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

6/18/13– Atlanta, GA- Free Trial Class- 6:30PM – 9:30PM

6/18/13– Cambridge, MA- Free Trial Class– 6:30PM – 9:30PM

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

Take a time out to catch up with this week's grad school news!

Here’s a roundup of our favorite GRE links from the week. Enjoy the weekend!

Don’t Be Afraid of Going to Graduate School in the Humanities (Pacific Standard)

Full-time, tenure-track professorships in the humanities are famously scarce. But that’s not a reason to avoid an advanced degree.

3 Concerns of International Grad School Applicants (U.S. News Education)

Here are some answers to common application questions from prospective international graduate students.

How to Choose the Right Graduate Program? Consider Your Personal Life (About.com Graduate School)

Sometimes you have to look beyond academics to choose the right graduate program for you.

3 Key Ways College, Graduate School Differ (U.S. News Education)

Grad School isn’t a continuation of college. Be prepared for larger workloads and more responsibility.

Graduate Degrees with Strong Career Prospects (Graduate Guide)

Here are some of the best fields to consider in graduate school when it comes to the current job market.

When it comes to studying for the quant portion of the GRE, I’m a big advocate of mixing a variety of study styles. The GRE pulls questions from a big selection of question types and content areas, and pulling your study habits from a variety of strategies can help you keep up.

I encourage you to take a look at your study patterns and see if anything’s missing. Are you only practicing in short stints but never working for a full-exam-length of time? Are you only practicing mixed sets but never targeting particular question types? You might want to consider mixing it up!

Systematic vs. Cherry-picking

There is clearly merit to a systematic study approach. Working your way through your study materials in order ensures that you cover all the material you need to prepare for the test. It also ensures that you give adequate time to each area.

On the other hand, cherry-picking the areas you want to study lets you focus your attention on the areas that most need your attention. It also allows you to study effectively on a crunched schedule if you already have a comfortable, working knowledge of math basics.

These strategies can be effectively combined to maximize their benefits. Do you want to cover all the material? Yes. But what happens when you get to a topic you don’t understand? Don’t fixate and get stuck there; note it and move on! The math concepts on the exam are related to one another, so there’s a good chance that when you come back to a topic later, you’ll understand it differently than the first time around. You also may want to break away from your study system and pay some immediate attention to concepts that newly make sense to you, or that you thought you had mastered but then notice you’ve forgotten.

Depth vs. Breadth
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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.

Quantity A

The average of (x “ 1)² and (x + 3)²

Quantity B

3

 

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

6/10/13– Berkeley, CA- Free Trial Class- 6:30PM – 9:30PM

6/11/13– Chicago, IL- Free Trial Class– 6:30PM – 9:30PM

6/12/13– Austin, TX –Free Trial Class– 6:30PM – 9:30PM

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

6/15/13– Online- Free Trial Class– 1:00PM – 4:00PM (EDT)

6/13/13– New York, NY- Free Trial Class– 5:30PM- 8:30PM

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

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 6/14.

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

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.

Note: Figure not drawn to scale.

 

Quantity A

B2 + 2AD

Quantity B

(A + D)2 “ C2

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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.

For all values, [x] denotes the least integer greater than or equal to x.  If -2.5 < x < 1.5, what is the least possible value of [2x] + [x²]?

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I remember in a high school chemistry class, my teacher said, There are a few magic numbers. One of them is pi. One of them is e. Anyone know another one? Jane? I had no idea what he was talking about. Eight? I guessed. Obviously I missed the point.

But today’s magic number is seven. While there are lots of different ways to classify numbers, there are seven categories of numbers that make all the difference when trying to move quickly and correctly through the Quantitative Comparison section of the GRE.

Seven Important Categories of Numbers

Picture a number line. In the middle, you’ve got zero. (Okay, I know the number line doesn’t have a middle. But you get the idea.) On either side of that, you have positive and negative proper fractions. (For the rest of this post, I’m just going to use fractions to refer to proper fractions, meaning fractions with an absolute value less than one.) Next, moving outward, you hit one and negative one. And then, you hit positive and negative integers other than one.

While there are other categories of numbers that matter (primes, perfect squares, odds, evens, etc.), these are the seven that come to my mind fastest when I’m trying to come up with two alternative results in a QC questions.  When we’re trying to find two different results, we always look to try numbers that are fundamentally different. And these categories churn out some fast differences that are important in matters that QC cares about testing.

When are these sets of numbers most helpful? I’m glad you asked.

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Happy Friday! It’s time to take a break from GRE prep to catch up on some of the top grad school tips and news links from the week:

8 Steps for Making the Most of Your Summer Internship (Brazen Life)

It’s almost summertime! Here are some great tips to help you maximize your summer internship experience.

Yes, Guys, Graduate School in the Humanities is Still a Worthwhile Investment (Policymic)

Graduate school, especially in the humanities, has been receiving very bad press for a long time, but 2013 has already produced a bumper crop of essays about the Ph.D. process.

Get Research Experience for Graduate Admissions (About.com Graduate School)

Graduate programs, especially PhD programs, highly value research experience. Without it, it’s unlikely that you’ll gain admission, regardless of your GPA.

Grad School May Not be for Everyone (Daily Sundial)

A current student argues that grad school is a good idea, but only if you’re 100 percent ready for the challenges that await.

Did we miss your favorite article from the week? Let us know what you’ve been reading in the comments or tweet @ManhattanPrep