This is the first in a multipart series on how to go about studying for the GRE or GMAT. We don’t plan on going into detail on specific concepts covered on the GRE or specific test-taking strategies in this series. Instead, the intention is to cover higher level, foundational issues around preparing for these exams, such as what type of support to get, what materials to use, what mindset to cultivate, etc. This article is being posted on our GRE blog, but we’ll switch from GRE to GMAT over time, as the concepts are broadly applicable to both exams.
GRE/GMAT Study Planning Fundamentals: Choosing a GRE Preparation Method
There is certainly a lot of content you must master to earn a high score on the GRE. Your mathematics, verbal reasoning, reading comprehension, and writing skills will be tested and obviously are key to earning a 90thpercentile GRE score (or better).
The GRE’s Quantitative section doesn’t test particularly advanced math, but it does demand that you apply a variety of fundamental concepts in many novel ways.
The GRE may not be a fun test, but it’s also not a cruel test. Unlike other standardized exams you need to take to get into grad school, the GRE lets you use a calculator on the Quantitative section. In fact, the GRE actually provides you with a calculator.
Like the thousands of other humanities people getting ready to take the GRE, you may not have thought about exponents since high school. You probably spent your undergraduate years thinking a lot more about existentialism than exponents, and now need to feel confident enough about that tiny superscript number to work with it over and over again on the GRE.