How to Prepare for the Graduate Record Examination: GRE General Test

Verbal Section If you're like most test takers, you'll have more trouble with the Verbal Section than the Quantitative (Math) one. Barron's recognizes this which is evidenced by 400 verbal practice questions. Each chapter provides an introduction and test taking "tactics" or strategies to wrestle through tough questions. Tactics are followed by 100 questions classified by difficulty. Barron's seems to rely less on tricks or tactics than other GRE books such as Cracking the GRE. The book emphasizes learning the material rather than taking shortcuts. My take: As someone who considers himself "well read", I was surprised by the difficulty of some of antonyms and analogies. If you have a few months before taking the GRE, start improving your vocabulary right now. The best way to do so is to read extensively. If you see a word used twice or thrice in different contexts the meaning will come naturally to you. If you don't have the time or motivation to read, review the high-frequency word list contained in this book. Quantitative Section This section is similar in organization to the Verbal Section except there are fewer practice questions. Most people I know did well on this section by simply going over the "Mathematics Review" in the book. Analytical Writing The book has a few good pointers on writing a good essay. I would highly recommend you read "The Elements of Style" if you haven't already. Final Word: This book should be your primary tool for GRE preparation. Here's my 3-step plan: 1. Use practice exercises to find your weaknesses 2. Work on your weak points by studying Vocabulary or Math Review 3. Take as many practice GREs as possible. There's no substitute for the real thing. Download the PowerPrep software which contains two full-length tests. Tips: While practicing, switch between a verbal and quantitative section. For example, I did Antonyms followed by Quantitative Comparison questions. You'll have to switch gears quickly on test day so you might as well practice. Barron's is perhaps the most underrated guide to the GRE. It's not glamorous or funny or full of cute graphics. It's a professional workbook that will reliably raise your GRE score.

I'm from the UK and applied to take an MA in US colleges and wasn't aware of the GRE test until I saw that I needed to in order to be accepted onto a graduate course. I then realised my testing date was in two months...leaving me with just eight weeks to polish up on all that algebra, geometry, long division and all the other good stuff that I hadn't encountered since my high school maths classes six years ago.This book helped me immensely in those eight weeks. Take comfort in the fact that not all of us are top students who can ace tests and get 1600s. I only scored a 920 (which was enough to get me accepted onto my chosen course). But that improved from 500-600 before I bought the book. Yes - my math is THAT bad!!The strategies and tactics are great and its a wonderful refresher, especially for people like me who get extremely confused when presented with x2=y2-4 stuff. The step by step tactics, strategies and explanations can even substitute for have to know the cold hard facts.This book took me from not even knowing what the test even was, to passing it in just eight weeks. I know that if I had more time and spent 6 months preparing diligently, I would have made a MUCH higher score. Trust this book, its fantastic and very "reader friendly".

Some imperfections, but all I was looking for.This recommendation is probably most applicable to those shooting for 1400-1600 on the V and Q. I was delighted with a GRE score of 700V/800Q, especially after scoring around 1350 on all tests in the book.Best aspects of the book are (1) the math review, skill by skill and rule by rule, (2) the extensive vocab list and practice, and (3) the time-saving tips. The math review retaught all the old formulas that I had forgotten (having graudated college 6 years ago) and had lots of helpful tips, which were very important in actually completing the quantitative section. As for the verbal, I'm not sure if the words I studied helped many particular items on the test, but it was a great way to have a list of words on hand, and not need to go sifting through lots of other sources.The tips were key for saving time; I ran out of time before even the last 4 questions on the first practice test, and after putting their stragies into practice, I aced each test thereafter.The CD tests were fine, but I relied on the official GRE practice tests as I found that I had already done many of the questions on the test already, over the course of studying the book. Probably no need for the book with CD, although the individual practice sections could be useful.Overall, no serious complaints. I used the book, it taught me a lot, and I scored well. Highly recommended.

I spent 2 months preparing for GRE and bought 7 books. Scored 800 on Quant and over 7000 on verbal. So I am writing this review for people who want to score 85 percentile and above.First, if you are going to score 85 percentile and above, you will need more practice than you will get from only one book, so you should buy this one and one from NOVA GRE. Also, take a look at either the Princeton Cracking the GRE or Kaplan GRE book. Both of these later mentioned books have good "techniques" for GRE test but Barrons (and NOVA GRE) is better as far as core preparation is concerned. The Barrons book is the best book compared to all other. The math section is solid, slightly more difficult than the actual tests. The included CD containsed the CAT tests which are definately more difficult than the actual ETS test but are a good practice. The Verbal section in this book is good, the 3500 Vocab list is just outstanding. I memorized that list and scored perfectly on all the vocab questions.You cant go wrong with this book. highly recoemnded.

The book contains a very extensive vocabulary list and good test-taking strategies. The math review is in-depth and covers exactly the material needed for the exam. The practice exercises are more difficult than those found on the actual GRE, which is very helpful; it will help you score high on the actual GRE.There isn't much difference between the 15th edition and the 14th. Both are very well edited and contain only a few negligible errors. The 15th edition contains an additional chapter on the Analytical Writing instead of the old Analytical section which is no longer used.As far as I know, the CD-ROM is not very helpful, so you'd better buy the regular edition (without CD-ROM).I really felt that I got full value for my money, and that's the most important thing. You get a really good prep book, and it is just up to you to use it well.