GRE Prep Plan
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Can anyone share their GRE prep plan? I am only a month away from my test date, would appreciate it if people can share any free resources that worked for them. I'm aware that there are several reference books out there, including the ETS Official Guide, Princeton Review and Kaplan Prep -- which of these is comprehensive in terms of content and difficulty of the real GRE?
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I personally think Magoosh Quant videos helped develop base concepts very well but real GRE had much harder difficulty. Test questions required the same concepts but needed their use simultaneously. It all comes down to how creatively you can approach a problem and how quick of an intuition you have in coming up with the right approach to solve quant problems. I think the one step that helped me in practically every question was first understanding how I would solve a simple case, then I would solve a more complex case and oftentimes there would be a pattern that emerges after 2-3 iterations, allowing me to solve for Nth case. This is a common GRE pattern where they are primarily testing critical thinking over formulas etc. As is the general case with math, practice makes perfect. I think your basic concepts will not need time developing, but you should practice as much as you can. You will find plenty of drive links online (reddit, gradcafe, twitter etc.) with compiled questions from different resources. Make sure you start to time your questions after you have reasonable accuracy. The more time you can save on straightforward questions, the less pressure you will have while solving the harder ones.
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I second Hamid. I used Gregmat 2 month plan, but you will be sufficiently prepared even with the 1 month plan. I think vocabulary for Verbal does need some time to get used to, so maybe revise that a lot. Greg even gives you math equations to solve in Verbal so his approach is very logical, but vocab is something you have to memorize in any case. The subscription is only 5 USD for a month and you can also share it with multiple people.
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I was in the same boat a while ago. I utilized Gregmat’s 1 month plan. I think it is very well distributed in terms of workload and will ensure you comprehensively prepare for each element of the test. You can focus on Verbal or Quant based on your program needs/personal prep so far.
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I personally stuck to the official guides (current version) and then practiced extensively from the Big Book (also called 5 Lb book). It has past papers of over 21 years. I know it is the old GRE but the difficulty of Verbal is actually the same and there is brilliant practice for the quant section (i think data interpretation Qs are closest to real GRE difficulty, and word/algebra problems are a bit easier). These should help you identify common trends in questions and GRE examinations style.
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I would recommend staying away from the Princeton Review and Kaplan series as I have come across several reviews claiming they do not mimic the actual GRE difficulty or question style even closely. The preparation for verbal and Quant is a bit too extensive to cover in 1 month and you might feel like you don't have enough time. I have heard good reviews about Magoosh and Gregmat to develop strategies but in terms of GRE Question difficulty, sticking to official guides is your best bet. These are made by ETS and are actual questions that appeared in recent tests. Studying the reasoning given for each answer will help you understand the type of thinking the exam expects from you. Furthermore, the hard questions there and the free Power Prep 1 and Power Prep 3 are your best resources for the closest approximation of exam difficulty and setting. Make sure to give them after you think you are ready. Remember to write the essays as well and giving 2 full timed tests will help you realize the pressure and conditions of the actual exam. Study your mistakes thoroughly and make sure to identify weak areas and strengths so you can adjust your prep accordingly. Best of luck with everything!
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M Mukhtiar Ahmad moved this topic from Grad School Application Process on