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- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Bildung
- Sprache: Englisch
Grad school, here you come!
The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is the most widely accepted graduate admissions test worldwide. And GRE Prep 2025/2026 For Dummies is the tried-and-true study guide that will help you get the score you need—with clear explanations, 6 practice tests, more than 400 flashcards, and killer testing strategies. Updated information covers recent changes to the length and content of the test. Plan for test day, sharpen your math, reading, and writing skills, and read up on best practices for each GRE section. Start your grad school journey on the right foot with this Dummies study guide.
- Work through practice GRE tests and questions in all subject areas
- Show grad school admissions committees that you have what it takes to succeed
- Get a full math refresher so you can score your best on this much-feared test section
- Pursue your dream career and boost your potential earnings with a graduate degree
GRE Prep 2025/2026 For Dummies is your ticket to a higher score on this important exam.
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Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024
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GRE® Prep 2025/2026 For Dummies®
To view this book's Cheat Sheet, simply go to www.dummies.com and search for “GRE Prep 2025/2026 For Dummies Cheat Sheet” in the Search box.
Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Introduction
About This Book
Icons Used in This Book
Beyond the Book
Where to Go from Here
Part 1: Getting Started with the GRE
Chapter 1: Knowing the GRE
Knowing the GRE Sections
Seeing the Scores
Bringing the GRE into Your Comfort Zone
Chapter 2: Planning Your Time
Planning Your Prep Time
Planning Your Exam Time
Planning Your Mental and Physical Time
Scheduling Your Exam
Chapter 3: Planning for Exam Day: Everything Outside the Exam
Planning the Night Before
Planning for Contingency
It’s Them, Not You: Testing under Adverse Conditions
Part 2: Tackling the Verbal Section One Word at a Time
Chapter 4: Upping Your Best GRE Verbal Score
Building Your Core Skills
Managing Your Time
Chapter 5: What Are They Saying: Text Completion and Sentence Equivalence
Clinching Text Completion and Sentence Equivalence Questions
Developing Your Skills for Finding the Correct Answers
Taking the Best and Only Approach
Interpreting Trickier Sentences
Getting Your Hands Dirty with Some Practice
Chapter 6: Getting the Gist: Reading Comprehension
Recognizing the Three Reading Comprehension Question Formats
Developing Strategies for Success
Acing the Three Commonly Tested Reading Comprehension Passages
Chapter 7: Critical Thinking: Argument Analysis Questions
Covering the Answer Choices
Reading the Question for What It’s Asking
Reading the Passage for What the Question Is Asking
Answering the Question in Your Own Words
Eliminating Each Wrong Answer
Chapter 8: Expanding Your Vocabulary to Boost Your Score
Brushing Up on Prefixes, Suffixes, and Roots
Memorizing the GRE’s Most Common Vocabulary Words
Part 3: Math You Thought You’d Never Need Again
Chapter 9: Raising Your Best GRE Math Score
Managing Your Time
Typing an Answer
Selecting Two or More Answers
Selecting the Quantity That’s Greater
Chapter 10: Working with Numbers and Operations
Working with Integers, Factors, and Multiples
Working with Math Terms
Working with Prime and Composite Numbers
Working with the Units Digit
Working with Absolute Value
Working with Order of Operations
Working with Fractions
Working with Decimals
Working with Percentages
Working with Factorials
Working with Ratios
Chapter 11: Solving Algebra and Functions
Solving Bases and Exponents
Solving Math Operators
Solving for
X
Solving Square Roots and Radicals
Solving Coordinate Geometry
Solving Patterns in a Sequence
Solving f(x) Functions
Chapter 12: Drawing Geometry
Drawing Lines and Angles
Measuring Polygons
Drawing Triangles
Drawing Quadrilaterals
Drawing Circles
Drawing 3D Shapes
Chapter 13: Simplifying Word Problems
Simplifying the Steps
Simplifying Time and Distance
Simplifying Units of Measurement
Simplifying Averages
Simplifying Work Problems
Simplifying Team-Work Problems
Simplifying Mixture Problems
Simplifying Sets and Groups
Simplifying Probability
Simplifying Counting Methods
Chapter 14: Interpreting Data and Graphs
Interpreting Basic Stats
Interpreting Tables and Graphs
Chapter 15: Comparing Quantities
Comparing Exact Answer Choices
Comparing Steps
Comparing via Strategy
Part 4: Getting the Essay Right
Chapter 16: Writing the Essay Well and Fast
Setting Your Sights on a Perfect 6
Writing the Essay
Chapter 17: Practicing Your Essay
Setting the Stage for a Realistic Experience
Writing an Essay: Some Samples
Part 5: Full-Length Practice Exams: Show Time
Chapter 18: Practice Exam 1
Answer Sheet for Practice Exam 1
Analytical Writing
Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
Section 4
Chapter 19: Practice Exam 1: Answers and Explanations
Analytical Writing
Section 1: Verbal Reasoning
Section 2: Quantitative Reasoning
Section 3: Verbal Reasoning
Section 4: Quantitative Reasoning
Answer Key for Practice Exam 1
Chapter 20: Practice Exam 2
Answer Sheet for Practice Exam 2
Analytical Writing
Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
Section 4
Chapter 21: Practice Exam 2: Answers and Explanations
Analytical Writing Sections
Section 1: Verbal Reasoning
Section 2: Quantitative Reasoning
Section 3: Verbal Reasoning
Section 4: Quantitative Reasoning
Answer Key for Practice Exam 2
Part 6: The Part of Tens
Chapter 22: Ten Key Facts about the GRE
You May Return to Previous Questions in the Same Section
The GRE Doesn’t Penalize for Guessing
The GRE Uses a Percentile-Based Scoring System
Practice Makes All the Difference
You Must Prepare for the GRE
The GRE Is Different from the SAT and ACT
The GRE Also Measures Your Stamina and Performance under Pressure
The General GRE Is Not Program-Specific
You Can Practice the GRE on Your Own Computer
You Can’t Bring Anything into the Testing Center
Chapter 23: Ten Mistakes You Won’t Make (While Others Will)
You Won’t Cheat
You Won’t Run Out of Steam
You Won’t Scramble That Morning
You Won’t Dwell on Questions from Previous Sections
You Won’t Panic Over the Time Limit
You Won’t Rush Through the Questions
You Definitely Won’t Choke on the Essay
You Won’t Fret Over the Hard Questions
You Won’t Take the Exam with a Friend
You Won’t Change Your Morning Routine
Chapter 24: Ten Ways to Build Your Skills with the Online Practice Exams
Build Your Stamina by Taking a Practice Exam in One Sitting
Recognize the Mistakes You Make under Pressure
Get Used to Others Being in the Room
Make It a Dress Rehearsal
Get a Competitive Edge
Practice Your Test-Taking Strategies
Know the Exam Software
Get Used to Starting with the Essay
Find Your Areas of Focus
Review the Answers and Explanations
Index
About the Author
Connect with Dummies
End User License Agreement
List of Tables
Chapter 1
TABLE 1-1 GRE Breakdown by Section
TABLE 1-2 GRE Breakdown by Question Type
Chapter 12
TABLE 12-1 Polygons
Guide
Cover
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Begin Reading
Index
About the Author
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GRE® Prep 2025/2026 For Dummies® with Online Practice
Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, www.wiley.com
Copyright © 2024 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey
Media and software compilation copyright © 2024 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.
Published simultaneously in Canada
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Trademarks: Wiley, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, Dummies.com, Making Everything Easier, and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and may not be used without written permission. GRE is a registered trademark of Educational Testing Service (ETS). This publication is not endorsed or approved by ETS. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.
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Wiley publishes in a variety of print and electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some material included with standard print versions of this book may not be included in e-books or in print-on-demand. If this book refers to media such as a CD or DVD that is not included in the version you purchased, you may download this material at http://booksupport.wiley.com. For more information about Wiley products, visit www.wiley.com.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2024933939
ISBN 978-1-394-25566-5 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-394-25568-9 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-394-25567-2 (ebk)
Introduction
Years ago, during an early gig as a consultant, I sat at a desk that had a For Dummies book on the shelf. The book was something office-related, like SQL For Dummies. I took a sticky note and wrote the word Ron with a black marker, then placed the sticky note over the word Dummies on the side of the book, so it read, SQL For Ron. It fit nicely.
Since starting my test-prep company, I’ve had students who would be my boss in the business world, and many have gone on to have amazingly successful careers. You, too, are in this group of future success stories. How do I know? Because you’re on your way to an advanced degree, which will open lots of doors, and you’re oh-so-close to getting started. You just need to get past this one hurdle called the GRE.
The Graduate Record Examinations, or GRE, your ability to conjure up everything you’ve forgotten since high school — things you haven’t thought about in years. Really, all you need is a refresher, some strategies, and practice. This book has all that and more: It goes beyond rehashing what you’ve learned (and forgotten) by providing exam-specific strategies and tips for answering questions quickly and getting through the exam. There are examples, practice questions, and practice exams to help you hone your skills, identify areas you need to work on, and build your confidence for test day.
I’ve never met someone who couldn’t do well on this exam. I have met people who haven’t been coached properly, or who haven’t practiced enough. With this take, I aim for 100 percent with each student. You’re a little rusty here, haven’t seen that there, could use a few tips, but you’ll pick it up and do just fine. Succeeding on the GRE is like any other skill: If you know what to do, you have some coaching, and you practice, you’ll be fine. I get you started with some review and guidance, and you take it from there.
About This Book
In GRE Prep 2025/2026 For Dummies, I pretend you forgot everything. You start at the very beginning, covering all the basic math and verbal concepts, and then try some challenging GRE-level questions. You also discover how to approach these questions, avoid common mistakes, and practice the intuitive tricks that help you knock it out of the park.
There are three parts to achieving a top GRE score:
Knowing what’s on the exam.
Read through this whole book. No matter how well you know a topic, you can discover strategies and common traps specific to the GRE, which has a way of asking a question that’s different from what you’re used to — or what you learned in the classroom.
Strengthening your weak subject areas.
While you’re working through the book, mark any sections (and fold the corner of the page, if you have the physical book) that have unfamiliar or unclear topics so you can revisit them during your review. This book is organized to make it easy to find strategies and practice for specific question types that you have trouble with.
Preparing for the test-taking experience.
Answering the exam questions is one thing, but taking the exam is another. Start with the online practice exams to prep for the experience. ETS offers two excellent online practice exams, free of charge, but you’ll need more than two. Packaged with this book, also free (after you buy the book), are six online practice exams: two in the book itself and all six online. When your exam is just around the corner, take one or two practice exams in real-life, dress-rehearsal settings. Flip to Chapter 24 for more info about ways to benefit from the online exams.
Basically, this book does it all: It prepares you for the exam by taking your skills from the basic level to the GRE level and fixing any gaps. What else is there?
There’s vocab.
To help you with vocab, as you work through this book, you’ll notice that some words have a style all their own. Each GRE vocabulary word in this text appears in this font, followed directly by its connotation (meaning). Besides that, when you encounter a GRE vocab word in a question, look up its meaning and write it down. This is an effective complement to studying from a list or flash cards.
Icons Used in This Book
Look for these icons to spot highlights throughout this book:
This indicates a key strategy or point to remember. There are lots of these, which is good, because they’re essential to your success on the exam.
This indicates overall knowledge about the exam that’s useful for planning your approach, such as managing your time or knowing what to expect.
This marks a GRE trap or common student mistake so you can spot it and dodge it on test day.
This indicates a practice question for you to try.
Beyond the Book
Besides this book, there are more online resources, including these:
Cheat Sheet:
Go to
www.dummies.com
and type “GRE Prep 2025/2026 For Dummies Cheat Sheet” in the Search box for this book’s Cheat Sheet, which gives you last-minute details, including a rundown of what to expect when you take the GRE, a list of what to bring versus what to leave at home, tips for taking the computer-based exam, and more pointers for answering exam questions.
Over 400 GRE vocabulary flash cards:
Stock your mental word bank and boost your verbal score by accessing the meanings of over 400 words that frequently appear on the GRE.
Six full-length practice exams:
You can take the two practice exams in this book along with four more online to help you build your competence and confidence. You can select the level of difficulty and answer the questions through untimed and timed quizzes, so you can practice at your own speed and then try it out under pressure.
Two bonus math modules:
You can get additional math practice with 78 extra math questions divided into two bonus modules.
To get access to the online flash cards and practice exams, all you have to do is register. Just follow these simple steps:
Register your book or ebook at Dummies.com to get your PIN. Go to
www.dummies.com/go/getaccess
.
Select your product from the drop
-
down list on that page.
Follow the prompts to validate your product, and then check your email for a confirmation message that includes your PIN and instructions for logging in.
If you do not receive this email within two hours, please check your spam folder before contacting us through our Technical Support website at http://support.wiley.com or by phone at 877-762-2974.
Now you’re ready to go! You can come back to the practice material as often as you want — simply log on with the username and password you created during your initial login. No need to enter the access code a second time.
Your registration is good for one year from the day you activate your PIN.
Where to Go from Here
You can approach this book in three ways:
Work through it from beginning to end.
This approach is best for most test-takers. Although prepping to take the GRE isn’t a linear process, I present topics from easy to challenging, so they build on each other as you progress through the chapters. I provide a feel for the test-taking experience along with guidance for each section of the exam — Verbal, Math, and Essay — followed by practice exams, and I wrap things up with some Part of Tens chapters that provide some good, sound strategies to help you get through the exam.
Skip around.
Each chapter is a stand-alone lesson on a specific GRE topic. If your study time is limited, skip around to focus on areas where you need the most guidance. For example, you can skip to
Chapter 7
to hone your skills at answering Argument Analysis questions, or visit
Chapter 12
to brush up on geometry. Another strategy is to take one of the sample tests to evaluate your skills and identify areas of weakness, and then use that information to develop your plan of attack. (More on this approach in
Chapter 2
.)
Use it as a reference book.
Whenever you need information and advice on a specific GRE topic or skill, simply flip to the chapter or section that contains the information and guidance you need.
GRE Prep 2025/2026 For Dummies
offers a refresher on the topics and skills you need to get the score you want on the GRE.
As you go through the book, write up some flash cards to note key concepts and strategies. These cards will serve as a handy reference while you review your notes.
I’ve been helping GRE students beat the test for years, so I know not only students’ common questions and mistakes, but also how to make the math and verbal questions easier to answer. This book distills my tricks and secrets, which I’m pleased to share with you. Your success, after all, is why we’re both here.
Part 1
Getting Started with the GRE
IN THIS PART …
Get the details about scheduling your GRE, what’s on the exam, and how your score is calculated.
Figure out your long-term, short-term, and last-minute study plans, and get some pointers if you need to retake the exam.
Know what else you need to do to prepare (beyond studying) along with what to expect on test day.
Chapter 1
Knowing the GRE
IN THIS CHAPTER
Knowing the layout of the GRE
Understanding how your scores are calculated
Bringing the GRE into your comfort zone
The GRE isn’t an IQ test, nor is it a measure of your worth as a human being or a predictor of your ultimate success in life. The GRE is designed to assess your ability to excel in grad school by sizing you up in three areas.
Work ethic:
How hard you’re willing and able to work to achieve an elusive academic goal — in this case, performing well on the GRE. This reflects your work ethic, and graduate schools consider this to be a measure of how hard you’ll work in their programs.
Study skills:
How well you can master some basic study skills and be able to process and retain new information.
Test-taking ability:
How well you can perform on a test, under pressure, which is a separate ability from being able to answer the questions. Exams are
ubiquitous
(appearing everywhere) to grad school, so you need to prove that you can take one without folding under pressure.
This book can guide you in the first area, but it’s mostly up to you. As a study guide, however, this book shows you how to achieve the second and third areas, enabling you to study more effectively and efficiently and improve your overall test-taking skills. By knowing the material and taking the practice tests, you establish a foundation for doing well on the GRE. And usually, if you know what to do and how to do it, you might find yourself working a little bit harder. In this way, this book helps you further in that first area.
In this chapter, I discuss the GRE’s structure and scoring system so you can build your strategies around them. With this guidance, you’re better equipped to avoid surprises that may throw you off your game.
Knowing the GRE Sections
Standardized tests tend to bring on the chills. Telling someone you have to take the SAT, ACT, or GRE usually gets the same response as saying that you need to have your wisdom teeth pulled. However, with this book, the GRE isn’t such a chilling experience, and breaking it down to its component parts makes it more manageable and less threatening.
Table 1-1 provides a quick overview of what’s on the exam, in this order.
TABLE 1-1 GRE Breakdown by Section
Section
Number of Questions
Time Allotted
Analyze an Issue
1 essay
30 minutes
Verbal Section
12 questions
18 minutes
Math Section
12 questions
21 minutes
Verbal Section
15 questions
23 minutes
Math Section
15 questions
26 minutes
Total
1 essay, 54 questions
1 hour, 58 minutes
At two hours long, the GRE challenges your stamina as much as your ability to answer the questions. It’s not that much time, but it’s more intense than most people are used to. No matter how solid your math and verbal skills are, you have to maintain your focus for the whole stretch, which isn’t easy on a challenging task such as this. Build your test-taking stamina by practicing in two-hour sessions and taking timed practice tests.
There is no unscored section, but some unscored questions are mixed into some sections. Of course, you have no way of knowing which question is unscored, so treat each one as if it counts.
The GRE allows you to skip questions and return to them later, within that section. When you reach the end of a section, the GRE displays a review screen that indicates any unanswered questions. If you have time remaining in the section, return to these questions and answer them as well as you can. This feature is nice because you can knock out the easy questions first before spending time on the hard ones. (See Chapter 2 for more on planning your time.)
So what types of questions are there and how many of them can you expect on the GRE? Here’s Table 1-2 with the details.
TABLE 1-2 GRE Breakdown by Question Type
Type of Question
Approximate Number of Questions
Of 27 Math questions:
Multiple-choice with exactly one correct answer
10
Multiple-choice with one or more correct answers
3
Fill-in-the-blank with the answer
2
Data Interpretation (based on graphs)
3
Quantitative Comparisons
9
Of 27 Verbal questions:
Text Completion
7
Sentence Equivalence
7
Argument Analysis or Select-a-Sentence
3
Reading Comprehension
10
Note that the question types are mixed throughout their sections, so you may encounter them in any order. Sometimes the software groups similar questions at the beginning or the end. For example, if you’re halfway through a Verbal section and haven’t seen a Text Completion question, you will.
Seeing the Scores
With the GRE, you receive three separate scores: Verbal, Math, and Analytical Writing. You drive home knowing your unofficial Verbal and Math scores (as explained in the following section), but you get your Analytical Writing score about two weeks later.
On the GRE, you can score a maximum of 340 points on the multiple-choice and 6 points on the essay. Here’s the scoring range for each section.
Verbal:
The Verbal score ranges from 130 to 170 in 1-point increments. You get 130 points if you answer just one question, but that won’t help you much: You need to score as well as or better than most of the other test-takers to improve your chances of being admitted to your target school. The chapters in
Part 2
give you the lowdown on the Verbal sections.
Math:
The Math score also ranges from 130 to 170 in 1-point increments. The chapters in
Part 3
have more on the Math sections.
Analytical Writing:
The Analytical Writing score ranges from 0 to 6, in half-point increments, with 6 being the highest. More on how the essay is scored in
Part 4
.
If a multiple-choice question requires two or more answers, you have to get all the answers correct; there is no partial credit. However, you don’t lose points for a wrong answer, so if you’re not sure, take a guess and return to the question later. More on this strategy in Chapter 2.
Calculating your score
Within each section, each question counts exactly the same toward your score: The more questions you get right, the higher your score for that section. An easy question is worth the same as a hard question. Because you can move back and forth within each section, one strategy is to skip around and answer all the easy questions first, then go back and work the hard questions. If you like this idea, try it out on a practice test before exam day.
The GRE online makes the second Math or Verbal section either easier or harder based on your performance. For example, if you do extremely well on the first Math section, the GRE makes the second Math section harder. Even if you don’t get as many right answers in the second Math section, your score will be good, and it’ll definitely be higher than the score of someone who bombs the first Math section but gets them all right in the second one. GRE scoring accommodates for the difficulty level of the questions in the second section.
The strategy of bombing the first Math and Verbal sections in order to answer more questions correctly on the respective second sections isn’t a good idea, and you’ll end up with a low score. The exam doesn’t score you based solely on the number of correct answers: It scores you based on how smart it thinks you are. So if you do great on the first Math section, the exam thinks you’re smart and ups the difficulty level for the second Math section. If you don’t answer all those questions correctly, that’s okay: The questions are harder, and the exam has evaluated your skills. Conversely, if you bomb the first Math section, the exam thinks you’re not good at math, so it drops the level for the second Math section. If you answer most of those questions correctly, it doesn’t help your score much because those questions are easier.
When you complete a practice test from Part 5, you can easily estimate your Math and Verbal scores. For the Math score, give yourself 1.5 points for each math question you answered correctly, add 130 to that number, and then round it down. Because the GRE has 27 Math questions, this method gives you an approximate score from 130 to 170. You can find your Verbal score the exact same way, because the GRE also has 27 Verbal questions. Note that this method doesn’t account for the changing difficulty of the second Math and Verbal sections, but it’s still an excellent way for you to track your progress as you improve.
Checking your score
If you score close to 340, you did great! If you score closer to 260, not so much. But wait — your score is right in between! Did you pass? Did you fail? What does it mean? Well, you can’t really tell much about your score out of context. What does your score mean? It all goes by a percentile ranking. To download the complete percentile table, visit www.ets.org, click GRE Tests, and search for “percentile ranking.” As of this writing, here are some highlights:
A raw score of 165 is typically a 96th percentile ranking in the Verbal and an 84th percentile ranking in the Math.
A raw score of 160 is typically an 85th percentile ranking in the Verbal and a 70th percentile ranking in the Math.
Basically, with a range of only 40 points per section among 350,000 GRE-takers per year, give or take, each point counts for a lot. How well you do is based on how well the other test-takers did. You need to ask your target school’s admissions office what score you need to get in to that school — or, even better, what score you need for a scholarship! I’ve had students who were already accepted to their schools but were retaking the exam for the scholarship. Once you’re in your program (or you’ve landed your scholarship), your GRE score doesn’t matter.
Also, your exam score is only one part of the total application package. If you have a good GPA, a strong résumé, and relevant work experience, you may not need as high of a GRE score. On the other hand, a stellar GRE score can compensate for other weak areas.
Seeing or canceling your scores
Immediately after finishing the GRE, you have the option of either seeing or canceling your Verbal and Math scores. Unfortunately, you don’t get to see your scores first. If you think you had a bad day, you can cancel, and your scores are neither reported to the schools nor shown to you. However, the schools are notified that you canceled your test. If you choose to see your score, you see it — minus the essay score — right away, but you can’t cancel it after that.
How much do the schools care about canceled scores? Probably not much, especially if a strong GRE score (from when you retake the test 21 days later) follows the notice of cancellation. If you really want to know the impact of a canceled score, check with the admissions office of your target school. Each school weighs canceled scores differently. See the sidebar, “Time Capsule: Your old GRE scores,” for more about what to do after canceling your GRE score.
TIME CAPSULE: YOUR OLD GRE SCORES
What if you took the GRE a long time ago when you thought you were going to grad school and then opted to take a job or start a family instead? Well, if it was within the past five years, you’re in luck (assuming you scored well). GRE scores are reportable for up to five years. That means that if you’re pleased with your old score, you can send it right along to the school of your choice and say adios to this book right here and now. However, if you took the test more than five years ago, you have to take it again, so hold on to this book.
Taking advantage of the ScoreSelect option
At the end of the test, you have the option of choosing which test scores to send to your target schools, assuming that you’ve taken the GRE more than once. You can send the most recent scores, scores from the past (within five years), or all your test scores. However, you can’t pick and choose sections from different testing dates. For example, if today you did better in Verbal but last time you did better in Math, you can’t select only those sections — you have to send the entire test. Select whether to send the scores of today’s test, any previous test, or all your tests.
Your GRE score is good for five years after your testing date, so if you use ScoreSelect, you’re limited to exams within the past five years.
Bringing the GRE into Your Comfort Zone
No need to panic about taking the GRE. You want to be confident and relaxed, which means bringing the GRE into your comfort zone. Working through this book and taking the practice tests can bring you very close to that goal, but having the right mindset is also useful. The following sections help put the GRE in the proper perspective and serve to remind you of just how prepared you really are.
Getting familiar with what’s on the exam
The GRE focuses on a specific range of core concepts and presents questions in a fairly predictable format. Surprises are unlikely, especially if you’re prepared and know what to expect. After you’ve successfully completed this book, you’ll have the knowledge and experience needed to get the score you need on the exam. You will gain even more familiarity with the test questions and format by taking the computerized GRE sample tests.
A little self-affirmation goes a long way. In the days leading up to the test and on test day, remind yourself just how fully prepared you are. The GRE is designed to be challenging, and everyone who takes it is nervous, but you’re better prepared than they are. At least you will be.
THE IMPORTANCE OF TEST PREP
Stories abound about how someone’s friend’s cousin’s roommate took the GRE cold (with no preparation) and aced it. This may happen on a rare occasion, but you hear only the success stories. Those test-takers who went in cold and bombed don’t brag about the outcome. As an instructor, however, I hear those other stories all the time.
The GRE doesn’t test your intelligence: It tests how well you’ve prepared for the test. I’d put my money on a prepared dunce over an unprepared genius every single time. Dramatically raising a test-taker’s score, say from the 30th to the 90th percentile ranking, is something I do every day before breakfast, and it’s what I do for you in this book. Being prepared means knowing what to expect and how to answer each question, which means that the first time you calculate a fraction of a circle had better not be on the actual GRE. Make your mistakes here, in practice where it doesn’t count, not on the test, where it could cost you admission or a scholarship.
Understanding the other admissions requirements
Although your performance on the GRE is important for admission, it’s not the only thing that admissions departments look at. Your work experience, GPA, extracurricular activities (including volunteer work), and other factors that define you are also important parts of your application. Of course, you should still do your very best on the exam, but this isn’t a do-or-die situation. Worst case: Retake the exam. Some of my best success stories are from students who retook the exam after forgetting key points or making mistakes on their first go-round. This also means you should schedule your exam with time to retake it if needed, but more on this in Chapter 2.
Chapter 2
Planning Your Time
IN THIS CHAPTER
Getting the most from your time, both before and during the test
Preparing for the two-hour experience
Scheduling the exam at a time that works for you
Handling any unique circumstances
The best way to build your confidence and improve your performance is to be prepared, which is as true for anything in life as it is for the GRE. Being familiar with the exam and knowing what to expect gives you fewer distractions so that you can focus on what really matters — the test itself. This chapter guides you through getting the most from the time that you have for both preparing for and taking the exam.
Planning Your Prep Time
As soon as you decide to take the GRE, the clock starts ticking. You have only so much time to study and practice, and suddenly the exam is tomorrow morning. The good news: I’ve taken many a student down this road, with great results, and here I’ve curated (collected) the best success strategies. The following sections show you how to optimize your study and practice time so you can answer the test questions quickly and easily.
Planning your long-term study time
Best case is if you can start preparing 12 weeks before your exam. This test is based on skills, not memorization, and skills take time to develop. It’s like throwing a baseball: You need time to learn, practice, rest, and practice more. Six to eight weeks is enough time for some people, but more time is generally better. At 12 weeks, you can do extremely well, but after 12 weeks, most people get burned out or lose interest, and they forget things they learned early on.
Take your first practice test, timed: Although the practice tests included with this book provide excellent targeted practice, the free online practice exams from www.ets.org provide a more accurate simulated testing experience. ETS provides two practice exams, the first of which has a timed and untimed option, whereas the second can be taken only as a timed test. Whether you take the Dummies or ETS version, take the test timed, under realistic testing conditions (no phone, distractions, or smart speaker), and record your score. This will tell you both where you stand and what the test is like.
Note: If you’ve taken the GRE before, you can refer to your old score and skip this step.
Work through this book: Take three to four weeks to work this book from start to finish. It is a compendium (complete collection) of GRE topics, and with an early start, you can check your proficiency on familiar topics which may be rusty (like the Pythagorean theorem) along with new topics that you can pick up easily (like selecting a sentence) but need time to do so.
While working through this book, be sure to mark any topics that you want to return to for more practice. If you’re using the print version, you can also fold the corner of the page.
Take your second practice test, untimed: Whether you use the exam from ETS or from Dummies, take your second practice test. Take your time to work through the topics, practice your strategies, and think about each step that you will take on the real thing.
While working the practice exam, jot down the number of any question that you weren’t sure of or that you took too much time — say, over 3 minutes — to answer. Then, when you review your wrong answers, you can review these, too.
Review your wrong answers:
This is like shining a flashlight on your exam performance, and it’s the best way to find and fix your weak areas. The Dummies practice exams included with this book feature simple answer explanations that are in line with the steps taught in these chapters. The ETS answer explanations tend to be lengthier and more academic. Either way, you
distill
(extract the essentials) a set of topics to focus on, which you then go back and review.
Take a break:
About four weeks from the actual exam, after you’ve reviewed your topics from the practice tests, take seven to ten days and don’t touch anything GRE. You’ll come back refreshed, with two to three weeks remaining to get back in gear.
Take your third practice test, timed:
This round, take your practice test under actual testing conditions: no water, phone, or distractions. Write the essay, too, as this is part of the exam experience. Note your improvement over the last two practice tests, and again mark topics to review.
Close any final gaps:
With two or three weeks until your exam, you have time to work on areas needing focus. You can also practice and review your test-taking strategies and take another practice exam if you’re so inclined.
Take another break:
About ten days from the actual exam, after you’ve closed the final gaps, take a couple of days and rest up again. Then you can brush up again on your vocab and any topics for review.
Take the exam:
By now you’re practically a pro. It’s normal to be nervous, but at least everything that happens on the exam is something that you’re expecting and prepared for. Refer to the section, “
Planning Your Exam Time
,” for overall exam strategies along with
Chapter 3
for planning for the night before and the day of the exam.
Planning your short-term study time
Don’t have 12 weeks to prepare? That’s okay. You can fast-track this approach and give your score a good boost in about half that time.
Brush up on your basics:
Take a week or so to flip through these pages and work on any example or practice question marked with the
PLAY
icon, so you can brush up on formats and topics of the questions. Each topic in this book has practice questions, so work out those questions and mark any topics (and fold the page corners) that you want to revisit.
Brush up on your strategies: While finding and working on these practice questions, also read any lines with the TIP icon to pick up on basic, core strategies, which are key to boosting your score. If time allows, also read the lines marked REMEMBER and WARNING, but these take a back seat to the TIP topics.
This is one advantage of the Dummies format, where you can spot the key points that are marked to stand out. It’s almost as if the book is highlighted for you.
Brush up on your approach:
Take a half-hour and read the Part of Tens in
Chapters 22
–
24
. These provide a high-level overview of the nature of the exam along with key dos and don’ts
gleaned
(learned over time) from working with students and observing their successes and mistakes. You get a big-picture perspective that helps with your approach. The information collected in the Part of Tens chapters is another advantage of the Dummies format.
Take your first practice test, untimed:
When the exam is still three weeks away, take a practice test. Take your time, work through the questions, mark topics to brush up on, and practice your strategies. Also, look up and note any unfamiliar vocab words, so you can dual-purpose this step and learn the vocab.
Review your wrong answers:
Read the answer explanation for any question that you missed or marked for review, and find the sections in this book where I cover those topics. You can use this book’s table of contents along with the index to find these topics. Keep a list of these topics for later review.
Take a second practice test, timed:
When the exam is two weeks away, take a timed practice test under realistic testing conditions, meaning no phone or distractions. On this round, write the essay, don’t look up the vocab, and keep your water and snacks out of reach. This way, you become familiar with the testing experience.
Review your second set of wrong answers:
As before, read the answer explanations for questions missed or marked for review, and find the sections in this book where I cover those topics. Add these new topics to the list from your first practice exam.
Revisit your list of topics for review:
With the exam about ten days away, revisit practice questions from your list of review topics along with the
PLAY
questions in this book that you marked to revisit. Make sure you’re comfortable answering these questions, even if you’ve seen them before. Also, check the vocab that you listed from the first test.
Take a break:
After you’ve finished the preceding steps, and ideally with the exam about a week away, get some rest and rebuild your strength. The preceding steps are more important than this one, so finish those first. If your break is only a couple days before the exam, that’s fine. Then you can brush up again on your vocab and any topics for review.
Take the exam:
By now you know what to expect and have practiced most of the topics that you’ll see. You’ve prepped for the bulk of the material in record time, and you should do just fine on the exam. Refer to the section, “
Planning Your Exam Time
,” for overall exam strategies along with
Chapter 3
for more on planning for the night before and the day of the exam.
Planning your last-minute study time
Hey, it happens. There are plans and there’s life, and these don’t always sync up. If your exam is less than two weeks away, you can still put in some focused effort and increase your score.
Take an untimed practice test:
Whether you take the Dummies or ETS version, take the practice test untimed so you can think about your approach and what works best. Review your wrong answers and collect a list of topics that need focus, then find those topics in the table of contents at the beginning of this book or the index at the end, and read the chapter sections for how to approach those questions.
Brush up on your basics:
Next, flip through these pages and work any example or practice question marked with the
PLAY
icon for more practice with the formats and topics of the questions. Be sure to mark any questions (and fold the page corners) that you want to revisit.
Brush up on your strategies and approach:
If you still have time, read any lines with the
TIP
icon to pick up on basic, core strategies that are key to boosting your score, and read the Part of Tens,
Chapters 22
–
24
, for your overall approach. Then, go back and review the practice questions you marked from the previous step.
Take the exam:
You now know what to expect and have practiced many of the topics that you’ll see. Most of the exam will be on topics that you’ve seen before, and you’ll score much higher than you would have without this preparation. Refer to the section, “
Planning Your Exam Time
,” for overall exam strategies along with
Chapter 3
for more on planning for the night before and the day of the exam.
Regardless of the time that you have to prepare, this book provides broad coverage of everything you’re likely to encounter on the test. However, if you find major weaknesses in certain areas, you may need to consult additional resources to improve your understanding and skills.
Prioritize your study time and schedule regular, daily review sessions. Otherwise, other activities and responsibilities are likely to clutter your day and push study time off your to-do list.
Planning your practice time
Just because you know a subject doesn’t mean you can ace it on the GRE. Set aside time to take the practice tests, which require a completely separate skill set. The practice tests help you hone your skills, learn from your mistakes, and strengthen your weak areas. I once had a group of financial advisors struggle with all the math. When I asked about this, they told me that they use Excel for everything!
Your proficiency with the test itself is as important as your math, verbal, and writing skills. As you take the practice tests, check your testing performance. Many major mistakes begin halfway through the exam, as it’s an intense two hours. Do you still try as hard as you did in the beginning? Do you begin to misread questions, make simple math mistakes, or fall for traps?
Planning Your Exam Time
Taking the GRE is a little like playing Beat the Clock. The computer provides you with an on-screen timer for each section. Your goal is to answer as many questions correctly, as quickly as possible, before the clock reaches 0:00. You have the option of hiding this timer, but I don’t recommend that. Instead, make the timer familiar and comfortable (or rather, less uncomfortable) by using a stopwatch while doing homework and practice tests. This is part of preparing for the test-taking experience.
Planning your question time
Don’t obsess over giving each question a specific number of seconds, but do know when to give up and come back to a question later. A good rule of thumb is about a minute per question. As long as you haven’t exited the section, you can return to any question in that section. Simply call up the Review Screen by clicking Review, click the question you want to return to, and then click Go to Question. You can mark a question for review so it’s flagged on the Review Screen, or you can write the question number down on your scratch paper. Just keep in mind that while you’re on the Review Screen, the clock still ticks.
Throwing a mental dart
A wrong answer and no answer count exactly the same towards your score, so you may as well pick an answer. If you’re not sure how to answer a question, don’t get stuck on it. Instead, throw a mental dart and take a guess:
Rule out as many obviously incorrect choices as possible, and guess from the remaining choices.
Write down the question number or mark it for review, so you can return to it before time runs out on that section.
Finish the section, even if it means throwing more mental darts (in other words, taking more guesses) near the end. Because a wrong answer counts the same as no answer, you may as well guess and take the chance of getting it right.
Note that this is not really your main strategy. You should be prepared and able to answer most, if not all, of the questions correctly. But as the second Math and Verbal sections increase in difficulty (because you did so well on the first Math and Verbal sections — see Chapter 1 for how that works), you may see a question or two that you’re not sure how to answer. If that happens, follow steps 1-3.
Planning for no break time
The GRE doesn’t offer a break for you to leave your seat and come back without the test resuming. You have to strike a balance between not getting thirsty and not needing to use the restroom.
Plan for this by using the restroom and having a drink before sitting down for the exam, and be sure to leave yourself with enough time to do this. Also, don’t drink too much water.
Planning your computer time
Sure you know computers, but do you know this particular app — the GRE? Probably not, but it’s easy to grasp. Just make sure that you know the ins and outs before the actual exam. Don’t risk making a mistake that kills your score, such as getting stuck on a question because you forgot that you can skip it and go back.
To gain experience with the computerized GRE, take it for a test drive using the free practice exams from ETS. At the time of this writing, the practice exam package is web-based and features two actual GRE computer-based practice exams for you to become accustomed to the format of the real thing. Access the POWERPREP Online at www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/prepare/powerprep/.
The ETS practice exams look and feel exactly like the real thing, except that they don’t hold your life in the balance. Most buttons are self-explanatory, but the following ones deserve special attention.
Mark: Mark enables you to flag the question for review, and when you click it, a small checkmark appears on the button. Click it again to remove the checkmark. That’s all it does.
When you mark a question for review, if you haven’t answered the question, be sure to guess an answer! That way, if you run out of time, you at least have a shot at guessing it correctly. (See the section, “Throwing a mental dart,” for more on this.)
Review: Review takes you to the Review Screen, which shows a list of questions in the section, along with which have been answered and which are flagged for review using the Mark button. Select any question from the list, click the Go To button (which is only on that screen), and you’re back at that question. You can then review the question and change your answer if desired.
A common trap is marking every question that you have the slightest doubt on, intending to go back to it later. Problem is, when you’ve reached the end of the section, you have 16 questions marked and only four minutes to work on them! Be sure to prioritize what you truly want to go back to.
Exit Section:
This button ends the section and saves your essay or answers so you can proceed to the next section. After you click this button, you can’t go back to change answers or return to unanswered questions in the section.
Quit Test:
This button ends the exam and cancels your scores. Don’t use this one.
Take the computerized practice test from ets.org not only to get a feel for the content and format of the questions but also to become accustomed to selecting answers and using the buttons to navigate.
For additional practice, go to www.dummies.com and register your book for access to computer-based practice exams, albeit in a slightly different format. Instructions for registering are in this book’s Introduction.
Planning Your Mental and Physical Time
Taking an intense two-hour exam is challenging both mentally and physically. Most people aren’t used to concentrating at this level for such a long time. To meet the challenge, your brain needs a good supply of oxygen and nutrients, and it gets these from an active, healthy, and alert body primed with nutritious foods and beverages. The following sections provide guidance on whipping your body into shape for test day.
Staying active
You can’t just be a bookworm for the months leading up to the exam: You need to stay active. Exercise helps all parts of the body and leads to clearer thinking by increasing oxygen to the brain, so get moving! You don’t need to train for a marathon. Walking, swimming, jogging, yoga, Pilates, basketball, or doing anything active, especially outdoors, gets your body in motion and increases your overall health and circulation.
Eating well
Certain foods and beverages affect your cognitive ability, so avoid highly processed foods and foods high in sugar, starch, or fat. These foods tend to make you feel sluggish or result in bursts of energy followed by prolonged crashes. Lean more toward veggies — especially green, leafy veggies — and foods that are high in protein. When it comes to carbohydrates, go for complex over simple. Complex carbohydrates are typically found in fresh fruits, veggies, and whole-grain products. Avoid simple carbohydrates found in candy, soda, anything made from white flour, and most junk foods, including chips. And forget those energy drinks that combine huge amounts of caffeine and sugar to get you to a state of heightened tension.
If you plan on taking an energy drink or anything unusual on the day of the test, try it out first on a practice test. If the drink gives you the jitters or upsets your stomach, you won’t want to discover this on the day of the exam.
