Finally done with the GRE. Testing experience, prep plan, and more...

Finally, finally, finally done with the GRE. Didn’t do too shabby, scored:

A little context, I’m a non-native English speaker and would be applying for MS in CS programs. Also, I prepared for 6 months along with a 40hrs per week internship, though the pandemic lockdown helped me focus pretty much completely on GRE for the last month. This was my testing experience and preparation material and plan I followed:

Testing Experience

Opted for the at-center test as I was not confident with the internet connection at my place. Would advise practicing writing with a pencil as many of us have lost touch using a pencil (or at least I had). I had to wear a mask throughout the test so perhaps get a mask you are comfortable wearing for 4.5 hrs or so.

Prep Plan

Quant

Materials used: Magoosh subscription and 5lb book(did not complete)

Advice: I personally realized pretty early that being from an engineering background the difficulty of problems wasn’t as much a problem as the time constraint. Thus, always did timed practice usually 20 questions at once to keep the experience as close to the actual test as possible. Finally, don’t underestimate the importance of re-attempting all questions you got wrong in the first go as I believe doing this in the last week helped me register all the silly mistakes I make and traps I tend to fall into. I repeatedly did all my incorrect questions until I had none left.

Verbal

Materials used: Magoosh subscription, Magoosh flashcards(basic and common sets), and Manhattan 500 essential words

Advice: Once I was familiar with words I realized that my mind had registered quite a few meanings in the context of the sets on the app and I was having difficulty recalling them independently. So switching between sets on the app while revising using other lists(most have a lot of overlap) to see the same words in different contexts helped me solidify them in memory. Also, Manhattan 500 essential words have word roots and memory tips which were helpful.

AWA

Uggghhh… Why did I go all overboard with philosophical anecdotes and not save time to go through my essays once? Correctness over ideas! Can’t give much advice except that keep some time aside to read the article once and correct obvious grammatical mistakes.

All the best to anyone taking the exam!