Hi Everyone,
I recently took the GRE on 22nd June and scored a 328(Q169 V159). I started preparing exactly two months ago( on 21st April). I was aiming for a 330+ score but I guess I did well to score 328. My agenda of writing this note is a deeply heartfelt note for all those trying to make it through these tough times and prepare for GRE with no single source of getting sufficient advice/help. So here is what I have to offer:
1) Having achieved a modestly good score ( irony eh? ?), I want to help others by guiding them anyhow on the nuances of the GRE( I have researched a lot about the test based on the content present online and my experience of the real deal is different from the public sentiment). Also, the guidance is FREE ?
2) I also want to share the resources that I used for my preparation. Please hit me up if you want any of the material that I used for my preparation(it is FREE ?)
3) I took a
Magoosh subscription for 6 months and want to give it out to anyone who wants to use
Magoosh for his/her preparation. The subscription is just 2 months old (THIS IS AVAILABLE FOR A DIRT CHEAP PRICE ?). DM me for more details.
TRIVIA ALERT: I cannot stress enough how important the official stuff is for the GRE preparation.
I want to take this opportunity to thank those people/companies that helped me reach the score that I have received. Here is a list of those folks:
1)
Magoosh: I would like to thank
Magoosh immensely for helping me with my preparation. I took the 6-month plan as I did not know where to start.
Magoosh has a very good bunch of Quant & verbal theory videos. The Quant practice is A1 and verbal is something that will give you a foundation. The difficult vocabulary they have is something that one needs to accomplish. +1 on the
Magoosh flashcards for vocabulary. I completed the section of Basic, Intermediate and Advanced words on the course. Hence it is essential to cover as much of the free stuff that
Magoosh has to offer as possible. Thanks,
Magoosh.
2) Manhattan GRE: I subscribed to Manhattan GRE word of the day and completed their 140 rough counts of words in the playlist available, all very useful. Also, I took the Manhattan GRE practice test and scored decently on that, although the official stuff is the real deal. Thus, it is imperative to cover their vocabulary. Thanks, Manhattan.
3) The Tested Tutor: This guy is doing some amazing stuff with the content that he uploads on YouTube ( mind you he is 340 scorer ?). His vocabulary exercises are awesome. Just do those along with him and you will get a hang of the vocabulary necessary. Thank you The Tested Tutor.
4) GreGmat: I discovered this gem quite late in the game but I managed to make the most of whatever I could in the advanced stages of my preparation. His toolkit for solving Sentence Equivalence and Text Completion are ingenious ways to expedite verbal with accuracy ( He is also a 339 scorer ?). Thank you GreGmat for your content on YouTube.
5) The Reddit community: I just can’t thank enough the Reddit community that has helped me on various stages of my preparation. The people out there are really helpful (Scott_TargetTestPrep deserves a special mention). Also, a lot of free content is available there. Do join the communities on Reddit.
6) PowerPrep and other official stuff: The holy grail to any standardized test should be its official material, and it is the case in GRE as well. Everyone needs to take the official free PowerPrep Practice Tests keeping the following things in mind:
· PP test 1 is easier than the actual test and PP test 2.
· PP Plus tests should be taken once you have reached the last stage of your preparation. For the uninitiated, the PowerPrep Plus tests are the additional tests that one needs to buy.
· Use the PP tests very judicially are they are gold mines and you would not want to squander them for petulance.
7) GRECLUB and Facebook GRE Clubs: Here is a link to the free content that one can leverage in case extra practice is needed. GRECLUB has a decently good question bank that can be used to filter out OFFICIAL and standard GRE content.
Also, different groups on Facebook are useful to get insights from peers/experts around the world.
These are the things that I did along with unrelenting hard of long 8 hours of study every day ( apart from a few in between… hehe). I hope you find this helpful and if anyone has any concerns/doubts or needs advice/material to study, I can help them with a study plan.
Answers to some commonly asked questions:-
Q) PRACTICE! PRACTICE! PRACTICE! – but what?
A) Quality stuff only. Official material is the way to go, along with
Magoosh and Manhattan to a great degree.
Q) If I do the above mentioned, will I attain the score I am aiming for?
A) Mostly yes. This is a nebulous thing to answer as it depends on your target score and the amount of work you put in. But yes, this can boost your score very rapidly.
Q) There is a lot of content to consume out there? Is there a way to cover up the content with celerity?
A) Yes. I had a knack for watching videos at 1.5x to 1.75x since my early days and also was able to skip the parts that were redundant for my preparation. Hence, it is important to be a smart learner and to know what you need.
Q) Is this debrief verbal heavy?
Yes.