332 GRE | 330+ in GRE | 170 Quants, 162 Verbal | Tips, Tricks and Strategy | Study Plan & Resources
Summary
TLDRIn this episode of the Dialogue Project, the host interviews a Columbia University electrical engineering student who scored a 332 on the GRE. The discussion covers the GRE exam pattern, including the analytical writing, quantitative, and verbal reasoning sections, and the adaptive nature of the test. The student shares her preparation strategy, which involved attending coaching classes, using various GRE prep books, and taking 13 mock tests. She emphasizes the importance of vocabulary building, focusing on weak areas, and continuous revision. Additionally, she provides tips on maintaining focus during the exam, utilizing free resources for essay grading, and the value of a light study day before the test to ensure freshness and good sleep.
Takeaways
- 📚 The GRE exam consists of three types of questions: Analytical Writing, Quantitative Reasoning, and Verbal Reasoning, with each section containing 20 questions and an unscored experimental section.
- 🕒 The GRE is a section-adaptive exam, with the difficulty of subsequent sections depending on the performance in the initial sections, and the entire exam lasts about four hours.
- 📈 The speaker prepared for the GRE for approximately five months, starting in mid-March and taking the exam in August 2020.
- 🏫 The speaker attended coaching classes at Inspiras, which helped in understanding the exam pattern and question level.
- 📝 The speaker took 13 mock tests from various sources, with an average score of 327, and found the PowerPrep tests to be the most accurate in reflecting the actual exam.
- 📚 The Manhattan GRE Prep book was a primary resource, with a focus on learning vocabulary and practicing problem-solving.
- 📝 The speaker emphasized the importance of identifying strengths and weaknesses and preparing accordingly, especially for areas of weakness like Reading Comprehension.
- 📱 The Magoosh app was used for vocabulary building, focusing on common and basic words, and noting down unfamiliar words with example sentences for better retention.
- 📅 A consistent study plan was followed, including daily word learning, weekly mock tests, and regular revisions of learned material.
- ✍️ The speaker regrets not practicing the Analytical Writing section enough and recommends using resources like Princeton's autograder for feedback.
- 🛌 For the day before the GRE, the speaker advises reviewing vocabulary and weak points, avoiding full-length mock tests to prevent exhaustion, and ensuring a good night's sleep.
Q & A
What is the GRE exam pattern and what sections does it include?
-The GRE exam consists of three types of questions: Analytical Writing, Quantitative Reasoning, and Verbal Reasoning. Analytical Writing has two essays of 30 minutes each. There are two sections each for Quantitative and Verbal Reasoning, with each section containing 20 questions and lasting 35 minutes for Quantitative and 30 minutes for Verbal. Additionally, there is an unscored experimental section that could be either verbal or quantitative, and its identity is unknown to the test taker.
How does the GRE scoring system work for the adaptive sections?
-The GRE is a section-adaptive exam. The difficulty of the second Quantitative and Verbal sections depends on the performance in the first sections of their respective types. The first section in each type is of average difficulty, and based on the score, the following section may be easier or harder.
When did the interviewee take the GRE and how long did they prepare for it?
-The interviewee took the GRE in August 2020 and started preparing in mid-March 2020, which indicates a preparation period of about five months.
Did the interviewee enroll in any coaching classes for GRE preparation?
-Yes, the interviewee enrolled in Inspira's coaching classes, which were conveniently located near their college in Andheri.
How did the interviewee find the difficulty level of the questions in the coaching class compared to the actual GRE exam?
-The interviewee found the difficulty level of the questions in the coaching class to be very similar to those in the actual GRE exam, as the GRE is a popular exam with many questions available online and in classes.
How many mock tests did the interviewee take and what was their average score?
-The interviewee took 13 mock tests, starting in June, and their average score was 327. Their actual GRE score of 332 was their all-time high.
What was the interviewee's experience with different mock test providers?
-The interviewee used mock tests from Manhattan, Princeton, Kaplan, and the official GRE PowerPrep. They found Manhattan's Quantitative section to be the toughest, while the PowerPrep tests were the most accurate representation of the actual exam, especially for the Verbal section.
Which books and authors did the interviewee refer to for GRE preparation?
-The interviewee primarily used the Manhattan 5 lb. Book of GRE Practice Problems and also referred to Kaplan's online question banks for additional practice.
What strategies did the interviewee use to improve their Reading Comprehension skills?
-The interviewee focused on doing a lot of Reading Comprehension practice through Kaplan question banks to identify and improve their weaknesses in this area.
What word list did the interviewee use to build their vocabulary for the GRE Verbal section?
-The interviewee used the Magoosh app for GRE vocabulary, focusing on the common and basic words, and also used the vocabulary list at the end of the Manhattan GRE prep book.
What advice does the interviewee have for test takers regarding the GRE Analytical Writing section?
-The interviewee recommends making use of Princeton's autograder for the Analytical Writing section, as it provides a free and valuable tool for practicing and improving essay writing skills.
What is the interviewee's suggestion for GRE aspirants one day before the exam?
-The interviewee suggests revising all learned words and reviewing common mistake areas, avoiding taking a mock test to prevent exhaustion, and ensuring a good night's sleep.
Outlines
📚 GRE Exam Overview and Preparation Strategy
The speaker provides an overview of the GRE exam structure, including the types of questions, the time allocated for each section, and the adaptive nature of the test. She shares her personal GRE preparation timeline, starting in mid-March and culminating in her August 2020 exam. She also discusses enrolling in Inspiras coaching classes and the similarity between the coaching materials and the actual GRE questions. Additionally, she mentions the importance of the experimental section, even though it is unscored, and the section-adaptive feature of the GRE.
📈 Mock Test Experience and Study Materials
The speaker details her experience with mock tests, having taken 13 in total with varying difficulty levels from different vendors. She found the PowerPrep official GRE mock tests to be the most accurate in reflecting the actual exam. She also discusses the books she used for preparation, emphasizing the Manhattan GRE Prep book and the importance of vocabulary building with the help of the Magoosh app and Manhattan's vocabulary list. The speaker further explains her method of identifying strengths and weaknesses and focusing on areas of improvement, such as reading comprehension.
🔍 Insights on GRE Quantitative and Verbal Sections
The speaker offers insights into the GRE's quantitative and verbal sections, suggesting that for those with an engineering background, the quantitative section may not be overly difficult conceptually but requires careful attention to avoid tricky questions. She shares her study plan for the five months leading up to the GRE, which included learning new vocabulary words daily, revising them weekly and monthly, and focusing on problem areas. The speaker also emphasizes the importance of continuous revision to retain the large number of vocabulary words required for the GRE verbal section.
✍️ Exam Day Strategies and Recommendations
The speaker provides exam day strategies, recommending against doing a mock test the day before the exam to avoid exhaustion. She suggests revising all learned words and reviewing common mistake areas instead. The speaker also highlights the importance of getting a good night's sleep before the exam. Additionally, she advises on the use of Princeton's autograder for Analytical Writing practice and recommends the GREgmat YouTube channel for essay structuring and other GRE preparation tips.
🗓️ Pre-Exam Preparation and Final Thoughts
The speaker concludes with advice for aspirants on what to do one day before the GRE exam, reiterating the importance of revision and avoiding a full-length mock test to ensure freshness and focus on the exam day. She expresses hope that her shared tactics and strategies will be helpful for viewers and wishes them well in their GRE preparation. The host thanks the speaker for her insights and invites viewers to like, share, and subscribe to their YouTube channel for more content.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡GRE
💡Analytical Writing
💡Quantitative Reasoning
💡Verbal Reasoning
💡Experimental Section
💡Section Adaptive
💡Mock Tests
💡Vocabulary
💡Reading Comprehension
💡Magoosh
💡Manhattan Prep
💡Kaplan
💡Exam Strategies
💡AWA
💡Greg Matt
Highlights
Introduction of the GRE exam pattern, including the types of questions and marking scheme.
Explanation of the GRE's section adaptive nature and how performance in the first sections influences the difficulty of subsequent sections.
Duration of the GRE exam, including the experimental section which is not scored.
The speaker's personal GRE preparation timeline, starting in mid-March and ending in August 2020.
Enrollment in coaching classes and the similarity of the coaching class questions to the actual GRE exam.
The speaker's experience with mock tests and their performance compared to the actual GRE.
Comparison of different GRE mock test providers and their difficulty levels.
Importance of the PowerPrep official GRE mock tests for their accuracy in reflecting the actual exam.
Recommendation of the Manhattan GRE prep book and the speaker's approach to learning vocabulary.
Use of the Magoosh app for GRE vocabulary and the speaker's strategy for learning and revising words.
Identification of personal strengths and weaknesses and targeted practice for improvement.
The speaker's study plan for the five months leading up to the GRE exam, including daily word learning and weekly mock tests.
Importance of continuous revision of learned words to prevent forgetting.
Strategies for dealing with the GRE's analytical writing section and the use of auto-grading software.
Recommendation of the GREgmat YouTube channel for AWA preparation and essay structuring.
Advice for the day before the GRE exam, emphasizing rest and revision rather than taking a mock test.
Closing remarks encouraging aspirants to utilize the shared strategies for better GRE preparation.
Transcripts
hey everyone welcome to the fifth
episode of the dialogue project we have
with us
who's pursuing ms in electrical
engineering at columbia university she
is here to discuss how she scored a 332
in gre
so welcome
hi thank you for having me
thank you so much uh let's start get
started with the questions uh over to
you akash
uh thank you azithya and uh thank you
for joining us today
uh so let's start with uh your plan of
action and
everything for gre so the first question
from our side is what like
what exactly is the exam pattern
for the gre and the
kind of sections they have and the
marking scheme
okay so the gre has three types of
questions the first part is the
analytical writing so analytical writing
has two essays which are 30 minutes each
and then it is followed by quantitative
reasoning and verbal reasoning so you
have two quantitative reasoning sections
and two verbal reasoning sections each
one section is of 35 minutes and
consists of 20 questions and each verbal
section is of 30 minutes and also
consists of 20 questions however there
is one more section called the
experimental section which could be
either verbal or cons you do not know
that in advance so which is the fifth
section and all of these five sections
could be in any order so you don't know
it could be quants or will points will
be considered it could be in any order
so you don't know that
and that's the pattern so the exam lasts
for about four hours including the
experimental section
so this section which you mentioned
right now is not scored right
no it is not scored the experimental
section is not scored but like i said
you do not know which is your experiment
which is your experimental section so
you should give each section with equal
importance and the gre is a section
adaptive exam which means that depending
on your performance in the first quarter
and the first verbal section the
difficulty of the sections after that is
decided so the first section is always
of average difficulty and depending on
how you score in in that section the
section after that would be probably of
higher difficulty or lower difficulty
okay okay i understood
and uh so when did you take the gre and
how long uh before taking the exam you
actually start
kind of preparing for it
okay so i took my gre in august 2020 and
i started preparing for it uh around
mid-march 2020 yeah mid-march so i think
i prepared for about five months
okay
and or did you also enroll for any
coaching classes you know i went to
inspiras uh so a lot of students from my
college went to that class so i also
enrolled for that it was an andheri near
my college so i used to go the classes
after
my classes at college
okay i understood
so what were the level of questions in
the coaching class as compared to that
in the exam
uh so the level of questions was uh very
similar since the gre is a very popular
exam so you'll find a lot of questions
available online and in classes so all
all of the questions are
very similar to the ones that ones that
appear in the actual exam
okay
so how many mobs did you give and like
what was your performance in them as
compared to the actual example
okay so i gave uh 13 mocks and i started
giving my marks in
june so i think i gave mocks for two
months so around i used to give two
marks every week somewhere about that
sometimes one once per week or twice per
week and my performance in the mocks was
uh it was okay so i my average score was
327 for all of my mock tests
but so i never really crossed 313 any of
my marks so my score in my actual gre
was my all-time high t32
but
the mocks that i gave from different uh
different
uh vendors if you will so i gave
manhattan i gave princeton then i gave
the powerprep so every every vendor had
different difficulty levels so manhattan
was a really tough box i gave i i bought
the six mock test kit from manhattan and
i felt that the quant section of
manhattan was tougher than the actual
exam
but
princeton was okay kaplan was okay and
the power prep that is the official gre
mock test so the gre gives you two
official mock tests to prepare for and
both of them actually match the actual
exam in the most accurate way possible
especially for the verbal section and uh
but i felt that the cons on the
powerprep was a little easier than the
con section of my actual exam
okay that's what it is
level right so the pop-up proper plus is
a paid mock testing the just power prep
is a free thing so i didn't try pogba i
already gave 13 bucks so i thought it
was fine but
yes i bought that proper plus is better
and i think it gives you a better
analysis of your
um answers as well
okay okay
so which books did you refer to and if
you could please mention the names of
the authors and the publications that
you referred
okay
so i think the book that i did
uh book that i used the most was the
manhattan five pounds gre prep book i
think that's a pretty standard book
everyone does that so i so how i started
was i started with the points section of
that book first and i tried doing the
verbal section but i realized that in
gre verbal is largely based on
vocabulary and i did not have that
strong of a vocabulary so i thought that
first i should try and learn as many
words as possible and then i i would get
into solving because otherwise it
wouldn't make sense uh i wouldn't i just
wouldn't know the words enough to
actually try and answer the questions so
i started doing points and i would
prepare i would learn
20 words every day
and after i acquired a certain number of
after i learned a certain number of
words then i started solving the verbal
section so i finished pawns and then i
finished all the words and then i did
verbal for five pounds and after that i
did uh kaplan question marks which are
available online so i did that and i
think what is important is that while
solving all of these topics you you
often realize that uh what are your
strengths and weaknesses and i realized
that for me it was reading comprehension
i used to struggle a lot in reading
comprehension so then i went like i said
i went ahead and did kaplan question
banks and i did a lot of reading
comprehensions through that to improve
my rc skills
so it it really depends from depends on
you and your plus and minuses to
actually decide and go ahead and do
extra prep for the areas that you're
weaker in
okay true
and i had one question about word lists
actually so which word list did you
refer to like okay so for for the word
list i there's a there's a magoosh app
for vocab for gre so i started with that
and i think it has three levels basic uh
intermediate and advanced so i did all
the
oh it's common basic and advanced so i
did all the common and basic words i did
not do the advanced words because i
heard that a lot of advanced words are
not asked in the exam so i did all the
common and basic words and then i went
and did uh so manhattan also has this
vocab list at the end of the book so i
did all of those words as well
and i think
yeah i think that was pretty much it and
then the words that i found while doing
all the questions the rc's and all the
uh questions in verbal section i should
just note on all of those words i think
this is really important like when even
when you do all the magoosh words or the
manhattan words you often come come
across words that you have never seen
before so it's important to write those
down in a book and
more importantly it's important to also
write an example of the usage of that
word to remember it better because i i
realize that you you tend to remember it
better when you can actually use that
word in a sentence so it's really
important to actually try and think
of how you can use that word in the
situation that you are familiar with
that really helps in grasping the
meaning uh quickly
got it
uh moving on along the same lines uh
what was your uh like what was your
study plan for the five months that you
prepared for the gre
okay okay so like i said i started with
uh doing the magoosh word lists and
manhattan points and then i moved on to
manhattan
and after that i did whatever i felt
like i was weak in which was mostly the
verbal section and then in june i really
started with the mock tests and uh with
the mock test i used to do like two mock
tests every week and i was also in
college at that time so i had classes
and projects of college so i couldn't
really uh
uh continuously prepare for gre as much
as i wanted to but i think being in
lockdown helped with that because i was
at home all the time so i saved time i
saved the commute time to and for
college
and uh after the walks i think i think
yeah i think just
it's important to continuously revise
all the words so even when you learn you
words so like i said i should try and do
20 new words every day but then every
sunday i used to
sit and revise all of the new words that
i had learned throughout the week and
then
so that was that week and then once in a
month i would revise all the words that
are done that month and it's really
important to continuously keep providing
revising the words because you tend to
forget the words and since that i i
think they're like a thousand words in
gi i don't remember maybe thousand if
not more so it's a lot of words to learn
in the in a short amount of time so it's
really important to keep revising the
words
and as for points i would say you you go
over all the problems that you
uh find difficult or that you tend to do
mistakes so i think for gre cons is not
that difficult if you have done
engineering especially if you have done
engineering maths so it's not difficult
concept wise but gre quants tends to be
tricky at times so it's really important
to be attentive and be careful and not
make silly mistakes so it's important to
list down uh the areas that you usually
end up freaking over so
i think that's it
got it perfect uh
then uh could you uh let us in on some
of your exam taking tips and strategies
okay so
i think
strategy
i think strategy would be
one thing that i felt i should have done
was
uh
i should have read more so gre verbal
gre verbals all of the texts in the
reading comprehensions are academic
texts in gre because their intention is
to prepare you for graduate school so
it's expected that you are able to
read and comprehend text from actual
from an act from an actual academic
setting and that that takes a lot of
effort like what what i realized was i
was i used to lose focus by
reading some of the bigger reading
comprehensions so if if i had a habit if
i had a reading habit then
that would have made me much more
equipped to deal with the reading
comprehension and one more thing is so
what is the
uh what what the difficult part about it
was sitting at one place for four hours
so i don't think we are just used to
sitting at one place or for us giving a
four hour long exam continuously is
really mentally taxing and while doing
all the mocks so like i mentioned before
we had the analytical writing section
and i would just skip over that section
i would think okay i'll just do it later
so i'll just skip over that and
jump right into the quants and the
verbal part and then that would make
that exam just three hours and that was
okay but in the in the actual exam it's
four hours so to stay focused till the
end is really difficult and like i said
in the actual exam there's an
experimental section and you don't know
which section it is so you can't afford
to lose focus by like the fourth section
and not be attended for the last section
right so i think it's important not to
skip over any section while giving the
morphs
and one more thing is uh so the
analytical writing section that is that
is one more thing that i regret so i
scored a four out of six in the
aws section and princeton has mock tests
which actually grade your aws so
they have this auto grading software so
you write the sc and i think they are
graded in in a few hours and it's really
good like it's decent it's good enough
to prepare you and i i because i skipped
almost this most of the essays i
couldn't really prepare that well but i
would say make the most of those free
mock tests and the essay grading part
because no other
test provider has a auto grader for
analytical writing so you should make
the most of
the princeton
uh autograder
it's also completely free right or this
yeah it's all free it's also you have
four mock tests and
it's free i think ets also uh
has a service where you pay around
twenty dollars to get your
uh essays graded for the awa section
okay
okay maybe i think i've heard about it
but i'm not sure i i didn't use it so
also one more thing there's a youtube
channel called greg matt and uh he's
really good with awa i did not know this
at the time of my preparation i found
out about this after but he's really
good and i i would recommend that you
watch those videos because he actually
teaches you how to structure and write
that essay and once you know how to do
that it's just easy it's like it's like
math you know the structures you just
have to fill in
fill in the bits depending on what the
problem statement is so i would
recommend that channel as well not just
for awa even for other other gre prep
things
got it
ah whereas we come to our last question
uh what would you suggest aspirants do
one day before the gre exam
okay i think that's a good question
um
i think one day before the exam i would
just
suggest everyone to revise all the words
and go over all the
places and points where you usually make
a mistake and i think that's it it's
really important to not do a mock test
one day before because doing a four hour
mock test really exhausts you and you do
not want to be exhausted one day before
the exam you have to be fresh and you
have to
sleep early and get good sleep getting
good sleep is is really important i
understand that people feel nervous and
they might be unable to sleep but it's
just really important to try and get a
good sleep and not do a mock this
because i think a lot of people feel
that you should do a mock test just
before the exams that you are perfectly
prepared but i don't know i disagree i
feel like if you do a mock test one day
before the exam you'll be too exhausted
to do one more
full length exam the day after so
yeah
keep have a light day if possible
thank you
for enlightening other viewers and us
with the ins and outs of gre your
tactics and
strategies on how you took the gre exam
um
thank you for your time
and all the best for having me i really
hope whatever i said was helpful and if
someone could have a better score i
would be really happy
thank you so much thank you thank you
thank you
i surely be helpful to our aspirants
hey folks thank you for watching our
video
please like and share this video and
subscribe to our youtube channel
also guys please don't forget to mention
your views in the comment section below
and see you soon with our next video
Посмотреть больше похожих видео
Scoring 320+ on the GRE in 2 months | Day-by-day schedule & Study Material | No coaching Needed
Fix these COMMON mistakes BEFORE you take your TOEFL Exam! Typical Problems Students Face on TOEFL
Archie Gaur AIR - 131 GATE CS 2024 | with FINAL YEAR | GO Classes Complete Course Student
Tips For Getting Into Your DREAM MBA School! (From a Wharton and Columbia Admit)
RoadMap For ACCENTURE EXAM Preparation #accenture_preparation #accenture_exam_questions #freshersjob
My sources for Phase 1 and phase 2 preparation || RBI grade B
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)