Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.
Robert Collier, American writer
The GRE can feel overwhelming. Fortunately for you, there are numerous effective ways to make the entire process more manageable. Don't approach the test at random; instead, work smart and focus on what matters. Here's how to create a GRE study plan, including proven strategies and resources to help you succeed!
Developing a Personalized Study
Your GRE study should be more than just going through endless practice questions. Focus on making a structured approach suited to your needs. A personalized study plan should maximize your time, focus on areas where you can improve the most, and avoid unnecessary busy work. Evaluate your starting point, set a realistic target score, and create a balanced study schedule.
A personalized GRE study plan ensures you focus on the right areas, save time, and avoid the stress of random prep. It turns preparation into a structured process that steadily builds toward your target score.
Assessing Your Starting Place
To start creating a GRE study plan, you have to do an honest appraisal of where you are. Take a full-length practice test to get a baseline score and see your strengths and weaknesses across the various GRE sections. Your quantitative skills are strong, but verbal questions slow you down. You may have an excellent vocabulary skillset, but you should focus your time more on math concepts, such as data analysis. Once you have a better understanding of your current level, you can start with the low-hanging fruit, implementing easy-to-make positive changes that will yield the best results.
Set Your Target Score
With a starting point, you can then decide what score you'll aim for. With graduate programs publishing the average GRE scores for admitted students, it is easy to work out the absolute minimum you should be aiming for. Business schools may look for better quantitative scores, while humanities programs prioritize verbal reasoning and analytical writing skills. Either way, the target score can serve as the foundation for your personalized study plan, and you'll use it as one of the metrics to assess the effectiveness of your study.
Create a Study Schedule
Once you know where you are and where you want to go, you can start planning your route. This will be your study schedule, and it's your personal roadmap for GRE exam preparation. You should highlight the stops along the way, including weekly and monthly goals, and set aside time for each section of the exam.
As with learning any skill or studying, the key is regular and consistent work. Cramming doesn't work, and instead, you should look to shorter, focused sessions, as these will help you learn and (more importantly) remember things better. Ensure your plans include reviews, returning to previously covered content to track your progress.
Just remember that you can't just fully focus on one section or skill. Instead, you should have a reasonably balanced plan that covers verbal, quantitative, and writing skills, while allowing extra time you can dedicate to weak areas and exam strategies.
Discover Effective Study Strategies
Once you have the bare bones of your GRE study plan, you need to start filling your schedule with effective methods. Since the GRE is a reasoning-based test, you can't make gains by memorizing facts. Instead, focus on practicing the skills that are tested in the exam, often under exam conditions. You'll find it to be more productive, better for retention, and a real confidence booster on the day.
Active practice is key. Rather than reading through your notes, look to practice problems and past tests, working under timed conditions. Not only will you learn how to apply concepts and manage your time, but you'll also build up your exam stamina. After all, the GRE is nearly two hours long.
An error log is critical, too! You can track your mistakes, note the types of questions that caused them, and evaluate why you got the question wrong in the first place. By regularly reviewing this, you'll avoid making the same mistakes and iron out pesky errors that would otherwise recur.
Spaced repetition is another excellent strategy. Rather than cramming, revisit materials at regular intervals. The more trouble you're having with a skill or idea, the more you revisit it. That doesn't mean you never revisit something you're good at, but you should schedule the repetitions in line with how difficult you're finding them.
Practice tests are also an essential part of any study plan. After all, while the test verifies specific skills, every test also verifies the extent to which the taker can pass that particular test. The GRE is also a specific type of test. Work towards taking full-length, timed practice exams to get accustomed to the question types and timing. Afterwards, you can highlight which areas you need to work on.
Variety is the spice of life. Be sure to balance vocabulary review, math drills, reading comprehension exercises, and essay practice to ensure a well-rounded approach during your GRE exam prep. You must develop all the skills, and although you may need to focus on certain ones more than others, variety will prevent any of them from becoming rusty and keep your sessions from becoming dull.
Test-Taking Strategies
Even if you spend months preparing for the GRE exam, it all boils down to your performance on the day you schedule it for. You need to manage time, stress, and decision-making during those 2 hours. Be aware of test-taking strategies to ensure that your studying translates into a strong performance.
Time management is key for the GRE. With each section having a strict time limit, you can't spend too long on any single question. Pace yourself. Give yourself about 1.5 minutes per verbal question and 2 minutes per quantitative question. If you're stuck on a question, mark it and move on to the next one. Every question is worth the same, so go back to it later once you've answered all the questions that you can.
Educated guessing can make the difference. Since there's no penalty for wrong answers, don't leave any questions blank! With the process of elimination, you can narrow down your choices before choosing the most logical answer you have. Even if you're unsure about an answer, there's a chance your educated guess is correct and a much better chance that it'll be right than no answer at all.
Stress management is crucial for performing well on an exam. If you don't manage your stress, things can go really wrong. If you're a nervous test taker, it's worthwhile considering breathing techniques, positive visualization, and mindfulness exercises. The GRE is challenging, so expect the questions to be complicated.
Adapt your approach to the section. For example, in Verbal, you can read actively and look for key words indicating tone or argument structure. For Quantitative Problems, look to see if estimation or logical reasoning can save you time. The calculator tends to waste more time than it saves. For Analytical Writing, it's recommended that you bookend the writing process with planning and review, ensuring your essay is well-structured with ideas that flow logically.
Simulate test-day conditions as part of your study. This isn't a strategy you can employ on the day, but rather something that will ensure that you're familiar with how to take the test before the day. Once taking the GRE is second nature to you, you'll find the day of the exam goes much more smoothly.
Additional Resources and Support
Preparing for the GRE is easier with the right resources, guidance, and community. Though every student is different, you can look for help. Here are some of our favorite ways to stay on track.
Support can come from study groups, online forums, prep classes, or tutors. Picking the right mix depends on your learning style, budget, and goals. The right resources can make preparation more effective and motivating.
Joining a study group, for example, can be highly beneficial. Peer learning is highly effective, as it allows you to share ideas, review challenging questions, and support one another by sharing practical approaches. Being able to explain something to someone else is proof that you've really understood it, so there's a lot to be gained from working with others who'll be taking the GRE. Study groups are also great for accountability, ensuring that everyone studies when they're supposed to and nobody slacks off.
You can also take GRE prep classes. Either online or at a test center, you can access lessons, practice questions, and receive feedback. These types of questions are helpful for those who learn better with a more transparent study structure but struggle to achieve results on their own.
Then there's tutoring. A private tutor can tailor their sessions to you and what you need to work on. They can also provide feedback and adjust their teaching approaches over time, ensuring you learn in the most effective way for you. On Superprof, you can search for GRE tutors today, and with most offering the first session for free, you can try a few before choosing the right one for you!
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