It should come as no surprise that scoring a high score in the GRE is essential to secure a position in a good graduate school abroad. Many MBA programs and Masters Programs give preference to students with higher GRE scores. However, with an increase in the jobs for big data, analytics and statistics, a good GRE Quantitative Reasoning score becomes essential to demonstrate your ability to work with numbers and in fields requiring data analytics.
That being said, achieving a high score in GRE Quantitative section is not that easy. For a 165+ score, you’d have to do adequate question practice to develop the reasoning to adequately attempt the two quantitative sections. Don’t worry though!
Here are some tips that you can follow to achieve a high score and get into your dream university.
1.Practice and Time Management = No Anxiety!
It cannot be stressed enough but the practising question is essential for a good result. Mostly, students feel anxious during exams because they are unaware of the types of questions that they see in the test. Practising different questions ensures that you are well versed with the types of questions that come in the exam. Furthermore, it is equally necessary to time yourself while attempting these questions, since you only get 35 minutes to attempt 20 questions. This will help you to be able to alter your preparation in a way that will help you complete questions in the ideal time frame.
2.Analyze your mistakes
Understanding where you went wrong, fixing that and then reattempting is necessary to improve your test scores. Whenever you finish a bunch of questions, recheck the question that you did incorrectly and the correct questions. This is helpful in two ways – one, you will understand where you went wrong and will be able to correct yourself in future, or possibly learn a new concept necessary to attempt that particular question and second, you will be able to see if there is a different, shorter way to attempt the same question to save time.
3.Understanding the key concept areas
The GRE contains questions from majorly four areas. It becomes imperative to master these concepts to ace the exam. The key concept areas are:-
Algebra - Simplifying expressions, solving equations, factoring polynomials, and even graphing functions fall under this category.
Arithmetic – Basic math essentials which include basic number properties, operations, estimation, proportional relations, percentage, and sequences.
Geometry - Properties of lines, angles, circles, triangles, quadrilaterals, and other polygons.
Data Analysis - Basic statistics (mean, median, mode, range, etc.), as well as interpretation of data displayed in graphs, charts, and tables.
4.Understanding the types of questions
The questions are not homogenous, there are various types in addition to the Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) that students usually encounter. The questions are of the following types:-
Multiple Choice Questions – The regular MCQs will have a question and options to select the answers from. However, some questions may contain more than one correct answers, so you need to approach them with caution and concentration.
Quantitative Comparison – In these questions instead of solving for a specific value, you are asked to reason about the relationships of mathematical expressions, using concepts and properties of numbers.
Numerical Entry – These are the type of questions you usually encounter in SAT and exams like JEE. Here, you have to enter the answer yourself and options are not present.
5.Using resources and taking mock tests
To aid your preparation for the GRE you can take the help of the following books which will help you get a structure in preparation – Manhattan Prep Practice Tests, The Official Guide to GRE General Test by ETS, and Kaplan's GRE Math workbook.
You can also watch various YouTube videos available on GRE Prep to get help.
All the practice goes to waste if you do not take a mock test to gauge your preparation. Mock tests not only help in exam preparation, but they also help you with time management, getting accustomed to the exam style, and managing anxiety while solving questions. Therefore, solving mock papers becomes the MOST important part of your GRE prep.
Hope you find these tips useful. For more such content, check out the website of Hello Study Global. HSG also provides tailored courses for GRE preparation by our experienced faculty, you can avail these courses to get guided mentoring and improve your chance of achieving the perfect score!
