₦airaland Forum

rogerdavid:
Joined this thread in early september or thereabout, Prepared under a month and half, wrote my GRE october 13 at uniprep galaxy centre, Wuse. Had a 149-V, 158-Q and 4.5-analytical writing.
I think i read this post (below) by DanjaNinja a thousand times, even after seeing my scores. It is just so keen and trenchant: am considering doing a tutorial on d gre... pls is it really necessary... or I should study pdf files especially for d quantitative aspect...



''My GRE Experience: Lessons Learnt - J.

General Tips
#Tip 1: Don’t rely on any one single book.

Each book has its strength and weakness. Combine them all for maximum impact.

#Tip 2: What books do I need?

1. Grubber 2015
2. Barron’s GRE
3. Nova GRE Math Bible
4. Kaplan
5. Princeton Review

#Tip 3: How can I get these books?

If you can afford physical copies of these books – Sweet, go head and buy them all. But If you can’t afford any or you’re a ijebu madam like the lovely,intelligent MsNas kiss kiss or like myself, simply send a blank mail to selfstudy360@gmail.com or selfstudy.version2@gmail.com for soft copies (Pdf’s). #MoneyMustNotWaste

(a) selfstudy360@gmail.com contains:

• Barron's New GRE 19th Edition
• Cracking the GRE 2013
• Gruber's Complete GRE Guide 2012

While

(b) Selfstudy.version2@gmail.com (New*) contains:

• Gruber's Complete GRE Guide (2015)
• Mahanttan Prep - 5* lb. Book of GRE® Practice Problems (2013)
• Nova’s GRE Math Bible (2008)

#Tip 4: When should I take the GRE?

Take the exam at least 4 months before you plan to send your admission applications. That way, if you don’t meet your targeted score (not your portion…Oya say Amen!), you would still have enough time to retake the exam without duress. For example, if the deadline for admission application is September 15th, the ideal time for taking the GRE should be by May. The reason for this is simple: If you don’t meet ur target score, you can retake the GRE by June thereby providing ample time for sending your application. This is not a rule but a suggestion.


#Tip 5: How much time would it take to prepare for the GRE?

Minimum: 2months @ 4-5hours per day.
Note: The number of hours do not really matter, it’s the amount of problem solving skills learnt per unit time that counts. Some people learn quickly while for others, it might take longer to read and understand new concepts. So remember, 4-5hours are just recommendations, whether u spend more or less time – ultimately, it doesn’t matter. What matters is how much u learn and how fast you can correctly answer questions. If it takes u 4-5hours per day to achieve this goal, so be it. If it takes u less time, so be it. If it takes you more time, so be it. No one cares. Ultimately it’s your scores that matters.

#Tip 6: Can I prepare within a month?

Yes u can, but it’s not advisable. You need time to internalize and completely memorizes the GRE strategies.

And lastly,

#Tip 7: Don’t be deceived by your score on POWERPREP II.

You took the sample test on PowerPrep II, you had an average of 160-165, you feel good and cant wait to take the actual test. Truth is Powerprep II does not compare to the actual test. On a scale of one to ten, one being very easy and ten being very difficult, Powerprep is a 4.5 and the actual test is an 8.5. #OkBye

Now for the part you’ve been waiting for: My GRE Experience.

This is a summary of lesson learnt from my personal experience, please feel free to add your insights and contributions. Sharing is caring.

You probably know this already but just to refresh your memory - The GRE is made up of three parts: Analytical writing, Verbal and Quantitative.
1. Analytical Writing
2. Verbal
3. Quantitative

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TO ACHIEVE HIGH SCORES.

FOR ANALYTICAL WRITING:

Books and Resources needed for Analytical Writing:
Official GRE Topic List (30%) + Kaplan (60%) + Barron (10%).

(a) Official GRE Topic List: GRE maintains a list of every possible topic that you will find on the actual test date!!!!!! It’s totally legal and you can find the list here:
Pool of Argument Topics: https://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/prepare/analytical_writing/argument/pool

Pool of Issue Topics: https://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/prepare/analytical_writing/issue/pool

The list is quite exhaustive: 200 issue task topics and 200 argument task topics. Once you have the list, group the topics into categories and proceed to (b). I believe if u know the possible questions, your chances of success should be up 30%.

(b) Get a copy of Kaplan’s New GRE Premiere and head to the Analytical Writing Section. Read, digest and understand the essay development template for both the issue task and the argument task as discussed on chapter 15 – Chapter 21 (New GRE Premiere - Kaplan 2011-2012 edition. Newer editions should be better). Don’t bother reading anything else on Kaplan, the rest of the book is useless. With the Kaplan template, you can begin to draw up possible responses to each topic category from the GRE topic list that you obtained from the GRE website. That way, on the test day, coming up with responses won’t be all that difficult because you’ve seen it all – abi how una see am?

(c) Get a copy of Barron: While this may not be compulsory, it will help you in paragraph development. Read and understand the “Claim, Grounds and Warrants” development on chapter 6 (Barron’s New GRE 19th Edition).

The last and most important step is to PRACTISE, PRACTISE AND PRACTISE. Practice using the available topics from the GRE list in a timed mode – your practice should mimic the real test. For the GRE, its 30minutes per writing task but for you, its 22 minutes. Why? It’s always better to practice with less time – It makes you stronger.

Practice with POWERPREP writing platform or Notepad to get a feel of the nature of the typing platform. Don’t practice with Microsoft Word.

One Again, PRACTISE AND PRACTISE. It’s ultra-important you do so. You can only write well by constant practice.

My Experience: I didn’t practice enough. Truth be told I practiced only once and the end result was abysmal. I could only manage one sensible paragraph for the issue task – Big Poo. The way time flies when ur messing up is simply amazing. The argument task was much better, I wrote 4 sensible paragraphs –all within 23 minutes.
Score: Surprisingly,I scored a 3 on the writing section. since the total score is the average of both scores, I assume I made a 5 on argument and a 1 on issue…lol..just my opinion.

Generally, Argument tasks are easier than issue tasks – for Argument tasks, an essay or issue with faulty premises is given; your job is to identify and logically explain them while for the Issue writing Task, you have to develop your own argument from scratch. Finding faults is easy (argument task), writing from scratch is less easy (issue essay). But for you reading this right now, a minimum of 4.5/6 should be perfectly achievable. Why? Cos you know every possible topic, you have pre-planned responses and your “hand dey hot” due to constant writing practice.

One last tip: As soon as you are done with a particular section, whether you performed well or not, it’s best to completely ignore that section, it belongs to the past - it doesn’t matter anymore. Whether you did well or not, does not matter and if you believe you didn’t perform well, it still doesn’t matter. Focus completely on the next section – You have seven (7) more sections to deal with and you need a focused, optimistic mindset to proceed successfully. There’s no use crying over spilt milk. [/b]

FOR QUANTITATIVE

Books You Need for Quantitative:

Grubber (25%) + Barron’s (25%) + Nova GRE Math Bible (25%) + Mahanttan (25%).

Do you have to read them all from cover to cover? Not really. Each book has its strength and weakness’s. You want to be prepared for every possibility. Better you write the GRE once than write it twice. Think of the cash - $200. Think of the time spent on preparation – weeks, even months and finally, think of your Goals. So grab does books and study like mad. The end justify the means.

Lesson 1: Study each question category and solve the most difficult questions you can find on that category to re-enforce your understanding of that category.

For example, if you had prepared with Grubber like I did, you will find the data interpretation, graphical and statistical questions difficult. Why? Grubber does not really delve into these sections. Barron in addition with Manhattan and Nova does a better job. So read and understand the underlying principles and skim all books for difficult questions on all topics.
Likewise, if u ignore Grubber’s Data Comparison and algebra strategies, you might not do so well. But then, there are notable exceptions. Individuals with an engineering, mathematical and statistical background would generally do better in the Quantitative section – they’ve been doing these problems for years. Also those with an aptitude for numbers would better. Does that mean those with little mathematically backgrounds would end up with low scores? – Nope. Just read up and practice, you might end up doing better than the so called Math wizards.

The GRE Quantitative consists of two sections made up of 25 questions each. Each section runs for 40minutes – that’s an average of 96 seconds per question – which leads to lesson 2.

Lesson 2: When studying and solving quantitative questions, set a time limit of 50 seconds per question and stick to it. Like previously stated, practicing with less time makes you stronger and faster.

Lesson 3: Solve lots of Quanttitative questions.

Manhanttan and Nova Math Bible offer a huge collection of quality quantitative questions. Solve as much questions as you can on both books. Luckily, if you don’t know the answers, solutions and explanations are provided in both books.

My Experience: I studied solely with grubber. Algebra and data comparison were a walk in the park but “I hear “ween” for Data interpretation/Statistics, Combinations and Graphs. On the actual test, I saw 6 hefty graphical and data interpretation problems and some others I can’t recall @ the moment. Were they super hard? – Not really but “them hard small o”. To answer them, you need to understand the question (30secs), solve for solutions (30-40secs) and compare possible answers (10secs). If u get it wrong, u start all over again. But as you start over, remember Time dey go ooooo!
That’s why you need Lesson 4.


Lesson 4:Someone on this thread advised - if you find any question difficult, simply mark that question and move on to others.. You may return to that question later. Don’t waste time trying to solve one question for over 1 minute, skip and return later. This is so true!.

FOR VERBAL

Books you need: Grubber (90%) + Barron (10%).

Honestly, You can actually survive by using only grubber. The verbal section seems like the easiest section on the GRE but don’t be complacent o! This section is pretty tricky. I remember one particular essay with about seven (7) paragraphs. It was so dense that you could barely understand the content of a single paragraph; It also felt like it was written in another language. It was that difficult.

Also,the verbal section is made up of several subsections all mixed into one. You will find sentence completion (synonyms and antonyms) and essay comprehension all packed into one.
My Experience: I scored a 157/170 – Not bad @ all given that Grubber was the sole book I used. I won’t lie, am an avid reader – I guess that helped. However, if you study the Grubber Verbal Strategies: Latin and Greek Roots, Prefixes and Suffixes; the Most Important/Frequently Used GRE Words and Reading Comprehension Strategies – You should have no problem with the Verbal section. Grubber does an excellent job by building ur vocabulary, teaching new words and providing some interesting strategies for essay comprehension.
There are other books like Princeton Review but since I didn’t use it, I can’t say much about it. This is where external input is advisable. Those who used Princeton, oya speak up.

Final Advice:
Unlike Jamb (wicked people) that provides a single opportunity to write the exam per year, the GRE gives you 5 chances per year to write the exam (better people). But because you can doesn’t mean you should. Prepare well and write it once. A score of 160 per section is totally achievable. Just read and solve a huge collection of difficult questions in a timed mode.

Oya it haff do, una bye bye, I don try. grin grin grin grin grin grin


UPDATE 1: If you had to choose one Book for Quantitative Analysis, Barron's should be it. That Book is the truth. The best GRE Quantitative prep book ever.

UPDATE 2: Listen all, i just found this incredible online resource for GRE materials. Its a facebook group but its by invitation only. So drop ur email addresses or send me a pm and i'll send you an invite to the group. Here's the group link, however it can only be accessed by members of the group:

https://www./newgremaster/

After joining the group, head to the file section and you will find every book and test questions there. #OneLove
.

UPDATE 3: Added Kaplan New GRE to "selfstudy.version2@gmail.com". If you want a copy of the Kaplan GRE book, send a blank mail to selfstudy.version2@gmail.com" "" DanjaNinja


So Guys, thank you for standing by. Danjaninja, thank you for the free materials. The Gruber made preparation less torturous.

hijeo:
hey!!! Pls could u add me to d group... ogbonnachidinma15@yahoo.com

hijeo:
I wanted to do a tutorial class on gre...pls is there need... or I should self tutor... my only problem is the quantitative aspect...

hijeo:
I wanted to do a tutorial class on gre...pls is there need... or I should self tutor... my only problem is the quantitative aspect...

lobito007:
Yes, looking at pet eng. The GRE score for houston is attainable. When are you writing the exam?

Xlyad:
[quote author=sirRiddy .I have spent two days to read through all the pages- so informative. I want to be added to the facebook group.

tolutweety:
After so much delay..

I am finally done with this exam.
Next is Admission,Funding and visa.

#I should start thinking of my SOP.
ANY relevant link to assist on this?

cc : sirriddy ,danjaninja, femi321,kapitain,rogerdavid, stolid ...


#will share my story in a bit.

pennstate:
SirRiddyPlease add me to the facebook group.here is my e-mail add.
oghenevwede_ng2002@yahoo.co.uk
Thanks

sirRiddy:
Done bro

sirRiddy:
Done bro

femi321:
Amen! you started the good work, the least we can do is to come back here is share ours. Whatsup with the other thread about Admision you are planing?

bamjay:
thanks DanjaNinja but i be girl o
i already dropped my experience in another post.

rogerdavid:
DanjaNinja, all these seem to me like the collection of the most valuable posts we have had on the thread in recent times. Really helpful reading some of them all over again. Good job Man!

emmyluvly:
Please add me to the Facebook page. emmastar4Christ@yahoo.com

happyday:
You set the ball in motion. All we are doing is helping ourselves, and others. How's the atmosphere over there?

sirRiddy:
Congrats Kapitain for getting such a brilliant score. Thank you for sharing the experience. Wish you luck with admission, funding and visa.
Danja, how is Bridgeport?

afroxyz:
@Danjaninja: plz add me to the FB group. Chikasco@gmail.com

pascal2young:
GRE EXPERIENCE!!!
preparation: prepared for approximately 7weeks.....though was very serious with studies for just 4weeks...read kaplan nd barron.....kaplan maths is easy but barron was very tough(although also used ETS official copy for verbal)....all as other internet materials and ''NOVA'' not sure if thats the correct name. Didnt use powerprep though
Test Day:
did the test at Jepthah school port harcourt...Was the last candidate to get there so started last....was shocked when i saw about 3old persons until i recalled GRE is also written by PH.D applicants.........
Analytical Writing : didnt have any problem with this....although time almost cut up with me for the argumentative essay
Ist Quant......my God...this part was as hard as diamond for me.....not sure i got up to 8questions correctly and time actually cut up with me
Ist Verbal.......as an average verbal applicant i just ticked expecting btw 10-12
after this first part i was forced to take the 10mins break to cool myself and ask myself what went wrong with the ist maths........I actually returned charged and ready to conquer...hmmmmmn
2nd Quant: actually finished very well and started praying the ist part should be experimental section...LOL
2nd Verbal: was like the ist part...just ok
3rd Quant: easy and finished well before time.....nd i started praying again the ist part should be experimental......lolz
3rd Verbal: jst ok.......
SUBMITTED
alas: QUANT : 152 and VERBAL : 149......301
wasnt happy with the score because of the quant...
other ppl that wrote scored 315,300 and less for those i talked to sha......
ONE MORE THING......d guy that got 315 said he used only MAGOOSH

gretop:
@Danjaninja: please add me to the facebook group. My facebook email address is toksadek@yahoo.co.uk. Thank you.

cameyoga:
Can you please send me the Facebook page invite? Facebook email is cdesantis11@facebook.com

godG:
I have a premium Magoosh plan - $99 - that expires next year. I hope to give it to anyone interested after my test in mid-November.

gretop:
Do we have any moderator in this thread? I am taking the exams on october 24 & I really need someone to add me to the facebook group. toksadek@yahoo.co.uk...... Thanks in advance house.

Olomson:
Pls my facebook email is Jamesopemipo14@yahoo.com, kindly add me to the facebook group, I intend to write the GRE December. Many thanks in advance.

Cephas0009:
So I eventually wrote the GRE yday V-147 Q-158.

My Experience...

Well about 3months ago just after taking my ielts, it dawned on me that I will be needing the GRE too 4 my admission. Let me quickly add too that by then, I no next to nothing about the GRE not even the meaning of the acronym. So I started to google tips on how to ace d gre, eventually I came across this thread and it took me about a day to read all the comments 4rm page 0 to 7 then, without hesitation I followed the thread and got my 1st set of materials here (every oda materials I used too was 4rm here anyways). I was so naive and after speaking with SirRiddy and a couple of friends here, I was encouraged to register.

Preparations
Bulk of my preparations were based on d ETS handbook and d magoosh videos and about a month to d exam wen I took d powerprep test, my score was V-147 Q-163, I obtained about same score with the Baron GRE software too. Obviously, d verbal was my weakness and I intensified efforts to boost my score to about 153 @least
For the list of words. I love playing mobile games so much, so i got the magood vocab android apps and each time I get d urge to pllay games, I just launch d app. I was able to learn d words and I think it contains about 1000words.

Lesson Learnt
Not until last Thursday, I was struggling hard with d verbal, I never wanted to admit that I was weak. By the time I started applying the strategies 4rm book(s) and as expected it began yielding results but that was few days to d exam.
Also with d scores I was getting 4rm d Quant, I became complacent and relaxed preparation efforts and focused more on d quant. Did it affect me? Well, mayb...

Recommendations
Regardless of whatever fore knowledge you have about gre prior to now, I can assure u dat everything u need to excel u can find in dis group.
Also never let go of prayers in all u do. Whether u have a good gre score or not, 'alubarika olohun lo ju' (God's blessings is the ultimate), so don't let anything deprive u of ur happiness.

Credits and Honorable Mentions.
Honourable thread creator, SirRiddy, Dicapino, everyone b4 me dat have shared their experiences, and to every member of this team dat has commented on the thread. Ese gan, thank you all. 1love, see u all @ d top.

Cephas

Fortissimo:
I recommend magoosh, ets material and manhattan gre something. Forgotten the name. It's a gre quant question book. Quant is not my strong point. Verbal has been my strong point since I was born.

My scores were 157Q, 167V and 4.0AWA. Don't know what happened with AWA ooo.

Holudarey01:
add me
emmanueldare63@gmail.com

Holudarey01:
add me emmanueldare63@gmail.com pls