You’ve decided to take the GRE—great! But if you’re like many test-takers, you may worry that your math skills aren’t up to snuff for the test. After all, a lot of people haven’t seen math since college, or even high school. Not to worry! This GRE study plan: 6 months will help get you where you need to be!
Table of Contents
Choosing Your GRE Study Plan: 6 Months
I designed two different versions of the six-month plan, and I need you to start with a little self-diagnosis. Which sounds most like you?
- 📍 6 Month GRE Study Plan for Math Beginners: I hate math! I desperately need help with it if I’m going to survive the GRE at all!
- 6 Month GRE Study Plan (Advanced Math): I’m pretty good at math, and I really would like to nail Quantitative section of the GRE.
FAQ: I’m a working professional/English isn’t my first language/I need to adapt this schedule in some way!
Check out this blog post for adjustment tips!
How to Use This GRE Study Plan, 6 Months
This Magoosh 6 month study plan enjoins a relaxed pace that should be followed diligently, lest things get out of hand through procrastination. It’s designed to have you improve as much as you can improve in six months.
I have designed 25 weeks, assuming 1-2 hours for each of the five weekdays, and one 4-5 hour stint on weekends, mostly in the second half (“Day Six”). If you would prefer to work on both weekend days, and free up some weeknight time, feel free to make those changes. Many folks find that each day’s assignments take 1-2 hours, although times to complete them will vary for different students.
- In this plan, you do NOT focus exclusively on one math topic, binge on that one thing, master it, then move to the next and repeat. That design is NOT a good model for how the brain learns. This plan “spirals” in a variety of ways. By intermittent reinforcement, deepening a little more each time, you will achieve cohesive comprehension over time with this Magoosh GRE 6 month study plan.
Essential Materials
- Magoosh GRE Prep
- ETS’s Official Guide to the GRE book (If you get the 1st edition, you can use our free video explanations)
- ETS’s PowerPrep Online
- The Official GRE Quantitative Reasoning Practice Questions, for additional math practice
- The Official GRE Verbal Reasoning Practice Questions, for additional verbal practice
- Magoosh’s online GRE Flashcards. They’re free and you can use them on the web, on your iPhone/iPad or Android.
- Daily review of vocab is vital. I wrote this schedule recommending Magoosh’s GRE Flashcards, but DO NOT limit yourself to just these words. As you read and find more words you don’t know, look them up, make flashcards (including context), and make your own flashcard decks. You could have one pile for words whose denotation you are trying to master, another containing words for which you know the denotation but not the connotation, and a “done” stack that gets reviewed only rarely.
- As you study vocabulary, it’s important not only to learn the literal dictionary definition (the denotation), but also to understand the metaphorical use of the word in context (the connotation). For example, the word “opaque” literally means “not transparent,” but metaphorically it can mean “hard to understand” or, describing a person, it can mean “thick-headed, stupid.” Ultimately, you should strive to learn both the denotation and the connotation of each word.
- a journal or notebook (yes, a physical hard copy item)
- Don’t write in any of the test prep books. After a period of time you may want to go back and do a problem again that you haven’t seen for a while. You can only start it fresh if the page is free of your marks.
Supplemental/Optional Materials
Any of the steps listed in the schedule for the materials below are purely for extra practice, so they are to be done as optional tasks if you have extra time.
- Reading material: This may be any non-fiction scholarly book, history and social science preferable. You may also choose one of the recommended magazines: Scientific American, Atlantic Monthly, The New Yorker, National Geographic, The Economist, or The New York Times (a Sunday subscription is a great idea!). You are reading (a) to build your reading comprehension skills, (b) to refine your understanding of grammar and usage, and (c) to expand your vocabulary.
- Barron’s New GRE, 19th edition (We don’t have a particularly high opinion of this book. We are just going to use this volume for the practice tests.)
- McGraw Hill’s Conquering the New GRE Math
- The Manhattan GRE 5 lb. Book of GRE Practice Problems (either edition) as well as Volumes #1-6 of the Manhattan GRE books: in addition to Magoosh problems, you will also do a great deal of math practice in these books. (NOTE: the MGRE series has 8 volumes in total, but we do not recommend volumes 7 and 8).
- Manhattan’s 6 GRE online practice tests. One test is offered for free, with five additional tests available for purchase.
- The GMAT Official Guide. You DO NOT need the most up-to-date edition. In fact, I recommend getting an earlier edition (e.g., OG13 or OG12), which you probably can find used for a fraction of the cost of the newest edition. You are going to use this as a bank of additional practice problems for GRE reading comprehension. (I am not assigning any math out of this book, but if you want more math practice, feel free to do the GMAT Problem Solving practice questions, which are identical to GRE Multiple Choice math questions. GMAT math tends to be a shade more difficult than GRE math.)
- Download the Magoosh Android or iPhone app, for mobile practice
- 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
- Word Dynamo: Gives you little quizzes and games to add some variety to vocab learning
- Magoosh’s GRE Complete Guide
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. - A guide to GRE Practice Test 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.
GRE Study Plan, 6 months: Month 1
- As much as possible, get enough sleep during this period, especially in the last couple of months. REM sleep plays an important role in encoding long term memory, and in an eight hour period of sleep, the last hour has the most REM. If you are getting seven hours a night instead of eight hours a night, you are depriving your brain of one of its most powerful systems for learning and remembering. Caffeine and energy drinks will keep you feeling awake if you don’t get enough sleep, but they don’t do bupkis to replace the lost opportunity to encode more information into long term memory.
Week One
Week One, Days One to Five
1) Go to ETS.org/gre, and read about the content of the GRE. Click on and read each sub-heading link.
2) In Magoosh, watch the following lesson videos:
3) In the GRE Official Guide,
- Read Chapter 1, the introduction, including the structure, test-taking tips, and scoring
- Read Chapter 2, “GRE Analytical Writing” (just the descriptions of the question, not all the sample material)
- Read the introductory few pages of Chapter 3, “GRE Verbal Reasoning” (everything up to the sample questions)
- Read the introductory few pages of Chapter 5, “GRE Quantitative Reasoning” (everything up to the sample questions)
- Work through Chapter 7, the GRE Math Review. Do the four Exercises sets as you come to the end of each section, and correct your answers right after you do each Exercise set. Take note in your journal on what you got wrong. If you can’t figure out why you’re wrong from re-reading the Math Review, then ask us at Magoosh. If, in this process, you find you remember a lot more math than you thought, or that you are better at it than you thought, you might wish to reconsider which six-month study plan you are following.
4) Read half an hour each day. In a week, you should read 4-6 full articles from your preferred magazine or journal, and multiple chapters from your books.
5) In Magoosh’s GRE Vocabulary Flashcards, I suggest mastering 10 words each day. For each word, make sure the denotation and connotation is understood. Each day, review your stack of flashcards.
6) In Magoosh’s GRE Math Flashcards, start practicing the Algebra deck.
7) In Magoosh, set up a practice session by clicking on the “Practice” link in the header and navigating to “Custom Practice.” For Math, uncheck all of the subjects, set the difficulty to “adaptive,” the question pool to “unanswered”, the number of questions, the time to “no limit,” and the mode to “practice mode.” Do the following practice sets:
- 25 Multiple Choice math questions
NOTE: Notice in the Magoosh math questions, you are doing all topics from the get-go, whether you have already studied these or not. This means that you will make mistakes at the beginning—that’s fine! See this post on a productive attitude toward making mistakes. If, after a week or so of practice, you find that there is way too much new material for you, then narrow your studies to those topics you’re more actively studying plus one or two that you’re unfamiliar with. You should be constantly challenged. If you do narrow the topics of study, expand back to as wide a scope as possible as quickly as possible. If you can only do problems on a particular topic when you are “in the mode” for that particular topic, then you do not yet have a GRE-ready level of understanding. You are only GRE-ready if you can solve problems as they arise in mixed-topic practice: cold and with no particular preparation on that topic. That’s what the test will demand. See this GMAT post for more on levels of understanding, and this one on the value of mixed-topic practice.
After you submit your answer for each Magoosh problem, the next page will tell you whether you were right or wrong, with a video solution and a text summary. If you got the question right, skim the text summary to verify you got it right for the right reason. If you got the question wrong, watch the video, taking notes in your journal about any concept or any aspect of the question type that was unclear to you.
8) In Magoosh, set up a practice session by clicking on the “Practice” link in the header. For Verbal, again select “Adaptive.” Do the following practice sets:
- 10 Sentence Equivalence verbal questions
9) In the GMAT Official Guide (any edition)
- In Section 7.4, Reading Comprehension Practice Questions, read the first RC passage and answer the associated questions
- In Section 8.4, Critical Reasoning Practice Questions, answer the first five CR questions
NOTE: The GMAT Critical Reasoning provides excellent practice for the GRE Reading Comprehension Paragraph Argument questions. Some folks think that the LSAT Logical Reasoning questions are a little bit closer to the GRE RC PA questions. I am recommending the GMAT CR questions only because you have the book anyway for the GMAT Reading Comprehension. If you would prefer to practice LSAT problems instead, get any book of LSAT practice tests and practice the LSAT Logical Reasoning questions instead of the GMAT Critical Reasoning questions. Either one will prepare you very well for the GRE Reading Comprehension Paragraph Argument questions.
10) GRE Blogs: Read the following two blogs
Week One, Day Six
1) Download and start reading the Magoosh eBook: A Complete Guide to the Revised GRE
- This will give you an excellent overview of the entire test.
2) Download and skim the Magoosh Math Formula eBook
- You will learn all of these as part of this plan. Simply notice how many look familiar right now. You may find it helpful, a few times during the six-months, to review to this as a way of measuring how much your math skills have solidified.
3) Download and skim the Magoosh GRE Vocabulary eBook
- Read the strategy section (“Making Words Stick”). Use this book’s word lists and its way of clustering together either related words or words important to distinguish as a complement to your other vocabulary learning. When you learn a new word, say, from the Magoosh GRE Flashcards and you remember it was one listed here, go back to review the connections here.
4) In the Manhattan GRE 5-lb Book of Practice Problems
- Do the Math Diagnostic test (pp. 27-32)
Keep a 35 minute time limit, and use no calculator at all. This will give you a good sense of what you most need to practice. When you are done with this and with any math practice, skim the explanations of the questions you got right, to verify that you got them right for the right reasons. Study carefully the explanations of any questions you got wrong, taking notes on anything unfamiliar. As you learn topics in the Magoosh videos or in the Manhattan GRE series of books, you may want to come back and review the problems you got wrong on this and try to understand it at a deeper level.
Week Two
Week Two, Days One to Six
1) In Magoosh, watch the following lesson videos:
NOTE: At the end of any math module with a quiz, take the quiz, and continue to review and retake it on successive days until you can pass.
2) In McGraw Hill’s Conquering the New GRE Math
- Read Chapter #1-6; do all exercises in the course of those pages.
NOTE: For exercises in the McGraw Hill’s Conquering the New GRE Math book: As soon as you work through an exercise set, correct your work. See if you can figure out your mistake on your own first, and then read the solutions thorough, taking notes in your journal on whatever was new, unfamiliar, or confusing.
3) In the Manhattan GRE 5-lb Book of Practice Problems
- Do Ch. 7 Arithmetic
NOTE: the problems sets in this book start very easy, and increase in difficulty. You should definitely do the first 20 problems in each chapter, and if you are having reasonable success, continue through to the rest of the problems. Even if you give up on the last few problems, make sure to read the explanations for them so that you learn from them and understand them.
We recommend all the math problems in this book, because they are of very high quality. We do not recommend the verbal material in this book.
4) Read at least half an hour each day. In a week, you should read 4-6 full articles from periodicals of your choice, and multiple chapters from your books. As you read, note grammatical structures, and look up and write down any words you don’t know.
5) In Magoosh’s GRE Vocabulary Flashcards, look over the next 50 words. I suggest doing 10 words each day. Each day, review at least some of your flashcard decks.
6) In Magoosh’s GRE Math Flashcards, continue reviewing the Algebra deck.
7) GMAT Official Guide (any edition)
- In Section 7.4, Reading Comprehension Practice Questions, read the next RC passage and answer the associated questions
- In Section 8.4, Critical Reasoning Practice Questions, answer the next five CR questions
8) In Magoosh, do the following problems
- 25 Multiple Choice math problems
- 10 Quantitative Comparison math problems
- 10 Data Interpretation math problems
- 20 Text Completion verbal questions
- 10 Sentence Equivalence questions
- 15 Reading Comprehension questions
NOTE: Some of Magoosh’s GRE RC questions are standalone questions, the Paragraph Argument questions, but questions that come with a passage are batched with that passage. Always do all the questions associated with a passage in one sitting. This may mean some weeks, you do a little more or a little less than 15 RC questions: that’s fine, as long as you keep up about an average of 15.
9) In the Manhattan GRE series
- Read Volume 1: Algebra, and do all the practice problems as you work through the book.
NOTE: Instead of an official “Day Six” assignment, some of these early weeks you will be working through one of the Manhattan GRE volumes and some problems from the GRE Verbal Practice book. You don’t have to do all the other practice on weekdays and read these two books only on the weekend! You get to decide how you want to distribute the work of this week so that it most makes sense for you. Because of the extra work of reading through the extra book, you are not assigned a formal Day Six. Use Day Six simply to finish the week’s work.
10) In the Official GRE Verbal Reasoning Practice Questions book
- Skim the first two chapters: most of that should be familiar.
- In Ch. 3, do the Reading Comprehension practice sets, starting on p. 18. Correct your work when you are done.
Week Three
Week Three, Days One to Six
1) In Magoosh, watch the following lesson videos:
2) In McGraw Hill’s Conquering the New GRE Math
- Read Chapter 7, up to the first Number Properties test. Do the Practice Problems and the Numbers Properties Test 1.
3) In the Manhattan GRE 5-lb Book of Practice Problems
- Do Ch. 8 Algebra
4) Read at least half an hour each day. In a week, you should read 4-6 full articles from periodicals of your choice, and multiple chapters from your books. As you read, note grammatical structures, and look up and write down any words you don’t know.
5) In Magoosh’s GRE Vocabulary Flashcards, look over the next 50 words. I suggest doing 10 words each day. Each day, review at least some of your flashcard decks.
6) In Magoosh’s GRE Math Flashcards, start studying the Fractions, Ratios, and Percents deck. Continue to review the previous deck.
7) GMAT Official Guide (any edition)
- In Section 7.4, Reading Comprehension Practice Questions, read the next RC passage and answer the associated questions
- In Section 8.4, Critical Reasoning Practice Questions, answer the next five CR questions
8) In Magoosh, do the following problems
- 25 Multiple Choice math problems
- 10 Quantitative Comparison math problems
- 10 Data Interpretation math problems
- 20 Text Completion verbal questions
- 10 Sentence Equivalence questions
- 15 Reading Comprehension questions
9) In the Manhattan GRE series
- Read Volume 2: Fractions, Decimals, & Percents, and do all the practice problems as you work through the book.
10) In the Official GRE Verbal Reasoning Practice Questions book
- In Ch. 4, do the Text Completion practice sets, starting on p. 58. Correct your work when you are done.
Week Four
Week Four, Days One to Five
1) In Magoosh, watch the following lesson videos:
2) In McGraw Hill’s Conquering the New GRE Math
- Continue working through Chapter 7, up to the second Number Properties Test 2. Do all associated sets of Practice Problems up to and including the Numbers Properties Test 2.
3) In the Manhattan GRE 5-lb Book of Practice Problems
- Do Ch. 9 Inequalities and Absolute Values
4) Read at least half an hour each day. In a week, you should read 4-6 full articles from periodicals of your choice, and multiple chapters from your books. As you read, note grammatical structures, and look up and write down any words you don’t know.
5) In Magoosh’s GRE Vocabulary Flashcards, look over the next 50 words. I suggest doing 10 words each day. Each day, review at least some of your flashcard decks.
6) In Magoosh’s GRE Math Flashcards, continue reviewing the Fractions, Ratios, and Percents deck. Continue to review the previous deck. Do a little review with these each day.
7) GMAT Official Guide (any edition)
- In Section 7.4, Reading Comprehension Practice Questions, read the next RC passage and answer the associated questions
- In Section 8.4, Critical Reasoning Practice Questions, answer the next five CR questions
8) In Magoosh, do the following problems
- 25 Multiple Choice math problems
- 10 Quantitative Comparison math problems
- 10 Data Interpretation math problems
- 20 Text Completion verbal questions
- 10 Sentence Equivalence questions
- 15 Reading Comprehension questions
Week Four, Day Six
1) On Magoosh
- Take a practice GRE. You launch the practice test from the Dashboard, following the link: “Take a practice test.”
- As much as possible, try to mimic the GRE conditions. Give yourself relatively short breaks in between sections. Only eat the kinds of snacks that you are planning to bring to the real GRE. Note how your sleep the night before affects your work. Note how what you had for dinner the previous night and what you had to eat earlier that day affects your energy level and concentration. Write any observations in your journal.
NOTE: This is the first time in this plan that you wrote two GRE-style essays, the Issue task and the Argument task. Once you are done with the test, copy what you have written in to a Word doc.
As you do practice questions from Magoosh over the coming months, you will see some repeat questions at various points. That’s actually a great opportunity for you: if you get the question wrong the first time, can you learn from it sufficiently so that, when it reappears out of the blue months later, you can nail it? The mark of an excellent student is never to make the same mistake twice. How deeply do you have to understand the mistake you make here, so that you can nail these questions when you see them again at some point down the line?
Now that you have these essays, what do you do with them? If you have a friend or mentor who is a gifted writer, ask them to read the essays for you and critique them. If they are willing, you can show them the assessment criteria in the GRE Official Guide, and ask them to follow it. If you can afford it, hire a writing coach or writing tutor: show that tutor the assessment criteria in the OG, and have them give you feedback. If you can’t afford a writing tutor and can’t convince anyone else to read it, you may try posting them on TheGradCafe, and see whether an expert there will critique your essay. Failing any of these options, set the essays aside, and in a couple of days re-read them with the Official Guide’s rubric beside you. (Notice whatever route worked for you with these essays; you can repeat that with all the practice essays you write as part of this GRE study plan: 6 months.)
GRE Study Plan, 6 months: Month 2
Week Five
Week Five, Days One to Six
1) In Magoosh, watch the following lesson videos:
2) In McGraw Hill’s Conquering the New GRE Math
- Do the Solved GRE Problems and the GRE Practice Problems at the end of Chapter 7. In Chapter 8, read through the first two sets of Practice Problems, and do those Practice Problems.
3) In the Manhattan GRE 5-lb Book of Practice Problems
- Do Ch. 10 Functions, Formulas, and Sequences
4) Read at least half an hour each day. In a week, you should read 4-6 full articles from periodicals of your choice, and multiple chapters from your books. As you read, note grammatical structures, and look up and write down any words you don’t know.
5) In Magoosh’s GRE Vocabulary Flashcards, look over the next 50 words. I suggest doing 10 words each day. Each day, review at least some of your flashcard decks.
6) In Magoosh’s GRE Math Flashcards, start learning the Geometry deck. Continue to review the previous decks. Do a little review with these each day.
7) GMAT Official Guide (any edition)
- In Section 7.4, Reading Comprehension Practice Questions, read the next RC passage and answer the associated questions
- In Section 8.4, Critical Reasoning Practice Questions, answer the next five CR questions
8) In Magoosh, do the following problems
- 25 Multiple Choice math problems
- 10 Quantitative Comparison math problems
- 10 Numerical Entry math problems
- 20 Text Completion verbal questions
- 10 Sentence Equivalence questions
- 15 Reading Comprehension questions
9) In the Manhattan GRE series
- Read Volume 3: Geometry, and do all the practice problems as you work through the book.
10) In the Official GRE Verbal Reasoning Practice Questions book
- In Ch. 5, do the Sentence Completion practice sets, starting on p. 80. Correct your work when you are done.
Week Six
Week Six, Days One to Five
1) In Magoosh, watch the following videos
2) In McGraw Hill’s Conquering the New GRE Math
- Continue reading Chapter 8. Do all the associated sets of Practice Problems up to, but not including, the Arithmetic Computation Test 1.
3) In the Manhattan GRE 5-lb Book of Practice Problems
- Do Ch. 11 Fractions and Decimals
4) Read at least half an hour each day. In a week, you should read 4-6 full articles from periodicals of your choice, and multiple chapters from your books. As you read, note grammatical structures, and look up and write down any words you don’t know.
5) In Magoosh’s GRE Vocabulary Flashcards, look over the next 50 words. I suggest doing 10 words each day. Each day, review at least some of your flashcard decks.
6) In Magoosh’s GRE Math Flashcards, continue reviewing the Geometry deck. Continue to review the previous decks. Do a little review with these each day.
7) GMAT Official Guide (any edition)
- In Section 7.4, Reading Comprehension Practice Questions, read the next RC passage and answer the associated questions
- In Section 8.4, Critical Reasoning Practice Questions, answer the next five CR questions
8) In Magoosh, do the following problems
- 25 Multiple Choice math problems
- 10 Quantitative Comparison math problems
- 10 Multiple Answer math problems
- 20 Text Completion verbal questions
- 10 Sentence Equivalence questions
- 15 Reading Comprehension questions
Week Six, Day Six
In the GRE Official Guide:
a) in Official Guide, do the Verbal Reasoning Practice Sets 1-6
b) in Official Guide, do the Quantitative Reasoning Practice Sets 1-4
Treat this as a quasi-mock GRE. Do consecutive batches of 2-3 set without interruption, to simulate more effectively a real GRE. Set a timer for the time limits. Here are the time limits to observe:
- Official Guide Verbal Reasoning Set 1 = 12 minutes
- Official Guide Verbal Reasoning Set 2 = 15 minutes
- Official Guide Verbal Reasoning Set 3 = 12 minutes
- Official Guide Verbal Reasoning Set 4 = 15 minutes
- Official Guide Verbal Reasoning Set 5 = 14 minutes
- Official Guide Verbal Reasoning Set 6 = 16 minutes
- Official Guide Quantitative Reasoning Set 1 = 22 minutes
- Official Guide Quantitative Reasoning Set 2 = 23 minutes
- Official Guide Quantitative Reasoning Set 4 = 11 minutes
In addition, do this section. This last section consists of HARD math questions. If you want a challenge, do it with the time constraints, but if you are not looking for an extra mathematical challenge, then just go through these problems untimed.
- Official Guide Quantitative Reasoning Set 3 (24 minutes)
After you are done, check all your answers. For any question you got right, skim the explanation to verify that you got it right for the right reason. For any question you got wrong, read the explanation thorough, taking notes in your journal on any concepts you didn’t understand and anything about the question format that psyched you out. You can also watch the Magoosh Video Explanations of the OG practice questions.
Week Seven
Week Seven, Days One to Six
1) In Magoosh, watch the following videos
2) In McGraw Hill’s Conquering the New GRE Math
- Do the Arithmetic Computation Test 1, as well as the Solved GRE Problems and the GRE Practice Problems that follow it.
3) In the Manhattan GRE 5-lb Book of Practice Problems
- Do Ch. 12 Percents
4) Read at least half an hour each day. In a week, you should read 4-6 full articles from periodicals of your choice, and multiple chapters from your books. As you read, note grammatical structures, and look up and write down any words you don’t know.
5) In Magoosh’s GRE Vocabulary Flashcards, look over the next 50 words. I suggest doing 10 words each day. Each day, review at least some of your flashcard decks.
6) In Magoosh’s GRE Math Flashcards, start learning the Number Properties I deck. Continue to review the previous decks. Do a little review with these each day.
7) GMAT Official Guide (any edition)
- In Section 7.4, Reading Comprehension Practice Questions, read the next RC passage and answer the associated questions
- In Section 8.4, Critical Reasoning Practice Questions, answer the next five CR questions
8) In Magoosh, do the following problems
- 25 Multiple Choice math problems
- 10 Quantitative Comparison math problems
- 10 Numeric Entry math problems
- 20 Text Completion verbal questions
- 10 Sentence Equivalence questions
- 15 Reading Comprehension questions
9) In the Manhattan GRE series
- Read Volume 4: Number Properties, and do all the practice problems as you work through the book.
10) In the Official GRE Verbal Reasoning Practice Questions book
- In Ch. 6, do the Mixed Practice Set I, starting on p. 102. Correct your work when you are done.
Week Eight
Week Eight, Days One to Five
1) In Magoosh, watch the following videos
2) In McGraw Hill’s Conquering the New GRE Math
- Continue reading Chapter 8, through to the section “Motion and Work Problems.” Do the three associated sets of Practice Problems in that stretch.
3) In the Manhattan GRE 5-lb Book of Practice Problems
- Do Ch. 13 Divisibility and Primes
4) Read at least half an hour each day. In a week, you should read 4-6 full articles from periodicals of your choice, and multiple chapters from your books. As you read, note grammatical structures, and look up and write down any words you don’t know.
5) In Magoosh’s GRE Vocabulary Flashcards, look over the next 50 words. I suggest doing 10 words each day. Each day, review at least some of your flashcard decks.
6) In Magoosh’s GRE Math Flashcards, continue reviewing the Number Properties I deck. Continue to review the previous decks. Do a little review with these each day.
7) GMAT Official Guide (any edition)
- In Section 7.4, Reading Comprehension Practice Questions, read the next RC passage and answer the associated questions
- In Section 8.4, Critical Reasoning Practice Questions, answer the next five CR questions
8) In Magoosh, do the following problems
- 25 Multiple Choice math problems
- 10 Quantitative Comparison math problems
- 10 Multiple Answer math problems
- 20 Text Completion verbal questions
- 10 Sentence Equivalence questions
- 15 Reading Comprehension questions
Week Eight, Day Six
1) In Barron’s New GRE book
- Take Model Test #1. Write the essays on your computer, in Word. As much as possible, try to mimic the GRE conditions. Give yourself relatively short breaks in between sections. Only eat the kinds of snacks that you are planning to bring to the real GRE. Note how your sleep the night before affects your work. Note how what you had for dinner the previous night and what you had to eat earlier that day affects your energy level and concentration. Write any observations in your journal.
- Take the whole test, and as soon as you are done, grade yourself. For whatever you got wrong, first try to figure it out yourself, and then read and study the explanations, taking notes on whatever you got wrong — whatever about the concepts or the questions format was unclear.
GRE Study Plan, 6 months: Month 3
Week Nine
Week Nine, Days One to Six
1) In Magoosh, watch the following videos
2) In McGraw Hill’s Conquering the New GRE Math
- Continue reading Chapter 8, though the section “Types of Averages”; do the three associated sets of Practice Problems in that stretch.
3) In the Manhattan GRE 5-lb Book of Practice Problems
- Do Ch. 14 Exponents and Roots
4) Read at least half an hour each day. In a week, you should read 4-6 full articles from periodicals of your choice, and multiple chapters from your books. As you read, note grammatical structures, and look up and write down any words you don’t know.
5) In Magoosh’s GRE Vocabulary Flashcards, look over the next 50 words. I suggest doing 10 words each day. Each day, review at least some of your flashcard decks.
6) In Magoosh’s GRE Math Flashcards, start learning the Number Properties II deck. Continue to review the previous decks. Do a little review with these each day.
7) GMAT Official Guide (any edition)
- In Section 7.4, Reading Comprehension Practice Questions, read the next RC passage and answer the associated questions
- In Section 8.4, Critical Reasoning Practice Questions, answer the next five CR questions
8) In Magoosh, do the following problems
- 25 Multiple Choice math problems
- 10 Quantitative Comparison math problems
- 10 Data Interpretation math problems
- 20 Text Completion verbal questions
- 10 Sentence Equivalence questions
- 15 Reading Comprehension questions
9) In the Manhattan GRE series
- Read Volume 5: Word Problems, and do all the practice problems as you work through the book.
10) In the Official GRE Verbal Reasoning Practice Questions book
- In Ch. 6, do the Mixed Practice Set II, starting on p. 126. Correct your work when you are done.
Week Ten
Week Ten, Days One to Five
1) In Magoosh, watch the following videos
2) In McGraw Hill’s Conquering the New GRE Math
- Continue reading Chapter Eight, through the section on “Simple Probability”; do the two associated sets of Practice Problems in that stretch, everything up to but not including “Arithmetic Computation Test 2.”
3) In the Manhattan GRE 5-lb Book of Practice Problems
- Do Ch. 15 Number Properties
4) Read at least half an hour each day. In a week, you should read 4-6 full articles from periodicals of your choice, and multiple chapters from your books. As you read, note grammatical structures, and look up and write down any words you don’t know.
5) In Magoosh’s GRE Vocabulary Flashcards, look over the next 50 words. I suggest doing 10 words each day. Each day, review at least some of your flashcard decks.
6) In Magoosh’s GRE Math Flashcards, continue reviewing the Number Properties II deck. Continue to review the previous decks. Do a little review with these each day.
7) GMAT Official Guide (any edition)
- In Section 7.4, Reading Comprehension Practice Questions, read the next RC passage and answer the associated questions
- In Section 8.4, Critical Reasoning Practice Questions, answer the next five CR questions
8) In Magoosh, do the following problems
- 25 Multiple Choice math problems
- 10 Quantitative Comparison math problems
- 10 Data Interpretation math problems
- 20 Text Completion verbal questions
- 10 Sentence Equivalence questions
- 15 Reading Comprehension questions
Week Ten, Day Six
1) In Barron’s New GRE book
- Take Model Test #2. Write the essays on your computer, in Word. As much as possible, try to mimic the GRE conditions. Give yourself relatively short breaks in between sections. Only eat the kinds of snacks that you are planning to bring to the real GRE. Note how your sleep the night before affects your work. Note how what you had for dinner the previous night and what you had to eat earlier that day affects your energy level and concentration. Write any observations in your journal.
- Take the whole test, and as soon as you are done, grade yourself. For whatever you got wrong, first try to figure it out yourself, and then read and study the explanations, taking notes on whatever you got wrong — whatever about the concepts or the questions format was unclear.
Week Eleven
Week Eleven, Days One to Six
1) In Magoosh, watch the following videos
2) In McGraw Hill’s Conquering the New GRE Math
- Do the Arithmetic Computation Test 2, as well as the Solved GRE Problems and the GRE Practice Problems at the end of Chapter Eight.
3) In the Manhattan GRE 5-lb Book of Practice Problems
- Do Ch. 16 Word Properties
4) Read at least half an hour each day. In a week, you should read 4-6 full articles from periodicals of your choice, and multiple chapters from your books. As you read, note grammatical structures, and look up and write down any words you don’t know.
5) In Magoosh’s GRE Vocabulary Flashcards, look over the next 50 words. I suggest doing 10 words each day. Each day, review at least some of your flashcard decks.
6) In Magoosh’s GRE Math Flashcards, start learning the Statistics and Probability deck. Continue to review the previous decks. Do a little review with these each day.
7) GMAT Official Guide (any edition)
- In Section 7.4, Reading Comprehension Practice Questions, read the next RC passage and answer the associated questions
- In Section 8.4, Critical Reasoning Practice Questions, answer the next five CR questions
8) In Magoosh, do the following problems
- 25 Multiple Choice math problems
- 10 Quantitative Comparison math problems
- 10 Data Interpretation math problems
- 20 Text Completion verbal questions
- 10 Sentence Equivalence questions
- 15 Reading Comprehension questions
9) In the Manhattan GRE series
- Read Volume 6: Quantitative Comparisons & Data Interpretation, and do all the practice problems as you work through the book.
- This is the last math volume in that series. I do not assign any more formal work from these books in this schedule, but keep these books in mind for reference. If, later in the program, you need to brush up on some topic, these six volumes are once source you can consult.
10) In the Official GRE Verbal Reasoning Practice Questions book
- In Ch. 6, do the Mixed Practice Set III, starting on p. 152. Correct your work when you are done.
- I will not assign anything else from this book, since we worked all the way through it, but feel free to come back to it for review.
Week Twelve
Week Twelve, Days One to Five
1) In Magoosh, watch the following videos
- The GRE Data Interpretation module
- The Advanced Quantitative Comparison Strategies module
- The Paragraph Argument module
2) In McGraw Hill’s Conquering the New GRE Math
- Begin reading Chapter Nine, through “Radical Expressions”; do the three associated sets of Practice Problems, everything up but not including “Algebra Test 2.”
3) In the Manhattan GRE 5-lb Book of Practice Problems
- Do Ch. 17 Two-Variable Word Properties
4) Read at least half an hour each day. In a week, you should read 4-6 full articles from periodicals of your choice, and multiple chapters from your books. As you read, note grammatical structures, and look up and write down any words you don’t know.
5) In Magoosh’s GRE Vocabulary Flashcards, look over the next 50 words. I suggest doing 10 words each day. Each day, review at least some of your flashcard decks.
6) In Magoosh’s GRE Math Flashcards, continue reviewing the Statistics and Probability deck. Continue to review the previous decks. Do a little review with these each day.
7) GMAT Official Guide (any edition)
- In Section 7.4, Reading Comprehension Practice Questions, read the next RC passage and answer the associated questions
- In Section 8.4, Critical Reasoning Practice Questions, answer the next five CR questions
8) In Magoosh, do the following:
- If you took a full Magoosh practice test way back on Week 4, Day 6 (about eight weeks ago), then at this point, you may be close to running out of Magoosh questions. If the remaining questions are enough for you to do in a week, then do all the unanswered questions, so that you have done each Magoosh question once. At that point, you will reset all the stats in your Magoosh account, and re-do all the Magoosh questions over the next half of the plan. Many of the Magoosh students who see the biggest score increase do all the Magoosh questions more than once.
- If, at the beginning of this week, you have considerably more questions than you could finish in one week, then do a load of Magoosh questions comparable to that of Week 11, #8, and keep doing that until you have a week in which you finish the questions. At that point, reset the stats.
Week Twelve, Day Six
1) Today, you are going to take one of the paper-based GREs in the back of the Official Guide, Practice Test #1, beginning on p. 303. For each of the essays, write the essay in a word-processing program on the computer, and keep a strict time limit. For the other sections, you can write the answers either in a word-processing program on the computer, or on paper: just don’t write in the book. Observe strict time-limits for each section.
As much as possible, try to mimic the GRE conditions. Give yourself relatively short breaks in between sections. Only eat the kinds of snacks that you are planning to bring to the real GRE. Note how your sleep the night before affects your work. Note how what you had for dinner the previous night and what you had to eat earlier that day affects your energy level and concentration. Write any observations in your journal.
After you are done, check all your answers. For any question you got right, skim the explanation to verify that you got it right for the right reason. For any question you got wrong, read the explanation thorough, taking notes in your journal on any concepts you didn’t understand and anything about the question format that psyched you out. You should also watch the Magoosh video explanations for the first practice test, at the bottom of that page.
GRE Study Plan, 6 months: Month 4
Week Thirteen
Week Thirteen, Days One to Six
1) In Magoosh, watch the following videos
At this point, you will begin re-watching the entire Magoosh lesson library. If you have been performing well in Verbal, you could skip or skim the Verbal lessons. Because you have identified as a student who struggles with math, I will recommend that you watch the Quantitative lesson videos again. As you watch, pay very close attention to what you remembered and what you understand better this time around.
2) In McGraw Hill’s Conquering the New GRE Math
- Do the Algebra Test 1, as well as the Solved GRE Problems and the GRE Practice Problems immediately following that test.
3) In the Manhattan GRE 5-lb Book of Practice Problems
- Do Ch. 18 Rates and Work
4) Read at least half an hour each day. In a week, you should read 4-6 full articles from periodicals of your choice, and multiple chapters from your books. As you read, note grammatical structures, and look up and write down any words you don’t know.
5) In Magoosh’s GRE Vocabulary Flashcards, look over the next 50 words. I suggest doing 10 words each day. Each day, review at least some of your flashcard decks.
6) In Magoosh’s GRE Math Flashcards, start studying the Mixed Practice I deck. Continue to review the previous decks. Do a little review with these each day.
7) GMAT Official Guide (any edition)
- In Section 7.4, Reading Comprehension Practice Questions, read the next RC passage and answer the associated questions
- In Section 8.4, Critical Reasoning Practice Questions, answer the next five CR questions
8) In Magoosh, do the following problems
- See the note at Week 12, #8. Starting at this week, I will assume that you finished all the Magoosh questions. If you have, start re-doing the questions with the ones below, and the ones for following weeks. If you still have unanswered Magoosh questions, finish them first, and after you reset, jump into the questions for whatever week you are on.
- 25 Multiple Choice math problems
- 10 Quantitative Comparison math problems
- 15 Text Completion verbal questions
- 10 Sentence Equivalence questions
- 15 Reading Comprehension questions
9) In the Official GRE Quantitative Reasoning Practice Questions book
- Skim Ch. 1-2: these should be entirely review at this point
- Do all the practice problem sets in
- Chapter 3 Arithmetic
- Chapter 4 Algebra
- Chapter 5 Geometry
- Do the problems, then correct your work
For this week, there is no formal Day Six assignment. Because you have the extra work from this book, there is no additional Day Six work. You do NOT have to do everything else before the weekend, and do the Quantitative Reasoning book only on the weekend! You get to choose how to distribute the work of the week so that it best works for you.
Week Fourteen
Week Fourteen, Days One to Five
1) In Magoosh, re-watch the following videos
2) In McGraw Hill’s Conquering the New GRE Math
- Continue reading Chapter Nine, through the section “Factoring Algebraic Expression.” Do the three associated sets of Practice Problems.
3) In the Manhattan GRE 5-lb Book of Practice Problems
- Do Ch. 19 Variables-in-the-Choices Problems
4) Read at least half an hour each day. In a week, you should read 4-6 full articles from periodicals of your choice, and multiple chapters from your books. As you read, note grammatical structures, and look up and write down any words you don’t know.
5) In Magoosh’s GRE Vocabulary Flashcards, look over the next 50 words. I suggest doing 10 words each day. Each day, review at least some of your flashcard decks.
6) In Magoosh’s GRE Math Flashcards, continue reviewing the Mixed Practice I deck. Continue to review the previous decks. Do a little review with these each day.
7) GMAT Official Guide (any edition)
- In Section 7.4, Reading Comprehension Practice Questions, read the next RC passage and answer the associated questions
- In Section 8.4, Critical Reasoning Practice Questions, answer the next five CR questions
8) In Magoosh, do the following problems
- 25 Multiple Choice math problems
- 10 Quantitative Comparison math problems
- 10 Data Interpretation math problems
- 15 Text Completion verbal questions
- 10 Sentence Equivalence questions
- 15 Reading Comprehension questions
Week Fourteen, Day Six
1) Today, you are going to take the other of the paper-based GREs in the back of the Official Guide, Practice Test #2, beginning on p. 431. For each of the essays, write the essay in a word-processing program on the computer, and keep a strict time limit. For the other sections, you can write the answers either in a word-processing program on the computer, or on paper: just don’t write in the book. Observe strict time-limits for each section.
As much as possible, try to mimic the GRE conditions. Give yourself relatively short breaks in between sections. Only eat the kinds of snacks that you are planning to bring to the real GRE. Note how your sleep the night before affects your work. Note how what you had for dinner the previous night and what you had to eat earlier that day affects your energy level and concentration. Write any observations in your journal.
After you are done, check all your answers. For any question you got right, skim the explanation to verify that you got it right for the right reason. For any question you got wrong, read the explanation thorough, taking notes in your journal on any concepts you didn’t understand and anything about the question format that psyched you out. You should also watch the Magoosh video explanations for the second practice test.
Week Fifteen
Week Fifteen, Days One to Six
1) In Magoosh, re-watch the following videos
2) In McGraw Hill’s Conquering the New GRE Math
- Continue reading Chapter Nine, up to the Algebra Test 2. Do all associated sets of Practice Problems and do the Algebra Test 2.
3) In the Manhattan GRE 5-lb Book of Practice Problems
- Do Ch. 20 Ratios Problems
4) Read at least half an hour each day. In a week, you should read 4-6 full articles from periodicals of your choice, and multiple chapters from your books. As you read, note grammatical structures, and look up and write down any words you don’t know.
5) In Magoosh’s GRE Vocabulary Flashcards, look over the next 50 words. I suggest doing 10 words each day. Each day, review at least some of your flashcard decks.
6) In Magoosh’s GRE Math Flashcards, start studying the Mixed Practice II deck. Continue to review the previous decks. Do a little review with these each day.
7) GMAT Official Guide (any edition)
- In Section 7.4, Reading Comprehension Practice Questions, read the next RC passage and answer the associated questions
- In Section 8.4, Critical Reasoning Practice Questions, answer the next five CR questions
8) In Magoosh, do the following problems
- 25 Multiple Choice math problems
- 10 Quantitative Comparison math problems
- 10 Data Interpretation math problems
- 15 Text Completion verbal questions
- 10 Sentence Equivalence questions
- 15 Reading Comprehension questions
9) In the Official GRE Quantitative Reasoning Practice Questions book do all the practice problem sets in:
- Chapter 6 Data Analysis
- Chapter 7 Mixed Practice Sets = do all three sets
- Do the problems, then correct your work
As in Week 13, there is no formal Day Six assignment for this week. Because you have the extra work from this book, there is no additional Day Six work. You do NOT have to do everything else before the weekend, and do the Quantitative Reasoning book only on the weekend! You get to choose how to distribute the work of the week so that it best works for you.
Week Sixteen
Week Sixteen, Days One to Five
1) In Magoosh, re-watch the following videos
2) In McGraw Hill’s Conquering the New GRE Math
- In Chapter Nine, do the Solved GRE Problems and the GRE Practice Problems immediately after the “Algebra Test 2.” Then, continue reading, through the section “Equations with Radicals”, and do the Practice Problems at the end of that section.
3) In the Manhattan GRE 5-lb Book of Practice Problems
- Do Ch. 21 Averages, Weighted Averages, Mean, and Mode Problems
4) Read at least half an hour each day. In a week, you should read 4-6 full articles from periodicals of your choice, and multiple chapters from your books. As you read, note grammatical structures, and look up and write down any words you don’t know.
5) In Magoosh’s GRE Vocabulary Flashcards, look over the next 50 words. I suggest doing 10 words each day. Each day, review at least some of your flashcard decks.
6) In Magoosh’s GRE Math Flashcards, continue reviewing the Mixed Practice II deck. Continue to review the previous decks. Do a little review with these each day.
7) GMAT Official Guide (any edition)
- In Section 7.4, Reading Comprehension Practice Questions, read the next RC passage and answer the associated questions
- In Section 8.4, Critical Reasoning Practice Questions, answer the next five CR questions
8) In Magoosh, do the following problems
- 25 Multiple Choice math problems
- 10 Quantitative Comparison math problems
- 10 Data Interpretation math problems
- 15 Text Completion verbal questions
- 10 Sentence Equivalence questions
- 15 Reading Comprehension questions
Week Sixteen, Day Six
1) Today, you are going to take a full-length practice test, using the first of the six Manhattan GRE practice tests online.
As much as possible, try to mimic the GRE conditions. Give yourself relatively short breaks in between sections. Only eat the kinds of snacks that you are planning to bring to the real GRE. Note how your sleep the night before affects your work. Note how what you had for dinner the previous night and what you had to eat earlier that day affects your energy level and concentration. Write any observations in your journal.
After you are done, check all your answers. For any question you got right, skim the explanation to verify that you got it right for the right reason. For any question you got wrong, read the explanation thorough, taking notes in your journal on any concepts you didn’t understand and anything about the question format that psyched you out.
GRE Study Plan, 6 months: Month 5
Week Seventeen
Week Seventeen, Days One to Five
1) In Magoosh, re-watch the following videos
2) In McGraw Hill’s Conquering the New GRE Math
- In Chapter Nine, continue reading through the section “Quadratic Equations and Inequalities,” and do the three associated sets of Practice Problems.
3) In the Manhattan GRE 5-lb Book of Practice Problems
- Do Ch. 22 Standard Deviation and Normal Distribution Problems
4) Read at least half an hour each day. In a week, you should read 4-6 full articles from periodicals of your choice, and multiple chapters from your books. As you read, note grammatical structures, and look up and write down any words you don’t know.
5) In Magoosh’s GRE Vocabulary Flashcards, look over the next 50 words. I suggest doing 10 words each day. Each day, review at least some of your flashcard decks.
6) In Magoosh’s GRE Math Flashcards, start studying the Mixed Practice III deck. Continue to review the previous decks. Do a little review with these each day.
7) GMAT Official Guide (any edition)
- In Section 7.4, Reading Comprehension Practice Questions, read the next RC passage and answer the associated questions
- In Section 8.4, Critical Reasoning Practice Questions, answer the next five CR questions
8) In Magoosh, do the following problems
- 25 Multiple Choice math problems
- 10 Quantitative Comparison math problems
- 10 Numerical Entry math problems
- 15 Text Completion verbal questions
- 10 Sentence Equivalence questions
- 15 Reading Comprehension questions
Week Seventeen, Day Six
1) Today, you are going to write two essays, half an hour each. You will write an Issue essay and an Argument essay. You will be writing on the official GRE topics.
For topics, go to the ETS GRE Issue Pool and the ETS GRE Argument Pool. Figure out a way to pick topics at random (maybe you print the lists, cut it into slips of paper, and choose some at random). Write the essays in a word processing program. Observe a strict 30 minute time limit for each.
Now that you have these essays, what do you do with them? If you have a friend or mentor who is a gifted writer, ask them to read the essays for you and critique them. If they are willing, you can show them the assessment criteria in the Official Guide, and ask them to follow it. If you can afford it, hire a writing coach or writing tutor: show that tutor the assessment criteria in the OG, and have them give you feedback. If you can’t afford a writing tutor and can’t convince anyone else to read it, you may try posting them on TheGradCafe, and see whether an expert there will critique your essay. Failing any of these options, at least you can set the essays aside, and in a couple days re-read them with the Official Guide’s rubric beside you. (Notice whatever route worked for you with these essays; you can repeat that will all the essays you write in the practice tests you take as part of this plan.)
2) This first time visiting these sites, it may be worthwhile to take some time to peruse all the topics, just to get a sense of the variety.
3) Writing the essays will not take much time. This day might be a good time to do a thorough review of all the flashcards you have covered so far, or to review anything in any of the Manhattan GRE books that you would like to understand better.
Week Eighteen
Week Eighteen, Days One to Five
1) In Magoosh, re-watch the following videos
2) In McGraw Hill’s Conquering the New GRE Math
- Continue reading Chapter Nine, through the entire long section “Algebraic Word Problems,” and do the two associated sets of Practice Problems. This is everything up to, but not including, “Algebra Test 3.”
3) In the Manhattan GRE 5-lb Book of Practice Problems
- Do Ch. 23 Probability, Combinatorics, and Overlapping Sets Problems
4) Read at least half an hour each day. In a week, you should read 4-6 full articles from periodicals of your choice, and multiple chapters from your books. As you read, note grammatical structures, and look up and write down any words you don’t know.
5) In Magoosh’s GRE Vocabulary Flashcards, look over the next 50 words. I suggest doing 10 words each day. Each day, review at least some of your flashcard decks.
6) In Magoosh’s GRE Math Flashcards, continue reviewing the Mixed Practice III deck. Continue to review the previous decks. Do a little review with these each day.
7) GMAT Official Guide (any edition)
- In Section 7.4, Reading Comprehension Practice Questions, read the next RC passage and answer the associated questions
- In Section 8.4, Critical Reasoning Practice Questions, answer the next five CR questions
8) In Magoosh, do the following problems
- 25 Multiple Choice math problems
- 10 Quantitative Comparison math problems
- 10 Multiple Answer math problems
- 15 Text Completion verbal questions
- 10 Sentence Equivalence questions
- 15 Reading Comprehension questions
Week Eighteen, Day Six
1) Today, you are going to take a full-length practice test, using another of the six Manhattan GRE practice tests online.
As much as possible, try to mimic the GRE conditions. Give yourself relatively short breaks in between sections. Only eat the kinds of snacks that you are planning to bring to the real GRE. Note how your sleep the night before affects your work. Note how what you had for dinner the previous night and what you had to eat earlier that day affects your energy level and concentration. Write any observations in your journal.
After you are done, check all your answers. For any question you got right, skim the explanation to verify that you got it right for the right reason. For any question you got wrong, read the explanation thorough, taking notes in your journal on any concepts you didn’t understand and anything about the question format that psyched you out.
Week Nineteen
Week Nineteen, Days One to Five
1) In Magoosh, re-watch the following videos
2) In McGraw Hill’s Conquering the New GRE Math
- In Chapter Nine, do the Algebra Test 3, as well as the Solved GRE Problems and the GRE Practice Problems at the end of the chapter.
3) In the Manhattan GRE 5-lb Book of Practice Problems
- Do Ch. 24 Data Interpretation Problems
4) Read at least half an hour each day. In a week, you should read 4-6 full articles from periodicals of your choice, and multiple chapters from your books. As you read, note grammatical structures, and look up and write down any words you don’t know.
5) In Magoosh’s GRE Vocabulary Flashcards, look over the next 50 words. I suggest doing 10 words each day. Each day, review at least some of your flashcard decks.
6) In Magoosh’s GRE Math Flashcards, start studying the Mixed Practice IV deck. Continue to review the previous decks. Do a little review with these each day.
7) GMAT Official Guide (any edition)
- In Section 7.4, Reading Comprehension Practice Questions, read the next RC passage and answer the associated questions
- In Section 8.4, Critical Reasoning Practice Questions, answer the next five CR questions
8) In Magoosh, do the following problems
- 25 Multiple Choice math problems
- 10 Quantitative Comparison math problems
- 10 Numeric Entry math problems
- 15 Text Completion verbal questions
- 10 Sentence Equivalence questions
- 15 Reading Comprehension questions
Week Nineteen, Day Six
1) Today, you are going to write two more essays, half an hour each. You will write an Issue essay and an Argument essay. Again, you will be writing on the official GRE topics.
For topics, go to the ETS GRE Issue Pool and the ETS GRE Argument Pool. Figure out a way to pick topics at random (maybe you print the lists, cut it into slips of paper, and choose some at random). Write the essays in a word processing program. Observe a strict 30 minute time limit for each.
Once you are done, use the whatever review process worked for the other essays.
2) Writing the essays will not take much time. This day might be a good time to do a thorough review of all the flashcards you have covered so far, or to review anything in any of the Manhattan GRE books that you would like to understand better.
Week Twenty
Week Twenty, Days One to Five
1) In Magoosh, re-watch the following videos
2) In McGraw Hill’s Conquering the New GRE Math
- Read Chapter Ten, through the section “Triangles,” and do the three associated sets of Practice Problems.
3) In the Manhattan GRE 5-lb Book of Practice Problems
- Do Ch. 25 Polygon and Rectangular Solids Problems
4) Read at least half an hour each day. In a week, you should read 4-6 full articles from periodicals of your choice, and multiple chapters from your books. As you read, note grammatical structures, and look up and write down any words you don’t know.
5) In Magoosh’s GRE Vocabulary Flashcards, look over the next 50 words. I suggest doing 10 words each day. Each day, review at least some of your flashcard decks.
6) In Magoosh’s GRE Math Flashcards, continue review the Mixed Practice IV deck. Continue to review the previous decks. Do a little review with these each day.
7) GMAT Official Guide (any edition)
- In Section 7.4, Reading Comprehension Practice Questions, read the next RC passage and answer the associated questions
- In Section 8.4, Critical Reasoning Practice Questions, answer the next five CR questions
8) In Magoosh, do the following problems
- 25 Multiple Choice math problems
- 10 Quantitative Comparison math problems
- 10 Multiple Answer math problems
- 15 Text Completion verbal questions
- 10 Sentence Equivalence questions
- 15 Reading Comprehension questions
Week Twenty, Day Six
1) Today, you are going to take a full-length practice test, using another of the six Manhattan GRE practice tests online. From this point forward, through the end of the plan, every Day Six will be a practice GRE on the computer.
As much as possible, try to mimic the GRE conditions. Give yourself relatively short breaks in between sections. Only eat the kinds of snacks that you are planning to bring to the real GRE. Note how your sleep the night before affects your work. Note how what you had for dinner the previous night and what you had to eat earlier that day affects your energy level and concentration. Write any observations in your journal.
After you are done, check all your answers. For any question you got right, skim the explanation to verify that you got it right for the right reason. For any question you got wrong, read the explanation thorough, taking notes in your journal on any concepts you didn’t understand and anything about the question format that psyched you out.
GRE Study Plan, 6 months: Month 6
Week Twenty One
Week Twenty One, Days One to Five
1) In Magoosh, re-watch the following videos
2) In McGraw Hill’s Conquering the New GRE Math
- Continue reading Chapter Ten, through the section “Circles,” and do the three associated sets of Practice Problems.
3) In the Manhattan GRE 5-lb Book of Practice Problems
- Do Ch. 26 Circles and Cylinders Solids Problems
4) Read at least half an hour each day. In a week, you should read 4-6 full articles from periodicals of your choice, and multiple chapters from your books. As you read, note grammatical structures, and look up and write down any words you don’t know.
5) In Magoosh’s GRE Vocabulary Flashcards, look over the next 50 words. I suggest doing 10 words each day. Each day, review at least some of your flashcard decks.
6) In Magoosh’s GRE Math Flashcards, start studying the Mixed Practice V deck. Continue to review the previous decks. Do a little review with these each day.
7) GMAT Official Guide (any edition)
- In Section 7.4, Reading Comprehension Practice Questions, read the next RC passage and answer the associated questions
- In Section 8.4, Critical Reasoning Practice Questions, answer the next five CR questions
8) In Magoosh, do the following problems
- 25 Multiple Choice math problems
- 10 Quantitative Comparison math problems
- 10 Data Interpretation math problems
- 15 Text Completion verbal questions
- 10 Sentence Equivalence questions
- 15 Reading Comprehension questions
Week Twenty One, Day Six
1) Today, you are going to take a full-length practice test, using another of the six Manhattan GRE practice tests online.
As much as possible, try to mimic the GRE conditions. Give yourself relatively short breaks in between sections. Only eat the kinds of snacks that you are planning to bring to the real GRE. Note how your sleep the night before affects your work. Note how what you had for dinner the previous night and what you had to eat earlier that day affects your energy level and concentration. Write any observations in your journal.
After you are done, check all your answers. For any question you got right, skim the explanation to verify that you got it right for the right reason. For any question you got wrong, read the explanation thorough, taking notes in your journal on any concepts you didn’t understand and anything about the question format that psyched you out.
Week Twenty Two
Week Twenty Two, Days One to Five
1) In Magoosh, re-watch the following videos
2) In McGraw Hill’s Conquering the New GRE Math
- Continue reading Chapter Ten, through the section “Coordinate Geometry,” and do the two associated sets of Practice Problems. This will be everything up to, but not including, the “Geometry Test.”
3) In the Manhattan GRE 5-lb Book of Practice Problems
- Do Ch. 27 Triangles Problems
4) Read at least half an hour each day. In a week, you should read 4-6 full articles from periodicals of your choice, and multiple chapters from your books. As you read, note grammatical structures, and look up and write down any words you don’t know.
5) In Magoosh’s GRE Vocabulary Flashcards, look over the next 50 words. I suggest doing 10 words each day. Each day, review at least some of your flashcard decks.
6) In Magoosh’s GRE Math Flashcards, continue reviewing the Mixed Practice V deck. Continue to review the previous decks. Do a little review with these each day.
7) GMAT Official Guide (any edition)
- In Section 7.4, Reading Comprehension Practice Questions, read the next RC passage and answer the associated questions
- In Section 8.4, Critical Reasoning Practice Questions, answer the next five CR questions
8) In Magoosh, do the following problems
- 25 Multiple Choice math problems
- 10 Quantitative Comparison math problems
- 10 Data Interpretation math problems
- 15 Text Completion verbal questions
- 10 Sentence Equivalence questions
- 15 Reading Comprehension questions
Week Twenty Two, Day Six
1) Today, you are going to take a full-length practice test, using another of the six Manhattan GRE practice tests online.
As much as possible, try to mimic the GRE conditions. Give yourself relatively short breaks in between sections. Only eat the kinds of snacks that you are planning to bring to the real GRE. Note how your sleep the night before affects your work. Note how what you had for dinner the previous night and what you had to eat earlier that day affects your energy level and concentration. Write any observations in your journal.
After you are done, check all your answers. For any question you got right, skim the explanation to verify that you got it right for the right reason. For any question you got wrong, read the explanation thorough, taking notes in your journal on any concepts you didn’t understand and anything about the question format that psyched you out.
Week Twenty Three
Week Twenty Three, Days One to Five
1) In Magoosh, re-watch the following videos
2) In McGraw Hill’s Conquering the New GRE Math
- Do the Geometry Test as well as the Solved GRE Problems and the GRE Practice Problems at the end of Chapter Ten.
3) In the Manhattan GRE 5-lb Book of Practice Problems
- Do Ch. 28 Coordinate Geometry Problems
4) Read at least half an hour each day. In a week, you should read 4-6 full articles from periodicals of your choice, and multiple chapters from your books. As you read, note grammatical structures, and look up and write down any words you don’t know.
5) In Magoosh’s GRE Vocabulary Flashcards, look over the next 50 words. I suggest doing 10 words each day. Each day, review at least some of your flashcard decks.
6) In Magoosh’s GRE Math Flashcards, start studying the Mixed Practice VI deck. Continue to review the previous decks. Do a little review with these each day.
7) GMAT Official Guide (any edition)
- In Section 7.4, Reading Comprehension Practice Questions, read the next RC passage and answer the associated questions
- In Section 8.4, Critical Reasoning Practice Questions, answer the next five CR questions
8) In Magoosh, do the following problems
- 25 Multiple Choice math problems
- 10 Quantitative Comparison math problems
- 10 Data Interpretation math problems
- 15 Text Completion verbal questions
- 10 Sentence Equivalence questions
- 15 Reading Comprehension questions
Week Twenty Three, Day Six
1) Today, you are going to take a full-length practice test, using the last of the six Manhattan GRE practice tests online.
As much as possible, try to mimic the GRE conditions. Give yourself relatively short breaks in between sections. Only eat the kinds of snacks that you are planning to bring to the real GRE. Note how your sleep the night before affects your work. Note how what you had for dinner the previous night and what you had to eat earlier that day affects your energy level and concentration. Write any observations in your journal.
After you are done, check all your answers. For any question you got right, skim the explanation to verify that you got it right for the right reason. For any question you got wrong, read the explanation thorough, taking notes in your journal on any concepts you didn’t understand and anything about the question format that psyched you out.
Week Twenty Four
Week Twenty Four, Days One to Five
1) In Magoosh, re-watch the following videos
- The GRE Data Interpretation module
- The Advanced Quantitative Comparison Strategies module
- The Paragraph Analysis module
2) In McGraw Hill’s Conquering the New GRE Math
- Review whatever sections you feel you need to review.
- In one 35-minute sitting, do GRE Math Practice Section 2.
3) In the Manhattan GRE 5-lb Book of Practice Problems
- Do Ch. 29 Mixed Geometry Problems
4) Read at least half an hour each day. In a week, you should read 4-6 full articles from periodicals of your choice, and multiple chapters from your books. As you read, note grammatical structures, and look up and write down any words you don’t know.
5) In Magoosh’s GRE Vocabulary Flashcards, look over the next 50 words. I suggest doing 10 words each day. Each day, review at least some of your flashcard decks.
6) In Magoosh’s GRE Math Flashcards, continue reviewing the Mixed Practice VI deck. Continue to review the previous decks. Do a little review with these each day.
7) GMAT Official Guide (any edition)
- In Section 7.4, Reading Comprehension Practice Questions, read the next RC passage and answer the associated questions
- In Section 8.4, Critical Reasoning Practice Questions, answer the next five CR questions
8) In Magoosh, do the following problems
- 25 Multiple Choice math problems
- 10 Quantitative Comparison math problems
- 10 Data Interpretation math problems
- 15 Text Completion verbal questions
- 10 Sentence Equivalence questions
- 15 Reading Comprehension questions
Week Twenty Four, Day Six
1) Today, you are going to take another full length practice test, the first practice GRE available through PowerPrep Online.
As much as possible, try to mimic the GRE conditions. Give yourself relatively short breaks in between sections. Only eat the kinds of snacks that you are planning to bring to the real GRE. Note how your sleep the night before affects your work. Note how what you had for dinner the previous night and what you had to eat earlier that day affects your energy level and concentration. Write any observations in your journal.
After you are done, check all your answers. For any question you got right, skim the explanation to verify that you got it right for the right reason. For any question you got wrong, read the explanation thorough, taking notes in your journal on any concepts you didn’t understand and anything about the question format that psyched you out.
Beyond Month 6
Week Twenty Five
Week Twenty Five, Days One to Five
1) In Magoosh, re-watch any video lessons that you think you need to review or understand in greater depth.
2) In McGraw Hill’s Conquering the New GRE Math
- Review whatever sections you feel you need to review.
- In one 35-minute sitting, do GRE Math Practice Section 3.
3) In the Manhattan GRE 5-lb Book of Practice Problems
- In Ch. 33 Math Practice Sessions, do Math Practice Session #1: Easy Difficulty and, on another day, Math Practice Session #2: Medium Difficulty. Do those two with strict time limits, and don’t touch a calculator.
4) Read at least half an hour each day. In a week, you should read 4-6 full articles from periodicals of your choice, and multiple chapters from your books. As you read, note grammatical structures, and look up and write down any words you don’t know.
5) In Magoosh’s GRE Vocabulary Flashcards, look over the next 50 words. I suggest doing 10 words each day. Each day, review at least some of your flashcard decks.
6) In Magoosh’s GRE Math Flashcards, continue reviewing all the decks. Do a little review with these each day.
7) GMAT Official Guide (any edition)
- In Section 7.4, Reading Comprehension Practice Questions, read the last RC passage and answer the associated questions
- In Section 8.4, Critical Reasoning Practice Questions, answer the remaining CR questions
8) In Magoosh, do the following problems
- 25 Multiple Choice math problems
- 10 Quantitative Comparison math problems
- 15 Text Completion verbal questions
- 10 Sentence Equivalence questions
- 15 Reading Comprehension questions
NOTE: if you reset at Week 12, and have been working continually since then, you may be about out of unanswered questions again.
Week Twenty Five, Day Six
1) Today, you are going to take your last full-length practice test, the second practice GRE available through PowerPrep Online.
As much as possible, try to mimic the GRE conditions. Give yourself relatively short breaks in between sections. Only eat the kinds of snacks that you are planning to bring to the real GRE. Note how your sleep the night before affects your work. Note how what you had for dinner the previous night and what you had to eat earlier that day affects your energy level and concentration. Write any observations in your journal.
After you are done, check all your answers. For any question you got right, skim the explanation to verify that you got it right for the right reason. For any question you got wrong, read the explanation thoroughly, taking notes in your journal on any concepts you didn’t understand and anything about the question format that psyched you out.
After Week Twenty Five: Concentrated Review
At this point, you may have some Magoosh questions left. For whatever days remain before the test, keep up work on GRE math and verbal. Some suggestions for what to do:
1) After selecting question type and difficulty on the “Dashboard,” do Magoosh problems over again, and see how you do this time.
2) Keep watching for an additional time 5-10 Magoosh lesson videos a week, on whatever topics you feel you need to review.
3) Keep reading your challenging material, to build vocabulary and acclimate your ear to eloquent style.
4) Keep drilling your vocab flashcards and your math flashcards.
5) In the Manhattan GRE 5-lb Book of Practice Problems, I didn’t assign the final Ch. 33 Practice Set, the “Hard Difficulty” set. If you are ambitious, you could try this as another timed section. If not, at least work those problems untimed, for further practice.
6) Re-read any topics in the Manhattan GRE books or in McGraw-Hill’s Conquering the New GRE Math — any topics where you feel you would benefit from further review.
Day before the test
- No GRE preparation all day
- Eat a large, healthy, leisurely dinner – no alcohol!
- Go to bed earlier than usual.
Day of Test
- ABSOLUTELY NO LAST MINUTE GRE PREPARATION!
- Eat a large breakfast, full of protein
- Do relaxing, fun activities to pass time until the test
Bring to the Test
(If you are taking the at-home GRE, make sure to have these items and advice ready to go during breaks!)
- A liter of water
- Healthy energy-packed snacks (nuts, protein bar, etc.)
- On breaks, make sure to get up, move and stretch – moving and stretching the large muscles of the body (legs and torso) will get oxygen flowing throughout, which will help keep you awake and keep you thinking clearly.
Any questions on this plan? Just leave us a comment!
Comments
24 responses to “6 Month GRE Study Plan for Math Beginners”
Hi
I am fairly good at math but need a vocab centric study plan. Can you recommend a plan similar to the 6 month plan for math beginners – but focused on verbal and essay writing instead.
Thanks
Diksha,
If you are really good at math, you might try to the Six Month: Advanced Math plan. Either with this one or with the other, you get a tremendous amount of verbal review, so don’t worry about that. Also, if verbal is a challenge for you, I would highly recommend: go through every single article on this blog written by my friend Chris. He is a verbal guru. His Vocab Wednesday videos are a fantastic way to build vocabulary. His verbal lessons inside the Magoosh product will also help you immensely.
Does all this make sense?
Mike 🙂
It does make sense. I have started reading the blogs by Chris.
Had one question for you – would you say 161 in math a good score?? I wouldn’t. So do you suggest me following the beginners in math study plan along with the one focused on verbal. I know my verbal is the one that needs real practice. I scored 153 and that did not get me anywhere this year – need a great score this year so I can go to college for sure next year.
Also is there a way some one can evaluate the AWA practice I do?
I know its too much – but can some one evaluate my statement too? Or if you can point me to a website who can help me further on this.
Thanks a lot for your help.
Dear Diksha,
Well, 161 is not great as a “final product” result, but as a checkpoint along the way, it’s not bad. Furthermore, you originally identified yourself as “fairly good at math”, which strongly suggests to me that you will pick up the math quickly. I would still suggest using the “Advanced Math” version, to challenge yourself. I think you want to really stretch yourself and reach for excellence in math, to help balance your verbal score. That’s why following the Advanced Math plan is so important for you.
As far as finding someone to evaluate your AWA, that’s hard. You might hire a writing tutor, share with that person the ETS guidelines, and pay that person to “grade” your writing and review it with you. Short of that, see what I recommend on Week 3, Day 6 — try posting the AWA on the free GMAT forums, and perhaps someone will read it there.
I hope all this helps.
Mike 🙂
hi there,
I am planning to take the GRE in about 4 months. For the programmes I am planning to apply to it is mainly the quant score that matters and not the verbal score
so I will concentrate on the quant part. Right now I am looking for the right Prep books.
You have listed the GMAT OG 12th edition for additional exercises. I just saw that there is new edition of that book. Which one would you say is better for GRE preparation.
Generally are GMAT quant questions good practice for the GRE as well? (I still have the ManhattanGMAT advanced quant book from when I took the GMAT two years ago, however I sold the GMAt OG 12th edition that I had)
Can you recommend any other good books that offer lots of quant practice. I will buy the ManhattanGRE books to make sure I get the concepts but I am still looking for more quant practice questions, preferably the harder ones.
Yes, there is now the OG13 — for your purposes, it really doesn’t matter which one you get — you might be able to find the OG12, or even an earlier edition, for much cheaper because it’s not current. GMAT Problem Solving questions tend to be a little more sophisticated than GRE MC, so in that sense it’s excellent practice. Normally, I would tell GRE students not to bother learning the GMAT DS question type, but since you appear to know it already, that’s an excellent format in which to practice all kinds of sophisticated mathematical thought. —- For more resources, see the 90 day plans, versions C & D — in particular, the NOVA book has some very challenging practice problems. The MGMAT Advanced Quant is also great. —- I would say — if you learn everything in those two books and the GMAT OG and in the MGRE math books, you will be in excellent shape for the GRE!
Mike 🙂
Thanks alot Mike 🙂
I just checked for the Nova book. The one in the study plans C and D is linked to the book review which is for the nova book for the old GRE.
Nova now seems to have releasd both the gre prep course and the gre math prep course also for the new GRE format. Are they both worth buying or should I stick to one of them (do you know if there is any overlap between them?)
I am also thinking of signing up with Magoosh. Does Magoosh offer an interactive study plan? It would be nice to have something more than an excel sheet to track my progress.
Cheers
Since you are more concerned with Quant, just get the GRE Math Prep course.
Within the Magoosh product, there’s not an interactive study plan, but the system certainly tracks your progress with the Magoosh questions, and at any time, you can get a bird’s eye view of where you are with them. With the OG questions & other books, I guess I was imagining you would just have a few “stickies” bookmarks that would keep advancing as you completed those problems. Probably no need for an excel spreadsheet. (Those of us born decades before the advent of the internet tend to think that low-tech solutions to basic issues are sometimes far more effective.) 🙂
Mike 🙂
Thanks again Mike !
I guess you are right sometimes pen and paper is the easiest way to go. Too much technology might just be an unecessary distraction 😉
You are quite welcome. Best of luck to you!
Mike 🙂
Good day,
I REALLY need your help.
I would like to prepare myself for the GRE and don’t know where to begin. I’m thinking about taking the test in about 8 months and am an absolute beginner when it comes to math and basically need to prepare for all the different areas of the test.
I would really appreciate it if you could e-mail me and tell me about your program, cost and any other information you think might be helpful.
Thank you very much for your time and I’m looking forward to getting started.
Great website – thakns!
Hi, Phil
Just sent you an e-mail! 🙂
Best,
Margarette
Hi Mike!
This looks like a great plan! but this plan involves only having the MGRE books optionally. But most of us do have the complete series. Could you sketch out a rough study plan involving the MGRE series as well?
Thanks for the great work!
Sanjna 🙂
Dear Sanjna: Actually, the MGRE books are only recommended as a supplemental resource, not an integral part of our plan. You are on your own to use those books as you see fit Because we don’t view them as essential, we are not going to outline a full-blown study plan for them.
Mike 🙂
Hi there,
I have been looking at your resources (website, blog, free trial etc) since late last year to begin my studying in June [I will be grad. with a B.Sc.then]. Awesome work!! I have a question about the reading recommendations. Must you actually subscribe to these websites or magazines? For example, I see that The Economist would be about 71.25 for 25 weeks. Can you simply keep up with the readings they have posted on their sites for free daily, i.e. http://www.economist.com/node/21553457 ?
I’m just wondering because I’ve briefly read all your wonderful recommendations, including your recent Vocab PDF booklet (which, thanks by the way), and well…I feel overwhelmed with all the material to select from (i.e. The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Economist, Scientific American, The Best American Series, the National Geographic etc.
Al though, I graduate I will still have access to my university’s library resources. Do you know any of any of the recommended that can be substituted with what a University Library may offer?
Thanks a bunches team Magoosh…I will be looking forward to signing up with you guys soon.
Paola
Paola: I would say, if you will continue to have access to a university library, by all means milk that for all it’s worth! 🙂 They must get some good periodicals and newspapers. The free articles from websites like the one you cited would also be helpful. What’s important is that you are regularly stretching yourself with challenging non-fiction reading, and these two options should provide plenty of fodder for that. We look forward to serving you in the future.
Mike 🙂
Thank you!!!
You are quite welcome. Best of luck to you.
Mike 🙂
Hi –
I graduated from college in 98 and haven’t used my “school brain” since, sadly! I want to take the time to re-learn the math I’ve forgotten but I also need work on vocab. I am the mom of four kids and money is always an issue – could you let me know roughly how much this six month program, purchasing the materials you have suggested, will cost? Or if there are items that would be best to start with if you can’t purchase everything at once? Any advice you can provide would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks so much!
Ami
Hi, Ami
Here are the essentials (luckily, everything but the first two items are free :)):
Magoosh GRE Prep: http://gre.magoosh.com
ETS’s Official Guide to the GRE book: http://www.amazon.com/Official-Guide-revised-General-Test/dp/0071700528/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1333391089&sr=8-1
ETS’s PowerPrep Software
a journal or notebook
Notecards (or Quizlet.com)
WordSmart (or Wordnik.com)
Recommended magazines: Scientific American, Atlantic Monthly, The New Yorker, National Geographic, The Economist
Additionally, you should be able to find most of the other books (which I would consider supplemental/optional) listed on Amazon for very cheap if you buy them used.
The daily steps for the books/websites I’ve listed are crucial, and the ones that include the other material (McGraw Hill, GMAT OG, etc.) are just for extra practice, so even with just the the material I’ve listed above, you should have plenty of study material to work with.
I hope that helps! Feel free to let us know if you have any other questions.
Best,
Margarette
This plan is great!!
I’ll definitely follow the beginner’s path. Yet, there is something I would like to ask you guys.
In order to follow your Study Plan, should I buy the new edition of the books you are recommending ?
When I click the link to buy the OG through Amazon.com, it says that there is a newer version of the book (purple front cover. 2nd Edition). Which should I buy?
Thanks
Daniel: all these current plans are designed to with the first edition, the current edition. When are you planning to take the GRE? The 2nd ed doesn’t come out until, I believe, August —- you can pre-order it now, but that’s a long wait.. When the 2nd edition is released, we will update these plans accordingly. If you are taking the GRE any time in the next 3-4 months, then use the current edition of the OG, because the 2nd edition won’t even be out yet.
I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any further questions.
Mike 🙂
This looks like a GREAT plan for me. Thank you! I was following the older recommended GRE 6-month plan, but I think this is more attuned to my needs. I’m a busy mom returning to pursue a PhD and really need a study plan that targets my weaknesses (essentially, math). I’ll give this plan a shot and let you know how it works out.
Thank you again!
You are quite welcome. Thank you for your kind words. Please let us know however we may support you. A busy mom going back for a Ph.D! Very cool! More power to you!
Mike 🙂