Here's How to Get Perfect Score in GRE
Admit it. You’ve spent many a study session daydreaming about a perfect GRE score of 170 + 170 + 6.
You’ve referred to the GRE test taking tips and the question still remains how to get perfect score in GRE?
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On one hand, you can glean helpful strategies from high scoring test takers, but after reading their experiences, you can tend to think, “It is impossible for me to get such high scores.”
Even after several days of GRE prep and practices test, you still may be a little shy of your target score.
So how do you prepare to get that perfect score? It can’t be just by LUCK alone.
Getting that perfect score requires several factors to come together on the test day.
1. Current skill level
Your current level of skill directly influences the GRE test score. Let’s assume that you’re taking the GRE several months from now, and so you decide to take a practice test.
That score is a reflection of your current level skill. This is the first step along the process at which you have to brutally honest with yourself.
Going from a below average practice test score to a perfect GRE score in a short time span is an almost impossible task.
Yes, by following this guide, and with the proper preparation, your GRE score should be able to get perfect score in GRE or see score increase, but use your practice test score as a way to set a realistic expectation for yourself.
2. Education
If you are the kind of student who is a hard worker and consistently gets top scores on class tests, then you already have a very good chance of scoring high on the GRE.
Conversely, if you were a mediocre student through the high school and college days, then you can expect that to be reflected in your GRE scores.
Here’s your second reality check: take a minute to reflect on what you have accomplished in college exams.
While it is true that there are “special case students” – those with mediocre performance that have exceptional IQs, so far I’ve only come across one of these people.
Mediocre preparation WILL RESULT in mediocre GRE scores.
Don’t expect miracles to happen on the day of your test.
If your aim is get prefect score in GRE test, then Mediocre preparation will not get you there.
3. Drive and Passion
Ok. You’ve just faced some harsh realities about yourself. Maybe your practice test score wasn’t as high as you might have liked.
Perhaps you weren’t the best student during your high school or college years.
It’s easy at this point to get discouraged.
But ask yourself:
How badly do you want it?
Your drive and passion also greatly influences your GRE score.
How do you feel when you study for the GRE?
Do you feel like you are forced to do something, or do you enjoy the preparation phase?
If you feel as though you’re constantly forcing yourself, then you aren’t going to enjoy preparing for the GRE. And if it’s not fun, then it can be hard to concentrate and improve your scores.
Your attitude towards the GRE should be positive and enjoyable, because let’s face it:
If you don’t enjoy preparing for the GRE, then you can forget about getting the perfect score.
4. Ability to Identify Weakness
The only way to improve your scores is to first identify your weaknesses.
I have seen students who spend up to three months preparing for the GRE without taking the time to identify specific weaknesses. And after all that time, I hear comments like:
“I have been trying hard to improve my scores, but after three months my score is still below 290.”
Use practice tests taken during initial stages of GRE prep to expose your weaknesses.
Perhaps you’re not good at certain questions types. You need to identify them.
There’s no point in spending months preparing for the GRE, if you’re not going to honestly identify the areas in which you are currently struggling.
5. Working to Improve Weakness
After having identified your weaknesses, you need to work hard to improve them.
If you’re scoring less at Reading Comprehension (RC) questions, then practice to improve your RC skills.
Buy GRE Test Prep books that will teach you strategies to attack the RCs.
While it is good to prepare comprehensively for the GRE, you will not see score improvement unless you are spending extra time and energy on improving your weaknesses.
Taking practice tests without attacking your weakness will not improve your scores.
6. Knowledge about GRE
You would be surprised to see how many students don’t go through the ETS/GRE website completely.
I have known students who actually think Barron’s is the official study guide for the GRE. (East or West Barron’s is the Best).
Barrons GRE Book is good, but you would have to buy the official GRE Study Guide.
To get perfect GRE scores, you need to have a complete understanding of the GRE test.
You need a thorough understanding of each of the sections in the exam and what kind of questions appear under each section.
This way, you eliminate test anxieties that might arise by being surprised by a question.
7. GRE Prep time
You need to plan in advance for the GRE and college admission deadlines.
Give yourself several months of prep time in order to reach a realistic target score.
Without adequate time to prepare, you can only expect to score as well on the test as your initial practice test scores.
8. A little luck
I’ve heard luck defined as “a meeting point of your preparation and a passing opportunity,” and it is a factor in how well you do on the actual test.
Perhaps you would have gotten a better score on the test on a different day or in a different time slot.
If you scored in the same range as your final practice test scores, then be happy with that. You can always re-take GRE.
The End
Now, you know how to get perfect score in GRE. Go ahead and kick start your GRE Preparation.
If you are you struggling with your GRE prep? Share your challenges in the comments below.
Also, what do you think about this 8 step approach to get perfect score in GRE Test? Is it realistic enough to improve your scores?
My testdate is n aug 6 hardly a week more to go..right now i m doing kaplan practise test…for verbal my score is nly 4-5/20 but for quants 15+/20 feeling very dissapointed…plz help
I appreciate that you post help, but it’s hard to trust so many pages that are written in such poor English. Many of these comments appear to address CompSci or Math majors…I wonder if that’s the connection. Anyhow, this post doesn’t make much sense. It wavers…can I, or can’t I make a perfect score? I’ve been studying for 2 months…the first month wasn’t as intense, but these last few weeks have been very intense. Seems like Barron’s is formatted very differently than Princeton Review, and I’ve heard that Powerprep II is the best practice test out there, so I’m going to do that over the weekend. I don’t really know what to trust on this website. Too many opinions, not enough facts.
I am going a take exam on october 17th of 2012. I am preparing from sample papers and some study materials. I am struggling a lot in writing issues or arugements and analytical writing.
Can you help out me in this situation.
Writing issues requires you to provide concrete examples to support your claim. Since you get very less time to write an issue in the exam, you have to be prepared with a set of examples related to different varieties of topics say science & tech, history, arts etc. This comes very handy. Also go thru sample issue ans in the google. That gives a fair idea abt how to write issues and then practice writing atleast 1 issue a week .
Can anyone please tell me when should I take my GRE.
Is it in the 2nd year of M.Sc or in the Final year of B.Sc?
yeah HSB…
i have done with my gre exam last year… and i got ( 150 in verbal and 160 quant)…. and now i m planning to attempt gre again , i got a score of range ( 305 to 310) in practise papers so please advise me when should i attempt it again……..
Im preparing to write the gre on Dec. 3. Im gonna register on Oct. 1. Do you think its advisable to do that? Thanks for these tips anyways. Im gonna work on my flaws prior to the registration and exam.
Praayog! My current skill level is 148 verbal and 160 in quantitative. I have registered GRE for august 7! With above article i am more inspired and i am focussed to find the mistakes or my flaws!!!
Awesome article …!
I registered test on sep 5…
struggling with RCs …but i am improving..
The major thing worrying me is the silly and incredibly stupid mistakes in math..
My current skill level is 310(155 in math,155 in verbal)…by paper based practice test in ETS
You have to start reading some boring English novels. Don’t read as if you are going to answer RC questions. Read casually and it will improve your RC’s. You have 2 more months.
Mistakes in Math can be avoided by being attentive and careful.
Yeah HSB… i am working on it.. and also I would like to advise any others suffering from RC’s to buy Manhattan RC strategy book.. Its awesome..
Many Thanks for your advise … 🙂
Buying manhattan is of no use unless you start reading it…….
hello HSB, should i definitely learn all the 1500 words to crack gre?? or 333 most frequent words enough?and also please tell me some useful tips about AWA
thank you>>