Right here! This is a guide on how to study and craft your study plan.
What does that mean? Well i’ve been struggling a lot on how I’m supposed to piece together a plan on how/when/what to study for the GRE.
I have a busy life, as I’m sure most people do. I also can’t afford/don’t want to pay heavy $$$ to take courses or subscribe to a prep company online. So how do I make a plan that’s effective, cheap and fits with my schedule?
Here are my tips! (please note I’m still in the process of studying and am not a professional gre coach or tutor or anything like that)
-When is your GRE scheduled? How long do you have to prep?
I scheduled my GRE about 3 months in advance since I work part time and want to balance a social life. You might want more or less, depending on how long ago you were in school, how confident you feel in test taking/math/english etc.
Just be realistic with your schedule and how much time you reasonably have to study. It’s better to give yourself more time since its a $50 (!!) fee to reschedule the test.
Also keep in mind your program’s application deadlines and how long it’ll take to score the test (10-15 days) and whether or not you want to buffer in time to (hopefully not) retake the test.
-What prep materials do you have? What is your budget?
This part is so overwhelming, as there are so many options and opinions on “what you need” in order to succeed.
I’ll make another post that goes into more detail comparing the free and costly options out there, but for starters here are the basic things you can use:
Official ETS Prep Materials (free and $ options)
Test prep company materials (free and $$)
Test prep company online classes (mostly $$ but some free workshops)
In-person classes/tutoring ($$$)
Borrowing books from a friend/general online resources (free)
Personally, I’m trying to study on a low budget and I feel more comfortable self studying. So I’ve decided to just use all of the free resources plus a couple of books I bought from amazon.
-Take a diagnostic test
That’s right. Before you start studying or crafting a plan, take that diagnostic test.
If you want, you can look up the general format for the test, like how many sections, how long are each of them etc. But don’t go studying the content just yet.
It seems counter intuitive, but it really gives you a sense on where you are starting out, and will really help focus your study plan. Maybe you’re killer at math and don’t need to review geometry and algebra. Or maybe you’ve written so many analyses that you’ll ace the reading comprehension.
You won’t know until you take that diagnostic.
There are many free practice tests out there if you google for them. ETS has a free software that gives 2 practice tests and mimics the GRE program and times it (though you might want to save those for later).
Prep books usually have some sort of shorter diagnostic tests as well. Just as long as you time yourself and are able to review topics and answers afterwards.
Note: The diagnostic test will also help you narrow down study materials you should look into based on your weaker areas.
-Don’t beat yourself up too much about the diagnostic results
You may have done really well, poorer than you expected or somewhere in between. Wherever you land, please keep in mind you took the test without any prep, and that you can only increase your score from here. You got this!
-Craft a reasonable study plan (This should be based on the materials you have gathered and the results of your diagnostic)
There are lots of study plans out there to choose from. If you decided to pay for an online/in person course then the company or teacher will most likely lay out the plan for you. But if you don’t use these or want to study more on your own, you can craft your own plan for some structure
Magoosh has some good example plans out there, based on various time frames and focus areas [X] The only downside is their plans revolve around a subscription to their prep site/course.
I more or less adapted their plan substituting my own materials and I’m pretty happy that I have all my bases covered.
The most important thing is consistency. You’ll learn better studying for a small bit every day as opposed to 5 hours once a week.
Also, make sure you start with the basics. Learn about the test, whats on it etc. A good free resource is ETS’s Ebook [X] and Magoosh’s Ebook [X] plus ETS breaks it down pretty well on their website [X]
I’m making my plan on a weekly basis, based on what my schedule is like and what areas I’d like to focus on. But ideally I study some Quant and some Verbal every day. An example of my plan is in the pics above.
My process:
What study materials do I have?
Ex. 2 prep books, 1 book of practice problems, Khan Academy, vocab flashcards, free practice tests from various websites, ETS prompts and guides
What are reasonable goals for me to study every day?
Ex. 20 Quant questions, 20 Verbal questions, Vocab flashcards for 15 minutes and some test strategy/overview reading
Put them in your calendar/draw out your study plan with the topics/resources you’re using
Optional: post about your progress on tumblr
Kill it on the GRE with your bombass study plan
I hope this helped! Feel free to message me with any questions and stay tuned for future gre guides and tips!
