Play to Your Strengths on the GRE
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In the first class of our GRE curriculum, we begin by talking about growth mindset vs. fixed mindset. If we approach a new task with a fixed mindset—i.e. I am or am not good at this—we’re a lot less likely to improve at it. When we believe instead that we can and will improve if we work hard, we get better faster. The stories we tell ourselves about our abilities shape what we’re actually able to accomplish.
This holds true whether our story is positive (I’m great at this!) or negative (I’m terrible at this). This is why, for example, educators and researchers advocate against praising children for being smart. If children believe that their success is the result of predetermined aptitude, they are less likely to be resilient in the face of subsequent challenges. Children with a fixed mindset are also less willing to make mistakes in class, a significant handicap, since most learning occurs through trial and error.
Most of my GRE students come to the test with a strong opinion about which section, Quant or Verbal, will be their strength. I think this is because many of us (myself included) tend to think of ourselves as “language people” or “math people;” we have a fixed mindset about our aptitude for various disciplines, shaped by years of positive and negative feedback in school.
This is why I encourage students to take a first practice test right away. (If you’re new to studying for the GRE, do this now! You can find a free practice test here.) For many students, this test can be surprising: often Quant and Verbal scores aren’t that far apart. Because the GRE is a unique kind of task, designed to test skills beyond pure mathematical or verbal aptitude, many of our preconceived notions about our strengths and weaknesses don’t apply when we face this new kind of challenge.
For example, I often see strong readers run into trouble in the Verbal section when they read too quickly or jump to conclusions without fully analyzing a problem. Because they believe this section will be easier for them, they don’t adapt their reading style to the demands of the test. The test makers know that people do this, and so there are lots of trap answers designed to trip up the overconfident reader.
I’ve also watched physicist, engineer, and computer scientist friends struggle with mid-level Quant problems. Test-takers with strong math backgrounds often overcomplicate easy questions or rush through ones that look straightforward, resulting in inefficient solutions and wrong answers.
These are issues that can have a really detrimental impact on overall performance; fortunately, though, they’re relatively easy to correct (easier, at least, than learning a lot of new content). It’s important, then, that you focus on your strengths as well as your weaknesses when preparing for the test. If you’re a strong reader, a little extra time spent adjusting your reading style to the demands of the test will have a big impact on your score; those with strong quantitative skills will benefit from a focus on GRE-specific strategies.
Even after taking a practice test, however, many students still spend a disproportionate amount of time and energy on the section they perceive as their weakness. This makes sense to me. In general, I, too, focus more attention on things that aren’t working. However, reinforcing your strengths is equally important. With this in mind, here are a few concrete recommendations:
1. Be deliberate about how you allocate study time. If your Quant and Verbal scores are close to one another, split your time 50-50 between the two sections. If one is stronger than the other, you can slant the time toward your weaker section (60-40 or 70-30); make sure, though, that you’re still checking in with your strengths. Even if you’ve already hit your target score in that section, you want to make sure those skills stay sharp; if you ignore a section entirely, you might see your score start to slide.
2. When analyzing a problem, timed set, or practice test, focus first on what went well. You want to fix what’s not working, yes, but you also want to ensure that the things that are working continue to do so. Since many of us tend to give more weight to the negative, begin by emphasizing the positive aspects of your performance.
3. Approach the test as a whole with a growth mindset. Remind yourself that your preconceived notions about strengths and weaknesses may not be accurate, and that, regardless of accuracy, having this kind of mindset will only hold you back. ?
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Cat Powell is a Manhattan Prep instructor based in New York, NY. She spent her undergraduate years at Harvard studying music and English and is now pursuing an MFA in fiction writing at Columbia University. Her affinity for standardized tests led her to a 169Q/170V score on the GRE. Check out Cat’s upcoming GRE courses here.