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!

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.

Interesting! From your description, I like the sound of the new test.

I've always considered that I have a good vocabulary, certainly way above average, but I don't know that I'd classify it as excellant after looking at a few practice questions online.

I'm also good at math, but I definitely need to brush up before taking any test.

I think I just might go ahead and take the old test to see how I score on it. If it is high enough, no need to go further. If not, then it might be to my advantage to take the new one.

As for study materials, I liked the Kaplan prep for the NCLEX. I found the strategies to be quite useful, but I also used Saunders for practice questions since Kaplan didn't provide many. Would you say that is similar to the GRE Prep?

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Specializes in Oncology, Clinical research.
Interesting! From your description, I like the sound of the new test.

I've always considered that I have a good vocabulary, certainly way above average, but I don't know that I'd classify it as excellant after looking at a few practice questions online.

I'm also good at math, but I definitely need to brush up before taking any test.

I think I just might go ahead and take the old test to see how I score on it. If it is high enough, no need to go further. If not, then it might be to my advantage to take the new one.

As for study materials, I liked the Kaplan prep for the NCLEX. I found the strategies to be quite useful, but I also used Saunders for practice questions since Kaplan didn't provide many. Would you say that is similar to the GRE Prep?

Trying the practice tests would be a great idea - the PowerPrep downloads are free, so you'll see where you stand and can plan accordingly.

I've never actually seen the Kaplan NCLEX materials (not there yet...) so I can't really compare them. If you just pick up a course book, then they will probably be a bit light on practice problems. Most of the problems are available online - you can do a class, an online self-paced class, or just a math refresher or quiz bank (1000 practice problems). The classes involve 6 full length tests, workshops and quizzes with over 4000 practice problems, so I've never had anyone complain that there weren't ENOUGH problems to do! I've had maybe a dozen students total actually complete everything they had available.

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Trying the practice tests would be a great idea - the PowerPrep downloads are free, so you'll see where you stand and can plan accordingly.

I've never actually seen the Kaplan NCLEX materials (not there yet...) so I can't really compare them. If you just pick up a course book, then they will probably be a bit light on practice problems. Most of the problems are available online - you can do a class, an online self-paced class, or just a math refresher or quiz bank (1000 practice problems). The classes involve 6 full length tests, workshops and quizzes with over 4000 practice problems, so I've never had anyone complain that there weren't ENOUGH problems to do! I've had maybe a dozen students total actually complete everything they had available.

I will definitely try them.

Thanks to everyone for your great suggestions!

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Hello there, I am planning to take the new GRE soon and wondering what books would be helpful? After reading all the threads, I am confused what is the best way to approach. I downloaded ETS GRE powerprep but do they have any books out there that I could buy?

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Specializes in Gerontology, nursing education.

Moving this to the Post-Graduate (MSN, DNP, DNSc, PhD) forum for more responses.

Sorry. Should have done it earlier! :smackingf

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