D Sharon Pruit

Remember in September of last year when Chasing Education was in it’s infancy and I recapped my GRE experience? That was 20 pounds and a whole lot of learning ago. Well Chasing Education has recently had a lot of visitors searching for information on the GRE and wondering what to do about their suffering with GRE math. (You lurkers can come out and ask a question or two now!) With all of these lurkers visitors wondering about the GRE and how they can do better, I figured it would be courteous to revisit the topic.

I mentioned in my last post about the GRE that I would have purchased the Kaplan GRE math workbook and that I would not have used the Barron’s math workbook. Now that I look back on it, I have an even clearer head about than I did immediately after taking the GRE. It would have been beneficial to have used a variety of different prep books for the math section, because I was generally unprepared for the questions that were given to me when I sat down to take the test. I could do math, as far as I was concerned, and I didn’t think to review the fundamentals before I jumped into a GRE workbook or two. If you find yourself struggling with the math section of the GRE and you haven’t set a date yet, I recommend that you give yourself 6 to 8 months to prepare. Use different GRE math workbooks and use books/websites that outline the fundamental concept of algebra, trigonometry and geometry. Yes, you’re supposed to know these concept already, but up until you decided to take the GRE, you

hadn’t used any of them in quite sometime. (Unless your undergraduate degree was in a hard science, but if it was, I suspect you’re not really struggling with the basic mathematical concepts that the GRE covers.)  By using a variety of different materials (I would start with the basic mathematical concepts before you jump right into a workbook), you’re preparing yourself for the different types of questions you’ll encounter when you take GRE.

This is not the last you lurkers will hear of the GRE. So comment (you know, in the box below) and I’ll be happy to answer the questions of my fellow scholars!

If only I had known I would have…

1. Started studying seriously sooner. (How’s that for alliteration?) To avoid frustration and panic, I would have given myself three full months of studying everyday! I started casually studying about 3 months in advance, but didn’t get serious until a month before test day. Two extra months was the difference between getting a grad school fellowship and not getting a fellowship.

2. Read the sections before the practice questions. (You know…the ones with the explanations of how to answer the questions!) This would have likely reduced my frustration and fits of rage by 98%.

3. Taken more practice tests. Speed is of the essence when you’re taking the GRE. The more you practice, the faster you will perform. If I had taken a practice exam every week–like I intended to– the 5 questions I didn’t finish in that quantitative section would have been 5 minutes to relax!

5. Not taken a practice exam the night before. A practice GRE with less than satisfactory results, left me in tears the night before the exam. Need I say more?

6. Prepared meals for the week of the exam in advance. I spent a small fortune picking up food and I had to settle for a few disgusting frozen meals, because I didn’t feel I had time to cook and study. This may seem silly, but a great meal without the stress of cooking makes life so much more pleasant!

7. Focused on my weaknesses. I knew going into the test I had been struggling with applying what I know about math to the types of questions found on the GRE. I also knew that it took me far longer to finish the quantitative section than it did for me to finish the verbal. By the time I realized this, there was no time to address it. I went into the test knowing where I was weak–it was unsettling to say the least.

8. Balanced my study time better. Storing things in your long term memory requires a lot of repetition. When there is a lot of information to cover, as there is with the GRE, you have have to alternate! I made the mistake of focusing on verbal for a month and math for two weeks. By the time I got around to “reviewing” vocab before test day, I had to relearn half the words!

9. Never used the Barron’s math workbook. It appeared to me the book was designed to prepare you for the trickiest GRE questions, without preparing you for any of the normal questions. Needless to say, I soaked that book in my tears of frustration. I spent more time being upset than I spent studying when it came to that book.

10. Purchased the Kaplan GRE Math Workbook– I borrowed it from Barnes and Noble for a few hours the weekend before the exam. I can guarantee my score would have been 200 points higher if I had purchased and used the book 2 months before test day! The book has a reader-friendly layout

If you have any questions about my GRE-taking experience, post in the comments and I would be happy to address them. Happy testing!