GRE 325+ in 4 weeks
BACKGROUND
Hi, I am a 4th year engineering undergrad. I appeared for the GRE in July 2021, having registered for the same precisely 4 weeks prior. I scored a 168/170 in the Quantitative Reasoning section and a 160/170 in the Verbal Reasoning section.
Anyone with a good grasp of grade 10 mathematics and a decent English language understanding can easily prepare and do well in this examination in 4 weeks (or even lesser)!
MY PREPARATION STRATEGY
QUANTITATIVE REASONING
i) Start with the Manhattan Book of GRE practice problems. While it is not necessary to solve all problems, going through them and solving the ones that seem difficult would suffice. The aim of this drill is to familiarise yourself with the different types of questions. Ideally, spending 3–4 hours a day for the first 7–10 days of your prep should be enough for you to cover this book.
ii) The study material which Magoosh provides is what you have to stick by over the next 3 weeks. Their videos are crisp 5–15 minutes in length. You need not watch all videos provided you are decent with your Math basics. However, I would recommend everyone watch the videos on Probability, Standard Deviation, Data Interpretation, and Geometry because you might find a few new concepts that you may not be aware of.
iii) Your major help from Magoosh will come through the wide range of practice problems it provides, which I believe covers every concept that the GRE Quants can test. You can attempt these questions through isolated topic wise questions, or you can also solve them mixed in the form of a sectional test. All questions have video and text solutions that are very precise and easy to comprehend. Spending 3–4 hours a day over the next 3 weeks would be enough for you to attempt a decent number of Magoosh questions, which would prepare you adequately for the test.
NOTE: You don’t need to solve all questions from the Manhattan book or the Magoosh website. Your main aim should be to understand the basic concept of the different topics and the type of questions you can expect in the test. Giving sectional tests once in a while is recommended as it will help you understand how to pace yourself during the test.
VERBAL REASONING
i) You need to learn all of the ‘Basic’ and ‘Common’ words from the Magoosh word list (600–700 words approx). While in no way would this be an all-inclusive word list for the actual test, I would say that learning words from the ‘Advanced’ section or other word lists like Baron, Manhattan etc, would add very little value. Instead, spending that time practising questions and improving your reading speed would help in better utilisation of your time.
ii) No single technique works for learning words in such a short span of time. You need to figure out for yourself whether it’s flashcards, rote learning or some other technique that works for you. For me, it was learning by writing the word and its meaning which worked (I wrote all the words and their meaning while learning, and it was super beneficial). I used to spend around an hour a day to learn approximately 30 words. This way, I completed all the words in 20 days while I spent the remaining 10 days revising them over.
iii) Magoosh in my opinion is the best and the only source of practice you need. They have great practice questions for all the different question types you can expect in the actual test. However, before solving the questions, I recommend you watch all their Verbal Reasoning videos. It helps us understand what type of solutions the GRE expects from its test-takers. Often multiple options might seem correct, so understanding how to choose the correct answer is something you will develop with time and practice. Also, after solving the Verbal Reasoning questions, make sure you watch their solution videos. I would like to reiterate that watching their videos will definitely be hugely beneficial in helping you understand how to choose the answer which would be correct according to the GRE (you might at times be in a dilemma after reading the given answers, but the sooner you start understanding the GRE approach, the better it would be for you). I used to spend around 1–2 hours a day practising Verbal reasoning questions throughout the 4 weeks.
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MOCK TESTS
I gave the following mock tests before my actual test:
i) 2 ETS powerprep mocks.
ii) Manhattan Prep Free GRE Practice Test.
iii) Kaplan Free GRE Practice Test.
iv)Princeton Review Free GRE Practice Test.
I would recommend everyone give the first official ETS mock before you begin your preparation to understand where you stand and the other official ETS mock test 2–3 days before the actual test. The rest of the mocks can be given at equal intervals through the course of your preparation.
In general, the ETS mocks are the closest to the actual test, while the other 3 mocks might vary a bit. Nonetheless, they all serve as a good means for practice.
Based on my observation and reviews from my friends who gave the test in the recent past, the Quants section has generally been a little more tricky, while the Verbal Reasoning section has been of a similar difficulty level compared to the ETS powerprep mock tests.
On the days I gave mocks, I would not study anything apart from analysing my mock tests. This helped me refresh myself once in a while through the course of my preparation.
NOTES
i) I scored a 4 in the AWA section. I did not prepare for it in particular however I did go through the list of sample topics available on the ETS website.
ii) The Manhattan book of GRE practise problems is available for free on the internet in pdf format. Similarly, you can also get shared Magoosh accounts at relatively cheaper rates through various Telegram and Facebook groups.
iii) I spent approximately 6–7 hours a day preparing for the test. If you have time constraints you can divide your prep over a longer time span. However, it should still not take more than 2 months at max.
iv) I would also recommend everyone go through the ETS GRE website- read the syllabus, watch the videos they have uploaded, and solve the practice questions available there in the early part of your test preparation.
v) Remember that you can skip through the questions, and there is no negative marking, so make sure you don’t end up wasting a lot of time attempting a single question!
I wrote this article as many of my friends ask me how I went about my preparation. GRE is not a difficult exam per se, and with a good preparation strategy, you can easily nail it in a short span of time! All the best.
