Sorry about the late post. I had no time all semester to study for the GRE so I've been doing that all week. Well, studying for the GRE, working, and slacking off with friends (thanks Emma). Okay in my defense, she gave me the idea for the article.
Timeline
1. Register for the GRE
2. Study questions
3. Take practice tests
4. Take GRE
Preparation
The GRE tests you on writing, reading, and math skills. With exception to the vocabulary words that you need to understand, the content on the exam should feel familiar. The questions only stretch your thinking. So any review book you can find for the GRE should be sufficient. I personally got an inexpensive set written by the test makers (ETS) off of an online retailer (not sponsored by ETS; this is my own recommendation).
The amount of time you spend studying for the GRE depends on how your schedule looks and how comfortable you feel with the material. I have a very difficult semester/school year so I only studied the week of my exam. You'd most likely be able to study for a longer period than that. In my opinion, three weeks before should be ample time to relearn and review everything if you're spending a few hours a day. It's not material dense like the MCAT so you don't need six months in advance, unless you feel like you need that amount of time.
Structure of the GRE
The GRE begins with two writing prompts. The first prompt is a prompt where you pick one side of an issue. The second prompt is where you analyze an argument that someone has already made.
After the writing prompts you will have all multiple choice questions. They are separated into different sections depending on what type of question they are: verbal skills and quantitative skills. You will have multiple sections of each type.
Verbal skills questions can include reading comprehension, filling in blanks with phrases that make sense, or picking two words that would complete a sentence. The content in the reading passages will provide sufficient information to answer each question but you need to know some vocabulary words to understand the passages and questions.
Quantitative skills include arithmetic, algebra, geometry, data analysis, and statistics. You will get questions that have you compare two quantities, standard multiple choice, or even a couple entry questions where you type in your numerical answer.
Schedule
You might find some benefit to creating a study schedule. It would help you stay on track and motivated. Studying for standardized tests is annoying and it's easy to lose motivation. I got done with school and the GRE was the last thing I wanted to study. Having my study schedule really helped me get the willpower to keep up with studying.
A schedule consists of what sections you will review each day. Make sure you don't take on too much in one day and to fit in practice exams into your schedule. I spent about three hours each morning going over content. Practice questions would be the best tool to help you study. The material should already look familiar but it's the format of the questions that you need to get used to.
Make sure you put aside some time to study some vocabulary. An internet search of "GRE vocabulary" should bring up some resources to help you study. Unless if you're going for a 170 on the verbal section you don't need to stress out over learning each and every word.
I studied for the writing portion only from taking practice exams but if you don't feel as comfortable with writing you can check out other resources.
I put an emphasis on the practice exams because they are accurate in predicting your actual score. For both practice exams I had the same scores for both sections and my actual scores were only one point away each.
Exam Day
Do not drink a ton of coffee that morning. Caffeine is a diuretic and you only get one 10 minute break. I learned this the hard way.
I studied a little bit before my exam and started driving to my testing location one hour early. Although it was a half hour drive, there was quite a bit of traffic and arriving late to an exam would cause unnecessary stress.
When you get to the exam center, leave your cellphone and study materials in your car. Bring your personal identification into the center and the receptionist will check you in. You will be searched and then let in to the testing room. They will provide pencils and if you're taking the computer version of the test you will be at your own cubicle. Headphones will be provided and they do a good job blocking out the noise, but they hurt your ears.
The two writing portions were first. Then it went to verbal reasoning and alternated with quantitative. Once you finish the exam, you will have the option to send your scores or cancel your scores. If you cancel, you won't get to see your scores but if you choose to send your scores you will see your unofficial scores. The unofficial scores only show your performance for the verbal and quantitative sections because the written parts still need to be graded.
