How To Take a GRE Practice Test
Regularly taking GRE practice tests (but not too many!) is how you find out whether your studying is working and what to focus on next. But in order to take a practice test perfectly, you need a bit of…practice.
Which GRE Practice Test should you take?
You have two major options: either the official practice tests from the ETS, the folks behind the GRE; or a third-party GRE practice test.
The official practice GRE tests are collectively known as POWERPREP, and you can find them here. Two of them are available for free, and the other three cost $40 each. The biggest advantage to taking these tests is their official status: the problems, and the scoring algorithm, are as authentic as possible. They also have a similar look and feel to the real GRE; one difference, though, is that these tests lack the fifth “experimental” test section that appears on the actual test.
Also, there are only five official practice tests (and only two, if you don’t want to pay up to $120 for the full set). They also lack some of the analysis tools you’ll find in third-party tests. Check out this series of articles for the types of analysis you can perform with a Manhattan Prep practice GRE. Plus, if you’re taking an MPrep course or working with a tutor, MPrep instructors have direct access to all of the info on any practice tests you’ve taken.
So, I recommend starting with “unofficial” practice tests, then transitioning to the PowerPrep tests when you’re getting close to test day. You’ll get the best insight into your strengths and weaknesses early on—when you’re still working out what to prioritize in your studies—and closer to test day, you’ll have saved the most authentic practice tests as a warmup for the real thing.
What’s the best GRE Practice Test?
It depends on what you mean!
The GRE scoring algorithm is pretty transparent. This makes the GRE different from other standardized tests you may be familiar with, such as the GMAT. Every question within a given section is worth the same amount, and your score is directly based on the number of questions you get right in each section.
So, as long as a practice test has well-written questions and an appropriate level of difficulty, it’s tough to mess up the scoring algorithm. I’m obviously biased, but I’m confident in the research that went into MPrep’s practice GRE questions as well: they’re usually designed to test the same math or English skills as one or more official problems, while having significant enough differences that they’ll still require recognition and problem-solving skills.
Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean that our practice tests (or any practice test, including the official ones) can promise to definitively predict your score. People have tried to compile data on whether practice GRE scores predict actual GRE scores, with varying levels of success. I tend to see practice test scores as a way to track trends (are they generally moving upwards?) and as a way to, very broadly, tell whether you’re in the same ballpark as your goal score. If you’re aiming for a 160/160 on the GRE and you’ve already scored a 165/165 in practice, you definitely have the skills you need to pull it together on test day. If you’ve only made it to the low 150s, you might surprise yourself with a much higher score on the day of, but it’s far from a guarantee.
If you want your practice test scores to be as accurate as possible, and if you want the most effective practice you can get for the real GRE, you can take a practice test in a way that makes it more likely to predict your score. The short version: the more realistically you take the test, the more realistic your score should be, and the more preparation it will give you for test day. For the long version, keep reading…
Taking your GRE Practice Test the right way
Prepare your environment before you take a practice GRE. Test centers aren’t very stimulating places: you’ll sit at a desk in front of a computer, with nothing to look at except for the GRE questions in front of you.
So, when you take a practice GRE, don’t let yourself be interrupted. Prepare ahead of time: sit at a desk in a quiet, unstimulating room. Wear headphones or earplugs if you plan to do so on test day. Prepare whatever you’ll eat or drink during your break ahead of time, and don’t eat or drink anything while actually taking the practice test, even water. Close any other programs running on the computer you’ll use for the practice test, and put any other electronics out of sight. Take your breaks at the allotted times, and don’t pause the test or take any extra time to solve tough problems.
Another aspect of preparation is goal-setting. You’ll get more out of your practice test if you know what you want to learn from it. Don’t take a practice test just because you feel like you’re supposed to, or because you think it’s a good way to see new problems. The role of a practice test is to evaluate your performance, and to help you practice test-day-specific skills, like paying attention to GRE questions for hours at a stretch. Before you start a practice GRE, articulate a couple of skills you want to work on. Don’t focus too much on the score. Instead, focus on what you’ll do while taking the test: do you want to try bailing on a couple of questions per section, to see if you can do better on the rest once you have more time? Do you want to work on using the four-step process for every vocabulary question? Think of two or three things that you want to make sure you do, and assess yourself honestly right after you finish the test.
What to do after your GRE Practice Test
After you finish a practice GRE, take a break! Walk away from the test for a few hours or even a day or two. Overtaxing yourself leads to exhaustion and ineffective studying.
When you return to your practice test, look at it like a scientist would. When you review, you aren’t criticizing yourself for missing problems, or even celebrating your right answers. You’re solely trying to learn whatever you can in order to do better on the real test.
With that in mind, a good next step is to perfect your GRE problem log. After you take your next practice test, check out these articles on how to review, and get the most you can out of every single question!
Don’t forget 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.
Chelsey Cooley
is a Manhattan Prep instructor based in Seattle, Washington. Chelsey always followed her heart when it came to her education. Luckily, her heart led her straight to the perfect background for GMAT and GRE teaching: she has undergraduate degrees in mathematics and history, a master’s degree in linguistics, a 790 on the GMAT, and a perfect 170Q/170V on the GRE. Check out Chelsey’s upcoming GRE prep offerings here.