3 Week Study Plan, First Week

Plan for the Week

During the first of the three weeks, you should plan to become familiar with all the components of the GRE test. Take your time; be sure to read the tutorials fully, and get into the habit of not only doing the practice questions, but also studying why you get some of them wrong. During the first week, you'll go over all of the tutorials, and you'll also utilize the practice questions that are offered by MyGRETutor.com. In terms of vocabulary, you should utilize the vocabulary section of MyGRETutor.com every day; not as a means to memorize many words, but as a way for you to gain exposure to the type of words that you'll expect to see on the GRE. The vocabulary tutor in MyGRETutor.com monitors your progress and shows you those words that match your skill level, which is exactly what happens on the real test.

You'll need to spend at least 6 days in preparing for the GRE, spending 2 hours each day, for a total of 12 hours. Here is a sample plan for the first week of the three week plan:

• Day 1: Become familiar with the format and features of the GRE general test, including timing tactics, adaptive testing, scoring and section order. Go over the first two sections of the tutorials page, and read up on the exam format and timing skills. On the first day, also look into where the closest test center is located or where it is that you'd like to take the test. If you haven't already registered for the test, do this as soon as possible. Test centers have only a limited number of time slots each day, and once those time slots are filled, you won't be able to take the test on your chosen date. Don't leave registration until the last moment; as the test date approaches, you don't want to be worrying about registration. For the last 15 minutes of your 2 hours of study, spend some time getting to know the vocabulary section of MyGRETutor.com. View and practice on as many words as you can in the 15 minutes. Get into the habit of doing this EVERY day.
• Day 2: Go over the Algebra and Arithmetic parts of the tutorials sections. There is quite a bit of information to learn there, especially if you haven't practice or done much math in a long time. Once you have completed these tutorial sections, do a handful of practice questions for each of the arithmetic and algebra sections. Finish by looking at some new vocabulary words.
• Day 3: Go over the Analogies and Antonyms parts of the tutorials sections. There are several tactics discussed there, and be sure to take note on how you can eliminate choices and make educated guesses, even when you don't know the full meaning of a word. Do 5-10 analogy and antonym practice questions. Really study the questions, and don't just guess. Imagine that you are taking the test, and every answer can mean the difference between a good or bad score. Finish by looking at some new vocabulary words.
• Day 4: Go over the essay tutorials sections. Note that there is quite a bit of information there regarding organization. Glance over the pool of essay topics that are available on the GRE website. Finish by looking at some new vocabulary words.
• Day 5: Take the first practice test. The FULL test, including essay writing and both the math and verbal sections. Don't worry too much about the scores; just concentrate on getting done. This should take more than the scheduled 2 hours, because the full GRE is approximately 3 hours long.
• Day 6: Review each of the section of the practice test. If you click on the "Show analysis" button in the practice testS section of the test that you completed, you'll be able to view the questions that you saw and their correct answers. Go over all of the verbal and math questions, and see why you may have made errors or why you may have gotten confused. Read those sections in the tutorials page that are most relevant. Again, finish by looking at some new vocabulary words in the vocabulary section of MyGRETutor.com.

Week Study Plan for Math Component of GRE

For the math component of the GRE for the first week of the three-week plan, you'll only concentrate on the arithmetic and algebra sections. Look ONLY on these sections so that you don't swamp yourself with too much information in too short a time. Notice how the question material for the arithmetic and algebra sections is relatively straight-forward, but that doesn't mean that the questions are easy. In fact, the make of the GRE are notorious of making hard questions using easy concepts.

Week Study Plan for Verbal Component of GRE

For the verbal part of the GRE for the first week, you'll concentrate on the Analogies and Antonyms sections. The analogy questions are most often the most challenging, as they require a certain degree of creativity and ingenuity. Get into the habit of learning word relationships, and try to become adept at quickly noticing which relationships are too strong, which are too weak, and which are just right. On this day do approximately 10 analogy and 10 antonym practice questions. As always, finish the day studying some vocabulary words.

Week Study Plan for Essay Component of GRE

In the first week, after you have read up on the essay topic in the tutorials page, spend some time looking over the provided pool of essay topics that are listed on the GRE website. On the day that you are slated to study the essay section, select some of the essay topics -- both issue and argument -- and brainstorm on some ideas and potential outlines for an essay. This is what you'll have to do during the real test, and so such practice is ideal.