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?
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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.
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.
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
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.