When it comes to the GRE, your mindset can make a big difference. The test is long. The test is hard. The test is fast. The people who make the GRE are experts in creating the feeling of, “I know that I know how to do this, but I just can’t seem to figure it out.” There are people who say that one of the problems with tests such as this on is that they aren’t accurate because they have pressure and unpredictability. That would be right if the test just wanted to find your understanding of vocabulary and mathematics, but that’s not all they want to test. They want to test how you deal with pressure. They want to test how you deal with unpredictability. They want to test how you reason, above everything else. So all those added difficulties are fair game. They aren’t in the way of your test; they are your test.

That’s what makes your mindset so important. You might be able to convince me that mindset doesn’t have anything to do with your ability to do math (although I disagree) or to remember vocabulary (I still would disagree, but maybe not as strongly). But you won’t be able to convince me that mindset has nothing to do with how you handle pressure, unpredictability, and reasoning.

So what’s a good mindset? And how do you get it? Here are some tips.

Crisis mode versus panic mode

I hope you haven’t been in a lot of emergency situations, but I’m sure you’ve had at least one opportunity to see both crisis mode and panic mode demonstrated in real life. Picture a situation where John is preparing lunch and cuts his hand severely. He calls for his wife, Kelly. In panic mode, Kelly would see the blood and scream, “Are you okay? Are you okay? What happened?” She would go to find her keys to drive to the hospital, then decide to call the doctor, then get mad because she couldn’t find the keys, then start yelling. Now picture Kelly in crisis mode. She appears calm, although she talks rapidly and with direction. “John, sit down and put pressure on your hand with this towel. I’m going to drive you to the hospital. Hand me your keys.”

Both modes are normal responses to a problem, but the chief difference is that crisis mode works, and panic mode doesn’t. Not only does panic mode not help, but it also hurts.

You have to approach your test in crisis mode. Focus, take in the information you see, assess the situation, make a decision, and follow through. The good news is that crisis mode can be artificially created until it becomes a habit. In other words, fake it ‘til you make it. Read more

You already know how to learn—you’ve been learning all your life. The problem is that the way you learn best for school is often not the best way to learn for the GRE.

At the first level, you’re learning all of the “basics” (note that I do not mean “easy” when I say “basics”): the facts, the rules, the vocabulary, the question types and how they work. That first level is necessary but it will only get you so far. As you progress through this material, you’ll need to start adding in a second level of understanding—and most people don’t make this leap.

Before we start, if you haven’t yet read What the GRE Really Tests, go do so.

Why do I need a “Second Level” of learning?

When was the last time you read a GRE problem and had no idea where to start? When was the last time you did a GRE problem, checked the solution, and thought, “What? I didn’t even know they were talking about that!”

Notice that I didn’t ask whether you’ve experienced these things. We all have, even those of us who score in the 99^th percentile. It’s just a matter of time until we hit a question like this. Your goal is to maximize the amount of time until it happens again. : )

Okay, so what IS the “Second Level”?

This second level of study involves learning how the GRE test writers put questions together, including the right and wrong answers. You can learn how to take the test by analyzing the way these questions are put together.

Read more

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

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

9/9/13– Washington, DC- Free Trial Class– 6:30PM – 9:30PM

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

I definitely come from the procrastinate-and-then-cram-the-night-before-or-even-the-morning-of-the-test school of studying. It’s how I survived high school. And college. And law school. And grad school. And work. Okay, it’s how I do almost everything. But when it comes to preparing for a test like the GRE, studying in smaller sessions over a longer period of time IS better. You give your brain a chance to dredge up and sort and apply the information without any cues from the material before, which is what the real exam is like.

It’s pretty easy to think of ways to study vocab for five minutes. As long as you have the words with you, working on one or two for a couple minutes is no problem. (By the way, you should definitely start doing that if you aren’t already.) But how do you improve your math skills in five minutes?

Do One Problem

Students fight me on this, saying that it’s not worth getting started if you don’t have time to study a whole bunch. I’m sorry to say, they’re wrong. Keep a set of problems with you, whether you print them out or just tear them out of your books. (Sacrilege! I know! But the point of those books is to up your score, not to look beautiful on the shelf.) In five minutes, you can do a problem and look over the answer. But the benefits don’t stop there, because when you’ve done only one problem, your brain has time to process it and think about it. You’ll be working on it still, even when you aren’t trying to. It sticks with you in a different way. Because you’ve done only one problem, you don’t get to rely on anything that came before it to prop you up – you have to really know what you’re doing.

Review One Problem

Sometimes during a study session there will be a few problems that really bug you. Maybe that’s because you thought you should have gotten them right. Maybe it’s because you still don’t understand the explanation. Maybe they seem to contradict something you thought you learned in another problem.

These are the problems that are perfect for their own five-minute review session. Look them up on a forum and read some explanations and conversation. Discuss them with a friend. Give them a try on your own again. Try to explain the problem to yourself (or someone else). Whatever you do, coming back to the problem on its own with a fresh pair of eyes may help really cement something into place that was loose before.

Practice Your Arithmetic

Maybe your days are more exciting than mine, but I bet you still find yourself sitting around sometimes. Whether you’re waiting for a meeting to start, waiting for a meeting to end, waiting for your dinner to cook, or just watching TV, there is probably a five-minute period in the day where your mind wanders. (Think of how many times you check your phone in a day. What if you spent all that time doing math?)

Just practicing your arithmetic really pays off. I’m not a phone person, but I’m sure there are apps for your phone that let you do just that. Or, get out the old paper and pen. Filling in your multiplication tables, listing out prime numbers, practicing division and multiplication shortcuts, and manipulating fractions can all help you get more comfortable and faster with numbers. I know the exam has a calculator, but a comfort and facility with numbers will help you recognize patterns and shortcuts.

Drill Your Rules

No calculator can overcome a lack of knowing the mathematical rules. Knowing the rules doesn’t take genius abilities or even great reasoning powers; it just takes practice. So if you aren’t rock solid comfortable on the rules of fractions, exponents, triangles, and the like, five minutes is a great time to practice them in drill form. Memorizing the exponent rules is nice, but using them enough that you know how to use them when they show up is even better.

Estimate

Read more

Each week, we post a new GRE 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.

See the answer choices and submit your pick over on our Challenge Problem 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 9/6.

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

Each week, we post a new GRE 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.

See the answer choices and submit your pick over on our Challenge Problem page.

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

8/26/13– Online- Mondays With Jen– 9:00PM – 10:30PM (EDT)

8/28/13– New York, NY- Free Trial Class– 6:30PM – 9:30PM

8/29/13– Santa Monica, CA- Free Trial Class– 6:30PM – 9:30PM

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

Each week, we post a new GRE 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.

See the answer choices and submit your pick over on our Challenge Problem page.

“Many a true word is said in jest.”—I don’t know, but I heard it from my mother.

Once upon a time in America, when I was a boy, my father, an engineer, said to me, “You can make numbers do anything you want them to do.”  This was the beginning of my cynicism.  But never mind that.  My father was fluent in four languages: English, German, French, and Algebra.  And his comment relied on the fact that most people can’t read Algebra.  Teaching GRE classes, I combat the fact that many people can’t read Algebra.  Because, like my father, the GRE exploits that weakness.  Thus, for many, preparing for the quantitative portion of the GRE is akin to studying a foreign language.  (Yes, I know that even many native speakers feel that preparing for the verbal portion of the GRE is also akin to studying a foreign language.  But that’s a different topic.)  In any case, you want to make your Algebra as fluent as your French. . .yes, for most of you, that was one of those jokes.

I know that some of you disagreed with the above and feel that the problem is an inability to understand math.  But that’s not true, at least on the level necessary to succeed on the GRE.  If you really didn’t have enough synapses, they wouldn’t let you out without a keeper—because you couldn’t tip, or comparison shop, or count your change.  It’s a literacy problem.  Think of our GRE math units.  Truthfully, the algebra unit is often a death march.  By the end, as country folk say, I often feel like I’m whipping dead horses.  On the other hand, the word problem unit concerning probability and combinations, putatively* a more advanced topic, usually goes really well.  Why?  Because folks can read the words and understand their meaning.  Conversely, folks just stare at the algebraic symbols as if they were hieroglyphics.  The problem is that putting a Rosetta Stone in the book bag would make it weigh too much. . .kidding.  But if you can’t read the hieroglyphics, the mummy will get you—just like in the movies.

It really is a literacy issue and should be approached in that fashion.  You still don’t believe me?  You want specific examples?  I got examples, a pro and a con.  On the affirmative side, I once worked one on one with a man who came to me because his math was in shreds.  Because he couldn’t read what the symbols were saying.  Partly because his mother had once said, “Your sister is the one that’s good at math.”  As far as the GRE is concerned, she was wrong, and so was your mother, if she said that.  Anyway, one day I gave him a high level word problem concerning average daily balances on a credit card.  He looked at it for about 30 seconds, and he didn’t write anything on his scrap paper.  Then he turned to me and said the answer was blah blah.  And he was right.  I looked at him and said, “How did you do that?  You’re not that good.”  (Yes, this is also an example of how mean I am to private students.)  But—and here’s the real punch line—he said, “It was about debt; I understood what the words meant.”  And there you go.

Read more