I am looking for GRE books. Need tips!

[iamadog]

I will be taking my GRE some time in next couple of months. I have been trying to look for a well-explained and detailed guide book to prepare for the exam. Can anyone recommend which book or any combination books that I should buy so that I can ace the exam? I am really nervous about the exam and hope with the right books, I will be more well-prepared. Thanks in advance Smile

[sleepy_sentinel]

hey
i found barron's guide to the GRE pretty useful.in fact,its the only book i used, i used it for 2 months and i ended up doing pretty decently.

just go over the word list a couple of times with a fine-tooth comb and you should be okay.also, it really helps if you know what word suffixes/prefixes denote what, as it helps you get a feel for unknown words, significantly improving your chances of guessing correctly.

the maths is pretty basic anyway, i suggest you brush up on some concepts and start of with a couple of tests.if you find yourself getting lesser than say a 700, maybe you can consider a more detailed study.

finally, dont be disheartened by low scores on your sim tests.from experience, the only realistic scores are the ones you get on PowerPrep, the official ETS test prep software that they send you once you register for a test.I remember giving the Kaplan tests a couple of days before my test date and getting a 1370.I ended up with a 1590 on my actual exam.

also, if you have the time, please do reply to a thread ive started titled 'weightage of GRE in the admissions process'..i could really use all of the help i get!

cheers

[lk50df]

I did not use Barron's, but I love Cracking the GRE, from Princeton Review. VERY GOOD overview of the test, with good tips and very useful practice tests. Also make sure you get Powerprep, the free tests on the official site, www.gre.org You can buy the Official Guide too, for practice questions.

For vocab I like Word Smart for the GRE. The list is good, not huge.

[sandls816]

Hey
Also thought Barron's guide was the most useful as a general prep (better than Kaplan's general guide), though I used other books for improving vocabulary and other specific areas.
Also check out GRE: Practicing to take the general test, by ETS - questions are easier than the real test now, but at least they are the real questions that were asked on retired tests few years ago.

I wrote a little post about the GRE books that I used here: GRE Preparation

Another thing that I learned is that Barron, Kaplan and others reuse questions in their guides, so you don't always have to buy the latest edition, if fact sometimes the older edition will have exactly the same questions just in different order. So if you're on the budget, check out your local library, they are bound to have some GRE prep guides for the last years.

By the way I thought PowerPrep tests were a little easier than the real test, though still very useful and closest to the real thing.

Good Luck!!!

[princess]

I have a very useful words list of GRE. But its made by Enghlish-Chinese. So you can merely see the English words but cannot understand the explainations.
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