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HowshouldIplanmypreparationforGRE?
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7Answers
SiddharthaSahu,332/340(162verbal+170quant)
3.9kViews
OriginallyAnswered:HowdoIpreparefortheGRE?

Thereisaplethoraofgoodanswershere.JustaddingtheapproachItookforGRE
preparations.
Background:IndianICSEstudent,relativelywellread,fastreader
Timeinput:4weekendsworth
BooksandPractice
ThesearetheonlybooksIused:
Absolutemust
TheOfficialGuidetotheGRERevisedGeneralTest
VerbalPractice
OfficialGREVerbalReasoningPracticeQuestions
5lb.BookofGREPracticeProblemsManhattanPrep
QuantPractice
OfficialGREQuantitativeReasoningPracticeQuestions
PracticeTests
OfficialGREtest:2paperbased+2Powerprepsoftwaretests
Manhattandiagnostictests

GothroughtheofficialETSGREbookfirst.Properlyreadandunderstandthevarious
sectionsandquestiontypes.Doallthepracticequestionsforeachsection.Readthrough
theexplanations,whereyoumaylearnnewapproachesandtipstosolvingthesequestions.

HowdoIprepareforGREexam?
WhatisaSMARTonemonthplanforGRE
preparation?
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analyticalwritingimportantintheGREtest?How
shouldIprepareforitandinwhatpatternshouldI
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bestways/sourcestoprepareforAWAsectionof
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dateof11thAugust2015forGRE.Iwillhavemy
sessionalexamsfrommidMaytomidJune.Ihaven't
startedpreparationyet,s...
GREPreparation:WhocanhelpmewithMagoosh
materials?
GREPreparation:MyGREscoreinPowerPrepII
firsttestrangesaround290.Ihavejustaround10
daysforfinalGREexam.HowcanIachieveascore
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year(6thsem)ofECE.Whatisthecorrecttimefor
metotaketheGRE?HowdoIpreparetogetascore
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preparetoforGATE?Whatplanningandstrategy
shouldbefollowedbyGATEaspirants?
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2,515Followers
780,748Views

VerbalReasoning
Thisneedstwothings:
Vocabulary
Fortunately,thecurrentGREformatdoesnotrequireavastknowledgeofobscurewords
anymore.Mypreparationlistconsistedofwordsfromjust@Barron's800HighFrequency
GREWordList and@TheUbiquitous400 .
Learnwordsincontext.Justwordsandtheirmeaningwillquicklyslipoutofyour
mind.IusedVocabulary.com tolearnthenewwords.Itisanawesomesitewith
wellwritten,sometimesfunnydefinitionsandmanyexamplesfromrealworld
usage.

LastAskedJan28
121MergedQuestions
Edits

Flashcardsistheusualsuggestedmethodforlearningwords,butIfounditnot
suitedtomylearningstyle.Instead,IcreatedatextfilewithallthewordsI
wantedtolearn.ThenIwentthoughthewordsinmultiplepasses,eachtime
markingwordsIdidnotknow(byputtingaspaceinfrontofthemandsorting
thelistattheend,soIgetallunknownwordsatthetop).
Soinpass1,IwouldgetallwordsIdidnotknoworwasnotsureoftheanswer.I

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thencreatedacustomwordlistatVocabulary.comLists andpractiseduntilI
learnedallthewords.
Pass2thenfocusedonwhichofthewordsIrememberedfrompass1(againby
puttinginadditionalspacesinfromofwords,andsortingattheend).
RepeateduntilIgotallthewords.Every2hoursorso,Irevisedthepass>=2
wordsagain.

Practice
ItismoreimportanttopracticetheGREvocabularyquestiontypesthanjustmuggingup
words.Thesequestionscheckyourreadingskillsaswellaslogicalthinkingcapability.
Practiceasmuchasyoucan.Don'tgetdejectedifyoukeepgettingwrong
answersinitially.Wronganswerswillmainlybefortworeasons:unknownwords
andimproperlogicalthinking:notreading/understandingthequestions,etc
Forunknownwords:Keepnotingdownthenewwordsyouencounterandrevise
everyhalfanhourorso
Forimproperlogic:Notecarefullywhereyouwentwronginyourthinking.Thisis
superimportant,andwillhelpyouavoidthesamemistakeinfuturequestions.
Ikeptacounterforeachtypeofmistakelike:didn'tknowthewords,didn'tread
questionproperly,didnotreasonitouttotheend,didnotanalysealltheoptions,
etc.IthelpedmekeeptrackofwhatkindofmistakesIwasmaking,andavoidthe
irritatingsillymistakesnexttime.

QuantitativeReasoning
Asmentionedinalotofplaces.thesyllabusofthissectionisveryeasyforanIndian
student.Yet,Ikeptonmakingsmallsillymistakes:wrongcalculations,notthinkingit
though,etc.Thus,diligentpracticeisrequiredheretoo.
IusedjusttheofficialETSresourcesandpracticetestsforthissection.Kepttrack
ofallthemistakesIwasmaking(wrongcalculation,didnotthinkofallthe
possibilities,tookalazy/wrongshortcut,didnotreadquestionproperlyetc),and
triedtoavoidtheminthefuturequestions.
GothroughtheMathreviewsection.Dataanalysissectionusuallyneedsa
revision,esp.percentilesandquartiles.
You'llfindmanytipsintheofficialexplanations.Eg,Comparisonsectionmaynot
needfullcalculationstofindtheanswer.

AnalyticalWriting
Didnotpractisethissectionatall.Thenightbeforetheexam,Ijustwentthroughthe
officialbookexamplesandtips.Also,lookedupexamplesforboththesectionsonline.
Iwillofcoursesuggestthatyoupractice23questionsofeachsection(with30minutes
timelimit)toformanideaofthestructureandflowofyourapproachtothesequestions.
GeneralTips
Don'thurrythroughtheexercises.Itisbettertodo50questions/wordsproperly
andrememberallofthemlater,thantolearn100andremembertheminbits
andpieces.
Thenpickupspeedasyougetclosertothetestdate.IntheactualGREtest,I
wasabletocompletetheverbalsectionswithenoughtimelefttogothroughall
thequestionsagain,andmadeacoupleofcorrectionswhereIhad
misunderstoodthequestion.Similarlyforthemathsection,Icouldrevisemostof
thesections.

OnemonthofdiligentpracticeshouldbeenoughtoacetheGRE.Allthebest!
WrittenOct1ViewUpvotes
Upvote 49

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AnkitSablok,MSinCS,UniversityatBuffalo,TheStateUniversityofNewYork
2.7kViews
OriginallyAnswered:HowdoIgoaboutpreparingforGRE?

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AskorSearchQuora
IappearedfortheGraduateRecordExamination'snewpatternexaminMarch2012and
hereiswhatIdidtopreparefortheexamination.FirstofallsoakinthefactthatGREis
noJointEntranceExamination(JEE)norisitinslightestcomparisontoothertough
examinationsthatyoumighthaveappearedforprior,butstillthetaskcanbeherculeanif
youdon'tapproachitwell,hereareaseriesofstepsthatIfollowed:

Read

Answer

16

Notifications

Abyn

1)Youneedtoknowwhat'saskedinGRE,thereare3sectionsQuantitativeAptitude,
VerbalAbilityandAnalyticalWriting,yourfirsttaskmustbetodoafairbitofanalysisas

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toinwhichsectionareyoulaggingbehind.
2)Afteryouhaveanalysedtheareayoulagthemostin,youneedtopickadateasearlyas
possible,evenbeforeyouhavebegunpreparingfortheexamination,thismightnotbethe
bestthingtodo,butyesitdoesplayagoodmotivationalroleinstructuringyour
preparationfortheexamination,humansgenerallytendtoworkmoreeffectivelywhen
there'sacleardeadline.
3)Nowaboutpreparation,wellformostofmypreparationIwaslaggingmostlyinthe
vocabularysectionandhereiswhatIdidtoremedythis,pickthisbookupfromthevery
startandstudyitcarefully,thisbookcannotonlyhelpyouaceanyEnglishintensive
examinationbutcanalsobringaboutaradicalchangeinyourlife

andIoweittothisbookformostofmyvocabularypreparations,Ifindthisbooktobetter
thanmostofthenovelsIhavereadintherecentpastandhavegivenitareadmorethan
twicefromthedayitpickedit.Comparedtootherbooksonvocabularyenrichmentthis
willnotonlyteachyoumorewordsbutshapeyourthoughtprocessandwillhelpyou
reinforceyourcontextualthinkingwhichismainlywhat'srequiredinanexaminationlike
GRE.Becauseit'snotthemortaldictionariesthatevaluatorsarelookingforinan
examinationthattestsyouracademicandanalyticalskillswhicharemuchmoresuitedin
agraduateschool.
4)Moreaboutvocabularyenrichment,nowcomesinthereadingcomprehensionpartof
theexaminationwhichalsothemeatoftheexamination,welltobesuccessfulinatask
suchasthis,yougottodevelopsomereadinghabits,lemmetellyouthatIdidn'tread
muchpriortothisexaminationbutyesIalwayswantedto,butneglectingeveryone's
adviceIpickedupsomegoodresourcesfromtheweb,hereisanaccompanyinglink
Editorials,Columns,OpEd,Letters,OpinionatorandMoreOpinion andanimagetogo
withit

Upvote

Downvote Comment Share

Thisnewswebsiteistheworld'sleadingnewswebsite,ithaspeoplewhowriteopinionson
topicsrangingfrompolitics,education,philosophy,economics,andanyothertopicyou
mightconceiveof,ifyoucanreadsomeselectfewarticlesfromthislinkandthattoo
regularlyandunderstandeverytidbitofit,Ithinkyouwillbeinamuchbettershapeto
attempttheverbalsectionandmoreoverthiswillalsohelpyoushapeyouranswerforthe
analyticalwritingsectionaswellbecausemajorlyanalyticalwritingtasksareaskedeither
frompolitics,economicsandothersandtocompletesuchatasksuccessfullyyougotto

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knowsomestatisticsandthislinkwillserveyouwellinattemptingsuchkindsofquestions.
Youcanrefertootherleadingnewswebsitesaswell,fortheonesreferredbymehereare
they
a)BBCHomepage
b)LatestUSnews,worldnews,sportandcommentfromtheGuardian
c)India'sfirstSpiritualNetworkingWebsite
5)NowcomingtoQuant,Ididn'treallypurchaseanybookforpreparingQuants,butyesI
joinedafacebookgrouptoprepareforit,lemmepostthelinktothegrouphere
Facebook Itshaspossiblyover14000membersandthereisadelugeofmathematics
questions,ifyoucansolvetheminyourfreetimeanddiscussoutthesolutionswhile
commenting,Ithinkthatwillstrengthenyourbasicsanyway,Ididmessupmyquantsa
bitinGREgot166/170,butthenIhadlesstimeowingtothefactthatIwasworkingfull
timeandthisiswhatIcouldmanage.
6)Oneveryimportantpointtonoteisthatmediaplaysabigroleinyourlearning,tryto
watchsomegoodHollywoodmovies,seriesthatmakeextensiveuseofenglishthatwillnot
onlyimproveyourwritingbutyourspeakingaswellandtrytousethewordsyoulearnin
yourroutinelife,ThisiswhatIdidwhilemypreparation,Ithinkitallowedmetogeta
hangofthewordsIread.
Ifyoucanfollowtheabovestepsrathertakingaconventionalapproachtolearning,I
thinkyouwilldogoodintheexaminationandthereafter.
WrittenJul22,2013ViewUpvotes

GouravGarg,ChemicalEngg.
712Views
OriginallyAnswered:WhatisthebestwaytostartstudyfortheGRE?

IamnotsureifIcantellyouthebestway,butIcanexplainhowIpreparedforGRE
whichlandedmeascoreof317/340.
1.Getacquaintedwiththetestformat:PeoplewilltellyoutobuytheofficialGRE
book,butallessentialinformationisavailableontheinternetforfree.Youneedtoknow
thevarioussectionsofthetest,theirtime,thetypeofquestionsineachsectionandthe
breaksthatyouareallowedtotakeduringtheexam.
2.Judgeyourself:Beforestartingthepreparationjustgiveonecompletepracticetest.
Numeroustestsareavailableonthenetforfree.Thiswillhelpyoutounderstandthetest
andyouwillgettoknowaboutyourweakandstrongareas.Forexampleduringmymock
testIwasabletodowellbutmyweaknesswastimemanagement.Iwasrunningoftime,
soIknewIhadtoworkonmyspeed.
3.LearningtheEnglishwords:Letscomethemainpartnow.TotellyouthetruthI
muggedupthewordlist,itworkedforme.Itriedmanyothermethodslikereading
newspapers,novelsandallbutIamtoolazytodothatdailysoIdecidedtojustgivemy
memoryatryanditclicked.IstrictlyfollowedtheMagooshwordlistwhichcontainsnearly
a1000wordsandKaplan's800highfrequencywords.AllinallImemorizedsome1500
wordsandthat'swheremybraingaveup.Iusedtodedicate2hoursdailytolearning
wordsandusedtobeginwithrevisionofwordsfrompreviousday.Ittookme1.5months
topreparemyvocabsection.ThebookIusedforpracticingthissectionwasPrinceton
Review's"1014practicequestions".It'sagreatbookwithalevelhigherthanthemainexam
andprepare'syoucompletelyforthetask.AnynewwordthatIencounteredduringthe
practicesectionsIusedtowritethemseparatelyandlearnthem,whichaddedsome200
morewordstomyvocab.OnesitethathelpedmealotwasFunandeasywaytobuildyour
vocabulary! Itprovidesgreatmnemonicstolearnwords.
4.QuantSection:IdidnotputmucheffortinthissectionasIamfromanengineering
backgroundandIamquitefimiliarwithbasics,thoughIwouldsuggesttonotrepeatmy
mistakeofbeingoverconfident.QuantrequiresalotofpracticeandIfollowedPrinceton
Review'smaterialforthissectionaswell.
5.AWA:Ijustreadsomeargumentandessayanswersjust2daysbeforetheexamand
theessentialinformationtobeincludedintheanswertothinkinthatexactdirection.
BecauseoftimeconstraintsIwasnotabletoprepareforthissectionwellenough.
6.Practice:Giveasmanypracticetestsaspossible.Believemeitisthemostimportant
thingtoavoidanylastminutesurprisesintherealtestsetting.Thereareplentyoffull
lengthtestsonwebthatyoucantry.
IampostinggoogledrivelinkwhereyouwillfindallthestudymaterialthatexistforGRE
preparation.Pleasedon'tbeoverwhelmedbytheamountofmaterial,justbeselective.You
don'tneedtodoeverything.
Pageongoogle.com

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Hopetheanswershelps.BESTOFLUCKforyourexam!!!!!
WrittenJan2,2015ViewUpvotesAskedtoanswerbyIndiraDeshpande
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MihirGupta,Physics,PhDStudent,IMECandKULeuven
347ViewsMihirisaMostViewedWriterinGraduateRecordExamination(GRE).
OriginallyAnswered:HowcanIstarttostudyfortheGRE?

EdulixPremierSiteforScholars'EducationCrowdSourced' Usethiswebsite..
WrittenMar3,2015
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SwathiKamble
217Views
OriginallyAnswered:HowshouldIplanmyGREprocess?

Ithinktherighttimeisnow.ForGRE,23monthsofpreparationisenoughwhereasfor
TOEFL11.5monthspreparationwouldbesufficient.YoucanprepareforGREand
TOEFLsimultaneously,itdependsonyourcapacity.YoucanbooktheTOEFLdate
laggingGREbyaweekorso.Ifyousecureagoodscore,thentostartapplicationprocess
youcanbuildyourSOPandLORs,evenyourfinancialaid.Withthisyoucanapplyfor
eithertheSept(fall)2015batchorJan(spring)2016batch.
WrittenFeb8,2015
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DeepSaklani
2.9kViews
OriginallyAnswered:HowdoIgoaboutpreparingforGRE?

YourscoresintheGraduateRecordExaminations(GRE)isoneofthechiefgaugesfor
gettingadmittanceingraduateandbusinessschoolsinEnglishspeakingcountries.
HerearekeytipsthatyoumustconsiderwhilepreparingfortheGREexam.

Planyourschedule:Itisimportantforyoutoprepareyourscheduleandthewayin
whichyougoaboutpreparation.Varioustraininginstitutesprovidesoftwarepackages
andtoolsthatprovideawarenessonthetesttakingstrategies,simulatedtestsonall
areasandmuchneededinsightontheparametersgoverningthewayaGREtestis
scored.Inadditiontoyourexampreparation,youhavetoincludeadequatesleeping
hoursduringtheprepdays,sothatyoudonotreachazombiestatebereftofsleep.Also,
neverputittoomuchoflasthourcramminglestyoumightconsiderdozingoffduring
theexam.

Knowyouexam:TheGREtesthas3sectionswhichhavetobegivenequal
weightage.Youwouldreallydowell,ifyouareawareoftheexamformatandthe
interface.Itmakessurethatyoudonotgetashockofyourlife,thefirsttimeyou
attemptstheGREexam.

Focusonyourweakareasofstudy:GRErequiresyoutohaveimpeccablequantitative
skills,immaculatereasoningabilityandpolishedwritingskills,allofwhichdoesnot
comenaturallytomany.Youhavetoidentifytheareasinwhichyouarestrongand
thosewhichrequireenhancementandspecificallyfocusyourpreparationinthat
direction.Youhavetoguardagainstlayingmoreemphasisontheareasyouare
traditionallystrongin,whileneglectingothercomparativelyweakerareasofstudy.This
invariablyleadstoaskewedlevelofpreparationandbelowstandardperformanceinthe
finalexam.

Practicesimulatedtests:Apartfromgettingareallifeexperienceoftakinga
simulatedGREtest,italsohelpsyoubudgetyourtime,andtopaceandstrategizethe
wayyoushouldtaketheexam.Youmayhaveyourownwayoftakingexamandshould
sticktoit,butyoushouldalsoapplysmalltricksofelimination,backwardanswertaking
etc.thatgoesalongwayinensuringastrongperformance.

Besureabouttheschoolsyouaretargeting:Oneofthemostcriticalfacetsofyour
GREpreparationiszeroinginonthelistofschoolsyouaretargeting.Withnearlyall
graduateschoolsintheUnitedStatesrequiringaGREscoreforadmission,itbecomes
vitalforyoutoknowtheminimumtestscoresthoseschoolsconsiderastheirminimum
cutoffs.Thatway,youcanstreamlineyourpreparationonvariousspecificareasand
identifybeforehandwhatexactlyyouneed.

YouhavetorealizethatarelativelyhighoranaboveaverageGREscoremightnot

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promiseacceptancetoacollegebutabelowparscorewouldundeniablyguarantee
eliminationfrommostschools.Henceinadditiontoagreatacademicrecordanda
goodGREscoreyouhavetohaveaholisticapproachtoyourstudentlifeapartfromthe
academicfront,whichincludesinvolvementinextracurricularandsportrelated
activities.Apartfromthat,lettersofrecommendationsfromyourseniorsorsupervisors
inyourpreviousworkplaceoreducationalinstitutionorevenfromrenowned
professionalsplayahugeroleinbalancingtheselectioninyourfavour.
Youmustdowelltoprepareadetailedpersonalstatementthatfeaturesamongstthe
applicationdocuments.Thisisanimportantdocumentwhichintroducesyouandsaysa
lotaboutyourpassionforthefieldofstudy,goalsandyourabilitytomeetthem.There
aremanyonlineresourceswhichhelpsyoupreparefortheGREexamandoneofthem
isGradestackGREmobileappavailableonGooglePlaystore.
WrittenMay26,2014ViewUpvotes
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