Picking the Right Study Schedule
This GRE guide sets out weekly goals based on about 2 to 3 hours of daily study. The guide is meant to be flexible, allowing you to map out your best path. Ergo, your approach to the work should be organized according to your availability. The content is holistic and highlights verbal and quantitative subject areas, techniques, and strategies—all of which are aimed at elevating your GRE performance.
If you’d prefer more of a daily blueprint than a weekly guideline for your study, then check out our other schedules, including a Three-Month Beginner and Three-Month Advanced offering, which could easily be modified to accommodate a two-month timeline.
Click here to download a PDF of the study schedule!
Essential Material
- Magoosh GRE Prep
- ETS’s Official Guide to the GRE book
- ETS Powerprep Free Tests 1 & 2: If you would prefer to take the practice test on paper, you can print out a copy of ETS’s paper-delivered test. However, taking the paper-based GRE is pretty rare these days. If you are like most test takers and will be taking the exam online, we highly recommend that your practice and prep are also online–mimic the medium you’ll be using on exam day as much as possible.
- Magoosh’s GRE Vocabulary Flashcards App and Magoosh’s GRE Math Flashcards App: They’re free and you can use them on the web, iPhone/iPad or Android!
- Magoosh’s Complete Guide to the GRE PDF: This comprehensive, web-based guide to the GRE gives you the quick but very helpful overview you need to understand this test. You’ll see how the GRE is designed and scored, what skills it tests, how to find and use the best GRE prep, and how to study for each test section.
- Reading materials and journal (error log): More detail on each of these below, in the “About the Material” section.
Optional Material
- Top 5 Free GRE Practice Resources: This page includes instructions on where to find good full-length GRE practice tests, and how to take practice tests and incorporate them into your studies. This page also has links to Magoosh’s free GRE diagnostic quizzes.
- Quizlet.com: Gives you online access to flashcards, making it easier, say, to quiz yourself on your mobile device
- Vocabulary.com: Provides conversational example sentences and a flood of example sentences. If you are really trying to achieve a high verbal score, you can also check out lists of crazy hard GRE words that other users have compiled.
About the Material
About Vocabulary
If you are striving for a top-notch verbal score, daily review of vocab is vital. 30 days is not a lot of time; however, you can certainly memorize a few hundred (maybe more) words in that timeframe.
Make use of Magoosh’s GRE Flashcards, but don’t limit yourself to just these words. Whenever you encounter a word you don’t know, look it up, make a flashcard, and add it to your own flashcard deck. You can go the old-fashioned route with hand-written, paper cards or opt for a digital version like Quizlet.
Organizing Flashcards
As you work through your flashcards you’ll want to organize them into three piles/categories. One category is for words that are “new” to you and you’re just trying to absorb their definitions/usage. Another category is for words that you’ve almost mastered–maybe you still need context clues to grasp their meanings. The final category represents a “done” stack that is only rarely reviewed.
Reading Material
We cannot stress the importance of reading to build your reading comprehension skills, refine your understanding of grammar and usage, and expand your vocabulary. You have to challenge yourself to read material that is written at the same level as the passages you’ll encounter on test day. Check out the links below for reliable sources and advice:
Non-fiction, scholarly books, history and social science topics are preferable.
How to Practice with Recommended Sources: Scientific American, Atlantic Monthly, The New Yorker, National Geographic, The Economist, Arts and Letters Daily, or The New York Times (a Sunday subscription is a great idea!).
Error Log
A notebook or digital document to keep a written record of the questions that you miss. For each question you enter into your log do the following:
- Try to determine and make note of why you missed the question
- Read any related text explanations and watch any related video explanations
- Watch any recommended lesson videos (don’t worry about watching them out of order. You’ll likely be watching the videos a few times, especially those that relate to your weaker areas.)
- Be aware of any trends that help you identify your strengths and weaknesses.
- When you come across vocabulary that you don’t know or only sorta know in a question, be sure to add it to your flashcards. We use words that are trending on the GRE to create our content.
Not sure how to set up your error log? Here’s a free template.
About Older ETS Prep Materials
Note: ETS launched the shorter version of the GRE in 2023. So, what does that mean if you have older prep materials? Good news!! You do not need to go out and buy new ones. Because there were no changes to the content that ETS tests, there have been no real changes to the prep books that cover that content. In fact, at the time of this writing, ETS hasn’t even released a new edition of its own prep material, The Official Guide, but does provide the following note:
“The practice tests in this book are for the General Test that was administered before September 22, 2023. However, because the shorter GRE includes the same question types (except for the Analyze an Argument essay task which has been removed), this book is a great way to prepare for the shorter GRE.”
Thus, if you have older versions of prep materials, you should be all set to dive in. Just be sure to skip any content related to the Analyze an Argument part of the AWA, and be sure to review the GRE’s updated timing and structure.
Using This Guide Without a Premium Magoosh Subscription
Without your own Magoosh account, you won’t be able to access many of the lessons, practice questions, and practice tests that are linked in the daily tasks; however, there are a number of lessons and practice materials that are publically available, and, of course, you can also follow the daily breakdown of topics and activities using The Official Guide or any other material(s) you are using for your GRE prep.
2-3 Month GRE Study Schedule: Weeks 1-2
Primary Goals
- Progress through Magoosh’s Math and Verbal Video Lessons. Target completing half of the verbal videos and around a third of the math ones, as there are more math videos. After each video, practice related questions. This reinforces the concepts you just learned. Avoid binge-watching lessons without engaging in questions; this risks forgetting the content. For example, after viewing videos on exponents, complete the accompanying quiz for that module.
- Use the ETS Official Guide or the two ETS practice question guides to reinforce specific concepts. It’s fine to jump around in these books to find pertinent questions.
- Aim to finish 100 practice questions from both Verbal and Math in Magoosh. This can include the quizzes post-lesson videos.
- If you are retesting, then attempt the diagnostic test available to you on the ETS site.
Secondary Goals
- Arts and Letter’s Daily is a great resource for links to advanced reading material. Once per week, choose one or more articles that are around 5-20 pages long. While reading, try to identify at least fifty unfamiliar words. A quick google search will yield definitions.
- Afterwards, write a concise summary or review of one of the articles, weaving in the vocabulary words you’ve learned from not only the articles but also lessons, practice questions, reading, etc.
- Use the Magoosh Flashcard App and challenge yourself to learn 10 words daily. At the end of 15 days, you will have encountered 150 words. For a deeper understanding of these words in context, refer to Vocabulary.com.
- As you encounter words you don’t know or only sorta know from articles, make flashcards in your app of choice or with good old pen and paper.
2-3 Month GRE Study Schedule: Weeks 3-4
Primary Goals
- Complete all remaining video lessons in Magoosh.
- Take ETS PowerPrep Test 1 to gauge where you’re at in relation to your ultimate goal.
- Do a deep-dive review of your error log. Remember to consider the following:
- Try to determine and make note of why you missed the question
- Read any related text explanations and watch any related video explanations
- Watch any recommended lesson videos (don’t worry about watching them out of order. You’ll likely be watching the videos a few times, especially those that relate to your weaker areas.)
- Be aware of any trends that help you identify your strengths and weaknesses.
- When you come across vocabulary that you don’t know or only sorta know in a question, be sure to add it to your flashcards. We use words that are trending on the GRE to create our content.
- Tackle an additional 75 Verbal and 75 Math questions within Magoosh.
- Begin with the ETS Official Guide, focusing on the easier and medium-difficulty sections for both math and verbal.
Secondary Goals
- Continue using Magoosh GRE Flashcards, learn at least 5 words each day, and dedicate time to test yourself on all the words you’ve been trying to master. The Magoosh Vocabulary Builder will come in handy as well.
- Increase the number of articles you’re reading per week from Arts and Letter’s Daily and continue to identify 50 words each week.
- If you’re still grappling with basic math areas like fractions or exponents consider viewing the collaboratively developed GRE Math Review from ETS and Khan Academy.
- Delve into practice sets in the ETS Official Verbal and Quantitative question guides.
2-3 Month GRE Study Schedule: Weeks 5-6
Primary Goals
- Tackle an additional 175 Verbal and 175 Math questions in Magoosh.
- Complete remaining ETS Official Guide questions.
- Use your error log to identify any question types that you are still struggling with and revisit any Magoosh lesson videos that relate to content tested by those questions.
- Now is also a good time to identify questions that fall into your skip or guess buckets. Immediately recognizing questions that you should either return to later or make a guess and move on from is a key component in a successful pacing strategy.
Secondary Goals
- Keep assiduously studying vocabulary.
- If quant is your priority, work through math problems in the Official GRE Quantitative Questions Guide, adjusting your focus based on areas of weakness .
- If verbal is your priority, work through verbal problems in the Official GRE Verbal Practice Question Guide, adjusting your focus based on areas of weakness .
- If math and verbal are of equal concern, strike a balance and be sure that you are narrowing-in on your challenge areas across the different sections of the exam.
- If basic math is still posing a challenge, continue consulting ETS resources and make sure you grasp the solution process for easier question types by reviewing lessons and practice questions in the Magoosh platform.
2-3 Month GRE Study Schedule: Weeks 7-8:
Primary Goals
- Tailor practice sessions in Magoosh to address your weak areas. If you have not done so already, aim to complete all verbal and math questions.
- Take ETS PowerPrep Test 2.
- Prioritize taking timed sections, no matter what resource you’re using. If you find that you cannot complete an entire section before time runs out, take a closer look at opportunities for you to skip. With a pacing strategy based on what you’ve learned about your strengths and weaknesses as a GRE test-taker, finishing a section within the allotted time should be an achievable goal.
Secondary Goals
- Continue with your vocabulary journey, aiming for mastery of the more arcane terms. By now, you should be familiar with at least 800 words.
Congratulations!
The journey to prepare for the GRE is both demanding and rewarding. If you’ve stuck with it over eight weeks, then you have equipped yourself with the tools and knowledge needed for success on test day.
If you haven’t taken advantage of more personalized support yet and still have some time before your test date, you can sign up for a premium Magoosh GRE account. We have affordable 1 month or 6 month subscriptions, or you can always test out the material first with a free 1 week trial.
As you continue down the path towards test day, remember to consistently evaluate your progress (error log all the way!) and adjust accordingly. All the best in your continued preparation, and here’s to achieving your desired GRE score!
Leave a Comment
Please leave any questions or suggestions in the comments, we try our best to respond within a few days!
Your email address will not be published.
73 responses to “2-3 Month GRE Study Guide”
Does this study guide apply to the revised computer-based GRE? Thanks!
Hi, Andrew
Yes, it does! 🙂
Best,
Margarette
Thanks! This is very useful.
Hi Chris,
I’m about to purchase the ETS Official guide but I had a quick question: I noticed that I can purchase this book on kindle. Would you recommend buying a hard copy of the book or would the kindle version be alright?
Hi Michelle,
I really don’t see too much of a difference. One could argue that the real book allows you to write in it; then again, you won’t be able to write on the real test so being able to do so with the book isn’t necessarily an advantage.
My only concern is that the Kindle book does not come with the PowerPrep tests. You should check to see. If it doesn’t, then definitely get the book version.
Hope that helps!
Hello Chris,
This website is very useful. I plan to take the GRE by November and having been reading up on it and found that a lot of websites were suggesting ETS Big book. I have two questions:
1) With the revised GRE, should the big book be a primary source of practicing
2) since the book in no longer in print it is difficult to find it but I found a blog:
http://www.gre-big-book.blogspot.com/2011/05/big-book-27-test-27-gre-practicing-to.html
which has 27 tests but i dont know whether they are authentic or not. Any help and feedback on this would be very useful.
Thanks,
A
Hi Ahmed,
I think the keyword is ‘primary.’ I would not use the Big Book as a primary source. The primary source should be the current Official Guide by ETS (2nd. Edition).
That said, the Big Book is an excellent source of practice content by ETS. True, many question types do not overlap, but even ostensibly moot categories such as Antonyms can help provide strong vocab practice. The reading passages, while more narrow in scope, can help you strengthen your approach of academic-oriented passages (a few of which you’ll see test day).
Finally, the practice tests you see there look like the real thing to me. Not sure about the whole copyright thing, but I’ll leave that up to others to deal with :).
Hope that helps!
Hey Chris ,
Really need your help . I am planning to give my GRE in october first week . Please tell me which books are “must haves “and how should I start my preparation . Also guide me how many practice test should I take to get a decent score in GRE and which site offers best practice test so that I can time myself . Also how much time i should devote each week ? And do i need to learn the words for the new GRE pattern ?
Divya
Hi Divya,
Our vocabulary ebook should be very helpful:
https://magoosh.com/gre/2012/gre-vocabulary-ebook/
Also, take a look at our study plans and our book reviews:
https://magoosh.com/gre/2020/best-gre-books/
https://magoosh.com/gre/2020/gre-study-plans-and-guides/
Hope that helps!
Hi Chris,
I am planning to give GRE exam in Nov 2012 for Fall 2013.
Its july 2012, My Vocab and Maths both are not good. I want to know that 3 months are sufficient or not to crack the GRE. I left with no other option because deadlines of colleges are in Dec and Jan. I have started working hard on it, but still I am afraid.
Can you suggest me a single book for New GRE pattern and few tips to crack GRE in 2-3 month?
I look forward to hearing from you.
Thanks & Regards,
Deepali
Hi Deepali,
If I had to recommend one book for cracking the GRE, it would be the Manhattan GRE series, which is actually a few books. There is no one single book if you are serious about doing well on the exam. Many beginners do find the Princeton Review book helpful, however the questions are much easier than actual GRE questions.
Do you have suggestions for using this study guide with a more verbal focus? I realize there’s a 3 month study guide with a verbal focus written by Mike but I really like your teachings and believe you have more of a verbal bent than Mike does.
Also, I remember reading a blog post by you saying that making sense of sentence structure is more useful in getting the right answers for text completion and sentence equivalence than spending time learning vocab. With this in mind, do you think the study plan could use some updating since it still has somewhat of a vocab focus?
Thanks!!!
Hey i am Xuhair and i have 80 days to prep but i want to wrap it all in 60 days. i want more and more practicing material. Please tell me if you book is available in hard format in Pakistan?
At this point i have gone once through Barron’s GRE book but its insufficient , i need to practice more and more.
What are the other famous books should i go for?
how to increase my vocabulary, would Barron’s 3500 words list would be sufficient. there is not going to be analogies or antonyms. this list would be enough for me to prepare for the Text Completion and Sentence Equivalence section..
how should i tackle this section.
Hi Xuhair,
Magoosh only has an ebook – not a hardcopy book. The good news is you can download it right now, and for free.
In the Vocabulary book you should find an answer to your question on how to study. Even this blog is filled with this info. if you click on the tab bar at the top.
https://magoosh.com/gre/gre-ebook/
Good luck, and don’t hesitate to ask more questions!
Hi Chris,
I am going to take my first GRE test on septemeber. I am non native english speaker. I have done a lot of research on what books better fit for me and the conclusion is that there is no bible, so instead of walking around, my thoughts are to focus on the ETS Official guide and to be a member with you. Base on the above, do you think that this will give me good fundamentals to take the test?
i know that a couple of months is maybe rush for my case, since non native, but this is what i have.
Any thoughts?
Thanks,
Hi Sergio,
Welcome to the Magoosh community :).
I think using Magoosh in conjunction with the Official Guide will work well. Make sure to exploit this blog as often as possible, esp. our ebooks (link for general ebook below). Using this recipe you definitely won’t be lacking in fundamentals.
Finally, many non-natives are scored well with us. With a couple of months of diligent practice, you too will do well.
Good luck!
https://magoosh.com/gre/gre-ebook/
Hi Chris,
Can you guide me as to which version of the ‘PR Word Smart’ I should buy (choose from the two links below) considering the fact that I don’t have any reference book for vocabulary as yet ? I’m just about to buy Magoosh Premium, so will Word Smart along with vocabulary part from Magoosh suffice for my Vocabulary Reference( in addition, off course, to reading in context from journals et al) or do I also need to buy ‘Barron’s 1100 words you need to know’ (and embark upon doing 20 words daily as mentioned in the 90 days study plan in this site)?
Also I think the last offering from ‘Word Smart for GRE’ is 2007 edition (1st Link below) which was before the change in GRE pattern, so will it be suitable for prepping Vocabulary for revised GRE?
http://www.flipkart.com/word-smart-gre-2nd-0375765778/p/itmczz3u5zydjzat?pid=9780375765773&ref=ceead5ba-5748-47e0-911e-2e7f7a1d4880
OR
http://www.flipkart.com/word-smart-5th-0307945022/p/itmd389pqmw3mezg?pid=9780307945020
Hi Nupur,
One of the Word Smarts is for the GRE, one is general vocab. I actually favor the general vocabulary one. Though you could get both, I recommend the 5th edition general word smart book (the second link).
For now, you do not have to buy the Barron’s 1100, unless you feel that the Word Smart is not working out for you. One of the reasons is that Word Smart is alphabetical and makes for a better tool to check words you encounter while reading.
Hope that helps!
Hi Chris,
You said the you guys are just a click away, but I still do feel there should be direct email or chat box where Magoosh registered users should be able to contact you ( I know there is Help option but I was told that it is not a proper way to ask direct questions).
I would be glad if Magoosh comes up with a way of being in constant touch with their users.
Hi, Abdul
The Help tab is definitely the right way to ask us any direct questions– feel free to send us any questions you have through it, and we’d be happy to help!
Best,
Margarette
Chris, did you mean Math and VERBAL Lessons? I was closely examining the study guide to see when I have to watch verbal lessons after the first 2 weeks but failed so i am guessing that you meant Math and VERBAL not Video? Please clarify!! 🙂
“First Two Weeks
Primary Goals:
Work your way through Magoosh’s Math and Video Lessons (All of them!)”
Hi Sally,
Yes, this pertains to the lesson videos for both math and verbal.
Hope that clears things up :).
Hi Chris,
I’m planning on taking the GRE in September and have been reading through this blog and have my list of books to order online. I noticed that the GRE official guide 2nd Edition is due to be release Aug 3rd and I was wondering if I should wait to get the new edition or will the current one be good enough? Do they tend to change much from year to year?
Thanks!
Hi Jacqueline,
I really wish I knew the answer to this question! Unfortunately, it is really tough to say how much new content will be waiting for us in the 2nd Edition. I recommend buying the 1st Edition now. If there happens to be a trove of new questions in that book, then you can buy that book when it comes out in Aug.
Hope that helps 🙂
Hi Chris,
I have been reading up on the Magoosh blog for the past few hours and honest, am quite impressed with the kind of help that guys are extending to all of us GRE-aspirants out there!
I happen to be taking the GRE on 14th August and was actually quite confused regarding creating a plan to go about the preparation. Especially regarding the resources that can be used. Currently I have Barrons NEW GRE book but that seems to be having limited number of questions. Which other books/resources would you suggest?
Apart from that, regarding the wordlist, some people say that its a must to go through the Barrons 3500 word list. what your view on this?
Lastly, is there some reliable test out there to assess what my current level is before starting of preparation?
Thanks a ton for your time.
Hi Saagar,
Thanks for the kudos :). As for books, have you checked out the book reviews and the study guide list? Here we recommend the best sources (Barron’s is but a tiny fraction of the sources you’ll need to be successful on the GRE).
Book Reviews: https://magoosh.com/gre/2020/best-gre-books/
Study Guides: https://magoosh.com/gre/2020/gre-study-plans-and-guides/
Also, don’t forget our Ebooks: https://magoosh.com/gre/gre-ebook/
Hi Chris,
Thanks for your quick reply. Your suggestions and motivation help me to move further. Thank you :). I will wait for your Verbal questions. They are amazing.
Thanks and Regards,
Sarat
You are welcome! Hope you enjoy the verbal questions 🙂
Hi Chris,
I had forgotten to include for the peparation
a)Official guide to GRE
b)Big book
Can I use Big book for practicing RC and SC?
is it wise to include GMAT OG for the verbal part? and I had been preparing Nova’s book for Maths! Do I have to prepare MCGraw hill also?
I bought kaplan verbal practice book. You had mentioned its not good for practice. Can I do it or leave it and concentrate on GRE OG?
Is it a good idea to register for GRE after few months(suppose if I get less score for the first time and seats all filling up so fast for the months of October and November :()??
Hi Sarat,
Seems like I already anticipated a few of these questions in the previous post :).
As for Kaplan, it will hurt your score. Nova should be fine for Math. McGraw Hill is in the same category as Kaplan. Avoid.
The Big Book is def. fine for RC and SC. Sure the test is changed a little, but those questions are expertly crafted and will get you into fine shape for the exam.
As when to sign up, you should try signing up a few months in advance for the Oct./Nov. period. Doing so will help to motivate you even more.
Good luck 🙂
Hi Chris,
This is Sarat from India. First of all I wanna say BIG THANKS to you for creating this beautiful site and helping many people like me. I always look for your blog when ever I need any inspiration for GRE. Today I am writing my first mail for your suggestions.
From the past three months I had been preparing for the GRE. I had studied following materials:
1)Nova’s GRE math preparation guide
2)Barrons 800 essential words
3)Kaplan HIGH frequency words
4)Manhattan’s 500 essential words (yet to finish 500 advanced words)
5)Manhattan books for RC, TC and SE(online)
6)GRE BIble 3000 words(it was good and it was having examples, synonyms and few word games)
6)Manhattan GMAT book for CR
7)Magoosh lessons for Verbal
8)Magoosh practicing verbal questions(275)
and 9)Magoosh 300 words E-book(it was amazing :))
10) I had finished reading DH Lawrence’s “Lady Chatterly’s lover” and learnt so many words. currently reading “Animal Farm” :)(it is wonderful)
Overall I started loving English language so much and loving to learn new words. And my 9 month french classes are also helping me to learn few English words quickly ;)..
I have still two months left for the actual GRE. Currently I am planning for revising Nova’s math book and practicing Magoosh practice questions for MATHS simultaneously.
I need you suggestions for the study plan for next two months.
I got 53% for the Magoosh verbal practice(275q). I am aiming for getting 1400+(old format) to get into Top 10 universities for MS Computer science. I have 6 years of work experience.
Trust me I really want to get good score :(. As I got mere 53% marks in Magoosh verbal practice test(275Questions), will I get same marks in the actual test also??. I really want to improve them. As I was practicing last 100 questions in Magoosh, I was getting 60-70% answers correct.
I am thinking of studying below for the next two months:
1)ETS original guide for GRE
2)Revise all the words I had learnt through Quizlet by creating flash cards.
3)Practice Manhattan and Powerprep software tests.
4)Read Aldaily ,Newyorker, scientific america, economic times etc and practice words
Can you suggest me when can I take Power prep tests?
How many practice tests are enough for the GRE?
As I wanted to follow your two month plan, but I most of the things I had studied already :(.
Any suggestions please???
Thanks and Regards,
Sarat
Hi Sarat,
Great to hear that you are really applying the blog strategies for learning vocab. And that reminds me, I really have to underscore the importance of reading the classics to reinforce vocabulary. Animal Farm is full of great words, and a great message :).
So good news on the verbal side – we are adding verbal content, and already have up over 80 new Sentence Equivalence (there should be a total of 240 new questions in the coming weeks).
In your remaining time, you might also want to consider picking up a copy of the GMAT Official guide to help you with Reading Comprehension. The guide offers hundreds of questions to help with the GRE (if you are really feeling plucky you can pick up a copy of official LSAT materials).
Coupled with the Manhattan tests and the new Magoosh questions that should keep you busy–and consistently improving–until test day.
Finally for Vocab make sure you quiz yourself frequently. You should be able to go through Lady Chatterly’s Lover and readily define the words you’ve underlined (turning the tricky words into Quizlet cards).
Also, for your percentage on Magoosh that is a rough estimate. And as you’ve been steadily improving you are mixing the older results with the new results, potentially skewing your results.
Hope that helps :).
Hello Chris,
I am a GRE aspirant and wish to apply for doctorate program in molecular biology in fall 2013 when is the best time to give the exam( i wish to give it in september) also my BSC marks are average (55%) while Msc marks are good(75%) will it be a problem in my selection?Please reply
Hi Shuvolina,
There is no perfect time to take the GRE – it depends on you. One thing you may want to keep in mind is that Sept. to Nov. is when most take the GRE. It can often be very hard to get an appointment unless you reserve well in advance.
As for your marks, I don’t really know how admissions work at that level. I can definitely say that a strong GRE score can only help.
Good luck 🙂
Hello again Chris. I’m happy to be following this plan now instead of the one-week plan, haha. With this plan, how many hours each day is recommended for reasonable or preparation? I don’t want to burn myself out too fast or get behind…
oh, I forgot to mention I have 2 months.
That depends on the student. Ideally between 2-3 hours. Of course that is very difficult to sustain, especially with a hectic schedule. So do your best, and do not burn out 🙂 (if you feel burnt out just scale back the studying :).
Hi, Chris! I am planning to take GRE in about three months (end of August) and due to some applications deadline, I cannot take it a second time so I only have one chance to do it right. I want to ask, what is the average new revised GRE score? (the program I want to go into does not require GRE but I still want to improve my chances by taking it and doing decent on the GRE)
Also, I have only been memorizing vocabulary words but want to try reading in context, can you please recommend some books/papers to read that will cover vocabulary most common on GRE?
Thank you!
Hi Chris,
Ideally, meaning if the statisticians at ETS got it right, then the average score for Math and Verbal is 150. Of course, there still may be some slight deviations, e.g., 148 – Verbal, 151 Math). To be competitive, so you don’t have to take the test a second time, score 160 in both sections.
For approaching in-context vocab, I think you’ll find the Magoosh ebook helpful:
https://magoosh.com/gre/2012/gre-vocabulary-ebook/
Hi Chris,
Why does the study guide advise against taking more than two of the Manhattan practice tests?
During a two-week stretch students should have enough time to take and review the test (not to mention complete the other stuff in a two-week time period). While you can take more than two, especially if you aren’t missing too many questions, for most students two is enough.
Hope that helps!
Hi Chris,
Thanks for your reply.
On my last post I mentioned that i was preparing for the new GRE verbal using GMAT materials (for RC and CR).
Now, I feel that – since I am very thorough with the GMAT CR and RC materials – I might as well prepare for GMAT only. My intended course accepts either GRE or GMAT.
I had solved 100 (50+50) RC and CR questions on Kaplan’s GMAT premier and got only 10 of them wrong. This made me contemplate about taking the GMAT.
I am right now working on sentence-corrections, which should not be a big hurdle either.
Can you comment on the relative difficulty of the new GMAT and new GRE, and whether this whimsical decision of mine is a good one?
That’s a great question!
The GMAT is much more difficult quant-wise. So if this your strong suit, then your whimsical decision is a sound one.
Sentence Corrections aren’t too tricky so if you are doing well on the GMAT verbal definitely take the test.
In the end, I’d recommend you take both tests. Whichever score is better, i.e., has a higher percentile ranking, then submit that one.
Best of luck, and don’t forget that Magoosh can help you score very well on both tests: gre.magoosh.com and gmat.magoosh.com.
Hope that helps :).
Hello Chris:
I’m manal from Saudi Arabia I have been studying English for one year now and I took the GRE last December after studying English as a second language for 9 months and preparing for GRE for 3 months. My score was very low in all the sections as 11% in writing, 26% in Q , and 18% in verbal. Now I need to retake it and my goal just to reach the 30% in all the sections to be accepted in the university. What is your advice for me because I’m really felling lost . In the first time I used Barron books for math and general test and voc.
Thank you
Manal,
Let me just say congratulations :). For somebody who has only been studying English for one year, your ability is phenomenal. That you are even attempting the GRE after such a short time studying English is an accomplishment in of itself.
With your natural ability–and I presume drive (English isn’t easy)–you should, with a little more practice, be able to reach your goal of 30%. Anyhow, you used Barron’s, which isn’t the best source out there.
For textbooks, I recommend Manhattan GRE, and for computer-based learning, I recommend magoosh (Check out our product at gre.magoosh.com).
Let me know if you have any more questions :).
-Chris
Hi
I have been doing a lot of critical reasoning questions from GMAT materials for my GRE prep. Am I on the right track here, considering the shift in focus of the new GRE towards reasoning type questions?
Also, on average, it takes me about 2:00 minutes to answer medium-hard CR questions. Is this a good enough time, or should I be working towards speeding up a bit more?
Hi Nitish,
That’s definitely the right strategy :).
The GMAT is very similar to the GRE RC, especially now with the Critical Reasoning questions.
About 2 minutes is not too much time, provided you are answering the questions correctly. On the GRE you will only get a few CR questions that are at the GMAT medium-hard level.
Let me know how prepping goes, and don’t hesitate to ask any other questions :).
Hey Chris,
I was wondering if there is a daily 2 months plan?
Hi WL3,
As of now we don’t have any 2-month daily plans. You can adjust the three month plan accordingly, perhaps giving yourself even more to do (esp. if you are ambitious :)).
Hi Chris,
To guage my initial level, I had given ETS PowerPrep test and my score range is following.
Verbal – 400-500
Quant – 750-800
Can you please advise me what will be the right course of preparation for me. I plan to take GRE in July and have 3-4 months at hand. The above plan sounds good for me but I feel that I can stress more on Verbal part to improve my score.
Hi Chris,
I have a very low gpa in engineering (55% from my 1st semester to my 8th); I’m a computer science student. After cracking the GRE with good marks, do you think I’ll get admitted to a US school for an MS? I have no work experience or research papers, so what should I do? Is it the right decision to do the GRE? Please help!
Hi Krishna,
A good GRE score could definitely help you gain admission to an MS program. By good GRE score I mean 90% Quant, 80% Verbal. I do not know anything about specific schools in MS – so getting into a competitive program on a solid GRE score alone will be difficult.
Hope that helped!
hi chris.. i was wondering you provide full-length tests or just provide practice questions. Actually i’m concerned only with verbal part .
Hi Gaurav,
We do not provide full-length practice tests – as of yet.
What you can do, as a Magoosh user, is create mock practice tests (https://magoosh.com/gre/2011/mock-tests-for-the-new-gre/). Essentially, you can focus only on harder and very hard questions, thereby modeling the difficult section on verbal.
Does that help?
Hi, I’m from Pakistan. I’m a medical student planning to do the GRE. I have no idea how to start my prep. Being a med student I cannot afford more than 2 hours studying for GRE each day. Please tell me how to begin. I’ll be very thankful.
Hi chris,
After taking serious initiatives i’m able to crack the quans easily, but still i am weak in vocabulary section; could you please guide me through this? Currently i’m using baroons 3500 wordlist.
Hi Sur,
Here is a post that answers your question. I hope you find it helpful!
https://magoosh.com/gre/2019/best-and-worst-gre-word-lists/
Dear Chris, I appreciate your attention. I’m sorry in advance for my delay. I started my magoosh using from 11th-Sep-2011
I used its lessons videos, especially in verbal part; after that started my tests on magoosh, ETS, kaplan and Barrens.
I read the 1100 Readings and its vocabularies and some other verbal packets like Guru with around of 5100 vocabs, but unfortunally, I am still not having success. I am so worried for my next exam on 22th March.
Thank you for replying to me.
Lnaz
Hi dear Chris,
in advance, thank you so much.
I took 2 GRE on 5Nov2011, and 3Jan2012, and other one will be likely on 27March2012. unfortunately, despite taking all time on preparing for revised GRE(magoosh 2 times, ETS, Kaplan,…) but my scores are not good at all. first one was( Q 152, V 137), second one was(Q156 V136). now, I need good score for university, and I don’t know what should I do now. in advance I appreciate you to help me.
Thank you,
Lnaz
Hi Lnaz,
Sorry about your scores – though I definitely appreciate your perseverance.
A few questions – how did you prepare given that you were using Magoosh.How often did you take practice tests? And how did you focus on your weaknesses? Finally, what method did you use to learn vocabulary?
The answer to those questions should help me provide you with a study plan over the next couple months. I want to make sure that this time around you achieve your goals.
Hear from you soon!
Dear Chris, I appreciate your attention. I’m sorry in advance for my delay. I started my magoosh using from 11th-Sep-2011
I used its lessons’s videos, especially in verbal part; after that started my tests on magoosh, ETS, kaplan and Barrens.
I read the 1100 barren’s Readings and its vocabularies and some other verbal packets like Guru with around of 5100 vocabs, but unfortunally, I am still not having success. I am so worried for my next exam on 22th March.
Thank you for replying to me.
Lnaz
Well, I just finished advising a student about the importance of understanding words in context. Hopefully, you were learning some of these words, not just as definitions, but the way in which they are used in sentence (Barron’s 1100 does a little bit of this).
At this point, you’ve basically seen every word you could possibly encounter on the GRE. My suggestion: read.
Read often from the New York Times and even Newsweek magazine. You will encounter words you’ve learned. Can you define them in context? Have wordnik.com open on a browser just to check words. But without really understanding how words work in a sentence you can memorize thousand different word lists and complete a thousand practice problems without really learning words.
Let me know if that makes sense :).
Also, I can provide more advice on reading.
Best of luck (and with this approach you should have enough time before Mar. 22nd)
Hi dear Chris,
I appreciate your guidance.
I have started to read more than in the past.
I am new to this approach and it is difficult for me to adapt to it, but I’ll do my best.
Kindest Regards
Lnaz
Hi Chris,
I just have 2-3 months to take my GRE exams, i spend about 6-8 hrs a day preparing for my exam, i use Barron’s book for vocabulary, kaplan and manhattan for quans,but still could’nt get my practise tests right(i score low marks) , could you suggest me a study plan
If you are still struggling after going through those books, even the best study plan can’t help. You might consider a class or a private tutor. Magoosh offers a combination of the two – you have a private video tutor who you can pause whenever you want (it’s purely a video based format). Give it a try – we offer a free trial!
Hi Chris,
I’m planning to prepare for a little under 2 months before I take the revised GRE. I’ve taken the old GRE and scored a modest 760 Quant and 550 Verbal. I spent about 10 days preparing the first time around and focused my time on the Quant section.
My question is whether or not my old prep material (Kaplan OG, Princeton Review 1014 GRE questions) will be of any use? Also, would you say that preparing using Magoosh alone should be sufficient to score well or is the ETS OG absolutely necessary?
Thank you,
I had bad experiences using the 1,014 from Princeton Review with students on the old GRE. Riddled with errors and typos it was rush to print in this specious conclusion that more questions equals greater quality. Strong material for the old GRE can be used to prep. Don’t forget there is an old GRE powerprep test (1 and 2) that would be helpful.
That brings me to your last question: I would always supplement any prep books/system with original material. While some out there will claim you can use only their content, this claim is disingenuous. Practicing with some content is better than practicing with no content, but if you want to maximize your potential you should always use ETS material. As for complimentary prep material nothing out there is as complete as magoosh.
Hi Chris, you mentioned doing timed RCs. What type of speed should we be targeting? And how much do we expect to shave off?
Could you elaborate on this further?
Sebastian,
For the longer passages, I would focus on bringing your time down to 2 to 2:30 seconds. The key though is not simply reading the passage, but, upon finishing it, knowing what’s at issue, what are some current theories/opinions on the issue, and what the author’s take/main point is.
To get to this point, you may need to practice underlining/marking up the passage, but eventually you should be able to do the above in your head.
Hopefully that helps!
Chris,
I have seen the Barron’s 1100 words book. That book is very big… and it has a the time table of around 50 weeks, which is a very long period. Is there any way to crack the book in one month?
Please advise.
Thanks,
Siva
Hi Siva,
I know – that must seem pretty daunting. In the 30-day study guide plan I noted that it is a very aggressive one. For the Barron’s 1100 words, luckily, there are some words that are very basic. Therefore, for most, it is more like the Barron’s 800 book. That works out to a little less than 30 words a day. Again, that is a fair amount, but I’ve seen some students handle as many as 50 words a day.
Thank you, Chris!!
You’re welcome!