<p>I scored 670M/440V</p>
<p>I'm really hoping the math section was a fluke and that I can pull at least 750 next time. Please tell me how to do well on the GRE. Is there a trick to the quant section and how should I prepare for it? I immediately signed up for a retake</p>
<p>How did you prepare for it this time? Everyone learns and thinks differently, so it'll vary.</p>
<p>The only "trick" I know of is that you're supposed to spend extra time on the first few questions. Getting to the top bin of questions in the CAT early is extremely important for a top score.</p>
<p>I briefly skimmed over various GRE review books. I used Kaplan and PR. I took 2 or 3 practice exams to get a feel for the questions. The questions on the actual GRE were a LOT harder. I am going to look at the Barron book and go through every single problem. I am also going to download the pdfs on the ETS website. I thought I'd score at least 740 on the actual exam so I didn't prepare much for the math.</p>
<p>what sort of programs do you plan to apply for? if they're science-y, you'll need to increase the math for sure, but getting a bump to the verbal wouldn't hurt you either.</p>
<p>for me, i took princeton review's prep book, looked at their 8 week study plan (they've got plans for 4 and 12 weeks too), and i followed it by the letter. i also bought a book of practice paper tests issued by ETS, because those contain actual GRE questions from the past, not questions written by test prep authors. and i grabbed some vocab flash cards.</p>
<p>the princeton review book comes with an access code to their website that gives you 4 simulated computer tests, so you get to practice the exact format in which you'll complete the GRE. that is extremely helpful because i found that testing on the computer was quite different from testing on paper (i.e. having to scroll to read the entirety of a comprehension section rather than being able to flip the page to make notes in the margins). whatever practice you do should include some sort of computer-based component.</p>
<p>really, really study for it. your scores are going to be weighted, and the percentiles you end up with mean more to admissions committees than your actual number score. for example, i got 670 verbal/690 quantitative when i took the GRE, but that was 95%ile verbal/70%ile quantitative, and that's what schools really care about. so it's not really a matter of getting every question right, but rather of doing as well or better than every other test taker in a given year. if they're all spending a lot of time preparing, you should be too.</p>
<p>i can tell you that from the first practice test i took to 8 weeks later when i finished my studying, i'd improved my math score by well over 100 and improved my verbal by about 70 or 80. the best study guides out there are well known because when you actually follow them step by step, they give you real improvements. i don't think you need to buy the barron book, just follow a study a plan in one of the books you already have and it will yield results.</p>
<p>for the math section, the best way to improve is to not spend any time at all working out the actual answers to the problems. the PR book gives you some good tips on how to eliminate the wrong answers rather than waste time actually solving the problems. hugely, hugely helpful. if you're doing well on the test, the questions will be hard, and you'll need every second of time to answer. if you're not doing well on the test (if you mess up 3 or 4 of the first 6 questions, for example), the questions will be easier and you'll finish with time to spare. the GRE is more about mastering the testing format than being good at math or english.</p>
<p>you've probably heard all this advice before, but if not, i hope it helps.</p>
<p>spent like a month over nova for math section
atleast that will buy you 750+</p>
<p>i wouldn't say nova buys you a 750+ outright...every guide is about how you use it. skimming the study guides certainly won't cut it. princeton review guides are good for giving you their strategy based on the number of weeks you plan to study. that helps.</p>
<p>g.p. is correct. you should take your time early in the test. imagine the first 10 questions as bounding; if you stumble, you fall further, but if you do well, you go straight to the top. after that, it's more like one step at a time, up or down.</p>
<p>focus on concepts of math, not questions. use test-taking strategies to make good guesses. a correct guess is worth just as much as an answer you knew outright. and study vocab. you can learn like 20-30 words a day if you're serious about it. hope this helps.</p>
<p>what is nova?</p>
<p>I used barrons and another random book with tons of old tests, and studied for maybe 2 weeks (taking multiple tests each day.) I should have spent more time on verbal studying, I didn't try memorizing any vocab. I think tanking multiple tests a day, every day leading up is extremely important. The questions on the math are really easy so having the endurance is key. You don't want to go in there, work well for a while, then have your eyes glaze over and make an algebraic error. I did really well on the quantitative but not well on the verbal. Got 800Q/480V/4.5w.</p>