Gre Test?

[autumnpalm]

I registered today to take both my GRE general and subject (psychology) tests. They will be in the fall, so I have all summer to prepare for them and am trying to figure out the best way to do so.

I know there are a lot of DISers with graduate degrees who have taken the GRE and I would love any preparation advice! I am looking at preparation materials online, are there any companies/programs that you would particularly recommend? I am a little overwhelmed by the sheer volume of books, seminars and prep programs out there!

Thanks!

 

[lacrosse_lady72]

Idk how applicable this is to psychology, but I had a biology professor who when taking her Biology GRE, just took her general biology textbook and went over everything there was to go over in it, page by page. She got an 800 on it. I have no idea how long it took her, this was in 1994ish, as my general biology textbook is well over 2000 pages.

 

[gillep]

I took mine in undergrad (5yrs ago) I took the general and the Biology. What helped me the most was going over a lot of practice problems in the beginning to narrow down the things I was good at and the things that I really needed to focus on. I found that the subject tests were really easy as were most of the math parts. I then read reviews online of different review books I chose two that taught you how to approach general types of problems and what thought processes would be helpful when approaching a specific problem type (i.e. if you get a problem of type A first you should do ...). Once I mastered the thought process behind the types of problems I was having a hard time on, I just practiced those problems until I was able to consistently answer them correctly. I had a friend that took a Kaplan class and she liked it, mostly because it forced her to work on GRE material, but I know that I work best when I figure stuff out on my own so I never bothered. The hardest part for me was finding enough practice exams, a lot of the books and online materials used the same practice questions over and over which was really not helpful at all.

 

[mrsv98]

I took the Kaplan GRE course and really liked it. It went over core content, taught you how to take the test and gave many opportunities to take practice tests.

I work best with structure so this was the best avenue for me. I do suggest at least getting some practice books and taking the tests in them.

And thanks for bringing this up...I will now have terrible flashbacks of taking those damn things for the next two weeks!

 

[autumnpalm]

And thanks for bringing this up...I will now have terrible flashbacks of taking those damn things for the next two weeks!

So sorry!

Thanks everyone for the input. I really appreciate it! I am looking at Kaplan right now, it seems like a really comprehensive program so I am glad to hear good things about it. It is a little more money than I intended on spending, but I suppose this is one thing I shouldn't skimp on!

 

[luvmyfam444]

I took it - I bought the Princeton Review Book. I believe it helped. I took the General - not specific (I'm working on Master's in Ed).
I'd highly suggest downloading an app for vocab. (I used a freebie one in app store)
And also study the examples - this test is like no other I'd taken as far as the way they want you to think thru things. For the math section you weren't figuring out things pre se - it was a thought process - pick up a book & you'll see how the questions are asked.

I know I'm know help - lol

 

[Rora]

OP-I *believe* that they are changing the format of the GRE for this coming Fall. If they are indeed doing so, WAIT TO BUY A BOOK until the new ones come out!

I recommend the Princeton Review Book, however.

 

[bluesaturn]

For the psych test, it's all multiple choice questions covering basic psychology facts. I just bought a prep book and read the entire thing, starting with whatever sections I was least confident in. It's actually really helpful to take a practice exam first, so you can see your weakest areas. You might be okay if you read an intro to psych text, but I think the test goes into more detail than some intro courses so I would suggest a prep book. If you've taken a lot of multiple choice exams for your undergrad psych courses, you should be fine with the format of the GRE.

For the regular GRE I just bought prep books, I didn't take a course. I bought two books (I think Princeton Review and Kaplan) and went through both including all the practice questions. I felt pretty well prepared that way, and I only started studying like two months in advance or so. One thing I wished I did was study the vocabulary more. That's what gets you on the verbal section, and it included some of the hardest vocab I'd ever seen. I knew people who had a lot of success just making flashcards and running through them on a daily basis. You can even buy pre-made flashcards with the most common 200 or 500 words or something.

What area of psychology are you interested in for grad school?

 

[MoonFaerie]

(We need a note taking smilie!)

I'm registered to take the GRE in August, in my week between summer and fall semesters.

 

[gillep]

One thing I wished I did was study the vocabulary more. That's what gets you on the verbal section, and it included some of the hardest vocab I'd ever seen. I knew people who had a lot of success just making flashcards and running through them on a daily basis. You can even buy pre-made flashcards with the most common 200 or 500 words or something.

Ugh yes that vocabulary was HARD, I did really well on my GRE but my score on the verbal section was so much lower than my math, I still believe that most of the words on my test were NOT ENGLISH!!!!!!!!