Manhattan Prep is offering special full tuition scholarships for up to 4 individuals per year (1 per quarter) who will be selected as part of Manhattan Prep’s GRE Social Venture Scholars program. This program provides the selected scholars with free admission into one of Manhattan Prep’s GRE live online Complete Courses (an $890 value).

These competitive scholarships are offered to individuals who (1) currently work full-time in an organization that promotes positive social change, (2) plan to use their master’s degree to work in a public, not-for-profit, or other venture with a social-change oriented mission, and (3) demonstrate clear financial need. The Social Venture Scholars can enroll in any live online preparation course taught by one of Manhattan Prep’s expert instructors within one year of winning the scholarship.

The deadline our next application period is 9/6.

More details and how you can apply can be found here.

Each week, we post a new GRE Challenge Problem for you to attempt. If you submit the correct answer, you will be entered into that week’s drawing for two free Manhattan Prep GRE Strategy Guides.

See the answer choices and submit your pick over on our Challenge Problem page.

Here are the free GRE events we’re holding this week (All times local unless otherwise specified):

8/26/13– Online- Mondays With Jen– 9:00PM – 10:30PM (EDT)

8/28/13– New York, NY- Free Trial Class– 6:30PM – 9:30PM

8/29/13– Santa Monica, CA- Free Trial Class– 6:30PM – 9:30PM

Looking for more free events? Check out our Free Events Listing Page.

Each week, we post a new GRE Challenge Problem for you to attempt. If you submit the correct answer, you will be entered into that week’s drawing for two free Manhattan Prep GRE Strategy Guides.

See the answer choices and submit your pick over on our Challenge Problem page.

“Many a true word is said in jest.”—I don’t know, but I heard it from my mother.

Once upon a time in America, when I was a boy, my father, an engineer, said to me, “You can make numbers do anything you want them to do.”  This was the beginning of my cynicism.  But never mind that.  My father was fluent in four languages: English, German, French, and Algebra.  And his comment relied on the fact that most people can’t read Algebra.  Teaching GRE classes, I combat the fact that many people can’t read Algebra.  Because, like my father, the GRE exploits that weakness.  Thus, for many, preparing for the quantitative portion of the GRE is akin to studying a foreign language.  (Yes, I know that even many native speakers feel that preparing for the verbal portion of the GRE is also akin to studying a foreign language.  But that’s a different topic.)  In any case, you want to make your Algebra as fluent as your French. . .yes, for most of you, that was one of those jokes.

I know that some of you disagreed with the above and feel that the problem is an inability to understand math.  But that’s not true, at least on the level necessary to succeed on the GRE.  If you really didn’t have enough synapses, they wouldn’t let you out without a keeper—because you couldn’t tip, or comparison shop, or count your change.  It’s a literacy problem.  Think of our GRE math units.  Truthfully, the algebra unit is often a death march.  By the end, as country folk say, I often feel like I’m whipping dead horses.  On the other hand, the word problem unit concerning probability and combinations, putatively* a more advanced topic, usually goes really well.  Why?  Because folks can read the words and understand their meaning.  Conversely, folks just stare at the algebraic symbols as if they were hieroglyphics.  The problem is that putting a Rosetta Stone in the book bag would make it weigh too much. . .kidding.  But if you can’t read the hieroglyphics, the mummy will get you—just like in the movies.

It really is a literacy issue and should be approached in that fashion.  You still don’t believe me?  You want specific examples?  I got examples, a pro and a con.  On the affirmative side, I once worked one on one with a man who came to me because his math was in shreds.  Because he couldn’t read what the symbols were saying.  Partly because his mother had once said, “Your sister is the one that’s good at math.”  As far as the GRE is concerned, she was wrong, and so was your mother, if she said that.  Anyway, one day I gave him a high level word problem concerning average daily balances on a credit card.  He looked at it for about 30 seconds, and he didn’t write anything on his scrap paper.  Then he turned to me and said the answer was blah blah.  And he was right.  I looked at him and said, “How did you do that?  You’re not that good.”  (Yes, this is also an example of how mean I am to private students.)  But—and here’s the real punch line—he said, “It was about debt; I understood what the words meant.”  And there you go.

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Each week, we post a new Challenge Problem for you to attempt. If you submit the correct answer, you will be entered into that week’s drawing for two free Manhattan Prep GRE Strategy Guides.

Here are the free GRE events we’re holding this week (All times local unless otherwise specified):

8/12/13– Online- Mondays With Jen– 9:00PM-10:30PM (EST)

8/13/13– Boston, MA – Free Trial Class– 6:30PM – 9:30PM (EDT)

Looking for more free events? Check out our Free Events Listing Page.

Each week, we post a new Challenge Problem for you to attempt. If you submit the correct answer, you will be entered into that week’s drawing for two free Manhattan Prep GRE Strategy Guides.

Read more

Did you know that you can attend the first session of any of our online or in-person GRE courses absolutely free? We’re not kidding! Check out our upcoming courses here.

Let’s talk about the Do’s and Don’ts to get the most out of your practice tests.

Know WHY You Take Practice Tests

Practice tests are very useful for three things:

(1) Figuring out your current scoring level (assuming you took the test under official conditions)

(2) Practicing stamina and/or timing

(3) Analyzing your strengths and weaknesses

The third one on the list is the MOST important—that’s how we actually get better at this test!

Practice tests do not help us to improve while taking the test. If you have been training to run a marathon, you don’t learn how to get better while you’re running the marathon itself; you’re just trying to survive. ? Rather, you learn how to improve in between races while doing all kinds of training activities and analyzing your performance. Read more

Here are the free GRE events we’re holding this week (All times local unless otherwise specified):

8/5/13– Los Angeles, CA- Free Trial Class– 6:30PM – 9:30PM

8/10/13– Online – Free Trial Class– 1:00PM – 4:00PM (EDT)

8/11/13– Washington, DC- Free Trial Class- 5:30PM – 8:30PM

8/11/13– New York, NY- Free Trial Class- 2:00PM – 5:00PM

Looking for more free events? Check out our Free Events Listing Page.