How to Prepare for the GRE CAT

The average GRE scores has consistently risen in recent years. That is due to the substantial growth in the number of candidates who are applying to graduate schools. In general, the GRE is the applicants' nightmare. Apart from the few candidates who obtain outstanding scores, most candidates bang their heads against the wall over their GRE scores. We encourage you to not get obsessed with having the "perfect score" and to not discourage yourself or write yourself out of the race because of your GRE scores. Rather than getting fixed on the average score, it is in your interests to think about the deviation from this average or the range of accepted GRE scores.

Serious candidates take several trial runs in order to prepare themselves for the GRE. But which tricks make the difference?

Gram Intelligently!

The GRE is better mastered with practice than with cramming. I encourage you to not only do lots of practice exercises but to do them in an effective manner. For my part, I made flashcards for the trickiest questions. Upon finishing a series of practice exercises most of us are eager to know our total score. It is certainly less pleasant to look at the your mistakes in detail. Yet having a good understanding of the underlying principles of a question (theorems, rules, and formulas..) is essential to your success because questions are never asked in exactly the same manner.

Time Yourself!

Don't underestimate the fact that the GRE is above all an exercise in speed. The questions are rarely "technically" difficult: the math level on the GRE would be the equivalent of 11th grade (remember Thales, Pythagoras, powers, square roots, etc.). The difference between an excellent score and a good score is the speed with which you are able to respond to the questions. While you are doing all of your practice exercises, you should time yourself and simulate the conditions of the real test, and stop yourself even if you haven't finished in the allotted time.

I insist on timing yourself because it's important for you to develop the "sixth sense" that recognizes precisely how much time is passing. The majority of candidates (you rivals) take a number of practice tests, but few of them force themselves to practice under exam conditions. I know that you might feel a bit stupid with a stopwatch around your neck, but it's worth it!

Organizations that Prepare for the GMAT

A number of organizations exist that will give you the keys to the GRE. The best known among them is Kaplan. Such classes are generally costly (from $500 to $2,500), so you can consider the online preparation courses (from $9 to $29) by GRE Explorer.