Each week, we post a new 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.

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

7/18/13– Washington, DC- Free Trial Class– 6:30PM – 9:30PM

7/18/13– Online- Free Trial Class– 8:00PM – 11:00PM (EDT)

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

I thought I might share my GRE experience and the lessons it taught me about the GRE prep process.

I’ve always been a test girl. My favorite two days of first grade were taking the IOWA exams, which I used to try to write at home to administer to my class of stuffed animals. I wish that were a joke. I got into a car crash on the way to the LSAT, pulled myself out a ditch, hitchhiked to the exam, and still scored in the 98^th percentile. I left the bar exam for a few hours in the middle to go shopping for a sweater because I was cold. I love tests. I own them. That is, until I took the GRE.

I was pretty cocky rolling into the GRE. I bought a pack of vocab flashcards and looked them over for a few weeks. I took a few practice tests. I read over the math. I showed up feeling like a boss. And then I got my score. And then I cried.

I did badly. What the heck? Tests are basically the one thing I can do!

Lesson one: The GRE must be studied.

The GRE really benefits from familiarity with the test. If you want to max out your score, you can’t just know the underlying material “ you have to be familiar with how it shows up and the best methods for handling it when it does.

I was daunted for a while, but I decided the GRE wouldn’t beat me. So after hiding from the exam for a few months, I got some study materials and got back on the horse.

Lesson two: The vocab must be learned.
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Each week, we post a new 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.

If xy â‰  0 and y is the arithmetic inverse of x, what is the ratio of  to ?

 

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

7/11/13– New York, NY- Free Trial Class– 6:30PM – 9:30PM

7/13/13– New York, NY- Free Trial Class– 10:00AM – 1:00PM

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

Happy Friday and happy Fourth of July Weekend! Here’s our weekly roundup of grad school news and tips:

Leverage International Roots for U.S. Grad School Applications (U.S. News Education)

Emphasizing cultural differences is a natural way prospective international graduate students can craft unique applications.

What is an Online Graduate Class Like? (About.com Graduate School)

Online classes hold some similarities with traditional on-ground courses, but there are also many differences.

6 Important Things Nobody Tells You About Grad School (Cracked)

If you’re considering or already in postgrad work, take some helpful advice from someone who already has two and a half postgraduate degrees under his belt.

Policing Your Productivity: 7 Tools to Help You Focus (Entrepreneur)

Are you easily distracted by social media and entertainment sites? Keep your focus, especially when it’s time to study, with these helpful programs.

Did we miss your favorite article from the week? Let us know what you’ve been reading in the comments or tweet @ManhattanPrep

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.

Some song writers really like their vocab! While you probably won’t pick up a lot of GRE words listening to Justin Beiber, here are just a couple suggestions where you might actually enjoy picking up some new vocab.

1. Tidal, Fiona Apple. A 90s classic, if you were a teenage girl in the 90s. Pop in a copy of Tidal on your drive to work and you’ll be exposed to words such as undulate, appeasing, embers, carrion, divination, acquaint, resounded, coercion, inversion, stifled, deviant, sullen, oblivion, cunning, condescend, abound, enrapture, wary, reverence, endeared, discern, oblige, covet, demeanor, contusion, adagio, intrusion, and endeavor.

2.  HMS Pinafore, Gilbert and Sullivan. Okay, seriously, any Gilbert and Sullivan you can get yourself to enjoy is going to fill you with vocab words. This show alone has got saucy, frivolous, depraved, resigned, melodious, consolation, menial, pine, gallant, eloquence, pennant, sprightly, articled, tar, dictatorial, furl, scorn, domineering, tyrant, protrude, audacious, anguish, ignoble I didn’t even make it through half of the songs. And this might be the lightest on vocab of all the Gilbert and Sullivan choices.

3. Black on Both Sides, Mos Def. If you’re a rap fan, this is a fantastic album that you probably already have in your collection. If not, you might check it out if you want the chance to pick up words such as armament, sentiment, brandish, dispossessed, rivalry, saturated, infatuate, glisten, nemesis, scrutinize, staccato, vibrantly, apparition, odyssey, treacherous, testament, beneficent, manifest, reverence, temperament, firmaments, ubiquitous, ephemera, and flagrant, to name just a few.
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Okay, the title shouldn’t describe them as activities that teachers hate, so much as activities that this teacher hates. I don’t hate them because they’re completely useless, but I hate them because they distract well-meaning and hard-working students. Studying for the GRE is time-consuming and hard enough without inefficient strategies.

There are certain study strategies that exasperated students have in common. When a student tells me that they’re following one of these strategies, the rest of the story is usually, and my score isn’t going up at all. Here are, in my opinion, the four big ones, and their better alternatives.

Binging on problems

This is a big one. Stories that start with, I did all the problems in the book or I bought an extra set of problems and did every single one usually end with but I’m not getting any better!

It’s not that doing all the problems in the book is a bad thing, but chances are if you’re doing that many problems, you aren’t giving them the time they deserve. Doing problems is a good way to assess what you know, but it’s actually not a great way to get better at doing problems. That comes when you review what you’ve done.

Wonder if you’re doing too many problems with not enough review? Go back and do 10 problems you did last week, timed. Do you remember how to tackle them? If so, you’re probably reviewing enough. If not, you might want to tackled fewer problems in more depth in order to see a better payout.
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Here are the free GRE events we’re holding this week (All times local unless otherwise specified):

6/24/13– Online- Monday’s with Jen– 9:00PM – 10:30PM

6/26/13– New York, NY- Free Trial Class– 6:30PM – 9:30PM

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