GRE Prep – my formula!

My formula , I agree most of you will think this guy must have gone crazy! Well, guilty as charged…..I have to some extent. It has been the culmination of myriad of factors all going against me. But I had this crazy notion that more the people ask me about what to do and how to prepare, the more repetitive my answer tends to become. I am going to present to you guys a 2 month preparation technique which I have devised. I must add on……It has not been proven to succeed and I have not used it personally! But I can assure you….the method I have devised is very exhaustive and should, for most of the prospective test takers, lead to a 200-300 point increment in their scores (see should). I would be more than delighted if you guys try it (though I have my serious doubts as to how many will actually) but I would love to get your feedback and suggestions. I feel it should be particularly useful for those who have their assessment score hovering around 1200 and would like to get to the 1450 levels!

Disclaimer: This method is useful for those who have a good command over spoken and written English (I expect most of the undergraduate students to be in this category). For those who might have some issues with the same and possibly others like grammar and reading, I would suggest some extra points for improvement which would come in as an addendum. Please do understand that in such a scenario, this method will extend way beyond the stipulated 2 months!

First up, I would like everyone reading this post to understand a few things. Ambiguities wrt the test, structure, etc is not acceptable and so, I would recommend the prospective test takers to go through the ets website and clear out any issues they might have! I have provided many links (see: sidebar, earlier posts) which should be useful as well. Once you are certain that you have everything under your belt, go for the next stage…

HOW CAT WORKS (only for those interested-not a necessary read): GRE is a Computer Adaptive Test. What it essentially means is that you would have to smart out an algorithm designed to give you questions which are tougher every time you answer one correctly. It is similar to many other CAT tests. A very simple example of CAT at work is the free rice test. The trick is to make sure that you answer as many correctly as possible in a straight stretch. Also the algorithm is opposite of one you see above (free-rice). It has been geared in such a way so as to make it easy for the test takers. i.e, unlike free rice, where for every wrong answer, you would get a straight demotion in vocabulary level, GRE is more patient and keeps the level at a specific region for some time. To put it in simple terms, if you answer a number of questions correctly and the algorithm has you at 700, even if you give a few wrong answer for the subsequent questions, it will keep it near 700. However, if you give a number of wrong answers in the beginning itself, it would take you to a 300 and tend to keep you down. The problem in this system is that a slight goof-up can lead to a low score. The reason is that to reach 300 it might have taken 3 wrong answers, but to get back to 600, it might take 11-12 right answers in a row as some of those right answers would go towards correcting your previous down-slide. However, as mentioned before, since the algorithm tends to keep your level intact, it takes that extra bit of an effort to come out of it (in the form of extra correct answers).

NUTSHELL: All you therefore need to do is to answer as many questions correctly as possible in the first 15-18! It doesn’t mean answer others as you may feel like, rather, it means to be cautious and give time in the first 20 questions of the test even if it means an extra 5 minutes (something like 25 minutes for 20 questions). Now, I would like to talk about the preparation…..as without that, even 4 in a row might be a Herculean task!

What we have is 2 months! Time is short and we have so much to do. For most of us, this might pose as a very daunting task indeed. However, I would like to assert that it is do-able and here is how it can be done

• No preparation can happen without the right resources. Though I do concede that I have provided many resources through the download section and also many links. It is always better to have paper and print counterparts and I know how very useful they can be. I would give a short list of books I feel one should have (I have already mentioned good books in an earlier post (December) and also please understand that there can be many other books which you could use and I might not be listing – in that case I would be obliged if you could inform me of such books) 

1. Kaplan GRE Guide (Premier Program) – for quantitative and verbal preparation
2. Barron’s GRE Guide – for wordlist 
3. NOVA GRE guide – for exhaustive verbal and quantitative exercises
4. GRE BIG BOOK – for timed test preparation and RC’s
5. ARCO – GRE CAT (answers to real essay questions) – for AWA 

• Once you have all these books ready, it is time to begin preparation. I have seen and used most of these books (I have all if them with me). Now I know exactly how much time, each of these books warrant and how exactly should you read them. But I would like to add on that it is very much possible that you might find your own comfortable pace and technique (I am sure you will). To begin with your preparation, you need to identify first as to where your weaknesses lie! For that, the best method is to give any or all of the diagnostic tests which are there in some of the books mentioned above. The test will show you where exactly you lack and what you need to do. Please don’t get disheartened by a low score as you have just started with the thing and only practice can make a man perfect!
• Now you know exactly where you need the most of your effort to be directed at. First up, start with that portion. If it is verbal, identify if it is the vocabulary or if it is the inability to understand the analogy itself or whether it is the RC’s or the time limit. Once you know what exactly the problem is, tackle it head-on. For RC’s and Sentence completions, NOVA and BIG BOOK are the best tools. Use them and if possible, sit for 4 hours on a daily basis. It would take around 20-30 days to finish up the two simultaneously. If it is the mathematics portion, finish the Kaplan quantitative section (if you find it too tough, go through the Barron’s portion instead but once done with, use the Kaplan’s tutorial in the appendix). This portion should ideally take around 20 days (10 days if you can give 3-4 hours a day). For many (including me), it becomes a challenge to sit and do the same stuff for 4-5 hours at a stretch. If so, then amalgamate the two portions and put in the same hours (maybe quant portion with some RC practice). Please do understand that most of these tutorials (books) come with instructions. Try and follow the same to make sure you are better prepared.
• AWAis a section which most of us neglect. I am not going to argue about how useful or useless it is when it comes to admission process. But just imagine, how can a score of 1500 (in 90+ percentile) look good with a low AWA score (even a 5.5 gets you 88th percentile). Thus the aim should be to score as high as possible. most of the prospectives will definitely be college students. I would suggest you use the ARCO book and read it in any free time that you get. The biggest challenge with AWA is the structure. The reason being, the accepted norm is very rigid and therefore penalty can be very high. The ARCO book is good as it tells you exactly how the structure should be. Go through at-least 50-60 issues topics and 50-60 arguments topics (i.e read…..but only after you have framed an answer and jotted the points. That way you know where your answer stands wrt the authors response – scale of 6). That should be enough for the test and 2 months exactly if we consider 1 issue and 1 argument topic a day.
• Now I would like to discuss certain finer issues. First up, vocabulary; I would suggest the use of flash cards (either some software or actual cards). They can be bought from good sources (go for kaplan or Princeton). Also there are many available from the Internet. But to be honest, Barron’s word-list has a unique feature of explaining the words beautifully. Go for a flash card only if it is complete and easy to use. Also do understand that 2 months would imply that you won’t be able to create them for yourself. If a person reading this article has 6-7 months, I would ask him/her to create personal flash cards using good quality paper while you are reading the words from Barron’s. This would help you remember as well as give you a valuable tool to recollect.
• Next in line comes quantitative section. I know how very frustrating it can get, specifically because the questions are all very elementary and still we manage to goof up and get scores below 800. This section provides us with a gem of an opportunity to score a perfect 800. The trick is to stay focused and give each question time. The section has 45 minutes of allotted time and so is quite a breeze to finish up. But think a lot before you click on to the next question. BIG BOOK and KAPLAN are very good tools (I used both and though I never scored a 800 in these tests, I got one in the actual test). When you give the tests, you would soon realize a pattern in the mistakes you make. Try and remember them and refrain from committing the same again.
• For the analogies, the best guide I have found is the Kaplan. It is simple to understand and very comprehensive. Please go through the tutorials (sectional verbal ones) in Kaplan before you start with BIG BOOK . This would give you an upper hand over the tests and give you a good insight into the methods which you might use. For those who have time (maybe a year or atleast 7-8 months), I would recommend reading the NORMAN LEWIS – WORD POWER MADE EASY book. It will teach you many tricks which would guarantee a 50-100 score increment in the actual test!
• Finally, it boils down to practice. the more you practice, the more you will enhance the chances of a higher score. Finish BIG BOOK! Do Kaplan and Barron’s mock tests (full length as well as sectional – and time them)! Do NOVA exercises and tests! Do the two power-prep tests which you get along with GRE (ETS) registration. Try and save one of the tests for the last week as a final indicator (But not necessary). There are many other online sources for mock tests and practice tests as well. Also you could possibly use the GRE BIBLE (but again not necessary – if you finish the books I mentioned, it should be more than enough).
• Finally for those who might have many months to prepare. For you guys, there is a golden opportunity to get a 1500+ score. Put your head down and start preparing. The biggest challenge in such cases (where you have time) is to learn not to procrastinate. It is important that you go in the same fashion as I have highlighted in the previous points. The only difference being, you could cut down the time allotment to 3 hours and also finish all the issue – argument topics from ARCO. Moreover, you should read newspapers, articles (available online as well), etc to try and improve upon you vocabulary, reading speed, comprehension and analytical abilities. For those who might have issues with typing speed, try and develop on them (there are softwares available). “Use the time to your advantage and you will be able to use the test to your advantage as well”.

To end this post, I feel it should answer most of the doubts which people have when it comes to preparing for GRE. If you still have any doubts or queries, you are free to ask and I would be more than happy to answer. I feel I have done a decent job with this post. I would appreciate comments and criticism from the test takers so that this post serves its purpose.

PS: I do understand that many might have problems with the font size in this post (If you are having problems and would like a personal copy sent to you, provide your mail id and I would mail you your .doc copy)

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