GRE Preparation

Belle12 · Nov 18, 2006

There are a few I used...Kaplan makes a great GRE prep book that contains all components of the GRE (Analytical writing, Verbal and Quant). Its basically what you will learn in $1000 course! Kaplan also makes a small "GRE flashcard/book" with like 500 vocab words...It defines the word, uses it in a sentance, and gives you some synonyms...I highly recommend using it, b/c when I took the GRE (I've taken it 2x's), I was able to recognize @ 80% of the vocabulary words (VERY HELPFUL)...Another great tool, is a CD-ROM which comes in the back of the Barron's GRE 2006-2007 book...It has a scored diagnostic test, and many timed practice exam questions. The format is identical to that of the GRE CAT you will be taking... Good Luck!!

UCDSICURN · Nov 19, 2006

I got Kaplan's GRE test prep software...hit that for about 2 weeks...took all the practice tests and reviews on there...

got 580 math 520 verbal and 4.5 on the writing...good enough for me...

Besides the math review...the most important thing that I got down was time management.....

Good luck..

CrufflerJJ, BSN, RN, EMT-P · Nov 19, 2006

I took the GRE back in September. Kaplan's GRE prep book & CDROM were GREAT. I also used Barron's, which was good for the test prep & time management, but the CDROM software wasn't as good as Kaplan's.

The REA book/CD package was so-so, but I still used it for the preactice tests.

See what books your local library has - that's where I borrowed the Kaplan's book/CD package. Check online for "free GRE test" & such. I used some online sites to help refresh my math skills.

I prepped for ~1.5 months, and felt very prepared at the end of that time.

mrigas · Nov 26, 2006

Has anyone taken Kaplan's online prep course or their classroom prep? Was it worth the money? I have the money to front but I'd rather use it for something else if I can prep just as well with the book and several supplements.

CrufflerJJ, BSN, RN, EMT-P · Nov 26, 2006

IF YOU'VE GOT THE TIME, I'd be inclined to try self-study via books/CDROMs. Take the assessment tests before/after self-study. That should give you a good idea of what improvements you've made from the books.

If that shows you still need help, then you might look at the Kaplan courses. The only thing that self-study can't really assess is your writing skills. There are some online writing sites that (for a fee) will assess your sample essays. That might be another way to avoid spending $$$ for Kaplan courses.