Hello all,
Before i start with my prep schedule, i’ll like to emphasize on the point that GRE is just a cut off criteria. It doesn’t necessarily guarantee you a admittance if you have a good score, though it does reduce your chances if you screw it up.
A small introduction. I’m in my final year of undergraduate studies in BITS Pilani, India. I’m decent at mathematics and below average at vocabulary. I was really scared of the verbal section. In the end, i’m still scared. But all’s well that end’s well.
I’l start by clearing some GRE myths.
- There’s no need to memorize thousands of words. It’s not all about the vocabulary, but more about your logical reasoning.
- It’s not complex mathematics. I’m coming from a good mathematics background so i might have a biased opinion but it’s nothing you can’t learn in a period of two-three weeks.
- For people like me, it’s not about knowing everything in mathematics, but not losing concentration during the examination and committing silly mistakes. This is what the test takers really look for. Avoid them as much as possible, because you need to score perfect where you can.
I’ve never been a stickler to an everyday schedule telling you what to do, how much to do. The magoosh schedule gives you a good view of how to structure your preparation Hence, i’ll use checkpoints to mark your progress.
Essentials:
- Official GRE Guide
- Barron’s 800 word list
- Princeton review
- Magoosh GRE Flashcards
Optional:
- NOVA Quant (if you’re bad at math)
- Manhattan Volume 7 and 8 (if you’re bad at verbal)
- Word Power Made Easy
- Princeton Review (extra reading material)
Stationary:
- Notepad
- Diary
- Homemade flashcards (basically chits of paper)
Schedule:
This schedule is to be followed for a two hour per day for a month. But you can increase or reduce the time and vary it according to your convenience keeping the structure intact.
Checkpoint 1: Finish reading everything ETS has to offer on it’s website for GRE. You’ll get an idea about the test and will be better prepared for whatever’s coming your way.
Checkpoint 2: Start with Word Power Made Easy. Calculate how many sessions you will need to complete per day keeping last one-two weeks for refining your skills. Start reading about the verbal section of the official guide. Finish the math review and it’s problems. If this is easy for you, then you don’t need to do much more for quant. Start reading Princeton review and Manhattan as well for their verbal sections.
Checkpoint 3: Completion of Word Power and start with the Magoosh App. Take a pencil and mark the words from the Barron’s 800 that you know. Keep doing this routine everyday. Your ultimate aim is the Barron’s 800. That is enough for your vocabulary practice. Start the practice questions from the verbal sections of the official guide. Complete all the math problems from the official guide. Start the practice questions for verbal from Princeton and Manhattan. Start writing from the pool of topics at your disposal at the ETS website, after reading the instructions. If you’ve Manhattan’s AWA Volume, read that and then create your own list of what’s important. And practice first without a timed period and then start it timed. This goes for the other sections as well. Write in your notepad, the new words that you come through and just keep reviewing them every day. Not necessarily you need to remember all of them.
Checkpoint 4: Completion of Magoosh App and Barron’s 800. Completion of the verbal problems in the official guide and the optional review book you are using. Now start evaluating what sort of mistakes you’ve been committing and try to reduce the same. Start using the newly learnt vocabulary in your text, posts, tweets and conversations. Try to think about the words you learn everyday and form a sentence or two for your memory. This is the most helpful while preparing for verbal. There’ll be some words being notorious and evade your memory. Make flashcards of them. And quiz yourself everyday.
Checkpoint 5: Last week. Just go through the instructions provided by official guide for each section. Re read math review. And time for practice tests. Give 4-5 tests in proper test conditions. Save the ETS for last two. They’ll give you a pretty decent idea about your score. It can still vary for about five marks and is not hard and fast. It’s test day now.
I can’t emphasize on this enough. Your concentration during the test can factor for a total of five marks. After all your preparation, it’s your mindset at the exam hall that’ll matter. Be confident. You’ve done enough words, enough questions. You just need a print of the confirmation mail, passport and some carbs (use bananas). Go kill it.