GRE Prep Advice

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I've been looking online for GRE prep material but they all seem to fall short in some way, leaving me to wonder if I'm going to have to invest in 2 or more books or other resources. Is there just one book or other resource that will get the job done? If not, what do you all recommend? Thanks!

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Specializes in Telemetry Med/Surg.

I feel youk, the prep book I bought had me seriously rethinking even taking it. I was thinking of taking an inperson course. Are you allowed to do the MAT instead, that's much easier!

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I feel youk, the prep book I bought had me seriously rethinking even taking it. I was thinking of taking an inperson course. Are you allowed to do the MAT instead, that's much easier!

I don't think so, but I"ll look into it.

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Specializes in Gerontology, nursing education.

The GRE is changing in August. Depending on when you plan to take it, make sure the books and courses actually prepare you for the version you're going to take.

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Specializes in Critical Care.

See if your city public library has any books available. I checked out a bunch, and tried to use as many as I could. It's free and if you don't like the style of the book you have nothing to lose. Good luck on the GRE!

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Specializes in Public Health, TB.

In addition to using a study book I found that doing tough crossword puzzles helped me brush up on my vocabulary, and reading opinions from the New York Times helped with the essay portion.

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The GRE is changing in August. Depending on when you plan to take it, make sure the books and courses actually prepare you for the version you're going to take.

Do you think the appropriate material is available now?

See if your city public library has any books available. I checked out a bunch, and tried to use as many as I could. It's free and if you don't like the style of the book you have nothing to lose. Good luck on the GRE!

Great idea! I hadn't thought of that!

In addition to using a study book I found that doing tough crossword puzzles helped me brush up on my vocabulary, and reading opinions from the New York Times helped with the essay portion.

I never would have thought of this. How did you figure out that this would help?

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Specializes in Public Health, TB.

I had a friend who took it before me and I recognized that many of her vocabulary flashcard words were some I had seen in crossword puzzles. Things like samisen, enigma, hyperbole,etc.

I have always struggled with essay writing so I figured reading ones done well would rub off on me. And I got a 4 out of 5!

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Specializes in Cardiac.
Do you think the appropriate material is available now?

If you don't mind spending the money, Kaplan already has books that are specifically geared towards the New GRE Test that will begin August 1.

I plan on taking it in July before the changes are made and got the Kaplan Math and Vocab book and will probably take Kaplan's online self-guided Math course.

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Specializes in Oncology, Clinical research.

When do you need your scores? If you take the new GRE after July 31, you won't have scores until November. If you need them before that, I'd sign up ASAP. A lot of students are scrambling to take the old test, and test dates are filling fast.

If you want an idea of the old GRE vs the new GRE, go to http://www.gre.org and download two free software packages - PowerPrep and PowerPrep II. They contain practice problems and tests, and will let you see how each runs.

With full disclosure that I'm a Kaplan instructor, I'm going to put in a plug for Kaplan's prep materials. I've taught the GRE for them for 5 years, and the methods work.

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I had a friend who took it before me and I recognized that many of her vocabulary flashcard words were some I had seen in crossword puzzles. Things like samisen, enigma, hyperbole,etc.

I have always struggled with essay writing so I figured reading ones done well would rub off on me. And I got a 4 out of 5!

Congratulations! :)

Do you think the appropriate material is available now?

If you don't mind spending the money, Kaplan already has books that are specifically geared towards the New GRE Test that will begin August 1.

I plan on taking it in July before the changes are made and got the Kaplan Math and Vocab book and will probably take Kaplan's online self-guided Math course.

Hmmm, I guess that depends on how much they are. Any idea?

When do you need your scores? If you take the new GRE after July 31, you won't have scores until November. If you need them before that, I'd sign up ASAP. A lot of students are scrambling to take the old test, and test dates are filling fast.

If you want an idea of the old GRE vs the new GRE, go to www.gre.org and download two free software packages - PowerPrep and PowerPrep II. They contain practice problems and tests, and will let you see how each runs.

With full disclosure that I'm a Kaplan instructor, I'm going to put in a plug for Kaplan's prep materials. I've taught the GRE for them for 5 years, and the methods work.

My application deadline to be able start my program in the fall of 2012 is February 1.

I'm at work right now so even though I can access the gre website, I can't download anything. I'll check it out when I can, but in the meantime, what is your opinion of the old vs. new test? I could take the test before August, but I wasn't planning on it.

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Specializes in Oncology, Clinical research.

My application deadline to be able start my program in the fall of 2012 is February 1.

I'm at work right now so even though I can access the gre website, I can't download anything. I'll check it out when I can, but in the meantime, what is your opinion of the old vs. new test? I could take the test before August, but I wasn't planning on it.

I have high hopes for the new test, but we'll see how it pans out. It's been designed to be a better predictor of grad school and business school success, and certain changes may be pros for one person but cons for another. The current test is computer adaptive. You see one question at a time and cannot go back or change answers. With the new test you will be able to change previous questions. Old scoring scale is a total of 400-1600, new is 260-340, so it may be harder to get a big increase in your score.

Verbal section - The old test is extremely vocabulary intensive. Lots of short, easy questions IF your vocab is excellent. If not, those can be very difficult. The new one will be focused more on critical thinking, with some similarities to the GMAT and LSAT. All vocab questions will involve context clues.

Quantitative - Currently, no calculator allowed, but everything is multiple choice. You can work around most problems without being great at math. New format will have a calculator, but also new question types, including ones where you have to enter your own answer, so you will likely need stronger math skills.

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