4-Month GRE Study Plan

4/5/2020
(See also my one, two, and three month GRE study plans)

Why listen to me?? I've been doing this for 11 years. And unlike study plans from
companies like Magoosh, my plans are based on o!cial ETS material and won't make

you waste time with unrealistic test prep company questions.

Estimated time: 90 minutes per weekday, 3 - 4 hours on weekend days.

BTW, I also o"er custom GRE study plans that let me create a schedule for you based
on your unique situation, skill level, and goals for maximum e!ciency and

e"ectiveness. They include weekly email check-ins so we can adjust your plan as we

go to make sure it's working! This can help with accountability, too.

In my experience, math is definitely the part of the test for which people need a
study plan that fits their skill level. This is why I made a verbal course but not a math

course - one-size-fits-all math courses don't work for many people.

 Studying for GRE math is like…

(Video: Why GRE math prep is like Goldilocks and the Three Bears)

(Note: This page contains a!liate links, which support me without costing you

anything extra. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. I have

personally used every one of my recommendations for years with students.)

WHAT WE NEED TO DO TO STUDY FOR

THE GRE
Build foundation: vocabulary, reading ability, and math concepts. The lower your

fluency with English and / or math, the more time you'll need, and vice versa.

Learn technique: Try my YouTube channel for free verbal and math technique

videos and/or my complete GRE verbal course. Also try gregmat.com - great

resource.

Practice: Do questions and tests, and analyze your mistakes. Move on from

questions you can't figure out and try them later. The key metric is how many ETS

questions you've successfully done and understood, so don't waste time battling

questions you can't do.

 RECOMMENDED GRE STUDY
MATERIALS

ETS GRE O!cial Guide (essential)

Why buy: This book is invaluable because it contains hundreds of ETS questions

that are not found anywhere else.

ETS GRE Verbal Practice (essential)

Why buy: 150 o!cial verbal reasoning questions that are unique to this book. I

created a complete GRE verbal course that follows this book.

ETS GRE Math Practice (essential)

Why buy: 150 o!cial ETS math questions that you can't find anywhere else.

(here's a link to which concept(s) each question tests in the Quant book)

GMAT O!cial Guide (recommended)

Why buy: The GMAT writes questions with the same attention to detail as ETS,

so they're excellent supplemental practice. Use the Reading Comprehension and

Critical Reasoning questions, and if you're working on math, use the Problem

Solving questions.

ETS Big Book (essential)

FREE: Out of print, but online as a PDF if you search. Invaluable for extra math

practice, especially for beginners, since many problems are easier than the more

current ETS books' questions. Use the answer key for each test to find your
 desired di!culty level (each problem has a percent correct stat). Great for extra

reading comprehension, critical reasoning, and text completion practice, too!

Our guide to learning math concepts on Khan Academy

Free: For those who need to work on math concepts.

Also, here's a handy math formula reference.

Manhattan 5-lb GRE book (recommended)

Why buy: A great way to get repetition with a certain concept or type of math

question. Don't try to finish every question in a math chapter - some are

unrealistically complicated - and ignore the verbal questions. Good bicep

workout also.

ETS Powerprep tests (essential)

Why buy: Well, two of these tests are free, but the other three (which cost $40

each) are well worth the price, since they're essentially the same as taking an

o!cial GRE.

Powerprep Answer key (to access di"erent di!culty levels)

After you take each of the two free Powerprep tests, you can do them

again to access the di!culty levels for the second verbal and math

sections that you didn't get the first time. More info on that process here.

My complete guide to GRE vocabulary

This is a free e-book with literally everything you need to know about

studying vocab for the GRE

One page (front and back) formula sheet (write down formulas as you learn them)

Our GRE prep journal or a notebook for corrections (only correct ETS and GMAT
questions)

Could I redo the question without knowing the answer? I.e. try it again without

knowing!

What went wrong?

What was it testing?

 Cue to notice it was testing that thing?

Easiest way to get answer?

Lesson learned?

BONUS: There's a great book I can recommend to help y'all write your personal

statements and statements of purpose for graduate school called Graduate

Admissions Essays - great advice not only about the essay but also about the rest of

the application process.

P.S. We also can help you write your application essays - click here and look for
personal statement help with Lauren.

Daily to-dos (30-ish minutes)

Study 20 vocab words (link to my GRE vocabulary flashcards)

Read for 15 minutes using aldaily.com (look up words you don’t know)

Play mental math games (iPhone version) or (Android version)

Read and brainstorm one Issue Essay and one Argument Essay prompt

Go through the ETS Math Review to see if you know the math on the test, and use

Khan Academy as needed for learning and practice. This to-do should be
 completed ASAP - prioritize it until it's done.

Watch a video or two my YouTube channel for verbal and math techniques and/or

my complete GRE verbal course.

! BREAKING NEWS " PAYMENTS  CONTACT

SAT/ACT PREP GREWeek

PREP 1 GRE VERBAL COURSE

Read the essay chapter in the ETS verbal book

ACADEMIC
Do 4 sentence TUTORING
equivalence questions andBLOG
4 text completion questions (ETS books)

and corrections

Do 60 quantitative comparison questions (ETS books) and corrections

Read Vince’s test-day tips

Week 2

FREE TIPS
Write an issue essay (45 minute time limit) from any ETS prompt

Do 4 sentence equivalence questions and 4 text completion questions (ETS books)

and corrections

Do 8 reading comprehension questions from ETS books and corrections

Do at least 10 questions in each of these 5-lb chapters 7, 11, 12, 14, 20. Ideally, get
about 75% of each chapter done.

Do 30 ETS math questions and corrections

Take Powerprep Online Test 1 (Saturday)

Correct the test (Sunday)

Week 3
Write an argument essay from any ETS prompt (45 minute limit)

Do 4 sentence equivalence questions and 4 text completion questions (ETS books)

and corrections

Do 8 Reading Comp questions from ETS books and corrections

Do 6 ETS Critical Reasoning questions (supplement with the ETS Big Book's
analytical sections - just use passages in those sections that only have one
associated question for the passage)

Do at least 10 questions in each of these 5-lb chapters: 8, 9, 10, 17, 28. Ideally, get

about 75% of each chapter done.

Do 30 ETS math questions and corrections

Week 4
Do 4 sentence equivalence questions and 4 text completion questions (ETS books)

and corrections

Do 8 Reading Comp questions from ETS books and corrections

Do 6 ETS Critical Reasoning questions (supplement with the ETS Big Book's

analytical sections - just use passages in those sections that only have one

associated question for the passage)

Do at least 10 questions from each of these 5-lb chapters: 21, 22, 23, 24. Ideally, get

about 75% of each chapter done.

Do 30 ETS math questions and corrections

Week 5
Do 4 sentence equivalence questions and 4 text completion questions (ETS books)
and corrections

Do 8 Reading Comp questions from ETS books and corrections

Do 6 ETS Critical Reasoning questions (supplement with the ETS Big Book's
analytical sections - just use passages in those sections that only have one

associated question for the passage)

Do at least 10 questions from each of these 5-lb chapters: 25, 26, 27, 29. Ideally, get
about 75% of each chapter done.

Do 30 ETS math questions and corrections

Read Vince’s test-day tips

 Week 6
Do 4 sentence equivalence questions and 4 text completion questions (ETS books)

and corrections

Do 8 Reading Comp questions from ETS books and corrections

Do 6 ETS Critical Reasoning questions (supplement with the ETS Big Book's

analytical sections - just use passages in those sections that only have one

associated question for the passage)

Do at least 10 questions from each of these 5-lb chapters: 16, 18. Ideally, get about

75% of each chapter done.

Do 30 ETS math questions and corrections

Week 7
Do 4 sentence equivalence questions and 4 text completion questions (ETS books)

and corrections

Do 8 Reading Comp questions from ETS books and corrections

Do 6 ETS Critical Reasoning questions (supplement with the ETS Big Book's

analytical sections - just use passages in those sections that only have one

associated question for the passage)

Do at least 10 questions from each of these 5-lb chapters: 19. Ideally, get about 75%

of each chapter done.

Do 30 ETS math questions and corrections

Week 8
Do 4 sentence equivalence questions and 4 text completion questions (ETS books)

and corrections

Do 8 Reading Comp questions from ETS books and corrections

Do 6 ETS Critical Reasoning questions (supplement with the ETS Big Book's
analytical sections - just use passages in those sections that only have one

associated question for the passage)

Do 30 ETS math questions and corrections

Read Vince’s test-day tips

Saturday: Do Powerprep Online Test 2

Sunday: corrections

Week 9
Do 4 sentence equivalence questions and 4 text completion questions (ETS books)

and corrections

Do 8 Reading Comp questions from ETS books and corrections

Do 6 ETS Critical Reasoning questions (supplement with the ETS Big Book's

analytical sections - just use passages in those sections that only have one

associated question for the passage)

Do 30 ETS math questions and corrections

Read Vince’s test-day tips

Saturday: do remaining sections from Powerprep Online test 1

Week 10
Do 4 sentence equivalence questions and 4 text completion questions (ETS books)
and corrections

Do 8 Reading Comp questions from ETS books and corrections

Do 6 ETS Critical Reasoning questions (supplement with the ETS Big Book's
analytical sections - just use passages in those sections that only have one

associated question for the passage)

Do 30 ETS math questions and corrections

Saturday: do remaining sections from Powerprep Online Test 2

Week 11
Do 4 sentence equivalence questions and 4 text completion questions (ETS books)

and corrections
Do 8 Reading Comp questions from ETS books and corrections

Do 6 ETS Critical Reasoning questions (supplement with the ETS Big Book's

analytical sections - just use passages in those sections that only have one

associated question for the passage)

Do 30 ETS math questions and corrections

Read Vince’s test-day tips

Saturday: do Powerprep Plus Test 1

Sunday: corrections

Week 12
Do 4 sentence equivalence questions and 4 text completion questions (ETS books)

and corrections

Do 8 Reading Comp questions from ETS books and corrections

Do 6 ETS Critical Reasoning questions (supplement with the ETS Big Book's

analytical sections - just use passages in those sections that only have one

associated question for the passage)

Do 30 ETS math questions and corrections

Week 13
Do 4 sentence equivalence questions and 4 text completion questions (ETS books)

and corrections

Do 8 Reading Comp questions from ETS books and corrections

Do 6 ETS Critical Reasoning questions (supplement with the ETS Big Book's

analytical sections - just use passages in those sections that only have one

associated question for the passage)

Do 30 ETS math questions and corrections

Read Vince’s test-day tips

Saturday: Do Powerprep Plus Test 2

Sunday: Corrections
 Week 14
Do 4 sentence equivalence questions and 4 text completion questions (ETS books)

and corrections

Do 8 Reading Comp questions from ETS books and corrections

Do 6 ETS Critical Reasoning questions (supplement with the ETS Big Book's

analytical sections - just use passages in those sections that only have one
associated question for the passage)

Do 30 ETS math questions and corrections

Read Vince’s test-day tips

Week 15
Do 4 sentence equivalence questions and 4 text completion questions (ETS books)
and corrections

Do 8 Reading Comp questions from ETS books and corrections

Do 6 ETS Critical Reasoning questions (supplement with the ETS Big Book's

analytical sections - just use passages in those sections that only have one

associated question for the passage)

Do 30 ETS math questions and corrections

Read Vince’s test-day tips

Saturday: take PowerPrep Plus test 3

Sunday: do corrections

Week 16
You have the week o" - your reward for studying for four straight months. Relax, and

do some self-care this week!

Read Vince’s test-day tips.

 # Go Back

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