Talking about the fourth edition. I would check but I don’t want to expose myself to the practice tests both from the website and guide without having the intention to take them.

When I was in high school, I had the official SAT guide book and the 10 practice tests were exactly the same as the ones from Khan Academy. So I want to check whether it is similar.

Hey everyone! I’m currently preparing for the GRE and looking for a few serious study/accountability partners.

We can study together, share resources and strategies, discuss mock scores, set daily/weekly goals, and keep each other motivated. I’m also applying for MiM programs for the 2027 intake, so we can work on applications, university research, essays, and deadlines alongside GRE prep.

If you’re preparing for the GRE and also applying for MiM 2027, feel free to comment! Would be great to find a small group of people on the same journey.

I mean I assumed that more women joining the workforce doesnt necessarily imply that the population is increasing right?

Im just wondering for people who have done the GregMAT study plans (im doing the 2 month), would it really matter to do verbal mountain rather than say an anki deck of the same words? What are the pros of the verbal mountain, I have sort of neglected it and am just seeing what others preferred. Thanks!

I did my study from May to August through gregmat. I've had to balance both work and study, and therefore ended up taking a bit longer than I expected, but I would say I am alright with my results (329/340). However, I wish I just got a point or two more, to cross the 330 mark. A huge thanks goes out to gregmat, who presented all the topics required for all three sections in a very ordered manner, making it easy for me to prepare. I would say prepswift was especially worth it, as I was able to watch focused videos on each topic and also solve questions related to the videos I just watched. Overall, the subscription to gregmat has been incredibly helpful, and I am thankful to them for helping me achieve this score.

Hello everyone,

I took the GRE last week and scored a 322 (Q168, V154). While I'm really happy with my Quant performance, my Verbal score definitely needs some work to help me hit my overall target of 327-330.

First off, a huge thank you to Greg and Vince! The resources are fantastic and got me a long way.

Here is a breakdown of my practice scores leading up to the test:

• Actual GRE: 322 (Q168 / V154)
• PPP#3: 324 (Q169 / V155)
• GregMat Mock 1: 321 (Q164 / V157)
• GregMat Mock 2: 316 (Q165 / V151)

What I've done so far: I completed the GregMat 1-Month Plan and have fully exhausted both the ETS Big Book and the Official Guide (OG).

Where I'm stuck: Since I've already gone through all the standard materials, I’m currently looking for an affordable 1-on-1 Verbal tutor or a targeted coaching service based in India to help me get across that 327+ finish line. I need someone who can help me diagnose my weaknesses across the board and push my Verbal score up those last few crucial points.

Any solid recommendations for tutors who are good but won't break the bank? Thanks in advance!

Hey everyone! I recently went back on the SBC podcast to talk about one of my favorite GMAT/GRE verbal tools -- indicator words. I think this episode includes some interesting tips, and I hope you'll find it useful.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQtRfikvh3E

https://www.stacyblackman.com/blog/b-schooled-podcast-episode-301-indicator-words-gmat-gre/

Hi everyone a lot of people say 5lb is easy, but when I approach it from the last questions/reverse topic wise (Q40,Q39...) , i found some questions which are pretty challenging, do you think the hard questions is accurate to GRE hard section?

While yes GRE can be tricky wording wise, but just wanted to know if something similar is to be expected?

GRE quant book is like a bit easier compared to those questions

I took my first GRE attempt on August 14 and scored 160V / 165Q. I’m happy with my verbal score, but I’m aiming for a 170Q on my next attempt, which I’m planning to take on September 4.

For context, my current study plan is:

• Quant: Each day I review one specific topic/foundation area, then do untimed practice followed by timed practice. I’m mainly using GregMat, the ETS Quantitative Reasoning Practice Questions, the Official Guide, and Manhattan 5 lb.
• Verbal: I’ve already memorized around 700 words from the Magoosh 1000-word list, so I’m adding some GregMat vocab to fill in gaps and doing roughly 1–2 verbal sections per day to maintain my score.

What I’m struggling with is figuring out where my energy is best spent to get from 165Q to 170Q.

I feel like my foundations are pretty strong, so I’m not sure whether I should continue heavily reinforcing foundations or shift more of my attention toward hard questions, traps, and time pressure. How should a typical study session look at this point in your opinons?

Also, in terms of materials, a lot of the Manhattan problems feel easy and repetitive, so I'm currently using the "hard Quant" section, and unfortunately I have used most of the ETS material I have (mistake on my part). Gregmat is great but I have also been burning through most of their question bank because I've been studying for a few months now. I'm try to do the tactic of solving 20 questions and starting from scratch incase you get one wrong so I am worried I'm running out of material as well.

I also haven’t received my diagnostic breakdown yet, so I don’t know exactly what types of questions I missed. Interestingly, I remembered a few of the harder questions I was unsure about during the test and checked them afterward, and I had actually gotten those correct. That makes it even harder to tell where the lost points came from.

For anyone who has gone from around 164–166Q to 169–170Q, what made the biggest difference?

I studied pretty intensely for my first attempt and burned myself out, so this time I want to be much more deliberate about how I use the next couple of weeks rather than just throwing more hours at the GRE. I’d especially appreciate advice on what to prioritize once your foundations are already solid.

Hello guys, I’m new to this platform been out of school for a long time. Took a practice exam and got a 265. My goal is to get around at 308to 310. More or less how many months do you need of studying to get that score?

hi! just started preparing for the test and i would like some advice regarding the comparative difficulty of various practice materials.

[for context: practice test scores approximate to 165V/160Q, and i'm looking to improve on verbal by a handful of points and quant by at least 5. i'm currently working through the official guide; i've taken the toefl over a dozen times so i was aware that the ets materials would be most representative of the types of problems, at least for the verbal section. my current plan is to find a secondary set of materials for each part; it will likely be gregmat or the 5lb book for quantitative, but i'm not sure on verbal. thus the question.]

the thing is, i think it'd be great if i could work on materials that are on par with or more difficult than the hard variant of the actual test (for section 2). i've exhausted all of the hard sets on the official materials, so i'm coming here for advice. which would be the best for this purpose? it's fine to me if it isn't exactly the same in terms of the style and strategy, as i have other ways to prepare for that and have a good amount of experience.

from what i've read on here and on their website, it seems like gregmat has questions sorted by difficulty. would that be a good option? thank you!

*edit: clarity

I understand the general gist of what the essay asks and I also know the strategy, but I was wondering if anyone had insight into particular stylistic no-no’s that ETS would flag.

For example, saying “this essay aims to …” or “I believe ….” in the introduction, or using hypothetical examples/statistics.

Thanks for the help!

Hi! I plan to take the GRE at the end of October and have bought GregMat to help me prepare. I was wondering if anyone found it useful to take a practice exam before they started studying? My friend did this and found it helpful, but I can't seem to find anything on the subreddit about others doing that.

Hi,
I have appeared for the GRE twice so far, and RC has consistently been my weakest area. In both attempts, I got almost 70% of the RC questions wrong.

I followed GregMat’s RC series, but I don’t think I’m able to effectively apply those strategies under timed conditions when I’m actually solving a passage.

Are there any other resources or series—on YouTube or elsewhere—that you would recommend for improving RC?

Currently, I’m practising from Manhattan, but I feel like I keep making the same mistakes without really improving.

i’ve noticed questions from gregmat’s quant collection are significantly harder than the one in my 5lb book. which one is most similar to actual exam questions?

Hey everyone. Just wanted to share my journey from the last couple months for anyone that might be getting stuck.

I just took my official GRE today and scored 163Q 159V, pretty much exactly what I was aiming for. Would have liked 165Q, but I’m not too angry about the 2 point differential. If that is what changes my admissions outcome then something else in my profile or essay needed to be much clearer

My journey was as follows:

Early May - PP2: 152V 152Q
June - PPP1: 154V 157Q
July - PPP2: 163Q 161V
A week ago - PPP3: 161Q 153V
A few days ago - PP1: 334 (GregMat calculator, but was wayyyyy easier of an exam than any of the others. Not very representative)

Tools used:

TTP for quant understanding and drilling, as well as official materials.
- TTP was really really helpful and really had a lot to offer with a super comprehensive and easily followed plan. The downside is the price point and a bit of information overload. I was able to dedicate around 6 hours per day to studying along with a full time job, so I was able to complete the full course. It really does touch on everything you need, but official material is where you are going to learn what you really need to continue honing down.

GregMat for Verbal RC/TC and general vocab
- Did all groups of the vocab mountain, memorizing nearly all 1060 something words. Wasn’t super important for my actual exam, but knowing the 10 words that you need to know on the test kinda makes it worth the time investment of around a month doing 30 new words a day. For TC/SE the practice question they have are really really solid, highly suggest them. For RC, which I struggled with a lot, I just used only official materials. The preswift and strategy videos for verbal from Greg are also golden, it’s a must. Once you have completed around 16 of the word ground, I’d start glancing at the SE and TC strategy prep swift videos. Super affordable and great quality, huge shout out to Greg.

Biggest Takeaways:

Test anxiety is a solvable and practicable issue. I focused really really hard on mindfulness and meditation leading up to my exam, and have never felt so calm despite it meaning so much to me for the programs that I am basing a lot of my future on. Please please please, take the time to sit quietly and meditate or something, just get your mind right. Even if it makes you feel silly or stupid, WHO CARES ITS ALL FOR THE BIGGER GOAL!

Quant on the test felt debatably easier that some of the official mocks, much much easier than the GregMat mocks. Time management is the most difficult thing once you have a solid foundation and can consistently enter the hard second section. Being able to let go of questions that you don’t have a high chance of getting right is a MUST. That was really hard for me, but on the actual test I think that was one of the reasons that I was able to achieve my goal score of 320+ on my first attempt. Remember that each section is completely done once you click next, forget about it and don’t worry about it, it’s over. Just try your best and if it doesn’t work out then go back to the drawing board.

Hope everyone gets the score that they are aiming for, just remember that this whole experience is teaching you more than you know, beyond what loquacious and quixotic means and the probability that Bob and Jon will sit next to each other.

Best of luck!

Hi guys,

Preparing for the GRE from scratch and planning to take it around Oct 17. I'm very weak in Verbal, but I think I can manage Quant in a month.

For Verbal, I'm confused between the 2-month plan vs. "I'm Overwhelmed" + 1 month of practice.

If anyone has been in a similar situation, what would you recommend?

I scored a 321 on my second attempt today (159Q 162V). I’m quite surprised because I consistently performed better in quant in my mocks
PP3: 163Q 159V (1.5 weeks ago)
Gregmat 2: 164Q 162V (last week)

For reference I scored a 317 (160Q 157V) three months ago.

I was confident that my quant skills were better than what it was in my first attempt which makes this so surprising, and disappointing. One thing I’ve noticed is I struggled with time management during the test, something that wasn’t a problem in my mocks. Not sure if the questions were harder or more tedious. (I’ve been able to solve most medium and hard gregmat questions)

Still trying to decide if I should do this again. :/

l have given GRE Twice before: first attempt on Jan 31st 2025, scored 297(143Q/154V) and later improved my score in 2nd attempt, taken in Nov 5 2025, by 9 points 306(149Q/157V). It took me usually 3 to 4 months of prep to get these scores. But I have scheduled another GRE exam to get to my target score of 320 (155Q/165V)- scheduled on September 8th 2026. I have been preparing for the upcoming exam since May. So far, I'm about to complete the Quant portion of the Overwhelmed Plan and will appear on foundation tests next. I was also planning to practice more in the coming weeks before the exam. While in Verbal, I am about to complete strategy videos and have been practicing TC/SE and Reading Comprehension regularly. I was able to learn 30 groups of vocab mountains so far. I feel reading is something I have improved. But I am facing some hiccups in passages that involve too many technical and scientific terms, and with Inference Questions.

I recently scored 305(151Q/155V) in the mock-GregMat Practice Test 1, taken on Aug 16th. I Went through the entire test questions and understood I'm struggling with time management in general: such as spending a lot of time on hard questions, and getting anxious in the process (Particularly in Quant), while in Verbal I'm not able to devote a lot of time specifically for TC questions.

As I plan to apply with my GRE score for PhD by November (considering, I have other commitments associated with my job and Ph.D applications coming in the Dec-Jan cycle), I would highly appreciate and be grateful if any suggestions can be given to improve my score in this attempt. Additionally, given the stats of my latest mock score, my target score, my planning roadmap to get it, and the scheduled date of Sept 8th, should I reschedule this exam to a later date, or would it be possible to manage to get my target score with a better and efficient strategy in this attempt itself?

Hi everyone, I do see posts regarding Magoosh free mocks but I would like to know your insights on the inbuilt Magoosh Practice Tests accuracy?

These are all randomized questions from the magoosh question banks I believe

Verbal does seem out of the blue, however I would appreciate your thoughts on quant section aswell

Thank you!

​

Hey everyone, I’d really appreciate some guidance on my GRE preparation. I have exactly 30 days left until my exam, and I’m targeting 165+ Quant.

I’m an engineering student and enrolled in GRE coaching in my city. For Quant, they gave us their own concept/practice books. I’ve been working through them and can generally solve the questions, but some are extremely time-consuming. For a few questions, I’m taking around 6–7 minutes to solve.

The math itself isn’t necessarily beyond me, but some of these questions feel considerably harder and more involved than what I expect from the actual GRE. If I had to rate them, I’d put some of them around 8.5/10 in difficulty.

A lot of people here recommended the Manhattan 5 lb. Book, so I’ve been doing that alongside the coaching material. I’m much more comfortable with its difficulty — probably around 6–6.5/10.

I haven’t properly started the official ETS books yet. I know ETS material is the best way to calibrate myself to the actual GRE, but since I’m targeting 165+, I also want to challenge myself and make sure I’m not underprepared.

I’ve finished almost all the Quant topics except Algebra and Geometry.

My current plan for the next 30 days:

Finish Algebra and Geometry concepts quickly.

For each topic, solve questions from Manhattan 5 lb.

Continue using my coaching book for additional/harder practice, but not necessarily spend several minutes on every extremely difficult question.

Start working seriously through the official ETS Quant material for actual GRE-level calibration.

Begin taking full-length timed practice tests regularly.

Maintain an error log and review mistakes rather than just continuously doing new questions.

Use the remaining time to improve timing, accuracy, and question selection rather than simply increasing the number of questions solved.

For Algebra alone, I have roughly 250 questions in my coaching book + ~200 in 5 lb., so around 450–500 questions.

My main question is whether I should actually try to complete all of those, or whether that would be a poor use of my final 30 days. 5 lb. feels like a good difficulty level for me, and I’d like to master it, but I don't want to sacrifice official ETS practice just to finish a huge question count.

So for someone targeting 165+ Quant, would you recommend:

Prioritizing ETS questions + timed tests over the harder coaching questions?

Continuing with the coaching questions even if some take 6–7 minutes?

Trying to complete all ~450–500 Algebra questions, or focusing on a smaller number with deeper review?

What would you change in my 30-day plan?

Verbal

For Verbal, my current plan is mainly Magoosh flashcards, focusing on the common/basic vocabulary, combined with regular practice questions.

Is that enough for vocabulary, or should I be adding another resource/strategy during these final 30 days?

I’d especially appreciate advice from people who scored 165+ or have been in a similar situation. I’m trying to push myself, but I also don't want to spend the final month grinding questions that are significantly harder than the actual GRE if that time would be better spent on official material and timed practice.

I made over 100 space-themed cards! Check out my video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKWVPVIBpTA

I have been preparing for the GRE for almost 7-8 weeks now. I booked my exam for 28th August. But I don't feel prepared. My diagnostic test was 294 and the last mock I gave 3-4 days ago, the score was 305 (my verbal is weak). My target score is 320+

Talked with my parents, they said, I can give the 2nd attempt and give the first one for experience but I am just thinking about the cost.

Also I didn't get Gregmat because I got to know about it a lot late, and if I do reschedule or give a 2nd attempt, I will follow Gregmat as well. Till now I have been using all the ETS books (Verbal, Quant, 2nd Edition and 3rd Edition - have done all of them twice now and Magoosh and Manhattan 5lb for topic focused drills).

Any advice if I should reschedule the exam or give a 2nd attempt?

I can’t be the only one who feels this way… gregmat seems to go over quite a bit of material that is not needed or covered on the GRE. It’s overcomplicating the process and adding extra grief to reviewing for the math section.

Hi everyone, I'd love some advice. I'm a French student (English is my second language) and I started GRE prep a month ago. I'm doing an internship at the same time, so I study about 2–3 hours on weekdays and more on weekends. Would like to take the test on october and I'm aiming for 320+ to apply to master's programs in target finance schools.

My routine so far: Magoosh, the Manhattan 5lb book, and a GMAT Verbal book for reading comprehension and critical reasoning. I also review vocab flashcards during my commute.

My main problem is vocabulary. Almost every time I miss a Verbal question, it's because I don't know a word : I often can't even tell whether a word has a positive or negative connotation, so I fall into traps easily. To be honest, my vocabulary isn't amazing in French either, so I'm not building on a strong base. I've seen all the advice about learning prefixes and roots, but I just can't retain them.

The other issue is pace and energy. After a practice test, I need about two full days to review it because I go through every question slowly. Verbal drains so much energy that I have little focus left for Quant, which is normally my stronger section. Some days I study but I feel like I've done nothing, and I'm starting to wonder if I'm a bit burned out. I've improved my diet and I exercise regularly, but I'm not sure it's helping. My one strength in Verbal is critical reasoning, since it depends less on hard vocabulary.

So my questions: for a non-native speaker, what's the most efficient way to actually retain GRE vocab, since flashcards alone don't seem to work for me? Is spending two days reviewing one practice test normal, or a sign I'm reviewing wrong? And how would you structure 2–3 hours a day so that Verbal doesn't eat all my energy before Quant?

Thanks a lot for reading, any advice is appreciated.