How to get a good score in GRE – Part 1: Introduction & Resources

In this article, I am going to tell you how to get a high score in GRE. But wait, I will answer your very first question i.e., if I really qualify to write about this. So let me introduce myself in this context.

I am Tuba Mansoor currently working for India’s largest IT consultancy. I spend approx. 4 hours traveling to and from work every day. I didn’t take help from any consultancy while preparing for my GRE exams. I prepared for 3.5 months and in the August of 2016, I took this exam and scored 331 (165 Verbal, 166 Quantitative and a 4.5 in Analytical). Here is my scorecard :

Along with this, I have also reviewed GRE Prep by Magoosh and you can find my name in their acknowledgments section. With this, I want to convey this message that if I can do it, you can do it too. Just one mantra for this: dedication and strategic study. Now let us focus on the subject. For the convenience of the reader and to keep the articles short, I have divided it into 2 parts – Part 1 – Introduction to GRE and resources. Part 2 – Tips and Tricks for each section and appearing for the exam.

GRE : Exam type and Format

GRE stands for “Graduate Record Examination” and it can be classified as an aptitude test. Many countries (most primarily the United States) take into consideration the GRE scores of the candidates, while deciding which candidates to admit to their masters course. The GRE exam consists of three sections: Analytical Writing, Quantitative Reasoning, and Verbal Reasoning. Analytical: This consists of two parts. In the first part, you will be asked to analyze an Issue & in the second Analyze an argument. More on this later. Quantitative: This will consist of questions related to arithmetic, geometry etc. Verbal:  This will consist of questions to test your English language skills. You will have 2 verbal and 2 analytical sections. One extra verbal or analytical section will be included, which won’t count towards your end score. But there will be no way for you to know which the unscored section is. I have not seen anyone not receiving this unscored section. So, better to account for this section when practicing because when you practice full tests from Kaplan or Princeton, you won’t have this section. More information about these can be found on the GRE official website .

Resources for GRE

Non-native English speakers may find the verbal section a bit tough, whereas the students from non-engineering backgrounds, may find that the quantitative section is tough. There is no one way to prep for your exams. Tweak your study plans according to your strengths and weaknesses. My exam was scheduled in August and I started studying since mid-April. I spent on an average of 5 hours on weekdays and 9 hours on weekends, studying for the GRE. The most useful thing that I found for GRE was Magoosh. I purchased their 6-month subscription, which included videos and a lot of practice questions and began with their videos. Though I didn’t find the videos for the analytical and verbal section much useful, but the quantitative ones were really useful. I could revise all the maths that I had learnt in school and I learnt a few shortcuts too. But the most important thing was their multiple choice questions.  Practice makes a man perfect.  The questions also have really detailed video answers. Also in case you have any queries, you can just write to them and they will immediately reply you back. It’s like having your own personal tutor. The second most important resource is the official book from ETS. It gives you information about all the sections in GRE. There are detailed explanations in the analytical section about which kind of essays will fetch what kind of score, which is really helpful. Remember to go through the sections that you find confusing again and again. During exams, we tend to make silly mistakes. Practice solving questions, to identify the places where you tend to make mistakes. Once I was done with Magoosh (I solved the quantitive problems thrice because I tend to forget) and the official guide, I went and purchased the Manhattan’s 5 Lb. Book of GRE Practice Problems. I started by solving the sections that I found tough, like probability etc. I then proceeded to the easier sections. As I mentioned earlier practice is the key. Besides this, for the analytical section, I wrote a lot of essays on my own. I read a lot of essays on the internet. I tried coordinating with other students on Facebook so that we could help each other out, but it didn’t work out much. For the verbal section, I watched Chris Lele’s Vocab Wednesdays on Youtube, in which he explains 5 words of the day. He explains in such a manner, that the meaning of the words sticks in your head for a long time. I also used Magoosh’s various free mobile apps. I also used the mobile app Quizlet. This is a kind of flashcard app. I inputted the words, that I found it difficult to remember and then went over them again and again. This helps you remember the words that you find tough. I also read a lot of articles from New York Times and other such publications to strengthen my vocab. Also I join Chris Lele’s facebook page where he posted GRE practice questions for additional practice. As I approached my exam date, I gave Kaplan’s and Princeton reviews GRE tests. In the following part, I will present you with some tips that you may find useful and also shed some light on how a GRE exam is actually conducted. If you are planning to apply for a masters course in the US check out my step by step guide for the same here. Read about how I scored 117 in TOEFL here.