Anyone know of any such GRE classes in or around Raleigh? I'm going to be doing Co-op for the next year and figure this would be the best time to start getting ready to take the test.

On a completely unrelated topic, what would be a good math course to take following Differential Equations II? I liked that class a lot and would like to go further in mathematical depth (maybe a course in integral equations, if NC State offers such a class).

12/12/2005 9:43:58 PM

There's really no reason to take a GRE prep course if you're at all self-motivated or self-disciplined (and if you're thinking this far in advance, odds are you are). Grab a couple of the books (with CDs!) - used the Kaplan General Book, the Kaplan Math Workbook, and the ARCO Math Workbook (yes, I overstudied for the math). If you simply set goals for yourself as to how much to do per week, you can easily prepare on your own and save a ton of cash.

12/12/2005 10:05:30 PM

i have Kaplan's GRE Exam 2006 Edition with CD
i havent gotten to far into it as i just started looking over it and all but from what i can tell its one of the better books out there
make sure you get a book with a CD though, cause the exam is taken on a computer so any practice using the same format of the exam will be a plus

12/12/2005 10:37:30 PM

memorize the silly vocab. words. I spent about 4 hours doing it and beat a much more literate friend of mine by 50pts ( which means I probably improved my score by like 100 because compared to my friend I'm not that literate )

12/12/2005 10:55:20 PM

Alright, judging by the posts, the prep classes would be a waste of time and money when I can just go out and get a prep book.

When I was studying for the SAT, I used 10 Real SAT's put out by The College Board. Does whoever compile the GRE publish such a book?



[Edited on December 13, 2005 at 12:25 AM. Reason : can't spell ]

12/13/2005 12:16:32 AM

Yes...it's the same people who do the SAT's (ETS). The book is called something like "preparing to take the GRE general test". They also have *free* downloadable PowerPrep software with a couple of real on-computer GREs for practice (though I saved those for the very last week of preparation).

Just a word of warning: they're planning on drastically changing the GRE in October 2006 (readjusting the math portion to add a calculator and lessen the number of geometry questions, among other things). If you're going to put forth the effort to study for the current test, make sure you take it by July for the first time (so you still have August and September for retest possibilities) rather than be stuck studying for a different beast for your retests.

12/13/2005 12:37:44 AM

There are some on campus. Don't have the link right now, but will get it and repost. These courses are not a waste of time if are not a good standardized test taker (like I was). If you are a natural at these things, the books could work as long as you get a good book- one that explains WHY one answer is more appropriate than another- not just a book that gives you tests and answer keys.

12/13/2005 8:51:13 AM

^ what she said.

I'm a pretty good test-taker, and I got a GRE prep book that explained the sections and how to filter the answers. A lot of times there was more than one correct answer, but one was a little MORE correct than the other.

I went through parts of the book for about a week or so and managed a 530 verbal, 650 math and 5.5 writing.

Nothing really SPECTACULAR, but it got me into the program I wanted and I didn't stress about the test at all.

In conclusion, the books help if you get a good one.

12/13/2005 9:59:55 AM