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New GRE Experience – Reached my Target Score

Revised New Experience Shared by HighHopes.

I have been an HSB reader for some time; but, admittedly, this is my first post. I guess, this is a good time to start!..

I took my New GRE on Aug 9th 2011.

New GRE Registration

I booked my seat on May 1st.

I had started looking at the content some 1 week prior to that. I was spending time as and when I get it, still I would say I ensured that I spend atleast 1 hour on weekdays and 4 hours on weekends. There had been quite a few instances where I exceeded these limits.

New GRE Books Used

New GRE Preparation

I started by learning in parallel from Word Power Made Easy & Essential Words.

Once I completed that I shifted my focus to actual GRE questions(both Quant & Verbal)..

During the last one month leading to the test, I took 8 practice tests(2 were repeats though).

I feel that, one should practice thoroughly the ETS official guide and don’t mind taking the tests (1 in the book & another one in the CD) repeatedly.

I always took ‘timed tests’ although there were options to take Untimed tests also. I used to have discussions with one of my friends who is preparing for GRE, on the published AW topics. I would say we discussed some 30-40 topics.

On GRE Test day

It took almost 4 hours and it was an arduous task, no doubt!..I was able to complete the Quant sessions on time but I could not attempt 2-3 questions from each Verbal(I blindly chose 1 option though) session. I had 2 Quants & 3 Verbal. AW was easy as others were also mentioning.

New GRE Summary

I feel that 100 days of preparation is good enough (provided you spend 2 hours per day on an avg). 90 days for learning and 10 days for refreshing the entire learning you had in those 90 days. Practice tests & ETS guide hold the key.

GRE Scores

I was a bit anxious while screen was about to show the scores.

It read: 750-800 for Quant & 510 – 610 for Verbal.

To be frank, my target score was 800+500. Now I am waiting to see the official score report.

Best part

I have a full time job and I did not avail a single leave for GRE preparation(Obviously, I was on leave on the test day). You guys should be encouraged from this, esp those who study for GRE on a full time basis.

Old GRE History

I took GRE previously in Aug 2010 and my score was 760+330. I thought, I should improve it and gave an attempt again. I think, I can target Fall2012 admission now.

Note: I was just sharing my experience and you should possess discernment to absorb the points that is fit for you. Hope this helps you guys.

Good Luck!.

Next – GRE Test Takers Experiences

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89 Comments

  1. Hi,
    It was nice to read about your experience since mine is the same case (i am also working full time) and your post gave me confidence. But i have few questions: 1.Did you joined any coaching. 2. If not joined any coaching then which materials were really helpful in preparation.
    3. How is the new GRE. Hope you will reply soon.
    Thanks in advance

  2. hi..i want to practice CAT test on revised GRE like the test facilities offered by GRE bible.So if u have any download link of GRE bible(based on revised GRE) or similiar software,please share it. I will be very grateful to you.

  3. hello guys,
    i need to apply for fall-2012.
    im from an engg college from hyderabad and doing final year in ECE branch.. i have gpa=8.2
    so i want to choose either electrical engg and MIS
    i have no idead about MIS
    can u ppl tell me about mis…what is it about, job prospecspects, how is it suitable for electronics and communication engg girls?
    and also any couses to be done here before moving to US???

  4. Hey shak, Congrats for a descent score and that too in 3 weeks prep. I want to know the preparation formula(:P i mean how to prepare in ur own way.. :)) for English. could u plz guide me in this. it will be really great Shak.. 🙂

    Regards,
    Chetna

  5. Hey Friends,
    To those who have given the New Pattern , can u tell me what was the average length of the RC that came or how many RCs came nd what was their sizes(in lines)???

    1. well, i gave my gre just today, and they compared my name and my father’s name in my id card and passport and the one registered in ets. i think u should call your testing centre and tell them about this.

  6. i just gave princeton free test and my score is verbal is 149 and quant is 153. is it reallly bad?????? and one more thing, princeton test has some incorrect problems too. like in one comaprison quest they said that a+b+1=3 and a>0 and b>=0 so
    column A: a+b and
    column B : 4
    so i marked column B
    but it got wrong and in the explaination box it was that since ab+1=3 and ……. but in the actual quest a+b+1=3 is written, similarly more mistakes were there!!!!!! and whats a good score in new gre score range?

    1. Hey Molly,

      Yes there are certain mistakes in the test which i had seen while taking it up. Dont worry you still have time to improve. Keep the positive attitude up.

      Cheers,

          1. i have shared my experience but guess its still not published. i got 740-800 in quant and 510-610 verbal. what i would like to know is this score okay to apply to stanford or ucla electrical engg??

    2. Hey Molly,

      How was ur test?I gave the priceton test too and my score was almost similar to urs 148V and 157Q.I gave the power prep yesterday and scored 410-510V and 730-800Q.How close is the power prep score to actual gre?.I am appearing for the exam on 5th sept.How much can i improve?

      Thanks,
      VB

      1. well my power prep scores arent anything close to the actual score, kaplan score are kind of close. my kaplan score was 760-800 quant and 460-510 verbal. u have a lot of time to improve, u should start learning more vocab, because no matter how much vocab u learn its not sufficient. and more thing that quant section wasnt as easy as power prep and kaplan tests are, there were many confusing things especially in the algebra part, u not only have to solve them mathematically but also keep in mind the logic. DI part was totally easy. rc was compartively easy but text completion was extreamly tough so i made a guess here and there 😀
        best of luck!!!!

        1. thank u so much Molly.Was great help.My kaplan scores are better than princeton and power prep so its kinda gud i guess.From where did u study quant?Any suggestions? Currently I am solving quant from the old gre power prep and novas.

          1. i practised quant from barron’s 18th edition ( its for old gre) , its really good. and i solved practise tests from kaplans 2009 and princeton 2009 softwares. princetons practise tests are quite easy but kaplan’s tests are pretty good and helps u alot. also http://www.majortests.com is a good source, but start using majortests.com 10 12 days before ur exam because they have a limited number of tests, so practise them just few days before ur exam.

  7. hey 1st of all congratulations
    i have genuine doubt it may sound silly though .
    my name is “ketki” i have also registered my gre with the same name ..however my passport name says “ketaki”..
    will ths tiny mistake create any big trouble ?
    plzz reply as per

    1. yes ketki its a problem and i know someone whose immigration visa got rejected due to similiar reason, but he again applied and got in in 9 months . dont knw abt student visa thing

  8. am doing my final year btech n planin fa masters for this fall ie. 2011 so am in a great dilema wen to write gre toefl as i wl b havn my sem exams in november.plz guide me.thanku

  9. hi friends!! I am appear GRE on 29 august.I have doubts regarding verbal section.can anyone who appeared in exam can tell me that approx y number of RC in exam?Also,Is there penalty for not attended question?

  10. worth reading..thanks a lot..please answer my one query..i want to know about the experimental section of gre . Does everyone gets an experimental section or any random person gets that?

  11. Hi guys,
    I wanted to bring something to the attention of all those prospective GRE test takers. I started preparing for my GRE about three weeks before the exam. And, I was scheduled for the new Revised test. I’ve also been preparing for this on-and-off for about a year. And, turns out, I did a pretty good job ( Quantitative-750-800; Verbal-510-610). My observation is that, it doesn’t matter if you know all the words from the various books. It all comes down to one thing: putting the knowledge in hand to use. The new GRE is more analytical and quantitative and makes you engage your proficiency in the language to solve the puzzle. This is unlike the old format, wherein the antonyms and analogies were pretty much no-brainers if you’re well versed with the word lists. Caution: I’m not alleging that one need not study the words; I’m just stating that the words alone would not suffice. To all those out there who want to score decently in the new format, please familiarize yourselves with the sentence equivalence and text completion questions, and you’re bound to come out with flying colors! Good luck!

    1. Heyy Shak,

      Superb mann.. Danke for your experience. Hope to know more in – depth soon. Hope you can elaborate it even more.

    2. hi there,

      I am appearing for the gre on 5th of sept.I took up the power prep today and scored 75-800 in quant and 410-510 in verbal.How accurate is this score? How much improvement can be expected in 15days time.

      Thanks,
      VB

  12. @MMM, Pls from where do i have to go and practice the real exam . i need to know and which of the exams did you write, is it the new one or the revised one. again, this wque is not only direvted to MMM.

    1. Hi ,
      I am not sure if I got your question right , but anyhow , there are some hardcopy books for old exams maybe until 2006 . For the revised exam , you’d better check ETS website for further information.

  13. Hi You mentioned that there is a 7 day free course by Magoosh.Could you please pass on the links please.This would help me greatly to boost my gre prep

    1. Automatic email should have already delivered to your inbox, unless you gave incorrect email id. Sign-up again with correct id.

    1. The computer based tests is giving score range for the new pattern till september, i guess, which is a scaled version of old scores. the exact score will be given in november

  14. congrats buddy for ur good score…
    magoosh gre prep..???? from where to get ???
    please help if any one knows..
    thank you

  15. I’ve a CGPA of 8.59
    class 12: 84%
    class 10: 85%
    I’ve passed out in 2011,I’ve a good final year project which was also published as a paper.
    I’m currently employed with a reputed IT firm in India. My question is will my work experience help in doing MS. What kind of universities can I expect to get admission in US?I’m a B.Tech in computer science, will like to go for an MS in computer science in US . What score should I look for?Please help.

    1. Hi Jay,
      From what you’ve mentioned in your post, you seem to have a good profile. To answer your questions:
      1. Whether or not your work experience help you in doing your MS will really depend upon what your experience is and what your focus will be during your MS. Ofcourse if you will specialize in (during your MS) in something that lets you build up on what you are currently doing/learning in your job. So your SOP (statements of purpose) to various universities when you submit your applications will need to reflect that too for you to make your case.
      If you meant to ask whether your work experience will be a +ve factor or a -ve factor when you go for your student visa interview, its hard to say, for how your interview goes and whether you are issued an F1 visa or not depends on a variety of other factors. But , most of all, if you are able to get a very good score, and acceptances from some very good schools in the US, your case for an F1 visa is more or less made.
      2. You should look for Q:800 and V:800 ofcourse. What I mean is that shoot for the best score. Moreover, if you wish to go to really good schools then you will need to get a very good score, say, Q:800 and upwards of V:600. So my suggestion to you would be that you try to find out what sort of scores the universities that you are interested in accept, and then you’ll have a goal in mind for your score.
      – aman

      1. thank you so much for the reply,exactly what I was looking for…I’m not yet sure about the type of scoring the new GRE is giving…but I’ve seen a lot of comments with verbal marks 550-610 and similar…m hoping for something similar…once again thank you for the reply! 🙂

  16. hey hjust to let u know i got same exACT SCORE ….ACCORDING TO YOU WHAT SCORE WE WILL GET ANY WHICH UNIVERSITIES WE SHOULD LOO FORWARD TO???

    1. Oh!..thats interesting…
      We will have to wait for the official conversion factor!!..Still, I would say it might be something like 167(Q)+153(V) in 170 scale..

    1. It was time consuming…I would say, you should complete the non-RC question taking 1 minute per Q and then go for the RCs (if you are very particular about attempting all questions)..

  17. Just had a question …. How much did u score when you solved ETS exam ??? Was it similar to the one you received ???

    1. Yes, Similar..If you take a few, say 4, tests and average out your score, it will be the score you are going to get in actual exam…

  18. Thank you for sharing your experience. it is really inspiring. I also do full time job now with little or no time to study. However, i will surely make out time because there is no substitute for hardwork. And if you can make it, i believe i can too. But can you assist me to narrow down the books that helped you most as what i saw here are many. Thank you for your anticipatory response.

    1. Let me list the books/materials in the order of imp(according to what I felt) :
      1. ETS official guide
      2. Hit Parades in Princeton Review
      3. Vocaboly (its a software tool which you can install in your PC)
      4. Princeton Review Quant & Verbal and Barrons Essential words
      5. Word Power Made Easy
      6. Magoosh

      Please do remember that I have not evaluated any other materials….

  19. This post is good as its written by someone who is a working professional. Being professionals, we hardly get time to prepare for competitive exams. Job is important and at the same time we have a desire to chase our MS dreams. Seeing this post, I think, its a inspiration for all working guys. Spending one hour is of course possible. Requires dedication.

    I was wondering if some websites are available to browse and learn a few words in day while at work. Do u guys think Magoosh GRE is worth enough ?

    1. I did not pay for Magoosh..I just took the 1 week course…
      You can install Vocaboly in your PC and learn during the day..

  20. Thanks for your valuable feedback buddy. Hope it will encourage me a lot as I am also working and not getting enough time to study.

  21. Hey I’m also preparing Barron’s wordlist. I’m first completing wordlist and will ltr take all the tests. Any suggestion on quant side. Pleasee…

    1. ETS book has a good Quant section..if you get time, go for Princeton Review also..(I have not checked with any other materials..)

  22. Hi ,
    I’ve got Q : 800 & V : 320 . My preparation was just 4 weeks for math & nothing for verbal . I know previously that it doesn’t make any difference whether you prepared for the verbal or not. If anyone know good universities suitable for my score pls tell me .
    thnx

      1. Hi anshul ,
        Actually I prepared for quantitative from real exams . Just go on & find some real exams & try to solve them all correctly in 30 minutes not 45 minutes . You’ll feel so comfortable inside the exam. I used to solve 5 exams per day .
        good luck

    1. Hi MMM,

      I have been taking power prep and kaplan tests.My score is in the range of 730-800Q and 410-510 V.Please can u tell me what do u mean by real tests.Dis u take the old power prep quant section?Please do let me know what material u exactly referred for quant.

      Thanks,
      VB

  23. Congrats, it really helped. i have just started preparing for GRE and planning to take in November. i am little bit confused how to start and how should i use this 3 month properly. To be frank i have the dedication to get a great score because my undergrad grades are poor and thats why i haven’t applied for any JOB. pls help me how shud i prepare to get a brilliant score, i badly need it. Thanks for sharing ur experience.

    1. I think, I also took the same duration to prepare..So, you can refer my original post..but, you should be able to make a plan according to your strenghts/weaknesses…

      1. Thank you very much for ur kind response…pls help me with that which test i shud take to measure my standings…i mean the gradual development….like as i have just started preparing so, right now to measure my standing and ..and after some prep then …and after some prep then and finally before that test …..pls help with that if possible with details.

    2. Anyways all the best dude…even i am planning to take on november…but currently i am working and not able to concentrate more….but expecting to get good score….

    1. Hey .. Nice to hear read ur experience with GRE .. I would like to know ,when are u planning apply for admissions with new GRE scores …??Official score will be out only in November r8 ??

  24. Hey there! I’m glad that some one came out with a positive experience in the revised GRE for the first time( as far as i’ve known). I would like to discuss many more details regarding the revised GRE . Let me know the means to do so.

    Good luck for your score and admissions!

    1. I would like to share a few more points here:
      1. Please be open for new materials only for 2-4 weeks(if you have a total duration of 100 days). So, you should find and gather the materials you require in first 2-4 weeks and then dont think of adding to your collection; rather, concentrate on extracting the max from the available materials..
      2. If you take practice tests, make sure that you analyse your mistakes after you complete the test. In fact, thats the more important part of it.

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