Manhattan Prep GRE Blog

Managing GRE Anxiety Before Test Day

by

Manhattan Prep GRE Blog - Managing GRE Anxiety Before Test Day by Cat Powell

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.


I am an incredibly anxious person. Like all of us, I worry about the big things (work, money, relationships, illness), but I also descend into fear when confronted with absurdly small things (the weird look the Dunkin’ Donuts cashier gives me when I ask for six sugars, the ominous clicking sound my toaster makes—WILL IT BLOW UP AND KILL ME???). Learning to manage my many anxieties is one of my main challenges on a day-to-day basis.

So I relate, strongly, to the students I work with who struggle with GRE anxiety. This anxiety manifests in a few common ways: Read more

Learning the GRE Is Like Learning a Language

by

Manhattan Prep GRE Blog - Learning the GRE Is Like Learning a Language by Daniel Yudkin

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.


If you ever took language classes in grade school or high school, you have an extra advantage when it comes to the GRE. Why? Because learning the GRE is a lot like developing fluency in a language. There are several reasons for this. Read more

Considerations for a Part-Time MBA

by

Manhattan Prep GMAT Blog - Considerations for a Part-Time MBA by mbaMission

Taking the GRE for your business school application? You’re in luck. Each month, we are featuring a series of MBA admission tips from our exclusive admissions consulting partner, mbaMission.


We at mbaMission often receive questions about part-time MBA programs. So, we thought a look at some of the pros and cons of this option would be in order.

As for the pros, the one that business school candidates cite most frequently is that the part-time MBA involves a limited opportunity cost. Unlike a full-time MBA student, a part-time one does not miss out on two years of salary (and, in some cases, retirement savings) and can still earn raises and promotions while completing his/her studies. Furthermore, firm sponsorship seems to be more prevalent for part-time MBAs, so candidates who have this option can truly come out ahead, with a free education and continued earning throughout. Read more

GRE Vocab Words You Think You Know…But Don’t

by

Manhattan Prep GRE Blog - GRE Vocab Words You Think You Know...But Don't by Chelsey Cooley

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.


Some researchers estimate that there are as many as a million words in the English language. However, you won’t see words like mylohyoid, ekphrasis, or cotyledon on the GRE. In fact, even though English has a huge number of extremely rare words, the GRE almost never tests them. Instead, it focuses on a set of words we’ll call rare but reasonable. Read more

Your Attention, Please!

by

Manhattan Prep GRE Blog - Your Attention, Please! by Neil Thornton

Can’t get enough of Neil’s GRE wisdom? Few can. Fortunately, you can join him twice monthly for a free hour and a half study session in Mondays with Neil.


The GRE is a loooong test. Sure, it’s broken up into 20 and 30 minute chunks, but you’re going to be sitting in front of that computer for more than 4 hours. Honestly, that’s too much time for any of us to focus effectively.

When was the last time you focused on one thing for 4 hours? I mean, besides Netflix or your Xbox? Has your ability to pay attention gotten better or worse lately? If email is a part of your life, if you have Facebook or Twitter, if you watch cable news (if you’re a human being who lives in the modern world) then chances are, your ability to concentrate on one task is nowhere near what it could be. Recent studies show that our attention span has dwindled to about 8 seconds before our minds start to wander. Read more

Navigating Proper MBA Interview Etiquette

by

Manhattan Prep GRE Blog - Navigating Proper MBA Interview Etiquette by mbaMission

Taking the GRE for your business school application? You’re in luck. Each month, we are featuring a series of MBA admission tips from the leading business school admissions consulting firm mbaMission.


Making a good impression on your MBA admissions interviewer goes beyond simply answering questions well. Knowing how to dress properly and how to navigate certain etiquette issues is also crucial. You want to leave your interviewer confident that you have the maturity and professionalism necessary to succeed after graduation. The following are our answers to four questions that often bedevil applicants with respect to proper interview etiquette. Read more

Lessons from Learning Science: The Testing Effect

by

Manhattan Prep GRE Blog - Lessons from Learning Science: The Testing Effect by Chelsey Cooley

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.


Here’s one surprising way to speed up your GRE studies: quiz yourself. Now, that doesn’t mean that you have to take a lot of practice tests. Think smaller. To reap the benefits of the “testing effect,” give yourself frequent, small quizzes on whichever topics you’ve studied lately. Here’s how and why it works. Read more

GRE Official Guide Third Edition: What’s Different and Second Edition Conversion Guide

by

Manhattan Prep GRE Blog - GRE Official Guide Third Edition: What's Different and Second Edition Conversion Guide by Chris Ryan

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.


ETS has released the Third Edition of its GRE Official Guide. It’s almost exactly the same as the Second Edition, so you can use either one interchangeably.

If you have a Second Edition already, there’s no need to run out and get a Third Edition.

If you have a Third Edition and want to know what’s the same and what’s different, read on. Read more

Becoming Your Own Best Teacher

by

Manhattan Prep GRE Blog - Becoming Your Own Best Teacher by Cat Powell

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.


I recently did an exercise in one of my classes in which I asked each student to teach one or two problems to their classmates. I think some of my students suspected that I just wanted to make them better appreciate how hard teaching can be (like how my parents want me to have grandchildren so I can know how much they’ve suffered). But in truth, my hope was that this activity would help my students to study more effectively at home, and I was happy to discover that this turned out to be the case.

A lot of us, at times myself included, think of studying as a skill distinct from teaching. As I’ve seen with many students, though, the practices that make for a good teacher also make for the most effective student. The things that I think about as I prepare for a class are the same things that you should be thinking about at home when you sit down to work through a new math topic or GRE problem set. With this in mind, here are a few good teaching moves that you can apply to your studying. Read more

It’s Almost Time: Register For Our Upcoming GRE CrunchTime Workshops Now!

by

Manhattan Prep GRE Blog - It's Almost Time: Register For Our Upcoming GRE CrunchTime Workshops Now! by Manhattan Prep

If your GRE exam is coming up sooner than you’d like to admit, it’s officially CrunchTime. But don’t be (too) nervous; we’re hosting three GRE CrunchTime workshops in January and February! Whether you want to brush up on Quant, Verbal, or both, we’re here to make sure you’ll feel ready to tackle the test when it’s time. Read more