Here are some more hot tips from one of our students who is a star performer on the GRE. This time it’s Tanmay Gurjar. As you can see, his performance has won him another of our ‘gold medals’! First here is a brief ‘bio’.
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Name: Tanmay Gurjar
Stream/College: Bachelor’s, Mechanical Engineering, COEP (currently in final year)
GRE Score: 335
Break up – Quant – 169, Verbal – 166
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First of all, let me say that what worked for me may not work for everybody else, so please adopt the approach which best suits you. But here are some tips based on what I did.
1. I started my test prep in about March. I did nothing but vocab for the first two months. I worked at a rate of hundred words a day. The words require constant revision and verbal practice becomes much much easier once vocab is in place. I used Dilip Oak’s flash cards for vocab because I could use the cards to revise easily in my free time, especially in college.
2. After vocab was done I started practising RC from the Dilip Oak’s material. I solved one long and one short passage per day. But the important thing is time management. So, I started timed practice almost immediately.
Simultaneously I practiced SC and SE questions from the Dilip Oak’s material.
3. The Verbal section is not that hard. But timing is absolutely crucial. I found during initial practice that I required much more time for RC’s. I read and understood the entire passage before attempting any questions. So as a rule I attempted all the SC and SE questions in the verbal section first. I allotted 9 minutes to attempt these 10 SE/SC questions – and if vocab is in place it’s really not that difficult.
4. Quant is pretty easy. So you can’t afford to lose marks in this section. Practice from Dilip Oak’s material is more than sufficient. Timed practice is important in this section too. In this section generally DI questions take the most time. So I kept these questions (14-16) for the last. About 1 hour of regular practice for about 1-1 ½ months is enough.
5. After some prep I went for full length practice tests. They really helped me iron out all my flaws. I attempted a total of 9 full length tests in general including 4 Dilip Oak CBT’s
6. Lastly the review feature is a very big boon. Use it to recheck everything if you get time, especially in maths. In fact, on my final GRE I found I had attempted 4 questions wrong in Quant. If I hadn’t reviewed them, I would definitely have paid the price.
In conclusion, I would say that the GRE test is not all that hard if you study regularly. I am sure all of you can crack it as well.
BEST OF LUCK to you all!!!!!!