I cannot count the number of times I've been asked by MBA candidates (and even folks considering the LSAT for law school admissions) who have for whatever reason been turned off by the GMAT - shouldn't I just take the GRE? After all, in every corner of the internet it seems that the GRE is championed as the easier exam - and why wouldn't it be?
If you’re studying for the GRE, then you’re probably already aware that vocabulary is a big component of the test. The GRE—or Graduate Record Examination—contains many questions that test your knowledge of academic English. Unfortunately, there’s no way to gain a comprehensive knowledge of every possible word you might encounter on test day. The English language is simply too vast. Even studying official past tests will only help you insofar as it teaches you the kind of words you’re likely to encounter on the test. The actual vocab words you’ll encounter on test day are unlikely to include many repeats from past tests.
But all that doesn’t mean there’s no way to prep for the vocabulary on the GRE. It just means you’re going to have to more strategic in the ways you study. That’s why we’ve compiled this list of helpful study tips, so you can make the most of your GRE prep.
On the GRE, the Quantitative Comparison questions ask you to compare two numeric quantities—Quantity A and Quantity B.
Do you remember studying a ton of vocabulary for your SAT back in high school? Well, you probably took SAT right before the ETS reconfigured the whole thing and removed the vocabulary section.
Of all the different questions that students work on as they prep for the GRE Verbal, none seem to routinely cause as much trepidation as the Text Completion. If you’ve taught the GRE as much as I have, then you know the particular sigh of fear and pre-emptive defeat that students give when they turn to page to see a sentence riddled with long underscores.
There are many different ways to study for the GRE. But most GRE prep classes, GRE prep courses, and GRE tutors have the following 5 step process in common:
However, beyond that generic plan, a customized approach based on the starting point of each individual student can truly increase GRE scores. For example, here was our approach with one particular student:
One Customized Approach
Student was doing well with the quantitative sections of the GRE, but needed to improve verbal and writing scores dramatically. His objective was to get admitted into top graduate school programs, which required GRE scores in the 90th percentile or better.
(1) Designed a study plan for GRE vocabulary
(2) Intensive student-specific preparation created to help the student maximize success for questions where he was familiar with words or phrases
(3) Direct observation of timed testing sections, to help improve time management and manage stress/frustration.
Results Achieved
We observed significant increase in GRE verbal score on second test date, with stated improved confidence, time management, and ability to overcome challenges during the test.
You can read a full case study on our approach with this particular GRE test-taker (coming soon).
How To Customize a Study Plan?
Developing a customized GRE study plan doesn’t need to be difficult. The first step is simply identifying where you are strong vs. weak. If your percentile score in GRE Quant is 85th percentile (meaning you scored better than 85 out of 100 GRE test takers on your practice GRE), but your GRE Verbal score is 50th percentile, then you should consider layering in an extra week or two of GRE Verbal prep. If necessary, that may mean investing in additional test prep materials focused on whatever section you need extra help in. Just keep doing extra practice and reviewing problems you miss.
However, you do need to keep monitoring your performance across all sections as your test prep process progresses towards your test date. We’ve seen many students who are apparently very strong in verbal but weak in math spend 2 months straight focusing on improving their math score. Sure enough, come test day, their math score is much better. However, lo and behold, now their verbal score is much worse.
Why did this happen? Well, even if you are very good at GRE-verbal, you need to keep the concepts and the problem types fresh in your mind. You can easily make a bunch of small errors, even though you know the main concepts pretty well, and end up bombing the actual test due to those small errors piling up.
Summary
Like any standardized test, the GRE can be mastered with intelligent, careful practice that starts with basic test taking study plan development and strategy, and layers on a customized approach based on any given student’s starting point, strengths, and weaknesses. With a calm, steady, planned approach to studying for the GRE, most students observe significant improvement, regardless of the specific prep strategy they chose: GRE class, self-study, or private GRE tutor.
What are your experiences studying for the GRE?