The optimal GRE self-prep plan
Preparing on your own can yield awesome results provided that you keep your discipline and persistence intact. The internet is amply supplied with the right GRE material that you’d need.
We have broken down the GRE into its sub sections and provided a very comprehensive guide on how to deal with each section if you are on a Beginner, intermediate or advanced level of it.
Different students have different weaknesses and hence different requirements. GRE is all about reaching YOUR potential; a good GRE score is rather subjective as it depends on your target school, your target program and your aim. While some students with a 330+ score might have needed 4 months to prepare, others did it in 3.
That being said, on average, it takes 2.5-3 months to fully prepare for the GRE – with a daily study routine of 3-4 hours.
GRE preparation depends on the following things:
A. Discipline
B. How well you record your mistakes – mistake log keeping is an essential, you will be wasting your time without tracking your mistakes
C. How much you work on your weaknesses – you do not have to keep doing what you already are good at!
D. The resources that you use – with tons of resources and plans out there, it is really difficult to choose the right material.
The optimal mantra is
“3-4 hours of studying a day, with one complete hour dedicated to vocabulary, for 2 months and a mock exam every week to track your progress”
Then after the 2 months, give 15-20 days to just mocks – Manhattan Prep’s Premium mocks are highly recommended.
Part from that, following are some high quality free mocks – you will have to complete a basic sign up to access these
1. PowerPrep I
2. PowerPrep II
3. Manhattan Prep’s Free mock
4. CrunchPrep free mock
5. Kaplan’s free mock
Again, this works for most students and YOU might be able to prepare in 1.5 months or in 3 for that matter.
So we have addressed the GRE preparation in 4 parts:
- Quantitative reasoning (The Math portion)
- Verbal Reasoning (The English portion)
- Vocabulary (To emphasize, because atleast 40% of the verbal portion depends on your vocab)
- AWA (essay writing/Analytical writing assessment)
Quantitative reasoning:
If you are a beginner…
And by a beginner we mean someone who has weak Math concepts or has stayed out of touch from Math for a considerable amount of time and now is of un-confident about it.
The good news is that the GRE tests basic math (with a twist) and you do not need a math background or an engineering degree to prepare for it.
You would be fine if you start with the Manhattan Strategy guides.
Whether you are a beginner or not, the following Quant plan would guide you, step by step, what to do.
Click here for the Quant Plan
Verbal reasoning:
The Verbal portion on GRE requires
A. Good reading skills
B. A strong vocabulary
C. The ability to understand the gist of the text – passages
D. Clarity in thinking
This is where the majority of Pakistani students lack for English is not their native tongue which makes it all the more difficult to reason, critically think, and logic in it – something that our education system does not teach us.
Click here for the detailed Verbal Plan
Vocabulary:
So vocabulary has been addressed separately for a reason
“At-least 40% of your verbal section depends on vocabulary”
Directly on Indirectly.
Install the Magoosh Flashcard App in your smart phone and memorize around 25 words per day.
Sounds Daunting?
Here is how you can do it right – a must read.
AWA – Analytical Writing Assessment:
Grad schools do not pay much attention to AWA – you just have to fall on their cutoff score and you’d be fine.
Find the book on AWA in Manhattan Strategy guides, that will do.