The GRE Blues

What study tools did you use when you took it the first time? I used Princeton Review's GRE guide as a supplement to the ETS CD-rom. It had some great test-taking strategy info, that I found to be useful.

Personally, I would say that if you scored

PS- don't feel bad about your score. When I took the GRE, there were about 4 or 5 people there, who were retaking it, because they had scored in the 700s-900s. None of them appeared to be imbeciles.

Don't give up- you can beat this exam.

Take a look at your local community college. I have seen several community colleges offer non-credit GRE prep classes (from their adult education/continuing education branches). One college near me offers a 6-week prep course (one evening, and Saturday mornings) for about $250.

For people who have done prep classes (Kaplan, Princeton, community college), most people see a small point change (bout 60-70 points combined).

Thank you both for the response. I will definitely check out my local community college to see if they offer a GRE Prep.

The prep I was going to take is called "Prep Success". People have "reported" a 200-300 point increase after taking it, so it is funny to see that overall, point increase is only 60-70.

Thanks again.

~K~

Born:

The mean improvement I have seen is about 60-70 points. As with any mean average, there are outliers. There are likely some individuals who had large increases. But I doubt the program sponsors would "guarantee" a large increase for everyone.

Good luck!

You CAN overcome a low(er) score on the GRE! When I was in high school, I did average on the SAT. By studying vocabulary words (probably 1,000), I increased my score by 200 points (and I had already scored above 1,000). Well, I did the same thing for the GRE and I scored exceptionally well. I used two GRE prep books (one for verbal and one for math). I created flash cards for EVERY word I didn't know in the book of 3,000 words and I completed the entire math workbook. I spent A LOT of my free time for a couple of months studying, but, if YOU want to decide where you earn your graduate degree from, then it's a small price to pay. GOOD LUCK!!!

Thank you.

I decided to take the prep class, so that begins Jan. 10 to Feb. 21. Application deadline is March 31st, so I will probably take the GRE's again first week in March. I know I will probably be cutting it close, but I did call the Master's Program, and they stated that I can send my application in, and call in my GRE scores to them after I take it.

I bought the vocabulary GRE note cards, so I will begin using them. I have a good 2 months to study, so wish me luck as I take it again in March..

~K~