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Are you feeling overwhelmed by the thought of preparing for the GRE? Fear not! In this GRE Preparation Guide, we will provide you with an extensive roadmap to navigate through the intricacies of this standardized test and help you excel in your journey towards graduate school.
Whether you are a first-time test taker or seeking to improve your scores, this guide will equip you with essential strategies, tips, and resources to optimize your study plan and confidently tackle the exam. So, let's dive into the world of GRE preparation and unlock your true potential to achieve your academic dreams. Read on to discover the comprehensive toolkit which is our GRE Preparation Guide you to succeed on the GRE and master the art of test-taking techniques.
GRE Preparation Guide : How GRE is Structured?
The Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) General Test is a computer-delivered test that features question types that closely reflect the kind of thinking you’ll do — and the skills you need to succeed — in today’s demanding graduate school programs, including business and law. The test-taker friendly design lets you skip questions within a section, go back and change answers and have the flexibility to choose which questions within a section you want to answer first. Get a look at the structure of the GRE General Test.
The GRE Test measures your verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, critical thinking and analytical writing skills — skills that have been developed over a long period of time and are not related to a specific field of study but are important for all. Here’s a look at content covered in the three test sections: Analytical Writing, Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning.
Sections of the GRE
Before diving deep into the GRE Preparation guide, it is good to be aware of the various that you will be facing while giving the exam, so that you can comprehend and analyse which section to prioritise and focus more upon during your GRE Preparation.
The overall testing time for the GRE General Test is about three hours and 45 minutes. There are six sections with a 10-minute break following the third section. The test follows the following structure:
- Analytical Writing – Essay 1 (30 minutes)
- Analytical Writing – Essay 2 (30 minutes)
- Break (10 minutes)
- Verbal (30 min) or Quantitative (35 min) or Experimental
- Verbal (30 min) or Quantitative (35 min) or Experimental
- Break (10 minutes)
- Verbal (30 min) or Quantitative (35 min) or Experimental
- Verbal (30 min) or Quantitative (35 min) or Experimental
- Verbal (30 min) or Quantitative (35 min) or Experimental
An unidentified unscored (Experimental) section that does not count toward your score may be included and may appear in any order after the Analytical Writing section. Questions in the unscored section are being tried out either for possible use in future tests or to ensure that scores on new editions of the test are comparable to scores from earlier editions.
1. Analytical Writing Section
The Analytical Writing section measures your ability to articulate complex ideas clearly and effectively examine claims and accompanying evidence, support ideas with relevant reasons and examples that sustain a well-focused, coherent discussion and control the elements of standard written English. The Analytical Writing section requires you to provide focused responses based on the tasks presented, so you can accurately demonstrate your skill in directly responding to a task.
Number of Sections: One section with two separately timed tasks
Number of Questions: One “Analyze an Issue” task and one “Analyze an Argument” task
Allotted Time: 30 minutes per task
The “Issue” essay section will contain two prompts, of which you will choose one. Each will be a declarative statement, such as “Patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels.” Your task is to agree or disagree with the statement. You must defend your point of view using reasoning and examples. Technically, grammar and spelling are not supposed to count, but they do.
The “Argument” essay section contains only one prompt. You will be given a short paragraph that takes a position. Your task will be to identify whether the argument is sound, and how it could be improved.
2. Verbal Reasoning Section
The Verbal Reasoning section measures your ability to analyze and draw conclusions from discourse; reason from incomplete data; identify the author’s assumptions and/or perspective; understand multiple levels of meaning, such as literal, figurative and author’s intent: select important points; distinguish major from minor or irrelevant points; summarize text; understand the structure of a text; understand the meanings of words, sentences and entire texts and understand relationships among words and among concepts.
Number of Sections: Two sections
Number of Questions: 20 questions per section
Allotted Time: 30 minutes per section
There are three categories of Verbal questions:
1. Reading Comprehension – A typical Verbal section will contain 10 RC questions, based on short passages that contain from 100-450 words. The paragraphs could be about the humanities, history, science, or social science.
2. Text Completion – You will be presented with a sentence or paragraph with one, two, or three blanks. Your task will be to complete the sentence or paragraph based on not just grammar, but also the style of the surrounding language. There are typically 6 TC questions in a Verbal section.
3. Sentence Equivalence – You will be presented with a sentence with 1 blank and 6 answers; you’ll need to find the 2 answers that fill in the blank. There will generally be 4 SE questions in a Verbal section.
3. Quantitative Reasoning
The Quantitative Reasoning section measures your ability to understand, interpret and analyze quantitative information, solve problems using mathematical models, apply basic skills and elementary concepts of arithmetic, algebra, geometry and data analysis.
Number of Sections: Two sections
Number of Questions: 20 questions per section
Allotted Time: 35 minutes per section
The Quantitative Reasoning section includes an on-screen.
There are two kinds of Quantitative questions:
1. Problem Solving – About two thirds of a Quantitative section will be PS questions. You might be asked to find the one correct answer out of five possibilities, to find the one or more correct answers from 6 – 9 possibilities, or to enter your own answer. The topics in Problem Solving range from algebra to geometry to arithmetic to data interpretation.
2. Quantitative Comparison – The remaining third of a Quantitative section will be QC problems. In these, you will not be asked to solve an equation, but to compare two quantities and decide which one is larger (or if it is not possible to define).
GRE Preparation Guide : How GRE is Calculated?
On the GRE, The Analytical Writing section is scored on a scale of 0–6 in half-point increments. The Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning sections each yield a scaled score within a range of 130 to 170 in one-point increments. You cannot score higher than 170 for either the Verbal Reasoning or the Quantitative Reasoning sections, no matter how hard you try. Similarly, it’s impossible to score lower than 130 for Verbal Reasoning or Quantitative Reasoning.
But you don’t receive only scaled scores; you also receive a percentile rank, which rates your performance relative to that of a large sample population of other GRE takers. Percentile scores tell graduate schools just what your scaled scores are worth. For instance, even if everyone got very high scaled scores, universities would still be able to differentiate candidates by their percentile scores.
GRE Score Scales
The GRE is composed of three distinct scored sections—the Quantitative section, the Verbal section, and the Analytical Writing section—and the scores for these three sections appear as follows:
- A Quantitative score reported on a 130-170 score scale, in 1-point increments.
- A Verbal score reported on a 130-170 score scale, in 1-point increments.
- An Analytical Writing score reported on a 0-6 score scale, in half-point increments
The Quantitative Section
As outlined by ETS, the Quantitative Reasoning section “Measures your ability to analyze and evaluate written material and synthesize information obtained from it, analyze relationships among component parts of sentences and recognize relationships among words and concepts…The content in these areas includes high school mathematics and statistics at a level that is generally no higher than a second course in algebra; it does not include trigonometry, calculus or other higher-level mathematics.” Your performance on the 40 total questions in the Quantitative section are used to determine a score from 130-170, with scores assigned in 1-point increments.
The Verbal Section
The test makers describe the Verbal section as, “The Verbal Reasoning measure of the GRE revised General Test assesses your ability to analyze and evaluate written material and synthesize information obtained from it, analyze relationships among component parts of sentences and recognize relationships among words and concepts.” As with the Quantitative section, the Verbal section has its own individual scoring scale ranging from 130-170.
Analytical Writing
The Analytical Writing section is composed of two separate essays, an Analyze an Issue task and an Analyze an Argument task, with allotted times of 30 minutes each. As described by the test makers, “The analytical writing section tests your critical thinking and analytical writing skills. It assesses your ability to articulate and support complex ideas, construct and evaluate arguments, and sustain a focused and coherent discussion. It does not assess specific content knowledge.”
The two GRE essays in the Analytical Writing section go through a different scoring process than Quantitative Reasoning and Verbal Reasoning. Each essay is read by at a trained grader and given a score from 0-6. Then the essay is scored by an e-reader, a computer program developed by ETS to measure writing proficiency based on scores in multiple areas. If the human grader’s and e-reader’s scores “closely agree” (are within a point of each other), then the average of those two scores, rounded to the nearest half-point is used as the final essay score. If they disagree, a second human grader scores the essay, and the average of the two human scores, rounded to the nearest half-point is the final essay score.
Adaptivity In Your GRE Score
Instead of adapting from question to question, the new GRE adapts only between sections: it is “section adaptive”. Everybody starts off with a medium section, and, depending on how they do, are given either an easy, medium, or hard section. Within each section, all questions contribute equally to the final score.
For instance, if you do well in the first math section, your second math section will be difficult. If you do not do well on the first math section, your second math section will be easy. As to what constitutes “well”, the GRE algorithm is a little vague. But if you only miss a few questions on a section, you will get a difficult section for your second section. There is also a medium-difficulty section for those who do moderately well.
By getting the easy section, you limit how high you can score. In other words, not doing well on the first verbal section precludes a perfect or near perfect verbal score. Likewise, getting to the difficult section ensures that you can’t score below a certain point. So let’s say I get the difficult verbal section (meaning I did well on the first verbal section) and miss every question. I would still get above a 130 (the lowest possible score) in verbal–though nobody, save for ETS, knows what my exact GRE score would be.
Types Of Scores
Top Scores
These scores will put you in the top 10% of all test takers
- Verbal: 163 – 170
- Quantitative: 165 – 170
- Analytical Writing: 5.0 – 6.0
Competitive Scores
These scores are considered good GRE score and will put you in a highly competitive place in admissions (top 25% of all test takers)
- Verbal: 158 – 162
- Quantitative: 159 – 164
- Analytical Writing: 4.5
Average Scores
These scores put you ahead of the pack (50%+), but won’t be as advantageous when applying to highly competitive programs.
- Verbal: 152 – 158
- Quantitative: 153 – 158
- Analytical Writing: 4.0
Below Average Scores
These scores may be enough to get into a wide variety of graduate programs, but will be below average compared to the testing population
- Verbal: 151 or below
- Quantitative: 152 or below
- Analytical Writing: 3.5 or below
Other Information About your GRE score
- The GRE Doesn’t Penalize for Guessing
To discourage examinees from making wild guesses, some standardized tests deduct points for wrong answers. The GRE doesn’t do this. Questions answered incorrectly count exactly the same as questions left unanswered, so you’re better off guessing than skipping.
- The GRE Uses a Percentile-Based Scoring System
The GRE is a competitive test. Immediately after you complete the test, you receive an estimated percentile ranking based on the test-taker's scores from the previous year.
- The GRE Allows You To Skip Questions In A Section
You can skip questions and go back to them later, time permitting, within the section you’re working on. The only thing you can’t do is go back (or forward) to a section you’re not currently working on, but within a section, you have free reign. The number of questions you can skip is unlimited.
- You Can’t Bring Anything into the Testing Center
The testing center staff wants to ensure zero opportunities of cheating on the GRE. Because of this, you can’t take anything in with you — not even a wristwatch.
Create a comprehensive GRE Preparation study plan
A study plan is always one of the most important things that will help you to create a detailed study plan for you GRE prparation.
How much should you study during GRE Preparation?
There’s a wide variation in the amount of time people choose to prepare for the GRE test. However, most people spend about one to three months studying a few hours a week for the GRE. This means the amount of studying for the GRE could range roughly from eight hours (studying two hours a week for four weeks) to 120 hours (studying ten hours a week for 12 weeks).
In order to figure out how long to study for the GRE, you first need to set a goal score and figure out how far you are from it. Below are estimates of approximately how many hours you need to study in order to raise your score by a certain number of points. These numbers indicate how much you need to study to raise your GRE score by that many points across BOTH sections. So, in 40 hours, you could raise your score for each section by about 2.5 points (5 points total).
- 5 points = 40 hours
- 10 points = 80 hours
- 20 points = 160 hours
- 30 points = 240 hours
These are very rough rules of thumb. Depending on your individual circumstances, you may need more or less time.
How to develop your GRE preparation study schedule
Step 1: Make a Goal
Based on the schools and programs you’re interested in, select a goal score. Also take this time to figure out which section is more important. The more-important section is your “primary” prep section.
Step 2: Take a Complete Practice Test
Taking a full practice test will show you what your baseline score is. Analyzing your first practice test will also help you target specific weaknesses in your prep. Make note of question types you struggled with, content areas you missed, points where you ran out of time, and so on. This will help you figure out areas to focus on when you start really digging in on prep.
Step 3: Determine How Much Studying You Need to Do
Based on your goal score and your baseline, figure out how many hours you’ll need to study to reach your goal score.
Step 4: Calculate How Many Hours You’ll Need to Study Per Week
Divide the total number of hours you need to prep by the number of weeks you have until the test. So if you have 10 weeks and you need to prep for 80 hours, that’s 8 hrs/week. You can also reverse-engineer this if you haven’t registered for the test yet: divide the total number of hours you need to prep by the hours a week you can study, and that will tell you how many weeks from now you should take the test. So if you can study 10 hours a week and you need to prep for 60 hours, take the test in 6 weeks.
Step 5: Gather GRE Preparation Materials
You’ll definitely need a sizable bank of GRE practice tests and problems. There are six official, complete GRE practice tests released by ETS, but to access two of them you need to buy the GRE Official Guide by ETS. You’ll also need material to help you review key concepts (especially math) and to help you with test strategy.
Step 6: Plan Out Your Week-by-Week Activities
Make a list of what tasks you’re going to accomplish each week. Try to keep your hours studied per week pretty consistent, although you can vary a little bit if you need to for scheduling reasons.
Sample 1-month GRE Preparation study plan
This plan is an intense 20 hr/week plan. With 20 hours/week, you can actually make some substantive gains in your foundational understanding of your primary section. Again, you can divide up the 20 hrs/week how you want, just so long as you can complete self-contained tasks like practice tests in one session.
This plan aims for about a 6/7 point increase on your primary section, and a 3/4 point increase on your secondary section.
Week 1 of GRE Preparation study Plan
- Take a complete practice test on GRE Preparation PowerPrep to set your baseline – 3.5 hrs
- Debrief complete test – 1.5 hrs
- Review test format – 1.5 hrs
- Content review, primary section – 8 hrs
- Complete one primary test section and debrief – 1.5 hrs
- Content review, secondary section – 4 hrs
Week 2 GRE Preparation study Plan
- Content review, primary section – 8 hrs
- Strategy review, primary section – 2 hrs
- Content review, secondary section – 5 hrs
- Take another complete practice test – 3.5 hours
- Debrief complete test – 1.5 hrs
Week 3 GRE Preparation study Plan
- Content review, primary section – 4 hrs
- Strategy review, primary section – 4 hrs
- Complete one primary test section and debrief, 1.5 hrs
- Content review, secondary section – 3 hrs
- Complete secondary test section and debrief – 1.5 hrs
- Strategy review, secondary section – 1 hr
- Take final GRE Preparation PowerPrep test, focusing on strategy – 3.5 hrs
- Complete debrief of test – 1.5 hrs
Week 4 GRE Preparation study Plan
- Strategy review, primary section – 6 hrs
- Content review, primary section (brush-up any weak spots) – 2.5 hrs
- Complete primary test section and debrief – 1.5 hours
- Strategy review, secondary section – 5 hrs
- Content review, secondary section (brush-up any weak spots) – 1.5 hrs
- Complete secondary test section and debrief – 1.5 hrs
- Practice analytical writing outlines – 2 hrs
- Take the test!
Sample 3-month GRE Preparation study Plan
This plan requires a mid-sized commitment of 7.5 hours a week (or 30 hours a month) for a sizable 12-point gain. But with three months to prep, this schedule is much less grueling than the 10-point, 1-month plan. This plan aims for about 7-8 points of improvement in your primary section and 4-5 in your secondary.
Month 1 of GRE Preparation study Plan
The first month focuses primarily on establishing your baseline, reviewing test format, and doing content review.
Week 1 of GRE Preparation study Plan
- Take a complete practice test to set your baseline – 3.5 hrs with break
- Debrief complete test – 1.5 hrs
- Review test format – 1.5 hrs
- Content review, primary section – 1 hr
Week 2 of GRE Preparation study Plan
- Content review, primary section – 5 hrs
- Content review, secondary section – 2.5 hrs
Week 3 of GRE Preparation study Plan
- Content review, primary section – 5 hrs
- Content review, secondary section – 2.5 hrs
Week 4 of GRE Preparation study Plan
- Content review, primary section – 1.5 hrs
- Strategy review, primary section – 1 hr
- Complete practice test – 3.5 hrs
- Debrief complete test – 1.5 hrs
Month 2 of GRE Preparation study Plan
In the second month, you’ll start to shift your focus to strategy review.
Week 1 of GRE Preparation study Plan
- Content review, primary section – 5 hrs
- Content review, secondary section – 2.5 hrs
Week 2 of GRE Preparation study Plan
- Content review, primary section – 2.5 hrs
- Strategy review, primary section – 1.5 hrs
- Complete one primary test section and debrief – 1.5 hrs
- Content review, secondary section – 2 hrs
Week 3 of GRE Preparation study Plan
- Content review, primary section – 1.5 hrs
- Complete last GRE Preparation PowerPrep practice test – 3.5 hrs
- Debrief complete test – 1.5 hrs
- Strategy review, secondary section – 1 hr
Week 4 of GRE Preparation study Plan
- Content review, secondary section – 2 hrs
- Strategy review, secondary section – 2 hrs
- Content review, primary section – 1 hr
- Strategy review, primary section – 2.5 hrs
Month 3 of GRE Preparation study Plan
The final month focuses mostly on strategy review with some time for Analytical Writing review.
Week 1 of GRE Preparation study Plan
- Complete one secondary section and debrief – 1.5 hrs
- Content review, secondary section – 1.5 hrs
- Strategy review, secondary section – 2 hrs
- Strategy review, primary section – 2.5 hrs
Week 2 of GRE Preparation study Plan
- Complete practice test – 3.5 hrs
- Debrief – 1.5 hrs
- Strategy review, primary section – 2.5 hrs
Week 3 of GRE Preparation study Plan
- Complete one primary test section and debrief – 1.5 hrs
- Strategy review, primary section – 3 hrs
- Analytical writing practice – 1 hr
- Strategy review, secondary section – 2 hr
Week 4 GRE Preparation study Plan
- Analytical writing practice – 1.5 hrs
- Strategy review, secondary section – 1 hr
- Complete one secondary test section and debrief – 1.5 hrs
- Strategy review, primary section – 1 hr
- Complete one primary test section and debrief – 1.5 hrs
- Any last tweaks – Can use for more Analytical Writing prep, or brushing up on anything you’d like to refresh
- before the test – 1 hr
- Take the test!
Strategies to follow during your GRE Preparation studies
Strategic planning is something that you can consider during your GRE preparation. It is not unknown that this strategies and plans also help you during your exam as well as GRE Preparation. Now, in this section you might find the tips and strategies that you would be following while taking the actual GRE prepartion exam. But it is recommended that you follow these strategies and plans during you GRE preparation as well, which will help in habit-creation resulting in making it easier for you to follow during actual exam.
Strategic guessing
When you read a question and you’re very unsure of the correct answer, don’t panic. Instead, use process of elimination to eliminate as many incorrect answers as you can. Even if you can’t identify the correct answer with certainty this way, you’ll increase your odds of guessing correctly with every answer choice you eliminate.
There are times on the GRE where it makes sense to do some estimation instead of going through a complete series of calculations. For example, you’ll often be able to exclude some answer choices for being way off base just from a quick estimate; this can be especially useful on multi-answer multiple choice questions.
When to plan GRE practice exams
Taking the first practice test at the beginning of your GRE preparation is an excellent way to gauge what you need to work on. For a 3-month GRE preparation study plan you should take six more full-length practice tests. Take a practice test after 1 month of studying, another one at the 6-week point, and then one a week for the 4 weeks leading up to the GRE. You will take your last practice test 1 week before Test Day.
Take practice tests to measure your progress, become more familiar with the test’s timing and format, and build your mental endurance. After each test, invest at least 1.5 hours in reviewing the answer explanations
Examine after GRE practice tests
Whether you scored close to your goal or not, you have a lot to learn from reviewing your results. Remember, your score can only go up with practice. How do you make the most of your GRE practice test or diagnostic results? This GRE Preparation Guide will guide you to the essential factors you need to consider for planning your next steps.
1. Review every question and every answer choice
- Standardized tests consist of patterns. Recognize the patterns by reviewing the questions on the practice test and your answers. During your analysis, consider the following:
- On what question types did you do well?
- Which areas of the exam were most difficult for you?
- When you selected an incorrect answer, what traps did you fall into?
- Noting these wins and areas of opportunity for improvement will help guide your prep.
2. Think about your testing experience
Were you nervous? Were you surprised by the exam format? Did you feel rushed? Were there sections you didn’t complete? Take some time to reflect on the GRE practice test and use this self-analysis as a basis to learn more about the exam itself. Then develop a personal strategy for controlling your pacing and attacking every section of the exam. Remember, there is no need to take the questions on each section in order. Become familiar with the exam tools and learn how to harvest easy points and prioritize different question types to your advantage.
3. Plan your studies going forward
Organize your study plan by focusing first on sections where you struggled the most, but also remember to check the frequency of each question type. You don’t need to master everything to do well on the GRE, so pick your battles. Statistics don’t really matter, for example, unless you require more than a 160 in Quantitative. Focus your energy on high-yield areas of the exam, then come back to other areas if you still have time before Test Day. Remember to alternate your Verbal and Quantitative prep.
Free resources for GRE Preparation
GRE preparation can be sometimes very confusing and you might where to study from or you might be wondering waht you should prioritise for GRE Preparation. Forutnately there are a lot of resources out there that can boost your GRE preparation and aid in easy learning. Here are some of the resources that you can consider studying from.
Free GRE Preparation Online Practice Tests
- ETS, the creators of the GRE Test, offer something that they call PowerPrep, which is a free software download that includes two GRE practice tests. Unlike many of the other free practice tests out there, you can trust the accuracy of these practice tests since they come direct from the source.
- Manhatten GRE Practice Test: If you want to test your GRE preparations then you might want to take the reliable practice test. Manhattan GRE Practice Test maintains a high standard and gives you an idea of areas that you need to improve.
Free GRE Preparation Vocabulary Resources
- Reading complex publications that cover a variety of topics, such as The New York Times or The Economist, is the best way to build your vocabulary — and both of these publications allow you to read a certain number of articles for free every week on their websites.
- Magoosh GRE Vocabulary Flash Cards brings the flashcards experience to your phone. With its apps for iOS and Android, you have it on the go and can practice your sets or they call it, decks, while on a stroll or break. Their levels are split into Common Words, Basic and Advanced with six to seven levels each. Make studies fun with this uber interactive, fun app/site.
Free GRE Preparation Essay Resources
- Once again, ETS (the creators of the GRE) have your back. They’ve published extensive guides to both the “Analyze an Issue” task and its counterpart, the “Analyze an Argument” task. These are excellent guides, complete with everything from sample essays to scoring overviews.
Free GRE Preparation Online Practice Questions
- The creators of the GRE have published helpful guides on the Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning sections, complete with conceptual overviews and practice questions.
- LEAP Test Platform: It is the world’s first Social and free test GRE Preparation platform. You can become a part of the community of applicants and experts, and benefit from social learning, personal GRE Preparation and a secret society. You can access thousands of questions, notes, videos every day and track your progress.
- Quizlet: This is the place where you find thousands of flashcards made by students for the GRE. They cover Math, Vocab etc and help you learn from the experiences of other students.
Tips for taking the official GRE
Even though your GRE preparation would be up to the mark, and you can be completely ready for the actual test. Still, it can be quite nervouse experience. Therefore, here are some more tips and some Do's and Dont's before you take an official GRE. Consider this to be one of the most important aspects of your GRE Preparation.
Dos and don’ts for GRE test day
Here are the Do's and Dont's at the last day of your GRE Preparation, that is one day before your exam.
Do's
Here are the must do's at the last day of your GRE Preparation:
- Bring a government-issued photo ID: You must bring an acceptable photo ID with your signature. Your full name on the ID must exactly match your name as it appears on your admission ticket.
- Arrive early : When you show up for your testing appointment, you won’t just stroll in and sit down to test; first, you will have to go through a lengthy check in procedure. You will need time to check your personal belongings into a locker, fill out all of the appropriate paperwork, and get checked into the computer lab by one of the center employees. This can take a bit of time, so be sure to arrive early. (The registration directions will remind you of this fact, so make sure to heed their warnings!)
- Get fresh scratch paper during your break: You are allowed fresh scratch paper at any time during the test if you turn in the scratch paper that you have already used. In order to get fresh scratch paper, you need to get the attention of the proctor, which can be difficult mid-test.
Don'ts
Here are certain things that you need to strictly refrain from doing at the last day of your GRE Preparation:
- Bring any study materials to look at during the break: The test centers are very strict and can disqualify a score for even a hint of misconduct. Leave everything at home except for your wallet, your registration ticket, and a snack.
- Dress in layers: You should definitely dress comfortably and it might be chilly in the testing center so a long sleeve shirt might help, but layers are not the best idea. You can’t use layers to prepare for the temperate of the room, because you aren’t allowed to adjust your outfit mid-test. Instead, try to find an outfit that will work for different temperatures and wear that on test day.
Retaking the GRE if required
If you didn’t get the score you were hoping for on the GRE, you make be wondering, “should I retake the GRE?” About a quarter of all people who take the GRE take it more than once, and the majority of them get a higher score on their second try.
When deciding whether or not to retake the GRE, consider the following questions:
- How Far Away Are Application Deadlines?
- How Far Are You From Your Score Goal?
- How Much Have You Already Prepared?
- How Was Test Day?
- Will Taking the GRE Again Pose a Financial Hardship?
- Do You Have a Plan For How You Will Improve?
- If you do decide to retake the GRE, you should take steps to maximize your chances of improving your score such as creating a study schedule, figuring out where you made mistakes, and trying out new study materials and study methods.
Getting an advanced degree can create many opportunities. Whether you are planning to go to graduate school, including business or law — or just exploring your options — you are taking an important step toward your future. It is a smart move to show schools your best and with the GRE General Test, you can! With the GRE General Test, you decide which scores to send to schools. If you feel you didn’t do your best on test day, that’s okay. You can retake the test and then send only the scores you want schools to see. It’s all part of the ScoreSelect option, only available with GRE tests.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this GRE Preparation Guide has provided you with a comprehensive roadmap to succeed in your GRE journey. By following the strategies, tips, and resources outlined in this guide, you can optimize your GRE study plan, enhance your test-taking techniques, and boost your confidence. Remember, GRE preparation requires dedication, consistency, and a well-rounded approach.
Utilize the valuable insights shared in this guide to streamline your GRE preparation process, familiarize yourself with the exam format, and master the skills necessary to excel on test day. With the right mindset and thorough preparation, you can overcome any challenges that come your way and achieve your desired scores. So, start implementing the techniques shared in this GRE Preparation Guide and embark on your path to success.
