As you prepare for the GRE, you already know that two major components of your study plan are learning new content and applying that content through practice questions. However, as your prep progresses and you cover more and more material, it becomes harder to keep all of that knowledge easily accessible. You might understand a topic well today, but without revisiting it, your grasp can fade over time.

To stay sharp across all the topics you’ve covered, it’s essential to build weekly review sessions into your study plan. These review sessions don’t need to be overly complicated or time-consuming, but they do need to be consistent. Without them, it’s easy to lose touch with concepts you’ve already studied, even if you felt confident about them at the time.

Flashcards are one of the simplest and most effective tools for regular review. They allow you to reinforce key facts, formulas, vocabulary, and techniques—especially when used actively and consistently. The beauty of flashcards is their flexibility. You can review them during downtime throughout your day, whether you’re commuting, waiting for your coffee, or sitting in a quiet corner for a few minutes. A handful of quick sessions adds up.

That said, reviewing concepts in isolation is only part of the equation. To really test your recall and application, set aside time each week to complete mixed practice sets on topics you’ve already studied. For instance, if it’s been a while since you worked on arithmetic or coordinate geometry, build a short quiz that mixes questions from those areas. Doing so helps prevent the kind of knowledge gaps that often go unnoticed until a full-length practice test reveals them.

The GRE doesn’t reward short-term memorization. It rewards long-term understanding and application. So make sure your prep includes a regular cycle of learning, applying, and reviewing. The topics you studied two weeks ago are just as important as the ones you studied yesterday.

Reach out to me with any questions about your GRE prep. Happy studying!

Warmest regards,

Scott Woodbury-Stewart
Founder & CEO, Target Test Prep