<p>When did you start studying for the test? I'm a sophmore right now, should I start studying? I want to pursue grad school for econ, maybe math. Ph.D probably, maybe Masters. Thanks!</p>
<p>Where is a good place to start? Any good book recommendations?</p>
<p>I studied a week before the test. But most of the people I know studied a few weeks before. Just take a practice test and see how much improvement you need. i used kaplans book.</p>
<p>The week before. I just memorized the 500 most frequent word list on Kaplan, which gave me a 690.</p>
<p>You don't need to study yet. The test will be different by the time you take it.</p>
<p>Keep an eye on the ETS GRE website and when they announce the new study guides snag one. At least with the current GRE, the ETS materials and practice software are virtually identical to the real thing.</p>
<p>How important is it to have a current study guide for the GRE? Does the test change from year to year?</p>
<p>As long as it is recent enough to cover the computer-adaptive test and the analytical writing, it should be fine. Since it's adaptive, they don't need to change it year to year. It will change again in the fall, though, so if you're planning on taking the GRE next Sept or after, you'll need a new guide.</p>
<p>As far as when to take it, you can take it before the changes or after. Scores are good for 5 years, and most programs accept scores up to 5 years old (although I've come across a few that say 4 years). Look at current GRE guides and then the changes - decide which you think will benefit you more, and base your decision on that.</p>
<p>Thank you! Great advice.</p>
<p>For a math or econ Ph.d, or masters, how important is the analytical writing and verbal sections?</p>
<p>just wondering...for those that studied only a week before the test, how much time did you devote per day on each section? Are you just good at standardized tests anyway?</p>
<p>i studied a week before the test. I did about 5 computerized tests. I read my kaplan book to memorize the tricks i might encounter. I was able to get good scores when i did the computer test, so i just took the real thing a week later. The math didn't get any harder from SATs. The GREs have a few different topics but the difficulty level was somewhat the same. And being an engineering major the quantitative section was a breeze. I found the verbal hard and harder than the SATs. But i knew i didn't need an 800, i scored close to a 700 so i just stopped studying and took the real test.</p>