10 Tips for Studying for the GRE

Once you get your bachelor's degree, you're not done with school just yet if you intend on going to grad school. Along with knowing the 10 tips for graduate school, you should know that most graduate schools ask you to take the GRE (Graduate Record Examinations), which is a standardized test that is an admissions requirement for many graduate schools in the US. The test features sections like analytical writing, quantitative reasoning, and verbal reasoning. Whether you’re aiming for a master's or doctoral degree program, the GRE will most likely be required. The top 10 universities for master's in business analytical degrees all require it, as will most others.

My best friend John intended on getting his master's degree in business right after getting his bachelors, but he didn't know where to start studying for the GRE. He told me that he knew a few of the sections to study, but he truly had no clue what ways to study them. I actually hated hearing him panic about the GRE, so I researched a couple of tips to help him out. After sharing the tips with him, not only did I stop listening to his freakouts, but he sounds like he's got the test under control. If you're in the same position as John, check out these really helpful tips for studying for the GRE.

There are helpful apps out there that can help anyone study for almost any test. In this case, there's an app that's specifically designed to help students study for the GRE. GRE Prep and Practice by Magoosh is a great app that you can use when commuting to and from school!

This app has helped millions of GRE students study with Magoosh’s world-class video lessons and practice questions. All students can practice math and verbal exam questions through review text and video explanations. You can watch math, verbal, and writing tutorials and plan for your studying and quickly access top GRE resources within this one app.

Start studying early.

Studying really early is one of the most obvious the tips for studying for the GRE you should do. The GRE is an intense exam and you want to be able to study as much as possible for a long period of time. When you slack in the beginning, this can take a toll on your exam performance. The earlier you start, the better you'd be at taking the GRE.

My friend John started to study for the GRE months before the exam date. Then he could take his time and properly understand everything he needed to know for the exam. Once you know when the GRE testing date is, make sure you give yourself a lot of time before to study for it.

Hire a private tutor.

If you can afford it, hire a private tutor. There's no shame in getting a tutor to help you study for your GRE. In fact, you should accept all of the help that you need. There are some tutors that are pretty expensive, but there are also tutors that won't empty out your wallet. You can also ask your friends who've taken the GRE to help you out.

If you're stuck on a practice problem, a tutor can guide you through a method that you've never seen before. Different perspectives are key to studying because you might find their way easier to understand than your way. Tutors can also give you tricks and advice to nail certain sections that will be on the exam.

Using a prep book is one of the best tips for studying for the GRE. If you buy the right prep book, you're set. It offers you everything that you need to know for the exam with in-depth advice and information for each section on the GRE. The GRE Prep by Magoosh is easily the best book you should get your hands on.

This book provides all students with the best practice questions from the company’s online GRE program. It includes brand new test-taking advice from their experts that you'll want to understand. The book gives you the opportunity to jot down notes in the margins of the page and make it a more personal study guide. Through hundreds of easy-to-follow tips, GRE strategies, lessons on all categories, you’ll be set with this one book!

Learn vocabulary within context.

I've heard of so many people literally studying the dictionary to understand complex words. These people can tell you the exact definition of words that you didn't know, but they don't entirely know the word within context.

Learning vocabulary within context is one of the necessary tips for studying for the GRE. Since you'll be reading a lot throughout the exam that includes a ton of complicated words, you want to understand those words that are being used in the sentences. Don't study the words and the definitions but the words within the context as well.

Target your weaknesses.

This is one of the tips for studying for the GRE that is easy to neglect—target your weaknesses. Everyone has their strengths in something, and they also have their weaknesses. Since you already know the sections that you do your best in, start paying more attention to the sections that you're finding difficult to understand.

Push all of your best sections to the side and continuously go over and study your worst ones. Your goal is to strengthen your weaknesses and not continuing to strengthen what you're already best at. If you keep neglecting the parts that you're the worst in, you'll never pass.

If you're going to take the GRE soon, you should take a practice test first. Taking a practice test will give you an idea of what the actual exam will look like. You'll be able to fully see what information you'll need to study and apply what you've studied to the practice test.

In addition, you should take the practice test seriously. Even though it's considered as "practice," it's still crucial to see how you did in the end and check out where you need to improve yourself. Magoosh's online GRE prep is the ideal website that allows you to take an accurate practice GRE exam. This website shows you literally everything you need to know in order to take the GRE.

Make a detailed schedule.

After you've taken the practice test, next you should create a detailed schedule. Creating a plan is among the best tips for studying for the GRE because you can use the information that you gathered from the test and plan how long you should begin to study for each section. For starters, you want to check out your weekly schedule and see when your availability for studying is.

Make the time to study every day. Even if your day is filled, at least an hour will be very helpful. Focus on the sections that you did poorly in and study them the most. For the sections that you did fairly well on, push those to the side until you’ve mastered the sections that you didn’t do too well on.

Never overwork yourself.

Never, ever overwork yourself. Yes, the GRE is important if you intend on going to graduate school, but your health is more important. You shouldn't pull all-nighters because everyone needs a well-rested sleep every night. You wouldn't be able to study well if you're running on two hours of sleep.

Make sure you eat proper and healthy meals; this will help to absorb information into your brain. Drink a ton of water because dehydration isn't fun when you're studying for the GRE. Always try to keep your body in tip-top shape. If your health is falling behind, trust me, so will your studying.

Never be discouraged!

Lastly, it's crucial to stay positive all throughout your GRE journey! You never want to feel discouraged if you're having difficulty with a certain section, and this is one of the tips for studying for the GRE. There are so many ways to go around that issue and find a way to help you understand it. Don't feel like that one section is going to cause you to fail the exam, there are multiple sources to give you a hand. You could even try reading some of the most motivational books of all time to try and perk yourself up!

If you're struggling with a section, check out the previous sources or ask for help from a friend. Studying can definitely be overwhelming at first, but if you put your hard work into it and start early, you should know everything like the back of your hand when it's time to take the GRE!