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Good GRE prep books/study aids?
Methylamine
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Hey guys,
So I figure I will need to take the GRE sometime soon. I've been to their website and stuff, but would like to hear some good info from people who actually took and prepared for the exam. I did pretty awesome on my SATs if I do say so myself, so I'm pretty familiar with ye olde standardized test battle plans. (and from what I've gleaned so far, the GRE features similar sections.) But I would like to know: How did you prepare? How long did you study for? Is the GRE really nothing to worry about if you know how to apply common sense? What are some good study books that helped you? (I swore by study books when taking the SAT, so I would like to get only the best now. However, they are a bit expensive.) Etc.
Thanks so much in advance!
So I figure I will need to take the GRE sometime soon. I've been to their website and stuff, but would like to hear some good info from people who actually took and prepared for the exam. I did pretty awesome on my SATs if I do say so myself, so I'm pretty familiar with ye olde standardized test battle plans. (and from what I've gleaned so far, the GRE features similar sections.) But I would like to know: How did you prepare? How long did you study for? Is the GRE really nothing to worry about if you know how to apply common sense? What are some good study books that helped you? (I swore by study books when taking the SAT, so I would like to get only the best now. However, they are a bit expensive.) Etc.
Thanks so much in advance!
Methylamine on
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The GRE is pretty easy. It's basically just like the SAT, though a little harder. I used the Kaplan book from the local bookstore. Keep in mind that the GRE has some quirks. First, it's all online, and you can't go back or skip any questions. Also, there's no calculator allowed for the math section. Another thing is that there's a writing section. I was not used to having a writing section, but it was easy and I didn't break a sweat.
My advice for all standardized test-related questions is just buy a few books and take a crapload of tests, as many in simulated practice conditions (quiet room, all in one several-hour shot) as possible.
the practice tests on the CD are super legit, and pretty much exactly what the real test is like.
http://ntis01.ets.org/onyx/powerprepTestTakers.htm
The software also has practice questions in addition to the tests. And it's also free, which is nice.
The GREs really do resemble the SATs. I'm trying to bone up on my vocabulary atm, b/c some of the words are pretty out there.
GFWL: studaud (for SF4)
They reverted on this decision, the GRE format will be the same this year as it has been in recent years.
I'm using the Barretts(?) book, which Amazon recommended, which is good.
You're pretty shafted on the subjects tests though, there's nothing to help you.
It depends a little on what your strengths are - I personally wasn't worried at all about the math section, so I basically did like 2 or 3 practice exams from a cd that came with some general book and that was it, but if you're not as confident then you should look for a book that reviews a good amount.
English I'd absolutely recommend (at the very least) buying one of those "top 100/500/whatever GRE words" flip books, unless your vocabulary is waaay better than most people's are (and even then it's a good refresher), and you could certainly also get a book if you want. For the writing section it's also a very good idea to look at previous questions to get an idea of what they're looking for, though I personally didn't go through the effort of actually writing essays as practice.
The main thing is that (unless you specifically do something different) most GREs are now done on computer with their adaptive difficulty thing, which is certainly a little strange to get used to (most notably, the idea that you can't go back to previous questions, or skip a question to go back to it later), so if not for any other reason it's good to do a couple practice tests. I don't think I have my books anymore, but I'd highly recommend any of the major ones that has a CD with practice test software - probably Kaplan and Princeton Review? I personally used the CD's way more than the book itself, but YMMV. And get a word-flip book, because they really do reuse the same exact words year after year.
*edit
This is unfortunately pretty true - other than the practice test that they send you when you pay for the test, many of them have almost zero useful review books (which is honestly pretty strange)... unless you're taking the Biology one, I can't really give any advice there
Dammit.
How nasty does the math get? I mean, I'm going for an MFA in Creative Writing, so I pretty much haven't had a reason to remember much past Algebra I and Geometry.
― Marcus Aurelius
Path of Exile: themightypuck
I don't think it goes much past that - there might be some basic trigonometry and probability, but it's honestly not past what you probably would've had in high school (no calculus as far as I can remember)
and to be honest, for a creative writing program they probably won't even look at the math score... if you can do pretty well i'm sure it won't hurt, but at this level they're going to care a lot more about your writing-specific qualifications than stuff like GRE scores