What You Do Not Need to Know for the GRE
There’s a pretty complete list of GRE study topics available at the ETS’s website. Here’s the list for Quant, and here’s where to find the corresponding lists for Verbal. These lists can show you what content you definitely need to know for the GRE. But, in this article, I’d like to complement them by doing the opposite: show you what you may think you need to learn for the GRE, but really don’t.
What math topics are not tested on the GRE?
The rule of thumb is that you won’t see anything beyond middle-school (about 8th grade) math on the GRE. Here are some things you absolutely don’t have to study, because they aren’t on the test:
- The GRE contains no calculus whatsoever. On an extremely limited number of problems, simple calculus (such as finding a single derivative) may be one path to a solution. However, these problems can always be solved with a non-calculus method, often more quickly. Also, Quant problems won’t ever make reference to calculus concepts.
- You don’t need trigonometry for the GRE. Certain well-meaning test prep articles will claim that you do need to know some trig. There’s a reason for that: for the GRE, you need to know the side ratios of the special right triangles. One way to find those ratios is to use trigonometry. But you know what’s much easier? Just memorizing the two ratios you need to know, and not worrying about sines and cosines. You’ll never need them for any other purpose on the GRE.
- You only need basic statistics for the GRE. No T-tests or confidence intervals. You do, however, need to understand basic descriptive statistics (averages, ranges, standard deviation and normal distribution) and how to read certain types of graphs (like a line graph or a box-and-whisker plot). By the way, you don’t have to memorize the formula for standard deviation unless you want to. The GRE won’t ask you to directly calculate a standard deviation, although it might ask you to reason about how the standard deviations of different sets compare to each other, or to use a standard deviation that’s already been given.
- There’s no other high school or college math on the GRE! That includes linear algebra, matrices, proofs, or any of the wild and wonderful things you may have learned in advanced classes. If you have specific questions about whether certain math topics will or won’t show up, please ask in the comments!
What GRE math topics can I safely ignore?
It depends on your goal score! If you’re shooting for a perfect 170 in Quant, you should master all of the math that the GRE tests. But, if you’re just aiming for a strong (but not perfect) score, you can safely miss several questions on each Quant section. The best way to approach that is to quickly and intentionally guess on the very hardest questions, to buy yourself more time to check your work on the easier ones.
So, if you’re sure that a topic will only be tested rarely, you have the option of ignoring it entirely and saving the study time for something more valuable. The topics on your personal “skip list” should vary from person to person. I’d recommend choosing one or two of the following topics that you’re least comfortable with, and deciding to guess on them immediately.
- Tough combinatorics and/or probability (anything that you can’t solve by counting cases)
- Three-dimensional geometry
- Complicated-looking coordinate geometry
- Rates & work problems involving multiple changing rates, workers who take breaks, or other complicating factors
- Data Interpretation problems that require you to compare a lot of numbers in a complicated way
Unfortunately, you can’t get away with totally ignoring a major topic (like geometry). Also, everyone should learn at least the basics of every topic, to avoid missing easy problems. (Try the ‘GRE math for people who hate math’ series for a gentle introduction to some of the nastier math content on the GRE!)
Don’t forget the calculator
Especially if you’re coming from another standardized test, like the GMAT, you may think you need to work on your mental or pen-and-paper arithmetic skills. While knowing tricks and shortcuts is useful, it isn’t as much of a priority on the GRE as it is on other tests. You get a calculator on the GRE, and while you shouldn’t rely on it to the detriment of basic math skills, you also shouldn’t forget that you have it. Feel free to spend more of your time working on skills the calculator can’t help you with, like simplifying exponents or quadratics.
Do I need real-world knowledge for the GRE?
Let’s turn our attention to GRE Verbal, particularly Reading Comprehension. Reading Comp passages tend to discuss the same predictable academic topics: social science, history, economics, biology, and a handful of others.
The GRE is a standardized test, and it does its best to test your general ability to read and understand academic text, not your specialized knowledge of any one field (that’s what the GRE subject tests are for!). However, you’ll likely find it easier to understand biology passages (for example) if you’ve read at least a little bit of biology material beforehand. It’s not that you need to know any of the jargon: you don’t. It’s that, by exposing yourself to a certain type of writing, your brain will know what to expect and won’t have to work as hard to understand what it sees on test day.
Here are some sites that include academic-style writing on similar topics to those that appear on the GRE:
- Scientific American
- The Scientist Magazine
- Science Magazine
- Space.com
- Astronomy.com
- The Economist
- The New York Times
- The New Yorker
- Smithsonian Magazine
- History Today
- The Harvard Gazette
- IEEE Spectrum
- Longform
- Phys.org
If there’s a topic you’re especially uncomfortable or unfamiliar with, a bit of reading before test day can go a long way.
The other thing you should know about real-world knowledge, on the GRE, is that it can actually be dangerous! Some GRE problems are designed so that the wrong answer is a statement that seems extremely plausible, based on real-world facts. However, if the answer breaks the rules of the GRE (for instance, an answer choice on a Detail problem that isn’t actually stated in the passage), it can’t be right, even if you know it’s true.
What vocabulary words are not tested on the GRE?
The GRE doesn’t test every vocabulary word, and it doesn’t test every type of vocabulary word. Specifically, you don’t have to study what I’ll call “jargon.” The words on the GRE are general academic vocabulary that you might see in writing from any academic field. If a word is specific to a single field (think vacuole or epizeuxis) you almost certainly don’t need it on the GRE. Keep this in mind when you decide whether a new word is worth adding to your list.
You should absolutely put the time into studying GRE vocabulary. But a strong vocabulary doesn’t mean much without equally strong problem-solving skills. Don’t put so much energy into just studying words that you have none left to spare for practicing Text Completion or Sentence Equivalence problems.
By the way, you don’t need to study the etymology of words you learn, unless you find that it helps you remember them. You also don’t need to memorize the list of synonyms and antonyms for every word you learn (again, unless you find that it helps your memory!). However, if you do end up learning a lot of words with similar meanings, making a chart in your notes showing how they all relate to each other can be a valuable learning tool. If you just want the simple answer to “which words should I study,” start with the 500 Essential GRE Vocabulary Words. That list will furnish you with a strong core GRE vocabulary.
You do not need to know everything!
The GRE only tests a limited set of topics, even though it tests those topics in varied and creative ways. Once you’ve learned the basic material, it’s time to switch to perfecting your problem-solving skills. If you know the vocabulary and the math rules, but your score still isn’t what you’re hoping for, it’s probably not because there’s content you’ve missed! More likely, you need to take your ability to use the content to the next level. Get working on some practice problems, especially on topics you’ve already learned!
KEEP READING: How to Get a Perfect Score on the GRE
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Chelsey Cooley
is a Manhattan Prep instructor based in Seattle, Washington. Chelsey always followed her heart when it came to her education. Luckily, her heart led her straight to the perfect background for GMAT and GRE teaching: she has undergraduate degrees in mathematics and history, a master’s degree in linguistics, a 790 on the GMAT, and a perfect 170Q/170V on the GRE. Check out Chelsey’s upcoming GRE prep offerings here.