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I Have a Perfect GRE Score, and My Cousin Just Asked Me How to Prep for the Test. Here’s What I Told Him.

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Manhattan Prep GRE Blog - I Have a Perfect GRE Score, and My Cousin Just Asked Me How to Prep for the Test. Here's What I Told Him. by Jonathan Schneider

I got an email from my cousin the other day—he told me that he’s interested in taking the GRE. Since I’m a GRE instructor with a perfect score on the test, he’d come to the right place. He wanted to know the basics: what first steps should he take? How much should he prep? How does the GRE even work? I gave him some pretty comprehensive advice, and my cousin found it so useful that I wanted to share it with you all. Read on below.

What is the GRE?

So, the GRE (Graduate Record Examination) is administered by ETS (Educational Testing Service), the same organization that administers the TOEFL and some other exams. The GRE is used by a lot of master’s programs, mostly in the sciences and humanities but also more recently for business school as well. It’s worth reading the overview here and here. While it costs $205 each time, I recommend planning to take the exam at least twice.

How is the GRE scored?

A GRE score is actually made up of several scores: a writing score, a Quant score, and a Verbal score. The writing section is scored in a very basic way, on a scale of 0 to 6. Most people score a 4 or better, so you want to, too. Some schools might care about you getting a top score, but I doubt it, unless the program specifically calls for a lot of writing. The Quant and Verbal are each scored on a scale of 130 to 170.

Schools often say on their admissions pages what sort of score you need to be competitive. A lot of schools say the average of the “mid 80%” of their applicants. You typically want to be at or above that number, though you don’t have to be, in order to apply. If your scores are below the average, you can still get in, of course, but the rest of your application needs to be all that much stronger. And it’s important to note that even if your scores are above average, the rest of your application has to be strong as well. The GRE can be seen as a hurdle that you have to clear, but your story, which comes across through your essays, background, and letters of recommendation, is generally viewed as more important.

How should you start prepping for the test?

The company I work for is called Manhattan Prep. We started as a GMAT-only test prep company, in New York, back in 2000. We branched out into GRE several years ago and now run GRE classes in many cities and online. The normal classes cost $999 (online) or $1,199 (in-person), though, so it’s a significant investment. You can see both options listed here.

If I were in your shoes, though, I wouldn’t just sign up for a class right away. Instead, I’d start by taking a free practice test to get a sense of where I stand. You can take a free test on our site, or you can download the free prep software from ETS. One advantage to our test is that you get somewhat better diagnostic tools, to help you to determine your strengths and weaknesses.

After taking a practice test, I’d decide whether I needed to do any foundational prep work before possibly taking a course. If I were rusty on math, perhaps not having done it at all since high school (this is the situation many of my students find themselves in), I’d purchase this book, which is actually meant for the GMAT but is just as applicable to the GRE. I’d go through that book thoroughly and do all of the drills. My focus would be on developing good habits to avoid careless error. (Note that the GRE, unlike the GMAT, has a built-in calculator tool, but you’ll still do all of the algebraic manipulation by hand.) There’s also a free math review on the ETS website.

Generally speaking, it’s easier for people to improve their math scores, perhaps because math is a more definable skill. That said, it’s possible to improve your Verbal score as well, especially when operating on a long timeline. Verbal scores have a lot to do with your reading comprehension ability. And honestly, the best practice in that regard is a lifetime of reading. The GRE Verbal has three question types: Reading Comp, Text Completion, and Sentence Equivalence. In a way, all three test reading comp, while the latter two also test vocabulary. RC, meanwhile, really has two question types: typical RC questions such as “main idea” and “find a detail,” and another type of question that has more to do with analysis of short arguments.

Anyways, after doing the background math prep, if applicable, I’d then take one of three roads:

  1. Buy a few practice books, likely this one and these ones, take some more practice tests, memorize a bunch of vocab words, and then get it over and done with. This would be my choice if my initial practice test score was fairly close to my goal score.
  2. Buy the above books and this set of books and spend 2-3 months on a rigid self-study schedule, studying at least 8 quality hours per week. This would be my choice if I wanted to save some money, knew that I could trust myself to be disciplined over the long haul, and wasn’t yet close to my goal score.
  3. Take a course. The main upside of a class is the added discipline and structure, as well as, of course, whatever knowledge you absorb from the teacher. This would be my choice if I didn’t trust myself to stay focused via self-study, and if I felt comfortable with the investment.

It’s worth noting that there’s no real way to guarantee a certain result, so any of the above paths comes with some risk. You just have to decide what feels right for you.

One final thought: the GRE can feel quite long. It’s about 3.5-4 hours in length. Doing RC at the end of a long test like that, it’s easy to zone out or feel fatigued. I often recommend that students engage in some form of mindfulness practice, with daily 15-minute meditations. An app such as Headspace can work in this regard, or you might find an actual meditation center near you where you can take classes. Studies have shown that mindfulness improves GRE scores.

OK, that’s the overview. I hope it helps somewhat! ?

Want more guidance from our GRE gurus? 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.

Jonathan Schneider is a Manhattan Prep instructor and Instructor Manager based in Raleigh-Durham, NC. He has been with Manhattan Prep since 2007, and since then, he’s taught, tutored, written curriculum, and generally been involved with every aspect of the company’s work with students. He teaches GMAT, GRE, and LSAT classes. Check out Jonathan’s upcoming GRE classes here.