Years ago, during an early gig as a consultant, I sat at a desk that had a For Dummies book on the shelf. The book was something office related, like SQL For Dummies. I took a sticky note and wrote the word Ron with a black marker, then placed the sticky note over the word Dummies on the side of the book, so now it read, SQL for Ron. It fit nicely.
Since starting my test-prep company, I’ve had students who would be my boss in the business world, and many have gone on to have amazingly successful careers. You, too, are in this group of future success stories. How do I know? Because you’re on your way to an advanced degree, which will open lots of doors, and you’re oh-so-close to getting started. You just need to get past this one hurdle called the GRE.
The GRE challenges your ability to conjure up everything you’ve forgotten since high school — stuff you haven’t touched in years. Really all you need is a refresher, some strategies, and practice. This book has all that and more: It goes beyond rehashing what you’ve learned (and forgotten) by providing exam-specific strategies and tips for answering questions quickly and getting through the exam. There are examples, practice questions, and practice exams to help you build your skills, identify areas you need to work on, and build your confidence for test day.
I know deep in my heart that every person I work with can do well on this exam. Right off the bat, I aim for 100 percent with each student. You’re a little rusty here, haven’t seen that there, could use a few tips, but you’ll pick it up fast and do just fine. Succeeding on the GRE is like handling any other task: If you know what to do, and you practice, you’ll be fine. I get you started with some review and guidance, and you can take it from here.
In GRE For Dummies, 9th Edition, I pretend you forgot everything. I start you at the very beginning to cover all the basic math and verbal concepts, and because you have the capacity, I then challenge you with GRE-level questions. I also show you how to approach these questions, avoid making common mistakes, and master the intuitive tricks that help you knock it out of the park.
To earn a top score on the GRE, you have three goals:
Read through this whole book. No matter how well you know a topic, you can discover strategies and common traps, and the GRE has a way of asking a question that’s different from what you’re used to — or what you learned in the classroom. This book will prepare you for this.
Turn to specific sections for targeted information. This book is organized to make it easy for you to find strategies and practice for specific question types that you have trouble with.
You’ll need the online practice exams to get ready for the experience. ETS offers two excellent online practice exams, free, but you’ll need more than two. Packaged with this book, also free (after you bought the book), are six online practice exams: three in this book, and all six online. When your exam is around the corner, take one or two practice exams in real-life, dress-rehearsal settings. Flip to Part 6, The Part of Tens, for ten ways to get the most benefit from the online practice exams.
Basically, this book does it all: It prepares you for the exam by bringing your skills from the basic level to the GRE level. What else is there?
There’s vocab.
To help you with vocab, as you read through this book, you’ll notice that some words have a style all their own. Each GRE vocabulary word in this text appears in this font, followed directly by its meaning. A good way to learn GRE vocab is to encounter it in a question and see what it means along with how it’s used. When you get stuck on a vocab word, write it down. This is an effective complement to studying from a list or flash cards.
Although everything included in this book is valuable, some parts call for special attention. Look for these icons to quickly spot the most important information in each chapter.
Besides all the ways this book can help you perform well on the GRE, there are even more online, including these:
www.dummies.com
, type in “GRE For Dummies cheat sheet” in the search box and you’ll find the book’s cheat sheet, which gives you last-minute details that you’ll want to have at your fingertips, including a rundown of what to expect when you take the GRE, a list of what to bring versus what to leave at home on test day, tips for taking the computer-based exam, and more pointers for answering exam questions.To gain access to the online flash cards and practice questions, all you have to do is register. Just follow these simple steps:
www.dummies.com/go/getaccess
. Simply select your book from the drop-down menu, fill in your personal information, and then answer the security question to verify your purchase. You’ll then receive an email with your PIN.Dummies.com
and click Activate Now.Now you’re ready to go! You can come back to the online program as often as you want — simply log on with the username and password you created during your initial login. No need to enter the PIN a second time.
You can approach this book in three ways:
As you work your way through the book, I recommend you create flash cards to note key concepts and strategies to get the most out of your review. The flash cards will serve as a handy reference while you review your notes.
I’ve been helping GRE students beat the test for years, so not only do I know students’ common questions and mistakes, but I also know how to make the math and verbal questions easier for you to answer. This book distills my tricks and secrets, which I’m pleased to share with you. Your success, after all, is why we’re both here.