GRE Preperation

Neaden

I am planning on taking the GRE this summer and was just wondering if anyone has had any good experiences with the different test prep materials for it. I will be doing the computer based test. Should I just go with the Kaplan or Princeton test prep books?

Usagi

I had good luck with Kaplan prep stuff for both the GRE and the EIT, good quality and easy to follow

John Matrix

I took the Kaplan GRE prep class when I was pretty undecided about my future. The class was okay, but the vast majority of the stuff is online. I don't know, I came away with a pretty "meh" impression of Kaplan. That's why I'm not taking their LSAT prep class. At the end of the day, any class is what you put into it. Devote as much time as possible and be hard on yourself about spending time on it. The LSAT's a little over a month away and I'm about to enter no-life mode.

Tomanta

I think I used the Kaplan books and did pretty well, did not take an actual class just self study.

Vocab section is harder than math, so prep more for it. I had a lot of luck making vocabulary flash cards (two or three hundred, I think...) and being sure to go over them during the day for several weeks, usually ten or so at a time. When I was comfortable with the word I removed it from the stack.

HalberdBlue

I used the Barron's book to study starting about 3 days beforehand, and did excellent. They pretty much present you a formula for writing good essays for the analytical writing part, and I followed it very closely and ended up doing very well on the writing, when I've historically done terrible on standardized test writing sections.

I can't really say much about the verbal section of the guide book since I mostly ignored it.

The tactics they present in the math section were very helpful. I went from taking most of the 45 minutes on practice tests and making stupid mistakes to being done in about 20-25 minutes with few or no mistakes using their tactics, just over the course of 3 days. It was also a great refresher - I was surprised at how many little things I had forgotten (speaking as a math minor), such as prime factorization to find greatest common divisor/least common multiple.

Pure Din

I liked the CD that came with the Kaplan test, because it was good practice for taking the timed math section. My friend used the Princeton Review book, but I when I was helping her with some of the problems (another math minor here), I found a few mistakes in the book. And in my experience with other Princeton Review materials, I think they make a lot of mistakes.

mts

i would just get a book for vocabulary and then bone up on your trig and maybe basic calculus since thats the highest level math on there.

Usagi

the practice tests that Kaplan provides with it's book/CD combo were actually the most useful thing for me

because it's not just knowing the subjects, it's knowing you'll be able to complete the section in the alloted time and having taken three or four practice exams really helps with that

lifeincognito

The verbal par of the GRE requires you to have an already expansive vocabulary before deciding to the take the test. Most of the words I was given in questions and in answers were completely unknown to me. I felt foolish, but I'd imagine someone who took a writing/reading based major would find it easier than I did as an engineer. The math portion can be smoked by following a study guide book. I used a Kaplan book a few days before hand and things turned out well for me.

To echo Usagi, make sure you have a good feel for time so you don't rush or dawdle. A calm collected mind will preform much better than one under duress. Best of luck with the test and your potential graduate school applications.