gre preparation

Time Management Tips for GRE Quant

Dilip Oak's Academy

Wondering how to manage time efficiently on the Quant section of your GRE? Don’t worry! Here are our important techniques that will help you to master time management in the Quant section. So, let’s get started!!

As you are aware, each section on GRE Quant has 20 questions, and the time allotted is 35 minutes. So, unless an effective time management plan is in place, getting a good score is slightly difficult. The following proven techniques will certainly help you in the same regard:

Don’t solve the questions sequentially

Remember, it is not necessary to solve the questions in the same sequence as they appear in the section. If you want to save time, it is always better to solve the easy questions – the ones which you are confident about; in the beginning and attempt the difficult questions afterwards. This will allow you to save a few seconds on every question solved, which could be utilized for attempting difficult questions.

Attempt lengthy questions at the end

Questions based on some topics, such as Data Interpretation (DI), are usually lengthy. Instead of solving such questions when they appear, it is a good technique to try them at the end. This will allow you to utilize the extra time saved on the previous questions.  

Use a calculator only when it is absolutely necessary

Sounds strange, right? Some of you might be wondering if the calculator is provided on GRE; why not use it every time? But here is the catch- using the on-screen calculator every time will eat up a lot of your time and would affect time management severely. Thus, as long as possible, do the calculations manually and use the calculator only when it is utmost necessary.  

Seek the balance between speed and accuracy

This perhaps is the most important point of all! Solving the questions quickly is very different from solving them hurriedly! If you rush to answer the questions without paying attention to the accuracy, it is of no use. Thus, maintain the balance between speed and accuracy so as to get a good score on the section.     

Wish you all the very best for your preparation!!

Question of the Week

Dilip Oak's Academy1 Comment

GRE aspirants, it’s time to rack your brain and crack this question of the week! Our expert GRE faculty will drop in interesting questions for you every week to help you think logically and get closer to acing the GRE! Type your answers in the comments section below!

We will publish the correct answers and explanations in the comments section every Friday! STAY TUNED!

Question of the Week

Dilip Oak's Academy1 Comment

GRE aspirants, it’s time to rack your brain and crack this question of the week! Our expert GRE faculty will drop in interesting questions for you every week to help you think logically and get closer to acing the GRE! Type your answers in the comments section below!

We will publish the correct answers and explanations in the comments section every Friday! STAY TUNED!

Question of the Week

Dilip Oak's Academy1 Comment

GRE aspirants, it’s time to rack your brain and crack this question of the week! Our expert GRE faculty will drop in interesting questions for you every week to help you think logically and get closer to acing the GRE! Type your answers in the comments section below!

We will publish the correct answers and explanations in the comments section every Friday! STAY TUNED!

Start your GRE Prep with us! New batches starting 27th & 28th March! Enroll here: https://www.dilipoakacademy.com/gre-coaching

Struggling with GRE Vocabulary? Here are 5 tips from our expert faculty

Dilip Oak's Academy

If you are a GRE aspirant and you have just begun your prep, the GRE Vocabulary section might seem to be an impossible task, mainly because you are expected to master words which you barely use in your everyday conversations. It is certainly a daunting challenge. But if you start systematically, you can learn over a 1000 GRE words comfortably! How? By keeping in mind the following five tips:

1) Start from Day 1 of your prep
If you are planning to take the GRE after three months, start your prep today! Keeping the vocabulary section for the last few days before the exam is a grave mistake that many students make. It becomes cumbersome to learn and retain so many words in a short span and you end up making silly mistakes. So start learning at least 5 new words right from day one of your prep so that you get ample time to practice and master them. 

2) Don’t learn too many words at once 
Start slow, be steady. Instead of learning 20 words in a day, learn only five words and gradually increase the count once you gain confidence and are able to retain the words. 

3) Learn through discussions and associations 
Instead of just mugging up, try to associate the words with images, references and situations, create stories around words, and discuss them with your peers or friends. Practicing this way makes it easier to remember words without getting stressed or confused.

4) Finish learning all the words at least 15 days before the exam 
Make sure that you do not keep anything till the last minute and you finish learning words at least fifteen days before the exam and only keep practicing words after that. 

5) Revise regularly 
Make sure to revise words regularly. Consistency and practice play a huge role in mastering GRE vocabulary. Every week, revise all the words you learnt and keep practicing diligently! 

To know more interesting tricks and tips on learning vocabulary, attend our free webinar “Vocab Sunday” on 6th March, 09:30 am and interact directly with our faculty! Register here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_i-L1JaW8QPSSFKSphog02g

Jumpstart your GRE Prep with Oak’s exclusive Study Plans

Dilip Oak's Academy

Untitled design (6)

One of the most important steps in preparing for the GRE is planning your study schedule.  Many a time, despite being fast learners, students fail to score high in the GRE only because of haphazard study methods. A structured prep plan helps you to systematically cover all the topics, manage time, and stay focused and motivated until your test day. At Dilip Oak’s Academy, along with GRE Coaching, we guide our enrolled students to study in a methodical manner through our exclusive GRE Study Plans.

Depending upon your GRE date (ETS registered/tentative), we provide you with a customized study plan for either 1 month, 1.5 months, 2 months, 2.5 months, 3 months, 3.5 months or 4 months.

Each study plan includes a step-by-step preparatory guide with day wise and week wise guidelines for Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning, and Analytical Writing Sections of the GRE.

While each study plan varies according to the duration, it broadly includes:

  • Vocabulary Learning and Practice
  • Verbal Reasoning strategies and practice
  • Quantitative Reasoning strategies and practice
  • AWM essays brainstorming
  • ETS Material Practice

All the study plans comprise rigorous learning and practice modules for each of the above sections. To help you keep a track of your preparation, we also send you daily and weekly goal-setting reminders.

Along with these, the study plans also include access to our exclusive online learning tools: Focused Practice, Test Prep and CBTs that help you study in a more organized manner and allow you to track your progress.

Focused Practice

  1. Reinforcement of the classroom coaching by helping you keep in sync with the concepts, tricks, and tips taught in the class
  2. 400+ questions for Verbal and Quantitative Reasoning
  3. Topic-wise questions for Quantitative and Verbal Reasoning

Test Prep

  1. Personalized Dashboard to track your progress
  2. Customized according to the question types and difficulty level
  3. Convenient timed and untimed modes for practice
  4. Instant Review and question summary
  5. In-depth explanatory answers to gauge where you stand

CBTs

  1. Actual GRE® test experience with full-length timed tests according to the ETS® pattern
  2. AW essay scores and personalized feedback by our experienced evaluators
  3. Detailed Analysis of your performance to help you gauge your strengths and weaknesses
  4. Explanatory Review to help  you understand what went wrong and how to get it right the next time

Who can avail the study plans?

Only those students who have enrolled for GRE Coaching at Dilip Oak’s Academy can avail these study plans. To jumpstart your GRE prep and unlock our comprehensive study plans, register for our Online GRE Coaching.

You can then request for the suitable study plan by submitting us the details of your enrolled batch, Roll Number and GRE Test date on gre@dilipoakacademy.com.

The plan will be sent directly to your inbox on your registered email ID.

What are you waiting for? Register for our October 1 GRE batch here: https://www.dilipoakacademy.com/gre-online.html and along with study plans, avail 30% discount on the coaching fees!

 

 

The SMART way to boost your GRE Prep (part 2)

Oaks Academy

In our earlier blog, dated 20/07/2020, we laid the groundwork for the preparation of the Quantitative Reasoning Section. Today, we will study the SMART way to fine-tune your GRE preparation and achieve the desired score.

Solve

  • Use your scrap paper effectively. Develop a habit of solving the questions stepwise and systematically as it will help you on your actual test day.
  • Stick to one source of material throughout the course of study.

Manage 

You are expected to complete 20 Questions in 35 minutes for the Quant section that averages nearly less than 90 seconds per question.

Ensure that you understand all the concepts irrespective of the time taken. Starting your preparation well on time would ensure that you have enough time to master all your concepts.

  • Once the concepts are clear, aim to solve questions in a stipulated time frame.
  • A well-devised study plan will set you right on track. In short ‘Plan Your Work And Work Your Plan’

Adapt 

Understand the different question types and their nuances so that you can use suitable techniques for solving them.

  • The GRE questions are relatively easy to solve but sometimes difficult to comprehend because of their verbosity (complex and confusing construction). So read the questions carefully to reveal the hidden concept/s, which, most of the time, may be very familiar.
  • Sometimes, questions that seem relatively easy have some trap set for you, and most of the students fall for it. The answer choices are also designed in such a way that they lead you to a trap.

Review 

  • Note down important formulae, theorems, properties, etc.
  • Maintain a log of topics you have covered and classify them based on their difficulty level so that you can focus accordingly.

Train 

We need to understand some factors which may affect our performance on the actual Test Day.

Get rid of your mental blocks like examination phobia and loss of confidence. Discussing with the faculty members or counselors could help.

Train yourself to remain undaunted even if you come across difficult questions in the beginning because the difficulty level of the questions keeps changing and you may get a simpler question subsequently. We strongly suggest you take our 5 practice tests (CBTs) to boost your confidence. Our CBTs are designed as per the ETS pattern and the score you obtain could give you an idea of your actual GRE score.  

Remember, consistency and hard work are the two main elements required for success in any field. Using the SMART approach discussed above will set you on track for your preparations for the GRE.

Warmup for GRE Quant (Part 1)

Oaks Academy
Following are some ways to ensure that you build a strong foundation to achieve your targeted Quant score.

Understand your syllabus: Download the ETS Math Review pdf file available for free download on the ETS website, which will give you an overview of the syllabus and solve these questions to familiarize yourself with the format of the GRE Math section and its question types.

Brush up your basics: GRE Math has four main sections: Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry and Data Analysis, which you have already studied at your school and junior college level. However, a recap of these topics will definitely help you start flexing your Math muscles.

Multiply your speed: Get familiar with numbers by learning your multiplication tables, squares and cubes. This will not only reduce your dependency on the on-screen calculator but also save a lot of your solving time.

Factor out your math phobia: The GRE Math focuses on the application of basic Math concepts, which can be mastered with a little bit of practice. Remember: no trigonometry! no calculus!

Following these guidelines will definitely build a strong foundation for your Quant preparation. In our next article, we’ll help you gear up your preparation by discussing some key strategies.

Amidst the pandemic, when do I take the GRE and start my application process?

Oaks Academy

Spring 2021

The coronavirus pandemic has severely affected education systems worldwide, and most US universities have moved to online coaching for the fall 2020 session. If you are planning to join an American university in the spring 2021 semester, be aware that this has a few downsides. So it would be a good idea to postpone your plans to the fall 2021.

Firstly, it will not be possible to give the GRE in July due to the ongoing lockdown, and the chances of giving it in August are also bleak. Therefore, it will be difficult to complete the application process before 31st August which is generally the deadline for spring 2021. Secondly, there is no guarantee that your visa will be processed in time or that you will be able to join for the spring semester.

A ‘GRE at Home’ option has been made available but it is not feasible: for one, the stringent equipment prerequisites are difficult to meet and further, questions are being raised about the fairness of online tests.

Considering this, it is safer and wiser to prepare for fall 2021, for which, you must take the GRE before mid-Jan 2021. Most universities also accept scores until March end so; you can plan to take the test accordingly. To help you kick start your preparation, we offer online coaching for GRE which is at par with classroom coaching. Our online classes are interactive, and over 1000 students have already enrolled with us. Check out our GRE online batches here: https://www.dilipoakacademy.com/gre-online.html

Meanwhile, you can proceed with your application process. Aim to finish it by March 2021, before the university deadlines. At Dilip Oak’s Academy, we also provide admission counselling and guide you through the entire application process. For details, visit: https://www.dilipoakacademy.com/study-in-usa.html

GREat Five-Minute Reads: Episode 6

Oaks Academy

It seems like the end of the lockdown is in view. Social distancing may soon be a thing of the past, but we would like to start a new trend: social reading! Ask your parents if they remember the now-antiquated public libraries…you can do the same with a click: read and share these articles!

Some forward fodder for you to impress your friends!

  1. Investigating the detective fiction of Scandinavia
  2. Tender Loving Care
  3. Heliocentric, geocentric…eccentric?
  4. Evolution of the HMS Beagle: the ship that was home to Darwin
  5. Saving the earth with just a few cents!

Look out for a new Reading List every week on Thursday!