the Psychology GRE. And if you know a bunch of useless math and obscure vocabulary words that you'll never use, you'll do well on the regular GRE.

By the way, about the testing logistics of the GRE... it's not the best criterion construct for success in graduate school. The GRE is basically a stupid filter test used by admissions boards to weed out people they feel are "sub-par". As long as you get an acceptable score on it, your actual score is fairly irrelevant. This is what matters:
  • your GPA
  • what classes you've taken, make sure you take some complex psyc classes such as experimental design, psychological testing, and whatever requirements fill your concentration (if you have one)
  • research experience
  • work experience
That is all.[/QUOTE]

Not to go off-topic here, but I disagree with you that the GRE is useless. If you're at an easy school, your GPA could easily be inflated. I actually think that the GRE is the best predictor of success out of all the things you've listed.
 
[quote name='docvinh']Not to go off-topic here, but I disagree with you that the GRE is useless. If you're at an easy school, your GPA could easily be inflated. I actually think that the GRE is the best predictor of success out of all the things you've listed.[/quote]

It depends what you're going for, but if you look at the criterion analyses for the GRE, the subject-specific ones are a lot better at predicting success in their respective programs than the general GRE. I mean think about it.. the GRE is just a bunch of random math and English.
 
[quote name='PhrostByte']It depends what you're going for, but if you look at the criterion analyses for the GRE, the subject-specific ones are a lot better at predicting success in their respective programs than the general GRE. I mean think about it.. the GRE is just a bunch of random math and English.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, I've read that the subject ones are definitely a much better predictor of success then the general. I would say that the math portion is of some value, since really, if you don't do at least moderately well on it, you probably wouldn't really be able to handle the statistical work required of a grad school program. I guess that would also depend on what you're going to grad school for, of course. I dunno, I think if you use the GRE in conjunction with the rest of the things you've said, it's a much better predictor overall then just using any single one of them.
 
Eh take a few practice exams, I just got some book out of the campus library that had old tests. I suppose if I studied I would have gotten those last 10 points to get a 1400 (that was my goal and I was close), but it doesn't matter too much. I'd also take it early, so if you don't do as well as you want you can take it again. I unfortunately didn't do that, which made me that much more nervous for my one shot.

And on the writing section write a lot. I spewed pages upon pages of mostly crap and got a 6.


Finally if you take the Kaplan diagnostic test realize it's trash to get you to buy their stuff. I literally got in the 1050 range on that, yet a 1390 on the real test without using their damn book.
 
I agree with other people's suggestion of taking practice tests. I bought the Barron's book as well. Give yourself enough time to study and set up a schedule of taking the practice tests.

Don't go insane though, because it's one of those things - either you know it or you don't, but familiarizing yourself with the format and whatnot can really help.

Good luck.
 
The math is easy as heck. I'm a film major. I just took some of the online tests on the GRE website.

Got a 1300 (760 Math, 540 Verbal) with a 5.5 Writing.
 
[quote name='Bagel Fuzzynuts']Do they still do the writing (essay) portion on the adaptive computer tests?[/QUOTE]

Yes.
 
[quote name='Liquid 2']I've found that the best practice for big standardized tests is as many full length practice tests as possible.[/QUOTE]

All you need to know, really.
 
[quote name='docvinh']Yeah, I've read that the subject ones are definitely a much better predictor of success then the general. I would say that the math portion is of some value, since really, if you don't do at least moderately well on it, you probably wouldn't really be able to handle the statistical work required of a grad school program. I guess that would also depend on what you're going to grad school for, of course. I dunno, I think if you use the GRE in conjunction with the rest of the things you've said, it's a much better predictor overall then just using any single one of them.[/quote]

Yeah dude... Even though math and stat are real similar and stat is heavily reliant on math.. I've always done really well in stats classes and fairly poorly in math classes. Not sure why... maybe it's because stats classes deal with real data and math is mostly theoretical...
 
I've took the GRE twice (my first score was too "old" for the program I'm in now). I though the math was easier than the ACT.

The number one thing is to take the practice test and go over all your answers (right and wrong). On the verbal section, it's not about knowing all the words, but having good guessing skills (your book should give you pointers on that).

T
 
I didn't really prep at all. Just took one practice test I think. Scores weren't the greatest, but I still got into the top masters/doctoral program in my field. But my undergrad GPA and letters of recommendation were good so that probably balanced it out.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
bread's done
Back
Top