An important aspect of any student pursuing a master’s degree is their GRE score. This standardized test made by ETS, the same folks behind the SAT, is a requirement for many graduate school programs. As one of the students pursuing a grad school future, I have been studying for this test all summer in preparation. According to Kaplan’s GRE guide, a couple months is the right amount of preparation time for the test, but slightly longer can be beneficial to many students. The GRE is all about problem solving, thinking critically, and be efficient with your time. The test is broken down into three distinct sections, a verbal section, a writing section, and a quantitative section. Due to my struggles with anything with numbers, the quantitative section has been a mainstay in every study session I’ve had.

The verbal section is similar to the SAT. It is based in vocabulary, aka those words no one bothered to use, but you must know for this test, and reading comprehension, anything from one to five paragraphs. One study tool that has been helpful for me is watching videos on YouTube to learn these words. A great resource is Magoosh GRE and their weekly Wednesday vocabulary videos, hosted by Chris. Chris has an amazing amount of energy, his passion, and eccentric attitude make the words jump off the screen and makes vocabulary more enjoyable to learn. There are hundreds of videos with a few words each so they are more digestible. There are other videos with some of the most common used words on the GRE, based on past tests. This is a great place to start.

The quantitative section is what really throws people for a loop. It is more about problem solving then actually remembering specific mathematical equations and subjects. However, knowing though things and brushing up on them cannot hurt. They place the problem in front of you and say: solve it. For quantitative, I have been turning to demonstration videos on my favorite website YouTube to brush up on certain concepts. The best way, at least in my opinion to succeed in the quantitative section is to keep doing practice problems. Kaplan, in their materials, which I highly recommend, equip you with tons of practice problems and several practice tests.

In my experience studying for the GRE over the last several months, I have heard and experienced a few tips and tricks. First, set that date, pick a date and sign up for the actual test. This will help you to know when you are going to take the test and study accordingly. Materials suggest you should take around 3 months of preparation. Second, I would suggest doing a little bit each day if you can, even if it is 30 minutes a day, it will be more helpful than attempting to shove several hours of time on the weekends. Also try to mix up what subject you are doing. Do a little bit of verbal and quantitative each day.

Good luck, study hard, and if you need any help, don't come knocking on my door. Just kidding.