A lot of GRE students choose to study on their own but need a bit of extra help to feel ready for test day. A full prep course may not be the right fit. Continuing to study alone isn’t going to cut it, either.

If this sounds like you (or a GRE studier you know), check out Crunch Time!

Crunch Time is a new kind of prep program we developed specifically for students who have already learned most of the GRE content, but don’t feel confident enough to take the test yet. This 2-hour online workshop will focus on game day strategies and quant practice questions to help you apply your GRE knowledge under pressure.

Some workshop highlights include:

• Timed and proctored GRE problem sets to simulate the real exam experience
• Guided review on the most effective ways to analyze your practice work, led by our GRE experts
• Open Q&A session to address your concerns
• Post-workshop email support

We’ve had this program in the lab for while, and we’re really excited to finally bring it to you! The first of these workshops will be offered on Tuesday July 14th.  If you think some time with a GRE master would help push you to your final goal score, you should definitely give it a try. Learn more and sign up right here.

See you there!

Yesterday, the whole wide internet was shocked by the Jeopardy dominance of “This dude Michael”, but here at Manhattan Prep we weren’t surprised at all. We already knew that dude was smart and we knew that dude had the mathematical wherewithal to bet $7,000 without batting an eyelash.

Here at MPrep we know that dude as Michael Bilow (one of those people who command such respect that he must always be talked about using his last name lest anyone in earshot mistakenly attribute an anecdote or joke to some less deserving Michael). On Jeopardy, he lived up to his legend taking home the fourth highest single-day winnings in Jeopardy history: $57,198.

Michael Bilow joined the Manhattan Prep family in 2011 using his perfect GRE score and spectacular teaching chops to secure a role as an LA-based GRE instructor. A few years later we realized we needed more Bilow in our business so we asked him to join the Marketing Department. He took a position as our Business Data Analyst, while continuing to teach GRE classes and pursue his PhD. After seeing him flawlessly juggle those responsibilities, we never had any doubt that he would take the Jeopardy world by fire.

By now the whole country knows of Bilow’s intellectual prowess, but we know so much more. Michael is a dedicated practitioner of improv, a delightful presence in Google Hangout meetings, and a stylish dresser. We can’t wait for his next trip to the New York City headquarters so he can buy us a drink with his winnings after he takes a quick a nap in a tutoring pod.

Congrats, Michael Bilow! Keep it up!

The Manhattan Prep team is pleased to announce the new edition of our popular set of eight GRE® Strategy Guides, available now. All are content-driven and written by real GRE® instructors. Used individually or as a set, these guides will help you develop all the knowledge, skills, and strategic thinking necessary for success on the GRE®!

This comprehensive set covers every topic tested on the GRE® revised General Test, with many practice problems and more pages per topic than all-in-one books. All eight of the books have been updated. Here are some of the details:

Word Problems: Newly expanded rate problem chapter, now detailing various rate scenarios that can appear on the test. Build your understanding of ratios, statistics, probability, and more. Learn to classify and most efficiently solve these challenging GRE® math questions.

Reading Comprehension & Essays: Revised strategy chapters for note-taking and Argument Structure passages. Practice with many Reading Comprehension passages and questions. Optimize your Essay performance with clear ground rules and recommendations.

Text Completion & Sentence Equivalence: Six newly updated drill sets with complete explanations, including definitions. Study over 1,000 vocabulary words, made memorable with usage examples.

In addition, you’ll get six free online practice exams with the purchase of any Strategy Guide, including answers, explanations, scores, and assessment tools.

We are eager for students to start using these new practice materials. We hope you are as excited about these books as we are.

Can I use POWERPREP on a Mac?  This is one of the questions most frequently asked by students calling us here at Manhattan Prep.

Well, I’m happy to say that my answer to this question is now a resounding, YES!  The long awaited introduction of ETS POWERPREP software for Mac users is here!  As of July 2013, ETS offers a Mac-compatible version of their terrific practice test software.  Mac-loving students will no longer have to worry about borrowing their roommate’s cousin’s boyfriend’s PC to take their practice GRE.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the software, POWERPREP is free practice exam available directly from ETS, the administrators of the GRE.  POWERPREP is an excellent resource, one that we recommend all of our students use.  The software includes two computer-based tests, sample Analytical Writing topics, scored sample essays and reader commentary, test-taking strategies, a math review, and test tutorials. We recommend that students save at least one POWERPEP II test until fairly close to their real exam to get a nearly exact practice run of what will happen on test day.

So, rejoice, Mac-users, POWERPREP for Mac is now available.

We know that carrying around GRE study materials can be a hassle.  Some days you just can’t carry an extra 5 lbs in your backpack/messenger bag /satchel/kangaroo pouch/suitcase.  As such, students often turn to flash cards for convenient, on-the-go studying.

Up to this point our flash cards have only been a vocabulary building tool and over the past year, students have asked that we offer cards for the quant section of the exam.  It seems that students’ commutes were unbearable (or at least less enjoyable) when they didn’t afford a chance to study for the GRE quant section.  Well, fear not, commuters Math Flash Cards are now available! (If you will, please imagine that last sentence being accompanied by the Superman theme.  You know the one; it has the triumphant horn section.)

Our new math flash cards provide math drills for all skill levels and include easy-to-follow explanations to help you build fundamental math skills for the GRE.  You can use these cards as a teaching tool, or for rapid quant drills.  These 500 cards cover a wide variety of quant topics including algebra, geometry, word problems, number properties, and more.  If you are looking for bite-sized math practice, these cards are for you.

ETS distributed this press release last week with an update on how the GRE is being used as a GMAT alternative for business school applications.  There is not too much new information in this release but a few things caught our eye.

The big news is that more than 1,000 business schools now accept GRE scores.  This follows the pattern that we’ve seen over the past two years “ the relevance of the GRE as a business school test continues to grow.  The press release also includes a sampling of quotes from business school admission directors affirming the validity of the GRE as a GMAT alternative.  These quotes match up with what we have heard from admission officers.  There is ample evidence that the GRE can be used for most business school applications in place of the GMAT.  As always, check the list of schools accepting the GRE before choosing to take it for your b-school application.

The release also specifically notes the success of the new ScoreSelect option.  As we mentioned earlier this year, the ScoreSelect feature is a student friendly addition to the GRE score reporting policy that allows students to only report their best GRE score out of multiple attempts.  While most schools never frown upon multiple GRE attempts, we believe this feature to have a psychological benefit to students.  The idea that a GRE score isn’t on your permanent record helps to take a bit of test-day pressure off students.

One of the highly touted features of the Revised GRE is the ability of students to navigate freely within a test section. While the old GRE was (and the GMAT is) a Computer Adaptive Test, which required students to complete the test without skipping a question, the Revised GRE is a Section Adaptive Test, which allows students to skip questions and analyze the overall section on a review screen. But, as great as this feature sounds, you shouldn’t skip around. On the GRE, time is extremely valuable. Time spent hunting for an easy question is time wasted.

That is not to say the review screen isn’t a boon; it can be. Pacing is an extremely important part of GRE strategy, and the review screen can help you with that.

By test day, you should have an idea of how much time you will spend on each question. Here are some good guidelines for how much time you can afford on each problem type: Read more

Here at Manhattan GRE, we receive a lot of Grad School jokes, most of which are fairly lackluster.  However, we recently came across this LCD Soundsystem parody video, Grad School, I Love You (But You’re Bringing Me Down).  Something about this video drew us in, so we decided to share it with you.

Read more

As a Manhattan GRE employee I tend to see GRE vocabulary everywhere.  When I’m reading a book, or watching TV, or listening to music, GRE vocabulary words just jump out at me.  It is sort of like in the movie They Live when Rowdy Roddy Piper puts on his magic sunglasses and suddenly all of the writing in advertisements is changed to the word OBEY… except for me everything would be saying ACCEDE.

Just last night, during the Republican Presidential Debate in Arizona, I heard the candidates use a few great GRE vocabulary words.  While politicians will often use simple language in an attempt to reach the broadest possible segment of the electorate, last night’s candidates didn’t hesitate to throw in a few obscure talking points.

At different points in last night’s debate, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum each used the word feckless.  Here is Romney’s quote:

Romney: We have very bad news that’s come from the Middle East over the past several months, a lot of it in part because of the feckless leadership of our President.

Read more

We are launching a new GRE workshop called Thursdays with Jen and we would like to invite you to attend. Every other Thursday, join MGRE instructor Jennifer Dziura for an hour and a half study session. Regular readers of the blog will probably recognize Jen as the contributor of many of our blog articles. In fact, Jen is our Blog Editor and Lead Content Developer, and the instructor of our first-ever GRE classes.

In these special Live Online sessions, open to the public as well as current students, Jennifer will conduct mini workshops on a few different GRE-related topics. Both the verbal and quant sections of the GRE will be covered.

If you can’t attend the session, don’t worry. A copy of the recording will be made available the following Monday. You can sign up for an upcoming session, or find recordings of past sessions, here: //www.manhattanprep.com/gre/thursdays-with-jen.cfm

Each session will deal with new GRE topics. To suggest a topic or ask a question for next time, email Jen at jdziura@manhattanprep.com. We hope to see you this Thursday for the workshop!