Scoring 325 on the GRE in 2 months
Be it the opportunities that attract you the most or the networking, studying in the top global schools is everyone's dream. You can easily get that perfect looking 325 on the GRE, and trust me you don't have to enroll in coaching to do it. Ultimately, it's not just about the material you use; it's also about how you use it.
Hence, without wasting much time, let's get to the 2-month prep schedule which will open the gateways to the top-most universities abroad.
1. Book the GRE
You have to have a deadline. Otherwise, chances are you will delay your preparation or lag behind in your timeline. To book the test, you need to sign up for the GRE ETS account and book a date 2 months from now.
2. Take Untimed Mock Tests
Your GRE is booked, and now it's time for a mock test. Yes, it's important to know where you stand right now. Hence, take a mock test and gauge your current position on the test.
Below are the resources that I personally used for practice and my scorecard proves how effective these are.
1. Mag. videos and 1000 questions
Mandatory material for the GRE. Over 1000 questions & solutions directly from the Mag. GRE Portal. Also, includes all the latest prep videos from the portal. Lifetime Validity (downloadable).
2. Manhattan 8 book set guides
Try to complete each book in 2-3 days.
First, cover all the topics from the videos and then practice from the Manhattan books. There are 20 easy, medium and hard level questions each. That's 60 questions a day. Easily achievable!
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3. Manhattan 5 lb. book
This book has loads of questions that you can practice. Now that you have covered the Manhattan 8 book set and the videos, you can easily uplift your score with this book. Try to cover this book in one month.
Tip: You can first get comfortable with the question types by practicing without the timer. Start practicing with the timer once you see yourself getting better. Strive to reduce the time you spend on each question.
3. Up your Game
Now, 80% of our work is done. Nearly 40 days have passed. At this point, you need to start taking a mock test every single day. This is extremely important. Trust me, you cannot afford to skip this bit. You need to give yourself 3-4 hours in the testing environment every single day. This will help you get used to the testing environment and will help you avoid last-minute blunders. The tests we recommend taking are Manhattan, Kaplan, Princeton, and ETS, in that order.
Don't make the mistake of spending time on mocks that do not reflect what the actual GRE is. Take the most reliable mock tests to brush up your analytical and reasoning skills for the GRE.
At this point, you need to work on finding your weaker areas. You can easily do that by evaluating your tests. Now, you need to begin working on your weaker areas through the 1000 Magoosh practice questions which are already included in the Magoosh Package along with the prep videos. The package also provides you with the solutions which will help you improve tremendously. The questions have been separated into chapters for you already. Do not skip this bit. It helped me improve my score by over 10 points in the last 15 days of my preparation and I cannot stress this point enough.
In case you cover all of that and are still left with some time on your hands, you can take a look at the ETS guides for GRE. Again, these are really not necessary even though they are from ETS. Why? It's because the level of the actual GRE is much closer to the Magoosh package as compared to the ETS guides. Apart from that, the Magoosh questions will help you improve because of their simplified way of explaining the concepts.
4. Maintain your Dictionary
Finally, maintain your dictionary. It's very important to have your dictionary based on your own vocabulary. I know some of you must be thinking that its a waste of time; but it's NOT. It does not take as long and writing down the words, meanings, and sample sentences will help you memorize the word for life along with its usage. Every time you come across a new word while evaluating your performance on a set of questions, add the word to your dictionary.
Tip: You can write the synonyms and a sentence as an example. The human brain remembers sentences and stories better than meanings. A lot of times, you will notice that the sentences come to mind when you see a familiar word from your dictionary.
Bottom Line
I think I have covered everything from my side. Here's what you gotta do :
1. Book the GRE
2. Complete Manhattan 8 book set guides and Magoosh videos in 15 days
3. Complete Manhattan 5 lbs book in 30 days
4. Take about 15-20 mock tests and solve 1000 Magoosh practice questions
5. Maintain a dictionary
Follow these tips, ace your GRE and don't forget to share this article if it genuinely helps you. I wish you all the best for your test.
P.S. - In order to really boost your scores, if you need me to evaluate one of your mocks and build a plan for you laser-targeting your weaker parts, I can personally assist you.
