GRE Study Plan

This is a GRE study plan made by a member of JANA, a former graduate student who has taken the GRE
several times over several years with many different approaches. Please note, every student has their
own method of preference to prepare for the exam, but this is the recommended study plan after
experiencing the procedure:

- What is the GRE?

o https://www.ets.org/gre
o Read, then ask!
o It costs 205$
o Each section is out of 170 | Writing out of 6.0
o One random section in the exam will not be graded but is used for testing new questions
from ETS, and you will not know which one, fun! So do your best on ALL sections
o The difficulty changes based on your first section performance as a whole, the first section
of math or verbal will have medium difficulty, if you do so well, the next section will be
harder and you will know, and vice versa.
o The exam is valid for 5 years after you take it.

- Study Duration:
o The recommended study duration varies among students according to their background.
However, a duration of 2-months is the typical prep time required of most engineering
students that have full-time commitments.
o Typically, the quantitative part (Math) should not take you more than a month to master
all topics, I do not recommend an engineering major to watch videos of “every” topic. You
can probably solve most of these problems with a short time with practice. There will
always be basics you need to memorize to solve at a faster pace such as the angle triangles
(ex. 1 1 sqrt2)
o The Qualitative (Verbal) portion will take a minimum of two-months of daily practice to
achieve a grade above 155 for a non-native speaker. Yes, graduate programs still look at
your verbal scores (with less importance) even if you are applying to a school of
engineering.
o Writing portion: if you are not used to write any articles on normal basis, you need full
two months of prep to get a decent grade.
o Note all timing above is “overlapping” it means the total time to cover all three sections
should not exceed two months.

- Quantitative (math):
o I personally recommend solving “Manhattan 5lb second edition” from the first till the last
page for Math.
 o They may miss “some” topics, thus if you are solving a test and find something that you
have never seen before put the effort to recover this info from a different source, if you
ignore it and you get it at the test your score could drop from 160 to 159 and you won’t
make for some schools perhaps.
o Always time yourself and solve with a fast pace
o Memorize some tricks, we know we all can solve 10th grade math, but you have a VERY
limited time that you cannot think in the exam, you have to solve right away so memorize
things such as what median, mean, and angle triangles
o For top schools aim for 164 (90th percentile)

- Qualitative (Verbal):
o I suggest using “Magoosh”, a very detailed course you can follow
o Do NOT memorize all recommended 2000 words, that is not how you ace the exam, you
might memorize 500 words and get 4 that you know, it is complete luck and the answer
usually depends on your “reasoning” not memory
o Download the “Magoosh flashcard app for verbal” on your phone, I suggest memorizing
the first 400 words! They will really improve your vocabulary, are a realistic number,
extend your knowledge.
o Aim for 155 and above

- Writing:
o Aim for 4.0
o If you are not used to writing under pressure in English, you MUST start early to address
this issue
o Every week write two English articles for practice (from GRE sample topics) and send them
to an English major student at a local university and let them correct them for you. By the
end of the two months you would have written a total of 16 articles at least! That should
improve your writing skills drastically. I suggest even paying the student if you cannot fins
someone willing to do it for free a humble fee, it will help you later anyway and you
probably need it

- Mock Exams:
o During the last week only!
o There are many, many, exams that are available online. The best and most accurate
exams are the ones prepared by the people that make the exam, ETS!
 o Solve the two free sample tests they offer, and I strongly recommend buying their two
additional sample exams for practice.
o Note: You can only solve ETS exams once and review your answers many times but you
cannot retake them without rebuying them.
o You can solve any and as much sample exams as you want from any source! It is all
practice

- General recommendations:
o Start early! If you have bad English or math then you may need extra time! Admissions
are usually December of every year. Aim to be done by September
o Most people are scared of the GRE because they don’t what it is! It is significantly easier
once you read about it and start studying.
o Most students repeat the exam! You need to give a duration of 21 days before you retake
it
o Most people complain that they keep procrastinating, I strongly recommend booking the
exam to force yourself to appreciate the 205$ you already paid!
o The results take a week to be available to be sent to universities, so take that into account.
o You will see your math and verbal grades immediately after the test, and you do NOT have
to send them to the universities if you do not like them
o You may send a previous higher grade from a previous exam if you did not like your latest
grade
o “some” universities will take the highest of both exams, example: you got a higher verbal
grade in exam A that you took earlier, but a lower math grade compared to exam B that
you just repeated, you can send both and when filling in your graduate application fill in
the highest grade for every section from each exam (as long as they get both exam grades
sent to them online)
o Study in groups! It is great for motivation
o The “I am a working professional; I do not have time to study” is proof that you will have
a hard time handling your PhD. So, make it work
o Do not listen to one source (even myself), people may get higher grades studying in two
weeks, and some study for two months and get lower grades. My worst grade was when
I studied the longest from very thorough and wasteful resources, my highest grade? I
studied two days before my test by solving samples. (Keep in mind I have already studied
the whole material before)
o Taking TOEFL/IELTS before the GRE may help a lot in the verbal section
o There is no minimum GRE score required but you need to earn high enough to compete
not just minimum requirements.
o Check your available test centers from the website and ALL required logistics, do not rely
on this document or anyone to give you the details.
o Take the break in the exam, your brain needs the blood flow! Avoid Coffee and sugary
foods that will make you jittery. I recommend fresh orange juice and dark chocolate!
o Good luck!