<p>It all depends on the person. I have a friend who studied 2 weeks, and aced almost the entire thing. If you’re weak with the fundamentals of mathematics, you’ll need about a few months and work a couple of hours a day on that. Same goes for the verbal and writing sections. Generally, most students study a month, but some might go up to 6 months.</p>
<p>The GRE is important, make no mistake. If you want to get into an Ivy League school - you’ll need a very high GRE to compete with the others, not to mention a subject test. However, if you have limited research experience or a mediocre (less than 3.5) GPA, the GRE can do nothing for you. </p>
<p>The same applies in the other direction, if you have >3.75 GPA, solid research experience and letters, and you absolutely bomb the GRE or do below average, you might get wait listed. They’re looking for consistency at the highest level.</p>