1 Month GRE Study Schedule

15/07/2013

1 Month GRE Study Schedule | Magoosh GRE Blog

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1 Month GRE Study Schedule By MIKE on March 2, 2012 in Study Guides and Plans

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Email OK, you are starting more or less from scratch, and you want to prepare for the GRE in one month. You need a strategic plan to organize yourself. Fasten your seatbelts! Note: This is a detailed, step-by-step daily breakdown of the 1 month schedule– if you’d like more broad goals and tasks for every week with less focus on math basics, you should use the “general” version.

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1 month GRE Study Schedule

Essential Materials: 1) Magoosh GRE Prep 2) ETS’s Official Guide to the GRE book magoosh.com/gre/2012/1-month-gre-study-schedule/

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3) ETS’s PowerPrep Software (If you are a Mac user that can’t use ETS’s Poweprep, or would prefer to take the practice test on paper, you can print out ETS’s practice test PDF (with video explanations here). Take note that the Poweprep software and the paper-based test have overlapping material, so it won’t be of much help to do both, unless you space them out far enough so that you won’t recognize the questions and answers! I recommend using the Poweprep software if you can, since taking the test on a computer is a better simulation of exam day conditions.) 4) a journal or notebook (yes, a physical hard copy item) 5) Notecards (or Quizlet.com) 6) Barron’s 1100 Words You Need to Know

Supplemental/Optional Materials: Easy magazines: Time, Newsweek, Scientific American (start low…but not too low; these magazines are still filled with decent content) Difficult magazines: Atlantic Monthly, The New Yorker, The Economist Manhattan GRE’s 500 Essential Word Flash Cards Manhattan GRE’s 500 Advanced Word Flash Cards these two Manhattan GRE flashcard sets could be a time-saving alternative to the Barron’s word book. Quizlet.com: gives you online access to flashcards, making it easier, say, to quiz yourself on your mobile device WordSmart: very basic “level 1″ definition of words with simple sentences Dictionary.com: very good example sentences with definitions Wordnik.com: provides a flood of example sentences Word Dynamo (Dictionary.com): gives you little quizzes & games to add some variety to vocab learning Magoosh iPhone/Android app, for mobile practice A note on learning GRE vocabulary: first of all, it’s important not only to learn the literal dictionary definition (the denotation), but also to understand the metaphorical use of the word in context (the connotation). For example, the word “opaque” literally means “not transparent”, but metaphorically it can means “hard to understand” or, describing a person, it can mean “thick-headed, stupid.” Ultimately, you should strive to learn both the denotation and the connotation of each word. Nothing beats physical stacks of flashcards: You could have one pile for words whose denotation you are trying to master, another containing words for which you know the denotation but not the connotation, and a “done” stack that gets reviewed only rarely. Daily review of vocab is vital. I wrote this schedule recommending the Barron’s 1100 Words as a basic word list, but if you have another vocab list you would like use as your starting point, use that. DO NOT limit yourself to just the Barron’s words, or just the Manhattan GRE words. AS YOU READ and find more words you don’t know, look them up, make flash cards (including context), and mix them into your piles. A note on the prep books: Don’t write in any of the test prep books, because for any of them, after a period of time you may want to go back and do a problem again that you haven’t seen for a while. You can only start it fresh if the page is free of your marks. This one-month plan is a furiously intense pace, designed to have improve as much as one possible could improve in a month’s time. I have designed four weeks, assuming 2-3 hours for each of the five weekdays, and one 5-6 stint on the weekend (“Day Six”). If you would prefer to work on both weekend days, and free up some weeknight time, feel free to make those changes. Also, as much as possible, get enough sleep during this month. REM sleep plays an important role in encoding long term memory, and in an eight hour period of sleep, the last hour has the most REM. If you are getting 7 hours/night instead of 8 hours/night, you are depriving your brain of one of its most powerful systems for magoosh.com/gre/2012/1-month-gre-study-schedule/

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1 Month GRE Study Schedule | Magoosh GRE Blog

learning and remembering. Caffeine and energy drinks will keep you feeling awake if you don’t get enough sleep, but they don’t do bupkis to replace the lost opportunity to encode more information into long term memory. I realize it will be hard both to follow this plan diligently and get 8+ hr/night of sleep if you are working fulltime. If you are working full-time, I would say it will be very hard to improve as much as you could in only one month’s time, and I would recommend pushing the test date a little further back, if possible. If that’s not possible, then just do as much of this plan as you can, as much as time will allow.

Week One, Day One 1) Go to http://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/about/content/, and read about the content of the GRE. Click on and read each sub-heading link. 2) In the Official Guide, Read Chapter 1 “Introducing the GRE revised General Test” Read Chapter 2 “GRE Analytic Writing” — skim or skip the example essays and the commentary on them, and read everything else Read Chapter 3 “GRE Verbal Reasoning” — just the introductory pages, before the Sample Question Set Read Chapter 5 “GRE Quantitative Reasoning” — just the introductory pages, before the Sample Questions 3) Start reading through the GRE Math Review, up to the Arithmetic Exercises. Take notes in your journal on whatever is unfamiliar. Do the Arithmetic Exercises and correct your answers. NOTE: Many GRE test takers struggle with remembering math, so for these readers, I am suggesting this first week working through of the Official Guide’s Math Review section. If you are someone for whom math comes easily, I would say: skim this section, do the exercises, and spend the rest of the time devoted to this building your vocabulary, say with Princeton Review’s Word Smart book. 4) In Magoosh Lessons, watch the following videos: In Math: under “Integer Properties”, the first ten videos in that section In Verbal: under “Text Completion – Overview”, the first three videos in that section If the content in the video is new to you or relatively unclear, take notes on it in your journal. If the content is very familiar, feel free to click ahead to the summary at the end, just to verify that you understand it all.

Week One, Day Two 1) Continue reading through the GRE Math Review, up to about halfway through the Algebra section. Take notes in your journal on whatever is unfamiliar. 2) In Magoosh Lessons, watch the following videos: In Math: under “Integer Properties”, the last five videos in that section In Math: under “Arithmetic and Fractions”, the first five videos in that section In Verbal: under “Text Completion – Overview”, the last three videos in that section magoosh.com/gre/2012/1-month-gre-study-schedule/

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In Verbal: under “Sentence Equivalence”, the first three videos in that section 3) In Barron’s 1100 Words You Need to Know Look over the first 60 words (in Barrons or whatever vocab source you are using). For each one, if the definition (both denotation and connotation) is not immediately obvious to you, make a flashcard for the word. Review your flashcards

4) In Magoosh Practice, do 20 Math Multiple choice math questions, by filtering for “Math” in Section. Check off all of the Subjects (Algebra, Coordinate Geometry, Data Interpretation, etc.), set the Difficulty to “Adaptive”, Question Pool to “Unanswered”, Time to “No Limit”, and Mode to “Practice Mode”. For each Magoosh problem, after you submit your answer, on the next page which tells you whether you were right or wrong, there’s a video solution and below that a text summary. If you got the question right, skim the text summary to verify you got it right for the right reason. If you got the question wrong, watch the video, taking notes in your journal about any concept or any aspect of the question type that was unclear to you

Week One, Day Three 1) Continue reading the GRE Math Review, up to the Algebra Exercises. Take notes in your journal on whatever is unfamiliar. Do the Algebra Exercises and correct your answers. 2) In Magoosh Lessons, watch the following videos: In Math: under “Arithmetic and Fractions”, the last seven videos In Math: under “Percents and Ratios”, up to “Percent Increases and Decreases” In Verbal: under “Sentence Equivalence”, the last three videos in that section In Verbal: under “Reading Comprehension”, the first four videos in that section 3) In Barron’s 1100 Words You Need to Know Look over the next 60 words (in Barrons or whatever vocab source you are using). For each one, if the definition (both denotation and connotation) is not immediately obvious to you, make a flashcard for the word. Review your flashcards 4) In Magoosh Practice, do 20 Math Multiple choice math questions, by filtering for Math in Section. Check off all of the Subjects (Algebra, Coordinate Geometry, Data Interpretation, etc.), set the Difficulty to “Adaptive”, Question Pool to “Unanswered”, Time to “No Limit”, and Mode to “Practice Mode”.

Week One, Day Four 1) Continue reading the GRE Math Review, up to the Geometry Exercises. Take notes in your journal on whatever is unfamiliar. Do the Geometry Exercises and correct your answers. 2) In Magoosh Lessons, watch the following videos: In Math: under “Percents and Ratios”, the last four videos in that section In Math: under “Algebra, Equations, Inequalities”, the first four videos in that section

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1 Month GRE Study Schedule | Magoosh GRE Blog

In Math: under “Data Interpretation”, watch first two videos in that section In Verbal: under “Reading Comprehension”, the last seven videos in that section In Verbal: under “Paragraph Argument”, the first three videos in that section 3) In Barron’s 1100 Words You Need to Know Look over the next 60 words (in Barrons or whatever vocab source you are using). For each one, if the definition (both denotation and connotation) is not immediately obvious to you, make a flashcard for the word. Review your flashcards 4) In Magoosh Practice, do 20 Math Multiple choice math questions, all subjects.

Week One, Day Five 1) Continue reading through the GRE Math Review, up to about halfway through the Data Analysis section. Take notes in your journal on whatever is unfamiliar. 2) In Magoosh Lessons, watch the following videos: In Math: under “Algebra, etc”, up to “Factoring – Rational Expressions” In Math: under “Data Interpretation”, finish last two videos in that section In Verbal: under “Paragraph Argument”, watch all remaining videos in that section In AWA: all ten videos in that section 3) In Barron’s 1100 Words You Need to Know Look over the next 60 words (in Barrons or whatever vocab source you are using). For each one, if the definition (both denotation and connotation) is not immediately obvious to you, make a flashcard for the word. Review your flashcards 4) In Magoosh Practice, do 20 Math Multiple choice math questions.

Week One, Day Six 1) Finish reading through the GRE Math Review. Take notes in your journal on whatever is unfamiliar. Do the Data Analysis Exercises and correct your answers. 2) In Magoosh Lessons, watch the following videos: In Math: under “Algebra, etc”, up to “Three Equations with Three Unknowns” 3) Download and read the Magoosh GRE eBook. 4) Today, you are going to write two essays, half an hour each. You will write one Issue essay and one Argument essay. The good news is that any prompt that you could possibly see test day is already on the gre.org site: http://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/prepare/analytical_writing/issue/pool There are hundreds of essays for both the Argument and Issue. You can choose the essay at random, or you might want to choose an essay topic that seems challenging to you. Write the essay in a word processing program. If you can turn off the spell check all the better–you won’t have the luxury of spell check test day. magoosh.com/gre/2012/1-month-gre-study-schedule/

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Now that you have these essays, what do you do with them? If you have a friend or mentor who is a gifted writer, see if they would read the essays for you and critique them. If they are willing, you can show them the assessment criteria in the Official Guide, and ask them to follow it. If you can’t convince anyone else to read it, you may try posting them on that same GMultiple answer math questionsT club forum, and see whether an expert there will critique your essay. Failing either of these options, at least you can set the essays aside, and in a couple days re-read them with the Official Guide’s rubric beside you.

Week Two, Day One 1) In Magoosh Lessons, watch the following videos: In Math: under “Algebra, etc”, up to “Working with Formulas” In Verbal: under “Text Completion – No Shifts”, the first two videos of that section 2) In Barron’s 1100 Words You Need to Know Look over the next 60 words (in Barrons or whatever vocab source you are using). For each one, if the definition (both denotation and connotation) is not immediately obvious to you, make a flashcard for the word. Review your flashcards 3) In Magoosh Practice, do the following questions. 10 Multiple choice math questions 5 Quantitative comparison math questions 5 Text completion verbal questions 5 Sentence equivalence verbal questions 5 Reading comprehension verbal questions 3 Paragraph argument verbal questions

Week Two, Day Two 1) In Magoosh Lessons, watch the following videos: In Math: under “Algebra, etc”, the last five videos of that section In Math: under “Word Problems”, the first two videos of that section In Verbal: under “Text Completion – No Shifts”, the last two videos of that section 2) In Barron’s 1100 Words You Need to Know Look over the next 60 words (in Barrons or whatever vocab source you are using). For each one, if the definition (both denotation and connotation) is not immediately obvious to you, make a flashcard for the word. Review your flashcards 3) In Magoosh Practice, do the following questions 20 Multiple choice math questions

magoosh.com/gre/2012/1-month-gre-study-schedule/

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1 Month GRE Study Schedule | Magoosh GRE Blog

5 Quantitative comparison math questions 3 Data interpretation questions 5 Text completion verbal questions 5 Sentence equivalence verbal questions 5 Reading comprehension verbal questions 3 Paragraph argument verbal questions

Week Two, Day Three 1) In Magoosh Lessons, watch the following videos: In Math: under “Word Problems”, the first two videos of that section In Verbal: under “Text Completion – Sentence Shifts”, the first two videos of that section 2) In Barron’s 1100 Words You Need to Know Look over the next 60 words (in Barrons or whatever vocab source you are using). For each one, if the definition (both denotation and connotation) is not immediately obvious to you, make a flashcard for the word. Review your flashcards 3) In Magoosh Practice, do the following questions. 10 Multiple choice math questions 5 Quantitative comparison math questions 3 Data interpretation questions 5 Text completion verbal questions 5 Sentence equivalence verbal questions 5 Reading comprehension verbal questions 3 Paragraph argument verbal questions

Week Two, Day Four 1) In Magoosh Lessons, watch the following videos: In Math: under “Word Problems”, up to “Shrinking and Expanding Gaps” In Verbal: under “Text Completion – Sentence Shifts”, to up “Time Shifts” 2) In Barron’s 1100 Words You Need to Know Look over the next 60 words (in Barrons or whatever vocab source you are using). For each one, if the definition (both denotation and connotation) is not immediately obvious to you, make a flashcard for the word. Review your flashcards

magoosh.com/gre/2012/1-month-gre-study-schedule/

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1 Month GRE Study Schedule | Magoosh GRE Blog

3) In Magoosh Practice, do the following questions. 20 Multiple choice math questions 5 Quantitative comparison math questions 5 Text completion verbal questions 5 Sentence equivalence verbal questions 5 Reading comprehension verbal questions 2 Paragraph argument verbal questions

Week Two, Day Five 1) In Magoosh Lessons, watch the following videos: In Math: under “Word Problems”, up to “Sums of Sequences” In Verbal: under “Text Completion – Sentence Shifts”, to up “Multiple Shifts” 2) In Barron’s 1100 Words You Need to Know Look over the next 60 words (in Barrons or whatever vocab source you are using). For each one, if the definition (both denotation and connotation) is not immediately obvious to you, make a flashcard for the word. Review your flashcards 3) In Magoosh Practice, do the following questions. 10 Multiple choice math questions 2 Data interpretation questions 10 Quantitative comparison math questions 10 Text completion verbal questions 5 Sentence equivalence verbal questions 5 Reading comprehension verbal questions 2 Paragraph argument verbal questions

Week Two, Day Six 1) Today, you are going to write two essays, half an hour each. You will write one Issue essay and one Argument essay. For topics, go back to http://gmatclub.com/forum/analytical-writing-assessment-awa-144/, and click a post at random to assign yourself a topic. Write the essays in Word. When done, share the essays with a trusted friend/mentor, or post in the GMultiple answer math questionsT forum, or set aside and critique it yourself with the Official Guide rubric in a few days. 2) In the Official Guide: magoosh.com/gre/2012/1-month-gre-study-schedule/

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a) do the Verbal Reasoning Practice Sets 1-6 b) do the Quantitative Reasoning Practice Sets 1-4 Treat this as a mock GRE. You might even combine it with the two essays, and do consecutive batches 2-3 set without interruption, to simulate more effectively a real GRE. Set a timer for the time limits. Here are the time limits to observe: Verbal Reasoning Set 1 = 9 minutes Verbal Reasoning Set 2 = 10 minutes Verbal Reasoning Set 3 = 9 minutes Verbal Reasoning Set 4 = 10 minutes Verbal Reasoning Set 5 = 10 minutes Verbal Reasoning Set 6 = 10 minutes Quantitative Reasoning Set 1 = 22 minutes Quantitative Reasoning Set 2 = 23 minutes Quantitative Reasoning Set 3 = 24 minutes Quantitative Reasoning Set 4 = 11 minutes After you are done, check all your answers. For any question you got right, skim the explanation to verify that you got it right for the right reason. For any question you got wrong, read the explanation thorough, taking notes in your journal on any concepts you didn’t understand and anything about the question format that psyched you out. If you still can’t make sense of the question after reading the explanation, email us at Magoosh.

Week Three, Day One 1) In Magoosh Lessons, watch the following videos: In Math: under “Word Problems”, the last three videos in that section In Verbal: under “Text Completion – Sentence Shifts”, the last three videos in that section 2) In Barron’s 1100 Words You Need to Know Look over the next 60 words (in Barrons or whatever vocab source you are using). For each one, if the definition (both denotation and connotation) is not immediately obvious to you, make a flashcard for the word. Review your flashcards 3) In Magoosh Practice, do the following questions. 20 Multiple choice math questions 2 Data interpretation questions 5 Quantitative comparison math questions 5 Text completion verbal questions

magoosh.com/gre/2012/1-month-gre-study-schedule/

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5 Sentence equivalence verbal questions 5 Reading comprehension verbal questions 2 Paragraph argument verbal questions

Week Three, Day Two 1) In Magoosh Lessons, watch the following videos: In Math: under “Coordinate Geometry”, the first six videos in that section In Verbal: under “Text Completion – Double Blanks”, the first two videos in that section 2) In Barron’s 1100 Words You Need to Know Look over the next 60 words (in Barrons or whatever vocab source you are using). For each one, if the definition (both denotation and connotation) is not immediately obvious to you, make a flashcard for the word. Review your flashcards 3) In Magoosh Practice, do the following questions. 10 Multiple choice math questions 2 Data interpretation questions 5 Quantitative comparison math questions 5 Text completion verbal questions 5 Sentence equivalence verbal questions 5 Reading comprehension verbal questions 2 Paragraph argument verbal questions

Week Three, Day Three 1) In Magoosh Lessons, watch the following videos: In Math: under “Coordinate Geometry”, the last three videos in that section In Math: under “Geometry”, the first three videos in that section In Verbal: under “Text Completion – Double Blanks”, the last three videos in that section 2) In Barron’s 1100 Words You Need to Know Look over the next 60 words (in Barrons or whatever vocab source you are using). For each one, if the definition (both denotation and connotation) is not immediately obvious to you, make a flashcard for the word. Review your flashcards 3) In Magoosh Practice, do the following questions. 20 Multiple choice math questions

magoosh.com/gre/2012/1-month-gre-study-schedule/

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2 Data interpretation questions 5 Quantitative comparison math questions 5 Text completion verbal questions 5 Sentence equivalence verbal questions 5 Reading comprehension verbal questions 2 Paragraph argument verbal questions

Week Three, Day Four 1) In Magoosh Lessons, watch the following videos: In Math: under “Geometry”, up to “Polygons” In Verbal: under “Text Completion – Triple Blanks”, the first two videos in that section 2) In Barron’s 1100 Words You Need to Know Look over the next 60 words (in Barrons or whatever vocab source you are using). For each one, if the definition (both denotation and connotation) is not immediately obvious to you, make a flashcard for the word. Review your flashcards 3) In Magoosh Practice, do the following questions. 10 Multiple choice math questions 5 Quantitative comparison math questions 5 Text completion verbal questions 5 Sentence equivalence verbal questions 5 Reading comprehension verbal questions 2 Paragraph argument verbal questions

Week Three, Day Five 1) In Magoosh Lessons, watch the following videos: In Math: under “Geometry”, the last six videos in that section In Verbal: under “Text Completion – Triple Blanks”, up to “One Sentence Triple Blanks” 2) In Barron’s 1100 Words You Need to Know Look over the next 60 words (in Barrons or whatever vocab source you are using). For each one, if the definition (both denotation and connotation) is not immediately obvious to you, make a flashcard for the word. Review your flashcards 3) In Magoosh Practice, do the following questions.

magoosh.com/gre/2012/1-month-gre-study-schedule/

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1 Month GRE Study Schedule | Magoosh GRE Blog

20 Multiple choice math questions 5 Quantitative comparison math questions 5 Text completion verbal questions 5 Sentence equivalence verbal questions 5 Reading comprehension verbal questions 2 Paragraph argument verbal questions

Week Three, Day Six 1) In Magoosh Lessons, watch the following videos: In Math: under “Power and Roots”, the first eleven videos in that section 2) Today, you are going to take the hard copy practice GRE at the back of the Official Guide. For the two essay questions, write the essays in a word processing program. These essays you will either share with a trusted friend or mentor, or post in the online forums asking for feedback, or critique later with the Official Guide rubric. As much as possible, try to mimic the GRE conditions. Give yourself relatively short breaks in between sections. Only eat the kinds of snacks that you are planning to bring to the real GRE. Note how your sleep the night before affects your work. Note how what you had for dinner the previous night and what you had to eat earlier that day affects your energy level and concentration. Write any observations in your journal.

Week Four, Day One 1) In Magoosh Lessons, watch the following videos: In Math: under “Power and Roots”, the last three videos in that section In Math: under “Statistics”, all five videos in that section In Verbal: under “Text Completion – Triple Blanks”, the last three videos in that section 2) In Barron’s 1100 Words You Need to Know Look over the next 60 words (in Barrons or whatever vocab source you are using). For each one, if the definition (both denotation and connotation) is not immediately obvious to you, make a flashcard for the word. Review your flashcards 3) In Magoosh Practice, do the following questions. 10 Multiple choice math questions 5 Multiple answer math questions (Section: “Math- Multiple Answer”) 3 Data interpretation questions 10 Quantitative comparison math questions

magoosh.com/gre/2012/1-month-gre-study-schedule/

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10 Text completion verbal questions (Section: “Verbal- Text Completion”) 5 Sentence equivalence verbal questions 5 Reading comprehension verbal questions 3 Paragraph argument verbal questions

Week Four, Day Two 1) In Magoosh Lessons, watch the following videos: In Math: under “Counting”, the first six videos in that section 2) In Barron’s 1100 Words You Need to Know Look over the next 60 words (in Barrons or whatever vocab source you are using). For each one, if the definition (both denotation and connotation) is not immediately obvious to you, make a flashcard for the word. Review your flashcards 3) In Magoosh Practice, do the following questions. 20 Multiple choice math questions 10 Multiple answer math questions (Section: “Math- Multiple Answer”) 5 Quantitative comparison math questions 5 Text completion verbal questions (Section: “Verbal- Text Completion”) 5 Sentence equivalence verbal questions 5 Reading comprehension verbal questions 3 Paragraph argument verbal questions (Or substitute above with mock test)

Week Four, Day Three 1) In Magoosh Lessons, watch the following videos: In Math: under “Counting”, the last five videos in that section 2) In Barron’s 1100 Words You Need to Know Look over the next 60 words (in Barrons or whatever vocab source you are using). For each one, if the definition (both denotation and connotation) is not immediately obvious to you, make a flashcard for the word. Review your flashcards 3) In Magoosh Practice, do the following questions. 10 Multiple choice math questions 2 Data interpretation questions

magoosh.com/gre/2012/1-month-gre-study-schedule/

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5 Numeric entry math questions 5 Quantitative comparison math questions 5 Text completion verbal questions (Section: “Verbal- Text Completion”) 5 Sentence equivalence verbal questions 5 Reading comprehension verbal questions 2 Paragraph argument verbal questions

Week Four, Day Four 1) In Magoosh Lessons, watch the following videos: In Math: under “Probability”, the first six videos in that section 2) In Barron’s 1100 Words You Need to Know Look over the next 60 words (in Barrons or whatever vocab source you are using). For each one, if the definition (both denotation and connotation) is not immediately obvious to you, make a flashcard for the word. Review your flashcards 3) In Magoosh Practice, do the following questions. 20 Multiple choice math questions 10 Numeric entry math questions 5 Quantitative comparison math questions 5 Text completion verbal questions (Section: “Verbal- Text Completion”) 5 Reading comprehension verbal questions 2 Paragraph argument verbal questions

Week Four, Day Five 1) In Magoosh Lessons, watch the following videos: In Math: under “Probability”, the last six videos in that section 2) In Barron’s 1100 Words You Need to Know Look over the last 20 words (in Barrons or whatever vocab source you are using). For each one, if the definition (both denotation and connotation) is not immediately obvious to you, make a flashcard for the word. Review your flashcards 3) In Magoosh Practice, do the following questions. 10 Multiple choice math questions 10 Numeric entry math questions

magoosh.com/gre/2012/1-month-gre-study-schedule/

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5 Quantitative comparison math questions 5 Text completion verbal questions (Section: “Verbal- Text Completion”) 5 Sentence equivalence verbal questions 5 Reading comprehension verbal questions 2 Paragraph argument verbal questions (Or substitute above with remaining practice test)

Week Four, Day Six 1) Today, you are going to take the practice GRE available through the GRE PowerPrep software. As much as possible, try to mimic the GRE conditions. Give yourself relatively short breaks in between sections. Only eat the kinds of snacks that you are planning to bring to the real GRE. Note how your sleep the night before affects your work. Note how what you had for dinner the previous night and what you had to eat earlier that day affects your energy level and concentration. Write any observations in your journal. At the end, copy the essays you wrote into a Word doc, and as before, these you will share with a trusted friend or mentor, or post in the online forums asking for feedback, or critique later with the Official Guide rubric.

Any Remaining Days Keep working on GRE math and verbal every day. Suggestions 1) Keep watching 6-8 Magoosh videos a day. Go back and re-watch any videos where you think you need to learn the topic more thoroughly. 2) You can try again Magoosh questions that you have already answered, and see if you do better on the question the second time around. 3) Keep drilling your stack of vocab cards every day 4) An online search will turn up batches of GRE practice questions and free GREs you can take online. If you have an extra day, take another full length GRE. If not, work on a couple sections each day.

Day before the test: 1) No GRE preparation all day 2) Eat a large, healthy, leisurely dinner – no alcohol! 3) Go to bed earlier than usual.

Day of test magoosh.com/gre/2012/1-month-gre-study-schedule/

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1) ABSOLUTELY NO LAST MINUTE GRE PREPARATION! 2) Eat a large breakfast, full of protein 3) Do relaxing, fun activities to pass time until the test

Bring to the test 1) A liter of water 2) Healthy energy-packed snacks (nuts, protein bar, etc.) 3) On breaks, make sure to get up, move & stretch – moving & stretching the large muscles of the body (legs & torso) will get oxygen flowing throughout, which will help keep you awake and keep you thinking clearly. By the way, students who use Magoosh GRE improve their scores on average by 8 points on the new scale (150 points on the old scale.) Click here to learn more.

About the Author Mike McGarry is a Content Developer for Magoosh with over 20 years of teaching experience and a BS in Physics and an MA in Religion, both from Harvard. He enjoys hitting foosballs into orbit, and despite having no obvious cranial deficiency, he insists on rooting for the NY Mets.

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76 Responses to 1 Month GRE Study Schedule

1. Will Energy May 28, 2013 at 9:01 pm # My verbal score is 152 last time. I will take the GRE again one month later. I want to increase my reading speed. How to do it effectively?

Mike May 29, 2013 at 10:08 am # Dear Will, Well, the first thing that leaps to mind is —– to get more comfortable with reading, you need to read every day. You need to read demanding, challenging material, on topics that you don’t necessarily find interesting, and try to get the most out of it. The NYT, the WSJ, the Economist magazine & Atlantic Monthly & Scientific American are all good places to get started. Building your active vocabulary also will help. I would strongly suggest watching all of Chris’ Vocab Wednesday videos on this blog. Finally, keep in mind that GRE Reading Comp is not a speed reading contest. It’s not about speed — its about understanding. Here’s a link to an article about GRE RC with many links to other relevant articles: magoosh.com/gre/2012/1-month-gre-study-schedule/

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http://magoosh.com/gre/gre-reading-comprehension/ Here’s a particular good post on RC http://magoosh.com/gre/2011/faq-how-do-i-improve-on-the-reading-comprehension/ BTW, my friend Chris is a verbal genius. You would do well to absorb every single scrap of advice you can wring out of this blog. I hope all this helps. Mike

2. nwachi May 28, 2013 at 6:43 am # hi ,I wrote GRE in may and didn’t have good scores,148 quant,147 verbal,3.0 AWA.I will be writing it again at the end of June and really need advise on how to improve my scores especially analytical writing Scores.i also find the verbal comprehension questions very hard,any advice on how to tackle comprehension questions will be of good use to me.thanks

Mike May 28, 2013 at 10:07 am # Dear Nwachi, Here are my recommendations: 1) Read every single article on this blog, especially Chris’ verbal articles 2) Sign up for Magoosh 3) Follow this study plan assiduously. 4) If you have the time, I would also recommend buying the verbal volumes of the MGRE set http://magoosh.com/gre/2012/manhattan-gre-book-review/ Does all this make sense? Best of luck to you. Mike

3. Karthik May 22, 2013 at 12:44 pm # How do i go about improving my vocabulary skills? Is the mnemonics approach efficient?

Mike May 22, 2013 at 5:10 pm # Karthik, Mnemonics work for some folks. I have always been a fan of making flash cards, and simply drilling them over and over and over. MGRE has some good sets of flashcards already prepared. I would recommend watching every “Vocab Wednesday” video on this blog. I would also recommend the GRE vocab ebook: http://magoosh.com/gre/2012/gre-vocabulary-ebook/ Finally, in a little over a month, Magoosh is going to launch a vocab flash card app — keep your eyes on this blog for that. I hope all this helps. Mike

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4. Swapna May 18, 2013 at 12:52 am # Hi Mike, I’ve taken the revised GRE for the first time and scored 303 (V-148, Q-155, AWA – 4.0). Although I am quite happy with my Quant score(considering I am applying to Biology), I only have 44 percentile in verbal. All the universities that I want to apply require a minimum of 50 percentile which would be 153. I want to buy 1-month GRE plan from Magoosh since my test is on June 20th and I wanted to know if it is different from the regular 6-months valid premium GRE plan. I am hoping to see an improvement in my verbal and also in my quant even though I am quite ok with the quant score. I want to use Magoosh for the entire month and just a little skeptical about the 1-month plan. Thanks!!

Margarette May 19, 2013 at 10:29 pm # Hi, Swapna The 1-month plan is exactly like the 6-month plan: full access to all of our material, features, and support. The only difference is the length of the subscription. Getting to at least 50th percentile is definitely doable in a month, with a bit of hard work and focused practice! If you have any other questions as you get started, feel free to let us know and we’d be happy to help! Best, Margarette

5. radha April 26, 2013 at 10:06 pm # I am taking my gre this june nd I am nt at all gud at vocab I am so tensed plz tell me how imprv my vocab in one month

Mike April 29, 2013 at 9:31 am # Dear Radha, In addition to signing up for Magoosh and following this particular plan assiduously, I recommend (1) read through every article on the blog, paying particular attention to the “Vocab Wednesday” videos (2) see the links for vocabulary aids at the top — Wordsmart, Wordnik, and Word Dynamo — visit those sites every day. (3) read the NYT every day, looking up every single word you don’t recognize. (4) I would recommend the MGRE flashcard set — get those, and drill them every day (5) every time you write everything, even in texting & email, abandon all abbreviations, and write out everything with complete precision. Strive to make every sentence you create a masterpiece, as much as you can. magoosh.com/gre/2012/1-month-gre-study-schedule/

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Does all this make sense? Mike

6. kendra April 26, 2013 at 9:39 pm # Hello I took the gre on the 15th and did really bad. I am now doing the 30 day plan and hope this will increase my score. V138 Q140 for grad school I need a 294.

Mike April 29, 2013 at 9:25 am # Kendra, If you sign up for Magoosh and follow this plan religiously, I believe you will see significant improvement. Best of luck to you. Mike

kendra April 29, 2013 at 9:46 am # Yea I’ve been doing the 30 day plan and also using the Barron book

Mike April 29, 2013 at 9:51 am # Kendra, I assume you are familiar with our book reviews: http://magoosh.com/gre/2011/new-gre-book-reviews/ Remember not only to watch all the Magoosh lessons, but also to watch all the video explanations after each question — certainly whenever you get the question wrong, even if you *think* you understand why you got it wrong. Does all this make sense? Mike

7. Naveen April 18, 2013 at 1:37 pm # hi mike, I have scored gre 282 with 152 quant, 130 verbal and toefl 74. Realy i am so weak in verbal. I am planning to write exam after 1month. So please suggest me how to improve my verbal and i need badly to score 300+ atleast. Toefl too. plz suggest me.

Mike April 18, 2013 at 1:54 pm # Naveen, Here’s what I recommend magoosh.com/gre/2012/1-month-gre-study-schedule/

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(1) Study this 1-month plan assiduously (2) Buy Magoosh, watch all the verbal lessons, then watch them all a second time. (3) Buy the MGRE verbal books and read through them (4) Over and above your GRE prep, read English, high level challenging English, for at least two hours each day. (5) Take notes, in English, on all of the above. (6) For the next month, give up any TV, any video games, any electronic entertainment. Focus on improving your English. Does all this make sense? Mike

8. Trimella March 31, 2013 at 9:56 am # I really need to strengthen my verbal score but have about a month to prepare. Will the 30-day be enough prep? Other than time, what are the major differences in the verbal focused and. 30-day study schedule?

Mike April 1, 2013 at 4:00 pm # Dear Trimella, This 30 day plan is an intense plan. if you follow it, you will definitely see improvement. Now, whether this improvement is enough to achieve your goals depends on where you are now, how fast you learn, your backgrounds, etc. etc. Because the 3-month Verbal plan is longer, it contains more material. if you are confident in your math, you might consider dropping some of the math prep in this 30 day plan and substituting in more verbal work fro that Verbal plan —-as much as you can fit in a 30-day period. Does this make sense? Mike

9. Joe August 26, 2012 at 8:17 am # Hi Mike, I took the GRE yesterday and scored 161V/155Q but I consider myself a way more quantitative person. I used Kaplan prep materials to study math in the 2 months leading up to the test then the week before I realized that the questions were way too easy (after taking the power prep test) so I bought Magoosh and spent the week cramming. Needless to say I think you guys saved my math score. I’m applying to quantitatively heavy masters programs and I need to get my math score up at least 5 points. I think I just fell victim to test jitters + stupid mistakes so I’m going to take it again in a month. Do you think the schedule here will help me accomplish the 5 point gain? Can you suggest any tweaks? Do you think it is worth combining with the Manhattan math prep books?

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Mike August 26, 2012 at 10:28 pm # I think the schedule here will help you. I would also suggest look at the math resources in 90 Day Verbal Focus plan, esp. the NOVA book — you can mix some of those in. Also, the MGRE books are great, so those can’t hurt. If you learn all the math strategies Magoosh teaches, all the math strategies in the MGRE books, I think you will be more than ready next time. Mike

10. Kim August 22, 2012 at 6:09 pm # Hi, Mike, I just took GRE yesterday and got V 142/ Q156 which I am not proud of. I am planning on retaking either early october or early november, which would you recommend? (my applications are due dec.1) and would I be able to boost up my score with one month plan?

Mike August 23, 2012 at 11:01 am # Dear Kim: Yes, absolutely. If you follow this plan — and get Magoosh as part of that process — that combination will definitely raise your score. Mike

Kim August 27, 2012 at 10:26 am # thank you Mike, so, again, I am planning on retaking either early october or early november, which would you recommend? (my applications are due dec.1)

Mike August 27, 2012 at 11:25 am # Dear Kim You are quite welcome. Assuming you will be able to continuing studying solidly through the month of October, I would say the November date would allow you more prep time, which is always preferable. Mike

Kim August 27, 2012 at 4:28 pm # thank you so much Mike! I guess I’ll retake it early november

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Mike August 27, 2012 at 5:38 pm # You are quite welcome. Best of luck to you. Mike

11. sriram August 16, 2012 at 12:08 am # should buy gre OG 1st edition or 2rd edition?

Mike August 16, 2012 at 10:43 am # Always buy the most recent, most up-to-date edition. Here, that would be the 2nd edition. Mike

sriram August 17, 2012 at 4:43 am # thanks mike

Mike August 17, 2012 at 4:43 pm # You are quite welcome. Mike

12. hi August 15, 2012 at 6:46 am # having a good experience with Magoosh. Thanks team !

Mike August 15, 2012 at 10:19 am # Thank you for your kind words. Best of luck to you! Mike

13. Monica Lazaro August 2, 2012 at 12:28 pm # Hello, I have purchased your product and was wondering about the 30 day study plan. I see that the math sections do indeed skip around. I wanted to make sure that all the videos are covered in the month span? magoosh.com/gre/2012/1-month-gre-study-schedule/

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Thank You!

Mike August 2, 2012 at 6:17 pm # Monica: Yes, all the videos are covered in the one month span. Mike

14. ALI SOHAIL July 17, 2012 at 11:56 am # hi mike..i learned about your one month plan.i have been preparing for some time for GRE now.but not getting the desired score in practice tests i gave.actually i feel i have over studied.coz i have been studying regularly for 5 months i guess..My AWA is really weak..quants is just abt 680-700 mark.and verbal i get score around 420.i need atleast 315 plus (1300 old score).will u one month plan will help??..can i be assured of 315 my target score.?. is there any money back guarantee?

Mike July 20, 2012 at 9:50 am # Dear Ali: To follow the 1-month plan fully, you need to purchase the Magoosh product — and, yes, the Magoosh product could help you considerably. There is a score guarantee *if* you have already taken an *official* GMAT (http://gmat.magoosh.com/score-guarantee), but it’s not clear to me whether you have done so. You are looking for a rather large improvement: even with the Magoosh materials, this will take a great deal of work. I don’t know what your timetable is, but if you have the time, I would strongly recommend the full 3-month Verbal Focus Plan (http://magoosh.com/gmat/2012/3-month-gmat-study-schedule-verbal-focused/) — if you want to fit all this improvement into only one month, then GMAT preparation will have to be a full-time job for you. Magoosh has radically improved the performance of students like you. The limiting factor on how much you can improve is purely how much time & energy you can devote to it in this remaining period. Does that make sense? Mike

15. Dileep July 15, 2012 at 9:49 pm # Which month is the best to take GRE?whats the best score(out of 340) for applying to universities? Please help me with this….

Mike July 16, 2012 at 5:21 pm # Dear Dileep: The best month? That depends 100% on you and your schedule. When will you have the time to study, when will you be most prepared, etc. The GRE is scored such that no one gets an advantage or a disadvantage any of the 365 possible testing days in a year. When is the best month given grad school admission deadlines? Well, you will have to choose magoosh.com/gre/2012/1-month-gre-study-schedule/

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graduate school and contact them to find out their dates. Similarly, what’s the best score? In and of itself, this is not a fruitful question. Again, contact those schools, or look for a guide that will help you determine: what are the range of GRE scores among folks they accept. Take practice GREs to get a sense of your range, and Magoosh can help you improve from there. It’s important to have a sense of where you are starting so you can see what would be realistic for you to achieve. Does all this make sense? Mike

16. Dawit July 8, 2012 at 3:39 am # Hi Mike and Chris, Thank you for the great web page. I find it very essential to my GRE prep. I will be taking my exam on Aug04 and have 30 days to prep. I am strong when it comes to math. But weak toward verbal (vocab) and writing since English is my 2nd language. Would you recommend “1 month GRE study Schedule” plan in my case. Also can I use “Prin.Rev. – Word Smart for the GRE, 2nd Edition” instead of the recommended “Prin.Rev. – Word Smart 5th Edition”? Thanks again -Dawit

Mike July 9, 2012 at 6:34 pm # Dawit: Yes, use the 30 plan, but insofar as you have some additional time, look over the 90 Verbal Focus plan — perhaps you can work in a few resources from that as well. Between the two editions of PR Word Smart — I don’t think the difference would be big enough to cause concern. Mike

17. yemmygb June 30, 2012 at 12:50 pm # thanks for the study guide. i intend to write the GRE on August 11. Will start using this guide tomorrow.

Mike June 30, 2012 at 1:22 pm # Thank you, and best of luck to you! Let us know if you have any further questions. Mike

18. Pranav June 26, 2012 at 2:49 pm # Hey, About this 1-month schedule of yours, would it be better to jump on some sections in math which I magoosh.com/gre/2012/1-month-gre-study-schedule/

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get wrong on 10MC practice sets? Coz I’m getting some of the probability questions wrong and that section doesn’t come up until much later in the schedule. So should I follow it blindly?

Mike June 26, 2012 at 2:57 pm # Pranav: If there’s a single section, like probability, that is giving you a great deal of trouble, then yes, sub those videos into the video rotation right away. That way, you’ll get the familiarity you need, and you’ll be able to review those videos again toward the end of the plan. Mike

Pranav June 26, 2012 at 3:21 pm # Aight. Got it. Thanks.

Mike June 26, 2012 at 3:27 pm # You’re quite welcome. Let us know if you have any further questions. Mike

19. Rohit June 23, 2012 at 1:30 pm # Hi, I gave GRE practice test on Powerprep II and got my scores: Verbal: 430 – 530 Quant: 750 – 800 I am not able to make a correct estimate about my verbal score, which obviously needs improvement. Could you please guide how to make a precise estimate according to the new pattern? Also, I had a major fight with time, I had to guess one whole RC passage in both the sections due to lack of time! I guess practice would correct that, but how to tackle that?

Chris June 27, 2012 at 3:01 pm # Hi Rohit, It seems as though the GRE verbal section has been scaled down towards the lower end of the range. Meaning, you received closer to a 430 than a 530. Sorry I can’t be more precise than that, but ETS tends to be mum with its exact algorithm. For practice, we offer tough questions on the Verbal section. Manhattan GRE also offers six magoosh.com/gre/2012/1-month-gre-study-schedule/

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on-line tests, which give you plenty of practice. Hope that helps!

Rohit June 28, 2012 at 12:29 am # That means I can estimate my score to be more or less 150, according to the concordance table. Right? Also, are they giving out revised powerprep test this July?

20. bharat June 23, 2012 at 12:18 am # dear mike, i have my gre in 30 days flat and im at scratch i have been reading barrons 800 essentials words for gre im worried about the quant i bought this ets material and also subscribing to your 30 day plan since i have only 30 days and the only good thing is im completely free for these 30 days and can spend time on gre. do you have any tips for me please help me out.

Chris June 27, 2012 at 3:04 pm # Hi Bharat, I’m taking this for Mike

.

As for GRE tips, check out Magoosh’s ebooks: http://magoosh.com/gre/2012/gre-vocabulary-ebook/ http://magoosh.com/gre/gre-ebook/ The tips in the ebooks will definitely help you over the next 30 days.

21. Jaizen June 21, 2012 at 5:55 am # Helllo, I recently signed up for this course and I will be starting the one month prep plan today! I have taken the GMAT previously and therefore I think that 1 month may be sufficient to get me a high percentile score. I do wonder though if you have any prep plans that focus on the more difficult aspects of the GRE? Thanks magoosh.com/gre/2012/1-month-gre-study-schedule/

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Mike June 21, 2012 at 10:07 am # Jaizen: I realize you only have a month, but I would suggest going to: http://magoosh.com/gre/2012/90-day-gre-study-plan-for-advanced-students/ That’s where you will find our recommendations for the most challenging test prep material. Choose from that plan whatever looks good, whatever you can fit in to your month of preparation. Best of luck to you! Mike

22. nikhilla June 20, 2012 at 9:58 pm # hey ..i m planning to take up my gre in aug 2012 and i hav maths phobia and i m little bad at it can you suggest ways to improve on how to get approach to solve math section … please !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mike June 21, 2012 at 10:04 am # Dear Nikhilla: First of all, I would suggest looking at: http://magoosh.com/gre/2012/90-day-gre-study-plan-math-focused/ I know you don’t have a full 90 days until your GRE, but there are several resources in that plan that can help you. Also, I don’t whether you are a Magoosh member yet, but the Magoosh lesson videos will be an enormous help for you. Also, there are several helpful math articles on this blog that are worth reading. Finally, free free to mail us any individual math questions, and we’ll give you detailed explanations. With our support, you will be able to handle GRE math! Mike

23. Priscilla S. June 20, 2012 at 6:42 pm # Hey Magoosh team, Just wanted to thank you guys for this study plan. I became a premium subscriber and followed it, while doing plenty of practice outside of the guide. I scored significantly higher than my first GRE. Thanks again.

Mike June 21, 2012 at 9:55 am # Congratulations! Also, thank you very much for letting us know about your success. Mike

24. magoosh.com/gre/2012/1-month-gre-study-schedule/

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Pranav June 20, 2012 at 11:21 am # Hi. I’ve recently signed up for your 1 month course and my test is in 20 days. I’ve been reading some classics and I’m not really worried about the quantitative section, I know I’ll nail it with some practice. Any suggestions as to how to follow this schedule? I’m planning on doing 2 days work in 1 day, is that all right?

Mike June 20, 2012 at 11:41 am # Dear Pranav: You sound as if you are already quite comfortable with both Verbal and Quantitative, so I think if you have the time, doing 2 days in 1 sounds like a good plan. Best of luck to you, and let us know if you have any specific questions. Mike

Pranav June 20, 2012 at 12:20 pm # Well I find the Verbal section tough sometimes as English is my secondary language. I guess I’ll give more time to improve my vocabulary. Thanks for the quick reply. Great course, I’m already loving it!

Mike June 20, 2012 at 1:35 pm # I’m glad you like it. Best of luck to you. Mike

25. John May 27, 2012 at 8:23 am # This is my first comment after reading this post. ‘Amazing’ I’m preparing for GRE from past 2 months and due to my busy work schedule almost 12hours a day, I couldn’t find right strategy to prepare. Although I have done some practice but after reading this schedule by Mike. I think I found my bible at the right time. I’m sure it will really help me. But Mike can you tell me how to build vocabulary, because I’m very bad at it . Please help with that too. Thanks a lot.

Chris May 29, 2012 at 1:25 pm # Hi John, Mike thanks you for the kudos

.

As I’ve written most of the posts pertaining to your question, I thought I’d chime in. In a nutshell, you want to approach vocab prep for the New GRE differently from other standard magoosh.com/gre/2012/1-month-gre-study-schedule/

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vocabulary exams. The key is supplementing vocab list study with reading in context. A great place to get started is our new Vocabulary E-book: http://magoosh.com/gre/2012/gre-vocabulary-ebook/ Let me know if you have any questions

.

26. Ross May 15, 2012 at 10:13 am # Hi Mike, I have about 60 days to prepare and I have a little head start on the vocabulary section. Would you suggest following the 30 day or the 90 day plan? Thanks Ross

Mike May 15, 2012 at 12:03 pm # Ross: I’d say, tailor one of the 90 plans. You will probably have to either skip some videos or watch them at a faster clip, and you can probably judge for yourself which other materials to skip, compress, or accelerate. You can compare resources to the 30 day plan, which includes only the bare essentials. Of the four 90 plans, the “math-focused” plan assumes you have a bit of a headstart on the verbal side. I hope this helps. Let us know if you have any further questions. Mike

27. KATIE May 4, 2012 at 1:41 pm # What do the numbers before the question types represent? Example: “6 QC (Section: “Math- Quantitative Comparison “, check off all Subjects)” My question is about the number 6 here – does this mean 6 questions? 6 minutes? Not sure, can someone please clarify? Thanks!

Margarette May 4, 2012 at 1:46 pm # Hi, Katie That should read “5 QC”, and it refers to the number of questions. We’ll fix those throughout the plan. Thanks for letting us know, and feel free to send us any other questions you have along the way! magoosh.com/gre/2012/1-month-gre-study-schedule/

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Best, Margarette

KATIE May 4, 2012 at 3:13 pm # you guys are soooo good – thanks for the prompt response!

Margarette May 4, 2012 at 3:17 pm # haha you’re welcome, glad we could help! Best, Margarette

28. Nimrod March 4, 2012 at 12:47 pm # *thank, of course

29. Nimrod March 4, 2012 at 12:46 pm # Hi Mike and the rest of the Magoosh team, tank you for all the great advice! I took the GRE for the first time a month ago (157V, 152 Q. I panicked a bit), and now i’m regrouping, reconsidering and preparing myself for a second round. I’d love to hear your suggestions: Since I’ve taken a formal course, I’ve already studied for three and a half months before the test. It seems that without time pressure I can nail most of the GRE’s math questions, but since I’ve spend most of my adult life avoiding Math, it needs to be strengthened further. As for the Verbal part – with English as a second language, i’m realistic about my chances to hit the 170, but I hope for the best. In any case, I am a book learner, so I consider buying the Manhattan guides. at least for the Math. I also have some of the NOVA questions and a tiny bit of the Barron’s and ETS books that I didn’t reach on the previous round. I’m uncertain as to how to manage my time and exactly when to take the test – I have some time until i’m due to apply (i’m applying for 2013), and I need the highest grade I can possibly get. However, having a job, I have no idea how much time each day, other than the weekends, I could dedicate to studying. Any thoughts?

Mike March 19, 2012 at 12:17 pm # NImrod: First of all, I would say — if English is your second language, congratulations! You are much more fluent in a second language than I am! I would also say, it might be more magoosh.com/gre/2012/1-month-gre-study-schedule/

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important to get the Manhattan books for Verbal than for Math, because it sounds like you need more support on the verbal side.. As far as when to take it, it’s hard to say. That depends on how much you can study. You say you have a full-time job —it’s really none of my business, but beyond job and sleeping, what constitutes the other hours in your weekdays? Is there any TV watching? This is very hard medicine, but I would suggest: if you cut out all TV, you would have that much more time to study for GRE. Of course, if most of those other hours are going to family, then that can’t be cut as blithely as TV watching. Do you have time commuting to/from work that you could use for studying? Anything you can do to put in just a few hours of consistent weeknight time will pay big dividends over the long term. What builds long term memory is repeated exposure, and it’s hard to get up to sufficient repetitions if you are just seeing the material on binge sessions on the weekends. —– As far as when to take the test: once you have watched all the Magoosh videos, done all the Magoosh practice questions, and worked through whatever MGRE books you are going to get, then that would be a good time to schedule the test. See if you can map out your time to estimate when you would through with all of that. Does all this make sense? Please let me know if you have any further questions. Mike

Nimrod March 19, 2012 at 1:20 pm # It did make sense, thank you. I got all of the Manhattan books, just in case. Although you guys found a few flaws in the Verbal books, I found that the drills are excellent – even the easy ones are not that easy, so for people like me, with English as a second language, I’d recommend them wholeheartedly. There isn’t too much TV, but you are right, of course. I am wondering, though – I have taken the GRE and got the aforementioned scores. Assuming I will have some time to practice (say, an hour or so a day, weekends, and some holidays are near) and good books and videos, is it realistic to attempt to get a top percentile grade, at least on the quantitative part? How many grade points does all this effort usually add?

Mike March 19, 2012 at 2:49 pm # You know, how realistic it is, how many points the effort adds, depends so much on you: how you learn, how you work, how you remember, etc. The more time each day you can put in consistently, the better your chances are. Make sure you see each and every Magoosh video at least once, taking notes on them as you watch them. I would recommend looking at the resources for the “Verbal Focused” 3-month plan (http://magoosh.com/gre/2012/90-day-gre-study-plan-verbalfocused/). In particular, I would recommend the GMAT OG as an additional practice source. GMAT math tends to be a bit more difficult than GRE math, so practice with the GMAT will strengthen you GRE quantitative skills further. Also, check out http://gmatclub.com/forum/, an online forum for the GMAT: check out their problem-solving forum, which is essentially the same format as ordinary GRE quantitative MC. You will see some high level math discussions there, and if you follow those regularly, that will give you a huge edge on the GRE quantitative. Also, read all the math posts on the Magoosh GMAT blog: http://magoosh.com/gmat/ — you will find some sophisticated math there as well. I hope all these suggestions help. Mike magoosh.com/gre/2012/1-month-gre-study-schedule/

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30. Arun March 4, 2012 at 8:00 am # Thanks Mike. To be very honest, I feel I made a right choice by picking Magoosh for my GRE prep only for such reasons. The team behind Magoosh is brilliant. Something that I couldn`t have got elsewhere. This blog coupled with Magoosh`s Content makes it one of the most effective GRE prep ever available. There are certain things money can`t buy. This is one such thing.

Mike March 19, 2012 at 11:29 am # Thank you for you kind words. Let us know however else we might support you. Mike

Magoosh blog comment policy: To create the best experience for our readers, we will approve and respond to comments that are relevant to the article, general enough to be helpful to other students, concise, and written with correct grammar and spelling! :) If your comment was not approved, it likely did not adhere to these guidelines. If you are a Premium Magoosh customer and would like more personalized service, you can send us any questions you have through the Help tab in the product and we will respond quickly. Thanks!

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