GRE General Test

This text provides an excellent overview of what to expect on the GRE. There is an example test in the back as well as varied levels of difficulty for each subsection. i.e. reading comprehension, algerbra, geometry. Best for the money for a quick review and not a lot of time on your hands. To provide a warning verbal on this test is difficult this text includes a breakdown of the most common root, prefixes, and suffixes to help test takers.

- Generally a useful book in both math and verbal, though barren in real advice for the writing sections. (Just go online for that.) - Organized poorly in that the "Basic Math Review" is at the very end of the book, right before taking the practice test. This is silly in that it's probably the first thing a test taker would want to work on before embarking on problems. - The layout is nice because there are a few different text sizes, making information easier to locate. There is also a little more white space on the page than in most books, which is useful for taking notes and making you feel less overwhelmed. - The test in the back is "adaptive." That means you have to check your answers to determine what section to move on to. This is both an advantage and a little annoying. Probably gives you a more accurate score. - Emphasizes understanding the instructions given, which is a good idea.

I used two books to prepare for the GRE. I started with REA's Math Builder for Admission & Standardized Tests which is fraught with errors and presents mathematical concepts in a disconnected manner, but at least loosened 18 years of rust.Then I studied every single page and did every single problem (some twice)in GRE CBT. I completed both sets of timed tests. I felt more than ready for the computer-based GRE. I was indeed well-prepared for the Verbal & Quantitative tests. However, I had problems in the Analytical.The good news is that the test-taking tips are good. I'm an execellent test-taker, but I still got a few new ideas. Plus the first sample test gives you an idea of how you will flow through to easier or more difficult questions. And the problems are generally well-edited so you don't often hit those frustrating errors in the questions. This becomes less true at the end of the book, but by then you should have a handle on when you're right and the book is wrong.The Verbal and Quantitative preparation is good. The verbal questions definitely stretched my vocabulary and the math questions covered almost everything that I saw on the actual GRE. I did astonishingly well on both sections.The Analytical prep is good for half of that test, drawing conclusions from text passages. My problem was with the logic puzzles. The book has a multitude of samples, but none of them were as difficult as the ones I encountered on the test. Since I had aced every single puzzle in the book, I was completely unprepared for the speed at which I was expected to work on some very difficult problems. I ran out of time with 1/3 of the questions remaining. Fortunately, that turned out to be a "pre-screen" unscored section and I paced myself better on my godsent second chance.This is a good study guide. I still recommend it. However if you expect to be working at the high end of the difficulty range, I recommend that you also purchase a second study guide that has a better Analytical section.And here's a free tip that's in neither book. Study with mild distractions in the background. The computer test center is not quiet. Someone will be typing an essay while you're trying to remember a math formula. Every few minutes, someone walks behind you to get in or out. The chairs creak like crazy. While I was studying, I cursed my two-year-old's Barney videos. While I was testing, I blessed them.