I know there are nine million posts like this, but since there is some specificity to my questions, this is post number nine million and one
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I studied for the GRE probably about 4-5 weeks before I took it, for about 2-3 hours 2-3 times a week. I had relatively high scores on the SAT, and I tutored the SAT (critical reading + writing sections - math is not my forte) for a year for Kaplan. It didn't make sense in my context to take a class because I knew exactly what they were going to teach me (GRE strategies are almost the same as SAT strategies). Since the SAT I tutored didn't contain analogies and antonyms, I bought a book with a lot of practice questions, downloaded the GRE PowerPREP program, and mostly practiced the analogies, antonyms, and the math questions.
I took it the November before I applied for graduate school, which I wouldn't recommend. I was determined to only take it once and I could reasonably expect that I was going to earn high scores the first time (my baseline scores were in the 700s). But I was in the thick of writing personal statements, soliciting letters of recommendation and doing all the other things one does in preparing to apply (plus taking classes and writing my senior thesis). Better to get it out of the way over the summer or early fall before things really start kicking up.
I think a summer is plenty of time to study. This is the kind of test IMO that if you study too hard and too long, the studying becomes counterproductive. Focus on what you're weak at -- no use in hammering out those questions that you're really good at. Take the first PowerPREP full-length exam as a diagnostic and gauge what your score range is, what you are good at, and what you suck at. Then focus on what you suck at while maintaining your skills in what you're good at.
PowerPREP was the best guide; I also used Kaplan's and theirs was okay. I thumbed through Princeton Review in the store and I didn't particularly like it. I also bought a Barron's book, but I bought it without a CD, which was a mistake. Rule #1 - always pay the extra $10 for the CD.
I took it the November before I applied for graduate school, which I wouldn't recommend. I was determined to only take it once and I could reasonably expect that I was going to earn high scores the first time (my baseline scores were in the 700s). But I was in the thick of writing personal statements, soliciting letters of recommendation and doing all the other things one does in preparing to apply (plus taking classes and writing my senior thesis). Better to get it out of the way over the summer or early fall before things really start kicking up.
I think a summer is plenty of time to study. This is the kind of test IMO that if you study too hard and too long, the studying becomes counterproductive. Focus on what you're weak at -- no use in hammering out those questions that you're really good at. Take the first PowerPREP full-length exam as a diagnostic and gauge what your score range is, what you are good at, and what you suck at. Then focus on what you suck at while maintaining your skills in what you're good at.
PowerPREP was the best guide; I also used Kaplan's and theirs was okay. I thumbed through Princeton Review in the store and I didn't particularly like it. I also bought a Barron's book, but I bought it without a CD, which was a mistake. Rule #1 - always pay the extra $10 for the CD.
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