study for the GRE

ugh, i suck at math. i’ve been studying and taking practice quantitative tests but i’m consistently getting 40%. scary!

i’m using the kaplan book, and i don’t think it has enough practice questions so i just ordered the quantitative workbook.

verbal is my strong point so i’m not so concerned about it. i started using the kaplan vocabulary in a box, and i will just go through the book.

the grad program that i want to get into likes a high quantitative score so i need to study hard! i’ve got 3 months to improve.

I took the GRE at the end of December – did ok… the math brought my score WAYYYYYY down! BUT, I did end up getting into the graduate program I wanted, so HOOOOORAYYYY!!!! I was really bummed out with my score, especially after all the work I put into it, but it turns out I was just being really hard on myself.

I really need to start studying for this more regularly – I’m taking it December… TICK TOCK

I really want to go to grad school, and I need to do excellent at the GRE. I am getting jitters about not doing well enough to get into a good school, especially on the math part. I don’t have money to take a prep course. Can I still do well without the prep course?

Got a couple books and some flashcards in order to prep myself. I seem to be acing the math/quantitative section, as well as the part dealing with logical arguments. So, I’m practicing on my vocabulary. I’m hoping to take it within the next few months… maybe I should set a goal for that.

I scheduled it for August 14. I’m going to study for it as much as I can during summer semester, but then I’ll have another two weeks to prepare while I’m not in school (and on a road trip, hm…).

Okay, studying for the GRE. Well, I figure I should give some advice, because I just took my second GRE, and I improved my score significantly. (Well, not THAT significantly, but you get the picture). On my first GRE, I scored 520 on the verbal, and I just retook the GRE and I scored a 680. I am soooo fine with a 680 in verbal, as it places me way up there percentile wise.

But, a few words of advice about the verbal part of the GRE. It is HARD. It is waaaay harder than the SAT. Luckily, if you know your vocabulary words, then you are all set. However, the vocabulary words on the GRE are not the “cat” and “dog” words of the SAT. What I did was use online lists and online resources to help me study. I used http://www.number2.com, in addition to http://www.mygretutor.com and http://www.vocabularycoach.com.

I recommend at least 30 minutes of vocabulary practice each day, for at LEAST two months. There is some cool study that I found online that shows that you can increase your vocabulary significantly over the course of 3 or 4 months.

Anyways, I hope this helps :)

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!

It’s in progress. I got the kaplan general test book from borders for around 36 dollars. Then when I was at goodwill the next day I found a mint-condition copy of the same book. I returned the borders one and kept the one I bought at goodwill for 75 cents.

in progress