GRE preparation: Tips and Tricks!

It is crunch time for most applicants to graduate programs abroad. With COVID-19 not going away anytime soon, we've come to terms with the fact that we have to get on with our lives & plans. Students and potential applicants have realized too that they have to get on with their application process since the time to wait & watch is over. Hence we have a large number of people looking at the intimidating mountain that is the GRE. So many words to learn, ever-occurring silly mistakes while trying to nail the quant section and the irritating AWA essays with seemingly no importance. It's a lot to process. We at Gradvine have got your back, however.

This article will help those in the midst of their prep as I list down specific tips that have helped me and our applicants in the past. Before I dive into the tips, I request you to read the next paragraph where I talk about the role the GRE score plays in your overall application. If you understand the importance of the GRE, it will help you tweak your approach towards the exam, which can pay rich dividends.

Typically, anything over a 315 and the GRE matters less and less to universities. For instance, getting a 295 v/s a 305 makes a massive difference in terms of the kinds of universities that would consider your application. The difference between a 320 and 330 is non-existent. You can apply to the same universities with a 320 or 330 if the GRE was the only criterion. If you are getting rejects from universities with a 315+ on the GRE, it’s probably due to the rest of your profile. At Gradvine, we’ve had students with 312 make it to Stanford. Here’s how you should think about your GRE scores and your application process-

While the GRE is an important part of your application, often, universities only view the GRE as a filtering parameter. Universities get thousands of applications and reading each and every one of them is impossible. Hence they use the GRE to figure out whether the application is worth reading. Rarely are decisions between two strong profiles taken on the basis of the GRE. (A lot of top Canadian and European schools don’t even require the GRE). However, keep in mind that it could still be used as a filtering parameter. If you apply with a 305 to a top 20 school there is a chance that your application won’t be read in the first place. With a 320, you probably won’t receive a rejection because of the score. Making it or not making it to a university with a 320 will only depend on the rest of your profile. Hence, don't put undue pressure on yourself and make the GRE a bigger mountain than it is. As I've mentioned in a later part of this article, going in with less pressure and with the attitude that this isn't a make or break exam like the JEE or CAT will help you greatly. I've also addressed this in a more detailed article that can be found using this link.

And thank you for your patience. Let's move onto the tips now.

The GRE isn’t difficult due to the standard of questioning. With adequate practice and patience, most people should be able to score decently well (about a 310+). What makes the GRE challenging is the fact that you have to sit down for 4+ hours and yet be switched for questions that require a fair amount of thinking. If you are able to train your mind to be able to endure the test, you should be able to do very well.

I scored a 323 on the GRE on my first attempt. From my experience, I must tell you that you can’t or rather don’t have to “learn” verbal and math for the GRE. It is an aptitude test and hence all you can do is prepare for it. Keep in mind that the GRE is a test of your ability to concentrate for long periods of time. The questions are not difficult. Sitting down for over 4 hours and performing at your best is a task. Here are the important things you need to keep in mind.

Figure out the patterns of questions: While simply attending a coaching center and blindly doing what you’re told won’t fetch you a great score, some level of initial coaching will be required by most. A prep center will help you understand various sections and the types of questions that will appear in each section. Coaching will also give you a basic idea of how you can approach certain types of questions. These could be methods that you might not have thought of. For instance, “eliminating extreme options” may be a technique that may not have figured out in plain sight and they help you immensely with reading comprehensions. Another tip that coaching centers give you which works well is that you must skip questions that can take too much time (questions for which the solution does not seem very clear to you at the outset). It’s best you come back to such questions later. This technique helps especially in the quant section where you might have to hurry up with easy questions at the end of the section, leading to silly errors. If you feel a particular technique taught at the center isn’t working for you, you don’t have to follow it. Figure out what methods work best for you as you go. There's no wrong or right way to approach questions, only methods that work for you or don't.

DO NOT sit down to learn 3000–4000 words: There’s a list of a 1000 words which most websites and coaching centers provide. Those are more than enough in the verbal sections. Preparing 5000 words doesn’t mean you can crack a great verbal score. Often, people struggle with the sentences in the verbal sections. One has to be able to critically analyse the conditions in the sentence and its formation. Prepare the basic 1000 words and practice breaking down the parts of a sentence more. How you do with these questions will also depend on the kind of questions that you get on the day. I recommend you focus more on the reading comprehension questions because adequate practice with these will give you a better shot at getting most answers right as opposed to the sentence completion questions.

Mock Tests!- The best preparation pattern for the GRE is to give as many mock tests as possible. It will only take 30–45 days of prep to crack a good score. In a period of 30 days take a test every alternate day. So that's 15 tests. On the remaining days, practice the questions you’re doing badly in. Try and take the mock tests in the same time slot as your actual GRE (If you know your date). That will help you develop a pattern that will see you give your best performance. The quality of the test doesn’t matter. Attempting the entire thing and sitting down for the entire 4+ hours with concentration does. That takes me to my next point.

Do not skip sections in practice tests. Especially AWA!!- This is a classic mistake that a lot of students make. The AWA is often ignored because the actual score is considered more important. However, writing mock tests by skipping the AWA is stupidity. As mentioned earlier, the GRE is a mental test. It tests your ability to slug it out over 4+ hours and give the best demonstration of your aptitude. The real challenge is to attempt the main sections of the GRE after you’ve written the essays for an hour. You can skip the AWA on practice tests but obviously won’t on the day of the actual exam. Hence skipping the AWA sections on the practice tests means your preparation for the test itself is inadequate.

Relax while writing the exam: Keep this in mind. No university cares about the number of times you give the GRE. So don’t go into the test center thinking that it is D-Day. It doesn’t have to be. Go in with the attitude that you will give it your best shot and will come back another day if things don’t go according to plan. As long as you go in with this attitude, your ability to perform goes up a notch.

That was my two cents on what works with the GRE. If you’re looking for application guidance after the GRE check out Gradvine. 98% of Gradvine students make it to a top 50 university, 88% to a top 30, and 56% to a top 10. So you know whom you want handling your applications!

Didn't feel like reading the entire thing? We've got a video for you explaining the above points. So sit back, relax, grab a cup of coffee and listen to this!