revised gre

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!!

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

Dilip Oak's 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.

GRE Score Reports: Things You Should Know

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Score Card

The first thing you should know: take your GRE about 1 ½ to 2 months before your earliest important deadline. It is going to take approximately that much time for your score reports to reach the universities you have chosen as score recipients (i.e. the universities you chose to send your score reports to). Here’s what the ETS says:

Getting Your GRE ScoresAbout 15 days to a month after your test, you will be able to view online and print out, for your own records, your score report in the PDF format shown below:

Examinee GRE Score Report Image

Having seen the format, you probably have some questions: for example, why are the scores for the Verbal and Sections given under two different headings: prior format and current format? And what is the estimated current score under prior format for?

Well, before August 2011, the GRE used to score the Verbal and Quantitative sections on a scale of 200-800 instead of between 130-170 as they now do. According to the ETS, GRE scores are valid for 5 years. This means that GRE scores taken in September 2011 will continue to be valid according to the ETS till September 2016. Until then the ETS has to provide a way of comparing the old and new scores. They do this by providing:

  • an old score equivalent for tests taken under the Revised General GRE format (taken on or after 01 August 2011)
  • a new score equivalent for tests taken under the earlier GRE format (i.e. before 01 August 2011)

This is why the scores for the Verbal and Quantitative sections in the PDF shown above are given in two columns: ‘Prior Format’ and ‘Current Format’. This allows universities to easily compare the scores of students who have taken the older versions of test and those who have taken the newer one without too much difficulty. The ‘Estimated Current Score’ column (under ‘prior format’) was specially meant for candidates who had taken the old format of the test and for whom American universities needed an estimated equivalent score in the new format.

Somewhat pointlessly, the ‘estimated current score’ is also given for students who have taken the new version of the test (the Revised General GRE as it is called) – this is pointless since they already have an actual score in the new column. But we guess, since the ETS had the columns, they had to fill them up! Perhaps, reports after August 2016 will be simpler. Practically, however, this comparative data will not make much of a difference to you since most universities do not accept GRE scores that are older than 3 years. So, American universities probably stopped accepting September 2011 reports in September 2014.

Here are some other important links to check out:

Can I ask the ETS to show universities only the scores I want them to see?

Free GRE score reports

Ordering additional GRE score reports

And just in case, you are interested here’s the PDF format the score report that the universities you are applying will see if you have asked the ETS to send them a score:

Graduate Institution GRE Score Report Image

GRE News: ETS Test Prep Videos Available

Dilip Oak's Academy

With earlier versions of the test, students would go to the ‘Big Book’ for practice on actual GRE test papers of the past. With the Revised GRE coming in August 2011, A new version of the prep book called the Official Guide came in. Now, the GRE® program also offers ‘GRE® Success Starter videos’ to help you crack the GRE®.

There are two videos:

  • GRE® Success Starter: Tips & Strategies for the Quantitative Reasoning Section
  • GRE® Success Starter: Tips & Strategies for the Verbal Reasoning Section

The videos are designed to help you familiarize yourself with the two most important sections of the test: Quantitative and Verbal Reasoning. According to Dawn Piacentino, Director of Communications and Services for the GRE Program at ETS, , “In less than 20 minutes each, these videos walk test takers through examples of the different question types in the test, provide strategies for answering each question type, and share useful tips and strategies.”

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News from ETS: New GRE Test Centers Open in India

Dilip Oak's Academy

Starting in July this year, the GRE program made additional testing available across the country to support the growing demand in India. The cities where additional testing will be available include Ahmadabad, Bangalore, Bhopal, Calcutta, Dehradun, Hyderabad, Mumbai, New Delhi, Vadodara and Vasad. A surprise inclusion is Nasik. Pune is yet, however to get a test center of its own despite the large number of test takers from Pune.

Dawn Piacentino, Director of Communications and Services for the GRE Program at ETS explains that there are two reasons for the increase in the number of test-takers: “Interest in the GRE revised General Test has been steadily growing as more people are choosing to submit GRE scores when applying for an MBA or specialized master’s program. The number of graduate schools around the world who accept GRE scores is also on the rise, giving GRE test takers a lot of options.” The GRE is obviously still aggressively challenging the position of the GMAT a the premiere test for students seeking admission to MBA programs in the United States.

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The Revised General GRE: All the Details

Dilip Oak's Academy

The Revised General GRE was introduced in August 2011. But if you are thinking of giving the GRE just now, it is still all pretty new to you. So, what is the test like? What are the sections, what are the questions like and what are the challenges? Contained in this blog are links to descriptions of every section in the GRE and a description of some of the most important challenges they offer.

Click on the links below to go to he individual posts.

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Quantitative Comparison Questions: Doubtful D!

Dilip Oak's Academy

~ by our Maths Faculty

Now, here’s a tip about the weird GRE question type called Quantitative Comparison or simply QC. As we know, in QC questions there are two columns, ‘A’ and ‘B’, containing some quantities. Our job is to evaluate the quantities and compare their magnitudes. In QC questions, the options are always as follows:

 

 

(A) Quantity under Column A is GREATER THAN quantity under Column B

(B) Quantity under Column A is LESS THAN quantity under Column B

(C) Quantity under Column A is EQUAL TO quantity under Column B

(D) RELATIONSHIP CANNOT BE ESTABLISHED using the given information.

Now look at this example:

 

x2 – 2x – 24 = 0

y2 – 3y + 2 = 0

 

Column A Column B

x y

 

The question asks us to compare ‘x’ and ‘y’. In order to get the answer, we need to solve both the quadratic equations. When we do this, we get the following values: x (4, -6) and y (2, 1)

Thus, if we pick 4 as the value of ‘x’, it is greater than both values of ‘y’. Hence, option (B) and option (C) can be rejected outright.

Now, we are left with only two options, (A) and (D). But if we pick -6 as the value of ‘x’, it is less than both the values of ‘y’ so, we have to eliminate option (A) and thus, we have option (D) as the final answer!

Why was this example given? To show you that is that the only time we need to be extra cautious when solving QC questions is when we think that the answer is probably option D!

Now, try this one:

 

X < (1/X)

 

Column A Column B

X X2

 

 

see answer here

GRE Prep for Oak’s Students: Plan for Taking Practice Computer-Based Tests

Dilip Oak's Academy

CBT – Practice on the Computer-Based Tests (1 month before GRE test)

The final stage of your GRE prep is taking practice GRE computer-based tests. If you are a student at Dilip Oak’s Academy, here is the plan – if you’re not, you are missing out!

  • Start doing the Computer-based tests 3 weeks-1 month before the GRE.
  • There are 10 Oaks tests (5 to be taken in the lab and 5 online) and two PowerPrep tests from the ETS, making a total of 12.
  • Going through all of them, at the rate of one every 2-3 days will take about a month.

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GRE Test Prep: Reading Comprehension and Discrete Questions: Challenges & Tips

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So, you are preparing for the GRE test. You know that the Verbal section is going to be demanding. What are the big challenges in the Verbal section of the Revised General GRE?

Challenge #1: Reading Comprehension Passages

Screenshot of a Reading Comprehension question in the Revised General GRE
Reading Comprehension Question

First, a bit of good bit of news: the Reading Comprehension passages on the Revised GRE test are short. A Verbal section generally contains 5 Reading Comprehension passages, most which are 20-25 lines long; and one of them may be as short as 3-5 lines. The longest passages are of about 40 lines or so. (See ETS’s introduction to reading comprehension, sample questions and tips)

But Reading Comprehension is never very easy. Firstly, the passages cover a wide variety of topics, most of which are very unfamiliar. Here are some topics that have appeared in the past:

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The Revised GRE Test

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Online Revised GRE Test Screenshot
Revised Online GRE Test (Screenshot of Dilip Oak’s Academy Online Test)

The GRE test, conducted by ETS, is one of the world’s most widely used tests for admission to universities both in America and worldwide. On 1 August 2011, the ETS introduced the Revised GRE test. This exam lasts for about 4 hours and consists of 3 major of section types:

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