seeker88:


What a great score!!! Weldone bro...
Please make sure u apply to top schools like MIT, Caltech, Standford, Harvard, UCBerkley. We are proud of u!!!
Kudos!!!

And finally, I took my test today. Scores weren't good though, I will still share my experience shortly....

Thanks fam. This thread contributed immensely to that score, trust me. Wish you all the best in your applications!!!

You are welcome. I am sure you need a lot of rest now.
When you have some free time, please post your
detailed experience. Your preparation that led to such a huge
leap in your scores.

drhopeful:
Thanks sirRiddy!

drhopeful:
So I rewrote the GRE today and I believe I was in the same centre as @seeker88. Long story short, I found it as tough as my first experience - especially those God-forsaken Verbal sections. This time I made sure to read my issue essay prompt over and over again so I don't make the same mistake twice. At least now, if I don't score at least 4, it will be confirmed that I am a confirmed mumu writer .

Anyway, I found the test so tough and confusing that I developed a bad headache after my first verbal section - so much so that I felt like getting up and just walking away. But when I remembered how I have been sleeping at 2am everyday for the last few months just to study after getting back from work and sorting out family needs, and the state of Nigeria's (or rather Buhari's) economy plus my precious $410 in registering for the exam twice, I picked myself up and forged on.

This time I got QVQVQ. When I got my second verbal and saw shorter (but still incomprehensible) passages, I said to myself ... 'It's over. DrHopeful you are a confirmed GRE mumu. You just wasted all your time, effort and money for nothing.' From that point, I just got on with it and the remaining Q. What finally killed me was when I noticed this final Q section was way easier than the first 2.

Anyway, I casually reported my scores and I was utterly stunned at what I saw. For like 3 mins I was just staring at the frigging screen.... 157V, 164Q. I just could not believe it. Apparently the final Q section was the experimental section cos it was too easy to earn me my score. For the benefit of newcomers, I scored 150V, 162Q in my first test 2 months ago.

I shall report on the outcome of AW when it's out. For now, I am UTTERLY RELIEVED!!!!!! I will sleep at 9pm today for the first time in months! Good luck to those yet to write. Time for me to start prep for TOEFL.

@seeker88, come and share your good news jare!

Welcome home finally. Another motivation for me to retake also. Good luck in your applications

drhopeful:
You are darn right! @hirschfelder cannot waste those super sweet scores of his on average schools oh. He is only permitted to apply to top 10!

Congrats @drhopeful. You did wonderfully! I am also a repeat taker and it's sure nice to surpass one's previous scores. Thanks, but your scores are most definitely good enough for top schools also, just spread your risks well as suggested by someone here. Due to limited funds, I am going average for my applications. I wish you and everyone else here great applications!!!

djPyper:
yes I read each chapter and solved the easy(not essay) and medium problem set, I wont advise skipping the problem sets till you finish the whole series because solving them will help u retain what u read in each chapter. if you skip till the end you might forget some of the things you learnt. Here is a liink to the magoosh videos its about 900mb
https://www.dropbox.com/s/gb59spt3p8ze590/MG%20Prm%20Vidz.rar?dl=0

Thanks very much,am grateful

drhopeful:
So I rewrote the GRE today and I believe I was in the same centre as @seeker88.
Anyway, I casually reported my scores and I was utterly stunned at what I saw. For like 3 mins I was just staring at the frigging screen.... 157V, 164Q. I just could not believe it. Apparently the final Q section was the experimental section cos it was too easy to earn me my score. For the benefit of newcomers, I scored 150V, 162Q in my first test 2 months ago.

I shall report on the outcome of AW when it's out. For now, I am UTTERLY RELIEVED!!!!!! I will sleep at 9pm today for the first time in months! Good luck to those yet to write. Time for me to start prep for TOEFL.

@seeker88, come and share your good news jare!

Congrats drhopeful, your scores are truly great. I am more than happy for you right now .

drhopeful:
if I don't score at least 4, it will be confirmed that I am a confirmed mumu writer .

When I got my second verbal and saw shorter (but still incomprehensible) passages, I said to myself ... 'It's over. DrHopeful you are a confirmed GRE mumu. You just wasted all your time, effort and money for nothing.'

You no go kimme with laff!


DrHopeful, you did very well. Your efforts paid off!


You are NOT a GRE mumu.


Tell those yet to write the strategies that worked for you. Thanks.

amofum:



Welcome home finally. Another motivation for me to retake also. Good luck in your applications

Did I read right? You wanna retake? After those wonderful scores you got?

iCool:

You no go kimme with laff!


DrHopeful, you did very well. Your efforts paid off!


You are NOT a GRE mumu.


Tell those yet to write the strategies that worked for you. Thanks.

sirRiddy:
You are welcome. I am sure you need a lot of rest now.
When you have some free time, please post your
detailed experience. Your preparation that led to such a huge
leap in your scores.

Honestly, I did not do anything differently from the first time apart from using memrise app in addition to Magoosh vocab app I was already using to master a million words. And literally, I mastered a million words in the last 2 months. Yet, I saw some words today I have not seen before on any vocab app or book.

For my studies, I used ETS everything, Magoosh everything, Manhattan everything, Barron's everything, Kaplan everything and Gruber. I just was that desperate. I covered all at least twice.

And oh! My prep was focused muchhhhhhhh more on V than Q. I most likely would have scored 170Q if I focused on Q as I did on V. For me, I needed a balance.

drhopeful:
For my studies, I used ETS everything, Magoosh everything, Manhattan everything, Barron's everything, Kaplan everything and Gruber. I just was that desperate. I covered all at least twice.

You went gangster on the GRE!

drhopeful:
Did I read right? You wanna retake? After those wonderful scores you got?

Maybe Amofum is aiming for top twenty schools + full assistantship. Leave him o.

drhopeful:
Honestly, I did not do anything differently from the first time apart from using memrise app in addition to Magoosh vocab app I was already using to master a million words. And literally, I mastered a million words in the last 2 months. Yet, I saw some words today I have not seen before on any vocab app or book.

For my studies, I used ETS everything, Magoosh everything, Manhattan everything, Barron's everything, Kaplan everything and Gruber. I just was that desperate. I covered all at least twice.

And oh! My prep was focused muchhhhhhhh more on V than Q. I most likely would have scored 170Q if I focused on Q as I did on V. For me, I needed a balance.

atleast twice? dats amazing, i am unable 2 finish d kaplan i am holding here

drhopeful:
So I rewrote the GRE today and I believe I was in the same centre as @seeker88. Long story short, I found it as tough as my first experience - especially


@seeker88, come and share your good news jare!

Great scores bro....never knew we were in the same centre today. Will send u a pm please if u wouldn't mind...?

Will post my experience soon. My scores weren't good though...
Registered for ur TOEFL already?

And this devilish test I finally took today...lol. First of all, I would like to specially thank everyone here for ur contributions n motivations. They were valuable!

My test came in the order QVQVQ. One of d Quant sections was quite easy for me n I was able to finish all, but d other 2 sections i couldn't finish because they were harder. And my first verbal was simpler than d 2nd one.

...then, my preparation experience...

I prepared for less than 2 months. My work schedule is really tight that I even work on Saturdays at times. So I studied mostly on Sundays n sometimes during the week if I come back early from work. Kudos to drhopeful, I hail boss!...it's not easy to combine GRE prep with tight work schedule n still succeed with such great score
.....never knew we were in d same center today, I will pm u biko.

Even though my scores weren't good, I still want to give a detailed analysis of my prep experience so that others could perhaps learn from my mistake and ultimately improve on it to get better score.

Well, my preparation for d test was quite eclectic. I started with Gruber in Quantitative. After going through their strategies, I took my first full practice test from the official guide to GRE (ie, d paper test1) and scored Q150 V149. I was a bit depressed. At that point, I didn't wanna take d powerprep test cos I wanted to preserve it after I had done more practice . After taking d first practice test from d GRE official guide booklet, I discovered that the practice questions in d Gruber which I was using were a bit simpler than d ones in d official guide. Though Gruber has good strategies in Quant comparison especially for beginners....n these helped.

Following my first practice test, I decided to check d questions I failed n noted them as my weak points. I came here n quickly grabbed a material posted by someone (Manhattan 5lbs) for more practice in my weak areas...lol. At this time, I had roughly a month to my test date.

Meanwhile, while I was practicing with Manhattan 5lb, I also did some couple of free online tests by Kaplan. My scores in these tests were just fluctuating. I think It's advisable to use the Kaplan online test only to gauge ur pacing as their questions (which could sometimes be harder than d real GRE) do not really reflect d real nature GRE question. Please use Kaplan online test only if u have copious time for ur preparation....don't spend much time on it like I did. I actually spent time on Kaplan practice which wasn't good for me. Someone here advised that d Kaplan online test are easier than d actual GRE. So I stopped practicing with Kaplan online test n focused more on Official ETS materials as I knew there wasn't enof time for me again...

After more practice with Manhattan 5lb n ETS materials, I took the Manhattan free test and my score improved a bit. Then i took d second paper test in d official guide, still, there wasn't much improvement in my score. I almost gave up....lol.

I don register already, money cannot fit waste oo.....so i kept on practicing with Manhattan (both Quant n Verbal). Few days to my test, I was granted d permission to take some days off work so I had more time for my prep.....it was then I realized that there were other areas I needed to work on before my test but couldn't because of time constraint. So I just focused on ETS materials.
Then 4 days to my test day, I took d powerprep test 1, and a day to d date, I took d 2nd test in powerprep, ensuring I adhered to d test regulations while doing them...

And for my verbal prep, I used just Manhattan n ETS materials, then with d memrise app which someone once recommended here. D memrise really helped with my vocab for d SE and TC cos I'm sure most of my right answers in verbal came from SE n TC. GRE comprehension was one of my greatest weaknesses. Learnt lately that Princeton review is good for verbal but I didn't have time to check it out...

Finally, GRE requires time for prep with good materials. I'd recommend Manhattan, ETS materials and Magoosh videos (if u can get them). I watched magoosh video on AWA n it was really concise n helpful...that's d main thing I used for AWA.

Below were my scores:

Kaplan MST1-5
Av Quant - 153
Av Verbal - 147

Manhattan MST1
Quant - 157
Verbal - 156

Official Paper Test 2
Quant - 155
Verbal - 149

Powerprep 1
Quant - 156
Verbal - 148

Powerprep 2
Quant - 151
Verbal - 155

Actual Test Scores
Quant - 154
Verbal - 151
AWA - Awaiting Report.

So it's advisable u take d powerprep test towards ur test date (when u must have prepared enough) as it could give u an idea of what ur scores would be in d actual test...

I wish those yet to write theirs ALL d best....

Congratulations seeker88.
Your post was insightful and helps future test takers prepare better.
All the best

@Seeker88 tanxs very much for sharing your experience with us very insightful and i must confess i really learn alot.I must confess u and drhope has motivated me to start my preparation as soon as possible.To be candid,before now ave given up in taking GRE exam becos of my tight work but schedule but you guys has gingered me.I don't mind talking to you love to ask some questions from you.Congratulation once again the sky is just a stepping bro.
Please i need Manhattan material for my preparation and Magoosh videos to prepare for AWA tanks in advance.

@Admin can you please add me to the group my number is 09098575165 tanx

Bolisticbond026:
Please i need Manhattan material for my preparation and Magoosh videos to prepare for AWA tanks in advance.

Magoosh videos - https://www.dropbox.com/s/gb59spt3p8ze590/MG%20Prm%20Vidz.rar?dl=0

Another link for the videos - https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzH3jPJPYLjlRGl6STRmRExLMWs/view



Manhattan 4th edition - https://docs.google.com/uc?id=0B6FBl1JdVum6Um4yRTdNN1gxa2c&export=download



Gruber, Nover, Baron, ETS Quant & Verbal Practice booklets - https://www.dropbox.com/sh/zmshe3dzsdkzwfe/AADzNPplTrgqrYdS4IfNZ7zZa?dl=0


All links tested and are working. Use either of the first two for the videos (~1gig in size) and 230mb for the Manhattan books.
Good luck to you.

Those practicing for the test this period can start reading from Page91 (too many people claim they cannot read from page1), for insights and recommendations by the 'most recent test takers' -July to October.


For engineering schools, I had great help starting my search from here - http://www.findengineeringschools.org/Search/Majors/ - It helped me with the largest pool of schools offering my intended course.




Lastly before I forget again, I use an App on my p.c called Wordweb (had it over 2years before writing the GRE). WordWeb quickly provides you with definitions, synonyms and related words as well as readable and audible pronunciations.

I downloaded it because I didn't want to leave my p.c looking for a dictionary or going online when I encounter unfamiliar words while reading. Here's the link - http://filehippo.com/download_wordweb/

Bolisticbond026:
@Seeker88 tanxs very much for sharing your experience with us very insightful and i must confess i really learn alot.I must confess u and drhope has motivated me to start my preparation as soon as possible.To be candid,before now ave given up in taking GRE exam becos of my tight work but schedule but you guys has gingered me.I don't mind talking to you love to ask some questions from you.Congratulation once again the sky is just a stepping bro.
Please i need Manhattan material for my preparation and Magoosh videos to prepare for AWA tanks in advance.

when do u plan 2 write ur exam?

I have been a silent reader trying to garner as much information as I possibly can while preparing for GRE. I must say I'm fascinated by the commitment of members of this group. I'll be taking the exam in January, hopefully. So I guess it's time I made the transition from being a silent reader and ghost follower of the thread to a full participant.

UGrad- Electrical Engineering
Unofficial WES CGPA 3.5/4
Prospective grad area- Msc/PhD in Electrical Engineering

Prospective Schools- Texas A&M, UConn, Kansas state, Tennessee Tech.

Please your input is anticipated

Approved:

UGrad- Electrical Engineering
Unofficial WES CGPA 3.5/4
Prospective grad area- Msc/PhD in Electrical Engineering

Prospective Schools- Texas A&M, UConn, Kansas state, Tennessee Tech.

Please your input is anticipated

From the much I have read here over the last couple of months, also plan to write TOEFL.

Score mightily on the GRE and TOEFL (the higher the better), most people would avoid stating a good score but I would say above Q160 for engineering will be fine. Since we have limited research experience in naija, mighty scores might offset that deficiency to an extent and get one admitted.

Hustle for assistantship (naira don cast), you willl have it easier at the embassy for visa (GRE and TOEFL scores help shows you truly wish to attend school and not dissappear in the US), less stress sourcing for funds and more time to focus on your studies.




Everyone has a unique profile and different aspirations; view this profile -https://www.nairaland.com/cezeozue/posts/3 - from his earliest post on GRE to the last Or read the thread itself from page 21 to like 40 - https://www.nairaland.com/943/preparing-gre/21 Your eyes go open.

Nice profile he had, aspirations were high (Ivy leagues), applied to about 10 AND..... Go and read it by yourself , then come back and summarize for us to read.


Nothing is guaranteed in this pursuit. Pray hard and Work hard.
Good luck because luck also follow for the matter (right profile, wrong school, what happens?) How then do you tell what school isn't right for your profile??

Right profile, right school but limited funds available to the department for research. Your assistantship waka go be OYO.

Modified:
*Pardon my typos and my many assumptions* I have read too much from too many sources so confusion is allowed*

iCool:


From the much I have read here over the last couple of months, also plan to write TOEFL.

Score mightily on the GRE and TOEFL (the higher the better), most people would avoid stating a good score but I would say above Q160 for engineering will be fine. Since we have limited research experience in naija, mighty scores should offset that deficiency to an extent.

Hustle for assistantship (naira don cast), you willl have it easier at the embassy for visa (GRE and TOEFL scores help shows you truly wish to attend school and not dissappear in the US), less stress sourcing for funds and more time to focus on your studies.




Everyone has a unique profile and different aspirations; view this profile -https://www.nairaland.com/cezeozue/posts/3 - from his earliest post on GRE to the last Or read the thread itself from page 21 to like 40 - https://www.nairaland.com/943/preparing-gre/21 Your eyes go open.

Nice profile he had, aspirations were high (Ivy leagues), apllied to about 10 and..... Go and read it by yourself , then come back and summarize for us to read.


Nothing is guaranteed in this pursuit. Pray hard and Work hard.
Good luck because luck also follow for the matter (right profile, wrong school, what happens?) How then do you tell what school isn't right for your profile??

Right profile, right school but limited funds available to the department for research. Your assistantship waka go be OYO.

Thanks a lot ICool. I'd do as you've said. I know I can get a 160 in quant if I prepare smart.
It's really difficult getting a blend of the right schools. And grad school is almost impossible without funding, no thanks to the Naira.
I'm told that TA often comes with the admission package, but I've begun the hustle for other means of assistantship from my prospective schools. I'll keep you updated with my progress.

drhopeful:
I am so sorry about your Q score. But your V is super!!!! Congrats. I wish I could have that. What is your next step?

Next step is TOEFL. Sorry for the late reply.

drhopeful:
So I rewrote the GRE today and I believe I was in the same centre as @seeker88. Long story short, I found it as tough as my first experience - especially those God-forsaken Verbal sections. This time I made sure to read my issue essay prompt over and over again so I don't make the same mistake twice. At least now, if I don't score at least 4, it will be confirmed that I am a confirmed mumu writer .

Anyway, I found the test so tough and confusing that I developed a bad headache after my first verbal section - so much so that I felt like getting up and just walking away. But when I remembered how I have been sleeping at 2am everyday for the last few months just to study after getting back from work and sorting out family needs, and the state of Nigeria's (or rather Buhari's) economy plus my precious $410 in registering for the exam twice, I picked myself up and forged on.

This time I got QVQVQ. When I got my second verbal and saw shorter (but still incomprehensible) passages, I said to myself ... 'It's over. DrHopeful you are a confirmed GRE mumu. You just wasted all your time, effort and money for nothing.' From that point, I just got on with it and the remaining Q. What finally killed me was when I noticed this final Q section was way easier than the first 2.

Anyway, I casually reported my scores and I was utterly stunned at what I saw. For like 3 mins I was just staring at the frigging screen.... 157V, 164Q. I just could not believe it. Apparently the final Q section was the experimental section cos it was too easy to earn me my score. For the benefit of newcomers, I scored 150V, 162Q in my first test 2 months ago.

I shall report on the outcome of AW when it's out. For now, I am UTTERLY RELIEVED!!!!!! I will sleep at 9pm today for the first time in months! Good luck to those yet to write. Time for me to start prep for TOEFL.

@seeker88, come and share your good news jare!

Congratulations! I'm happy for you

Congrats drhopeful and seeker88.
Thank you for sharing your experiences. We learnt a lot.

All the best in your applications + make una pass that GRE-blasting food make we sef chop.

seeker88:

Great scores bro....never knew we were in the same centre today. Will send u a pm please if u wouldn't mind...?

Will post my experience soon. My scores weren't good though...
Registered for ur TOEFL already?

l don't mind! Yes I am already registered for TOEFL - Nov 12

Please does anyone here have a collection of NoteFull videos in Dropbox to share? Thanks.

I wrote the GRE a few days ago and my score was Q156 V151.

I can't really remember how long I prepared for but I'm sure it was for about 3months or less.
I work full time so finding time to study was rather difficult. I would wake up 3.30am everyday and study for 2 hours. I used the ETS official books(Think there are about 3 or 4 of them), the manhattan 5lb, Magoosh videos, the Prep4GRE Android App and Magoosh vocabulary app.

I took the powerprep test some days to the exam and my score was Q166 V154.

On the test day, I had QVQVQ. The first set of questions (QV) had medium difficulty, the second verbal had about the same level of difficulty, the second Quant I took was difficult but the last one was super difficult.

I don't have a great score because I wasted so much time on the verbal section, so I will iterate what Sirriddy said about focusing on the Quant if you are going for STEM courses. Also, when taking practice tests, try to take an additional Quant or Verbal to simulate the extra section you will get in the exam.

drhopeful:
Please does anyone here have a collection of NoteFull videos in Dropbox to share? Thanks.

Does anyone have The Cambridge preparation for TOEFL book?

hello guyz.. GRE, TOEFL, all in NOV.. please i need help.. like serious help. i don't know wre to start from.
thanks in anticipation

unalaoted:
hello guyz.. GRE, TOEFL, all in NOV.. please i need help.. like serious help. i don't know wre to start from.
thanks in anticipation

November is just around the corner since theres no time, i'll suggest you dedicate 98% of ur study to GRE you can prepare for toefl in a day or two by watching youtube videos as long as you're good in english language( especially speaking), For your GRE prep, first go through the official gre guide then take a powerprep test to determine ur readiness and where you need to work on, you can use manhattan to study some of the more tricky topics as I dont think you can finish the whole book in time, then of course the magoosh videos watch all of them and you may just end up blasting this thing, though if you havent already registered you should give yourself more time to study. Best wishes

hirschfelder:
Good day people,

I have followed this thread for quite a while now, gained a lot from it and owe a lot to everyone who has contributed here. I recently sat for the GRE and my scores were quite good. It wouldn't have been possible if I didn't get guidance and directions from y'all. I got Q166 V166, analytical scores not out yet, praying for something good (I'm not much of a writer).
I would like to give a brief summary of my studying pattern or experience, I feel I owe it to those yet to take their exams; some may find it useful. I studied for roughly 2.5 months with intensive studying in the last two weeks to the exam. I started with Kaplan, then Manhattan books and finished with the ETS official guides. Each week, I took full-length tests to gauge my level of preparedness (If you have good internet connection, this would be really helpful to develop your own pacing methods). I used the Magoosh vocabulary app and their e-book to learn new words, they were really helpful over a month or so. That's just about all I did.

Thanks once again for all the help guys.

Nicely done man!!!!