the content in this post applies in 2024 to the new, shorter gre!
for those who are focused and ambitious, a 30-day gre study schedule can work really well, as long as you have the time it will demand.
however, if you feel that life will intrude in one way or another, or if you need to improve your score by hundreds of points, this schedule may not be for you. if an honest look at life’s daily demands reveals that dedicating hour upon hour to gre study will be unlikely, ask yourself: is pushing back your test date possible?
if you are able to register or reschedule your exam for a later date, that might be in your best interest, and then you can check out some of magoosh’s other, longer schedule options.
however, if you are all-in on preparing for the gre in thirty days, we’ve got you! just remember, this is an aggressive plan, and you will need to be able to dedicate, on average, 1.5-2.5 hours a day at least six days per week.
click here to download a pdf of the study schedule!
for advanced gre students: an emphasis on reviewing & drilling
this schedule was designed with advanced students in mind, which means that most of the assigned lessons skew toward refining the test-taking skills you already have. before you dive in, ask yourself whether you currently have a working knowledge of the fundamentals–the basic topics, techniques, and strategies necessary to successfully navigate the gre exam. if that’s not you or you’d benefit from more introductory material, we do have a 30-day option for beginners. also, because this schedule assumes that you won’t need to cover much (or any) of the introductory lessons, there is also a greater emphasis on practice questions and review.
now, if this schedule is mostly a good fit, but at certain points you find the higher-level content a bit too challenging, you can always make modifications to better suit your own prep needs. once you have a sense of your personal strengths and weaknesses, you can explore all the available lessons on the magoosh dashboard, swap out lesson material that you aren’t quite ready to tackle for introductory or mid-tier concepts, and set up custom practice sessions that focus on your desired topic(s) of study.
table of contents
- essential material
- optional material
- about the material
- day 1 – introduction
- day 2 – intro to gre math i
- day 3 – practice test
- day 4 – practice test review
- day 5 – intro to gre math ii and vocabulary strategies
- day 6 – reading comprehension i
- day 7 – flex day
- day 8 – arithmetic and fractions
- day 9 – percents and ratios
- day 10 – counting and probability
- day 11 – reading comprehension ii
- day 12 – reading comprehension iii
- day 13 – timed practice sections
- day 14 – flex day
- day 15 – algebra i
- day 16 – algebra ii
- day 17 – awa day (the issue essay)
- day 18 – advanced qc strategies
- day 19 – word problems
- day 20 – text completion
- day 21 – flex day
- day 22 – geometry i
- day 23 – geometry ii
- day 24 – sentence equivalence
- day 25 – practice test
- day 26 – practice test review
- day 27 – coordinate geometry
- day 28 – statistics and data interpretation
- day 29 – final review day!
- day 30 and beyond…
essential material
- magoosh gre prep
- ets’s official guide to the gre book
- ets powerprep free tests 1 & 2: if you would prefer to take the practice test on paper, you can print out a copy of ets’s paper-delivered test. however, taking the paper-based gre is pretty rare these days. if you are like most test takers and will be taking the exam online, we highly recommend that your practice and prep are also online–mimic the medium you’ll be using on exam day as much as possible.
- magoosh’s gre vocabulary flashcards app and magoosh’s gre math flashcards app: they’re free and you can use them on the web, iphone/ipad or android!
- magoosh’s complete guide to the gre pdf: this comprehensive, web-based guide to the gre gives you the quick but very helpful overview you need to understand this test. you’ll see how the gre is designed and scored, what skills it tests, how to find and use the best gre prep, and how to study for each test section.
- reading materials and journal (error log): more detail on each of these below, in the “about the material” section.
optional material
- top 5 free gre practice resources: this page includes instructions on where to find good full-length gre practice tests, and how to take practice tests and incorporate them into your studies. this page also has links to magoosh’s free gre diagnostic quizzes.
- quizlet.com: gives you online access to flashcards, making it easier, say, to quiz yourself on your mobile device
- vocabulary.com: provides conversational example sentences and a flood of example sentences. if you are really trying to achieve a high verbal score, you can also check out lists of crazy hard gre words that other users have compiled.
about the material
about vocabulary
if you are striving for a top-notch verbal score, daily review of vocab is vital. 30 days is not a lot of time; however, you can certainly memorize a few hundred (maybe more) words in that timeframe.
make use of magoosh’s gre flashcards, but don’t limit yourself to just these words. whenever you encounter a word you don’t know, look it up, make a flashcard, and add it to your own flashcard deck. you can go the old-fashioned route with hand-written, paper cards or opt for a digital version like quizlet.
organizing flashcards
as you work through your flashcards you’ll want to organize them into three piles/categories. one category is for words that are “new” to you and you’re just trying to absorb their definitions/usage. another category is for words that you’ve almost mastered–maybe you still need context clues to grasp their meanings. the final category represents a “done” stack that is only rarely reviewed.
reading material
we cannot stress the importance of reading to build your reading comprehension skills, refine your understanding of grammar and usage, and expand your vocabulary. you have to challenge yourself to read material that is written at the same level as the passages you’ll encounter on test day. check out the links below for reliable sources and advice:
non-fiction, scholarly books, history and social science topics are preferable.
how to practice with recommended sources: scientific american, atlantic monthly, the new yorker, national geographic, the economist, arts and letters daily, or the new york times (a sunday subscription is a great idea!).
error log
a notebook or digital document to keep a written record of the questions that you miss. for each question you enter into your log do the following:
- try to determine and make note of why you missed the question
- read any related text explanations and watch any related video explanations
- watch any recommended lesson videos (don’t worry about watching them out of order. you’ll likely be watching the videos a few times, especially those that relate to your weaker areas.)
- be aware of any trends that help you identify your strengths and weaknesses.
- when you come across vocabulary that you don’t know or only sorta know in a question, be sure to add it to your flashcards. we use words that are trending on the gre to create our content.
not sure how to set up your error log? here’s a free template.
about older ets prep materials
note: ets launched the shorter version of the gre in 2023. so, what does that mean if you have older prep materials? good news!! you do not need to go out and buy new ones. because there were no changes to the content that ets tests, there have been no real changes to the prep books that cover that content. in fact, at the time of this writing, ets hasn’t even released a new edition of its own prep material, the official guide, but does provide the following note:
“the practice tests in this book are for the general test that was administered before september 22, 2023. however, because the shorter gre includes the same question types (except for the analyze an argument essay task which has been removed), this book is a great way to prepare for the shorter gre.”
thus, if you have older versions of prep materials, you should be all set to dive in. just be sure to skip any content related to the analyze an argument part of the awa, and be sure to review the gre’s updated timing and structure.
using this guide without a premium magoosh subscription
without your own magoosh account, you won’t be able to access many of the lessons, practice questions, and practice tests that are linked in the daily tasks; however, there are a number of lessons and practice materials that are publically available, and, of course, you can also follow the daily breakdown of topics and activities using the official guide or any other material(s) you are using for your gre prep.
day 1 – introduction
1.) go to ets.org/gre, and read about the content of the gre. click on and read each sub-heading link.
2.) watch the following magoosh lesson videos:
note: many lessons are only available to those with a magoosh premium gre subscription—sign up here for a free trial!
if you haven’t done so already, now is the time to be sure you have this essential document at the ready.
3.) take a look at your week ahead and schedule about 2 hours for a full-length practice. it’s planned for day 3 in this schedule, but you can move that around if needed. if you haven’t done so yet, this is a perfect opportunity to take magoosh’s free gre practice test.
secondary activities (if needed or time permitting)
here are a couple options to incorporate additional verbal practice:
1.) arts and letters daily is a great resource for links to gre-level reading material. once per week, choose one or more articles that are around 5-20 pages long. while reading, try to identify at least fifty unfamiliar words. when you encounter words you don’t know or only sorta know, make flashcards in your app of choice or with good old pen and paper. a quick google search will yield definitions.
after you read, write a concise summary or review of one of the articles, weaving in the vocabulary words you’ve learned from not only the articles but also lessons, practice questions, reading, etc.
2.) use the magoosh flashcard app and challenge yourself to learn 10 words daily. at the end of seven days (yes, seven), you’ll have encountered 70 words–not too shabby! for a deeper understanding of these words in context, refer to vocabulary.com.
if you’re someone who needs to prioritize math, here are options for weekly supplemental activities:
1.) check out the og’s math review and work through the topics and associated exercises. there are also plenty of practice questions, organized by difficulty, that you can explore.
2.) dig into the topics in the collaborative math review built by ets and kahn academy.
2.) use this week to review as many cards as possible in the first three gre math flashcard decks: algebra, fractions, ratios, & percents, and geometry.
day 2 – intro to gre math i
watch the following magoosh lesson videos:
mental math: doubling and halving
metal math: squaring shortcuts
practice
if you have a magoosh premium or trial subscription, navigate to your dashboard and select practice → custom practice → all math → multiple choice → select all. do 10 questions. as you work through this set, try to identify any clues that indicate you can plug-in or backsolve as a solution option.
pacing note
since you’re on a rather tight prep timeline, you should start focusing on the pacing piece of the gre puzzle as soon as possible. an effective pacing and skipping strategy is a major component of success. but! be kind to yourself: increasing your speed while maintaining your accuracy will not come overnight. it is a process.
if this feels like a lot to you, work in stages. set achievable goals as you attempt to improve your pacing! try to answer questions at a pace of three minutes per question. the next day, set a faster pace, like two and half minutes per question.
do this day by day until you are answering questions at the target times:
math ≈ 1:45 per question
verbal ≈ 1:30 per question
of course, those target times vary–the greater the question complexity, the longer it will take to solve it.
difficulty note
ideally, you should select adaptive difficulty. that setting will most accurately reflect the variety of questions that you’ll encounter on test day. however, you should feel free to select the difficulty that best fits your current ability level. if you are struggling with some of the basic concepts, you might opt for easy/medium until your accuracy improves. just keep in mind that adaptive difficulty will more closely match a realistic test experience.
please note, if you frequently only work on questions from one category of difficulty, you could exhaust that particular group, which means that you might start seeing repeat questions during custom practice or during a practice test.
review
today, you are going to start making use of your error log. as you review the results of the mixed math practice set, add each incorrect question to your log and do the following:
try to determine and make note of why you missed the question
read any related text explanations and watch any related video explanations
watch any recommended lesson videos (don’t worry about watching them out of order. you’ll likely be watching the videos a few times, especially those that relate to your weaker areas.)
be aware of any trends that help you identify your strengths and weaknesses.
don’t just skip over the questions you got right! double check that you got them right for the right reasons. if you guessed or just weren’t all that sure how you arrived at the correct answer, devote time to reviewing the explanations and absorbing the underlying concepts and solution steps.
day 3 – practice test
in magoosh, take a full-length practice test!
in your magoosh dashboard, navigate to practice → practice test.
be sure that you have around 2 hours of uninterrupted time. you want your practice test experience to be as realistic as possible. remember! there are no breaks given during the five sections of the gre.
if this is your first full-length test, this is an important moment! not only will you start to get a sense for how you feel taking the gre but, at the end, you will also find out your all important baseline scores. these will be the scores (math, verbal, awa) you build from as you push towards your goal, the scores you need to reach to feel confident when applying to your chosen graduate programs.
if you’ve already taken a practice or official gre test, that’s great! you already know where you’re at, score wise, and know how close (or far) that score is from where you need it to be.
note: don’t worry about reviewing your test immediately after you complete it unless you have enough gas left in the tank. you’ll kick off the next study session with a deep-dive review.
day 4 – practice test review
open your error log for a deep-dive review of your practice test. consider the following:
- try to recall which question types you struggled with the most.
- can you find any patterns?
- are you making careless mistakes? if so, reflect on the reason: working too fast? misreading the question? figure out where you should slow down when testing.
- and don’t forget the usual digging-in-to-details steps:
- try to determine why you missed the question
- read any related text explanations and watch any related video explanations
- watch any recommended lesson videos (don’t worry about watching them out of order. you’ll likely be watching the videos a few times, especially those that relate to your weaker areas.)
- be aware of any trends that help you identify your strengths and weaknesses.
- add any vocabulary that you don’t know or only sorta know to your flashcards.
- double check that you got the correct ones right for the right reasons. if you guessed or just weren’t all that sure how you arrived at the correct answer, devote time to reviewing the explanations and absorbing the underlying concepts and solution steps.
day 5 – intro to gre math ii and vocabulary strategies
watch the following magoosh lesson videos:
practice
1.) if you have a magoosh premium or trial subscription, navigate to your dashboard and select practice → custom practice → and launch math quick practice at the top of the screen (you’ll see a lightning bolt icon). work through those 10 mixed practice problems.
2.) navigate to your dashboard and select practice → custom practice → verbal → text completion → select “clear all” and then only check the box next to basic sentences. do 5 questions.
review
as you review the results of this practice set, add each incorrect question to your log and do the following:
try to determine and make note of why you missed the question
read any related text explanations and watch any related video explanations
watch any recommended lesson videos (don’t worry about watching them out of order. you’ll likely be watching the videos a few times, especially those that relate to your weaker areas.)
add any words from the questions that you only sorta know or don’t know to your vocabulary flashcards.
be aware of any trends that help you identify your strengths and weaknesses.
double check that you got the correct ones right for the right reasons. if you guessed or just weren’t all that sure how you arrived at the correct answer, devote time to reviewing the explanations. steps.
day 6 – reading comprehension i
watch the following magoosh lesson videos:
practice
navigate to your dashboard and select practice → custom practice → verbal → reading comprehension → check clear all and then only check the box for short passages. do 10 questions. don’t worry if you don’t end up doing exactly 10 questions. you might do a few more or less depending on the number of questions associated with the passages you are given.
review
for each question from the above practice that you missed, log the following:
- try to determine and make note of why you missed the question
- read any related text explanations and watch any related video explanations
- watch any recommended lesson videos (don’t worry about watching them out of order. you’ll likely be watching the videos a few times, especially those that relate to your weaker areas.)
- be aware of any trends that help you identify your strengths and weaknesses.
- add any words from the questions that you only sorta know or don’t know to your vocabulary flashcards.
- double check that you got the correct ones right for the right reasons. if you guessed or just weren’t all that sure how you arrived at the correct answer, devote time to reviewing the explanations.
day 7 – flex day
rest, review, practice or catch-up
if you’re feeling pretty good about where you’re at (both in the schedule and in your overall progress), take a break! you deserve one! but, if you are raring to keep going check out the following options:
spend some quality time with your error log. revisit (maybe redo a few) missed questions and review their associated lessons.
do more practice and review in the og or through your magoosh dashboard. you can set up custom practice sessions or launch timed sections.
if you are feeling a bit behind schedule, use this as an opportunity to get caught up or closer to caught up.
break out those math and verbal flashcards!
day 8 – arithmetic and fractions
watch the following magoosh lesson videos:
quiz: arithmetic and fractions
practice
navigate to your dashboard and select practice → custom practice → all math → select clear all and then only check arithmetic and fractions. do 10 questions.
review
for each question from the above practice and quiz that you missed, log the following:
try to determine why you missed the question
read any related text explanations and watch any related video explanations
watch any recommended lesson videos (don’t worry about watching them out of order. you’ll likely be watching the videos a few times, especially those that relate to your weaker areas.)
be aware of any trends that help you identify your strengths and weaknesses.
secondary activities (if needed or time permitting)
additional verbal practice options:
1.) continue with arts and letters daily or your preferred reading material. choose one or more articles and try to identify at least fifty unfamiliar words. with those words, make flashcards in your app of choice or with good old pen and paper.
after you read, write a concise summary or review of one of the articles, weaving in the vocabulary words you’ve learned from not only the articles but also lessons, practice questions, reading, etc.
2.) continue using the magoosh flashcard app and challenge yourself to learn 10 words daily. at the end of this week (if you started this last week), you’ll have encountered 140 words. for a deeper understanding of these words in context, refer to vocabulary.com.
additional math practice options:
1.) continue the og’s math review and dig into its practice questions.
2.) carry on with topics in the collaborative math review built by ets and kahn academy.
2.) use this week to review as many cards as possible in the next three gre math flashcard decks: number properties i, number properties ii, and statistics & probability.
day 9 – percents and ratios
watch the following magoosh lesson videos:
percent increases and decreases
practice
navigate to your dashboard and select practice → custom practice → all math → select clear all and then only check percents and ratios. do 10 questions.
review
for each question from the above practice and quiz that you missed, log the following:
try to determine why you missed the question
read any related text explanations and watch any related video explanations
watch any recommended lesson videos. don’t worry about watching them out of order or watching them again. you’ll likely be watching the videos a few times, especially those that relate to your weaker areas.
be aware of any trends that help you identify your strengths and weaknesses.
double check that you got the correct ones right for the right reasons. if you guessed or just weren’t all that sure how you arrived at the correct answer, devote time to reviewing the explanations and absorbing the underlying concepts and solution steps.
day 10 – counting and probability
watch the following magoosh lesson videos:
fundamental counting principle
complementary events and simple rules
probability of event a or event b
practice
1.) navigate to your dashboard and select practice → custom practice → all math → select clear all and then only check the box next to counting. do 5 questions.
2.) navigate to your dashboard and select practice → custom practice → all math → select clear all and then only check the box next to probability. do 5 questions.
review
for each question from the above practice that you missed, log the following:
try to determine why you missed the question
read any related text explanations and watch any related video explanations
watch any recommended lesson videos. don’t worry about watching them out of order or watching them again. you’ll likely be watching the videos a few times, especially those that relate to your weaker areas.
be aware of any trends that help you identify your strengths and weaknesses.
double check that you got the correct ones right for the right reasons. if you guessed or just weren’t all that sure how you arrived at the correct answer, devote time to reviewing the explanations and absorbing the underlying concepts and solution steps.
day 11 – reading comprehension ii
watch the following magoosh lesson videos:
multiple answer questions – inference
practice
navigate to your dashboard and select practice → custom practice → verbal → reading comprehension → check long, medium and short passages. do around 15 questions.
review
for each question from the above practice that you missed, log the following:
try to determine and make note of why you missed the question
read any related text explanations and watch any related video explanations
watch any recommended lesson videos. don’t worry about watching them out of order or watching them again. you’ll likely be watching the videos a few times, especially those that relate to your weaker areas.
be aware of any trends that help you identify your strengths and weaknesses.
add any words from the questions that you only sorta know or don’t know to your vocabulary flashcards.
double check that you got the correct ones right for the right reasons. if you guessed or just weren’t all that sure how you arrived at the correct answer, devote time to reviewing the explanations and absorbing the underlying concepts and solution steps
day 12 – reading comprehension iii
watch the following magoosh lesson videos:
practice
navigate to your dashboard and select practice → custom practice → verbal→ reading comprehension → select clear all→ check the box for paragraph arguments. do 8 questions.
review
for each question from the above practice that you missed, log the following:
try to determine and make note of why you missed the question
read any related text explanations and watch any related video explanations
watch any recommended lesson videos. don’t worry about watching them out of order or watching them again. you’ll likely be watching the videos a few times, especially those that relate to your weaker areas.
be aware of any trends that help you identify your strengths and weaknesses.
add any words from the questions that you only sorta know or don’t know to your vocabulary flashcards.
double check that you got the correct ones right for the right reasons. if you guessed or just weren’t all that sure how you arrived at the correct answer, devote time to reviewing the explanations and absorbing the underlying concepts and solution steps.
day 13 – timed practice sections
mixed practice verbal and quant
navigate to your dashboard and select practice → custom practice → verbal → launch a verbal gre section (look for the book icon near the top of the screen). you’ll have 23 minutes to complete the 15 questions.
navigate to your dashboard and select practice → custom practice → math → select all math. launch a math section (look for the book icon near the top of the screen). you’ll have 26 minutes to complete the 15 questions.
review
for each question from the above practice that you missed, log the following:
try to determine and make note of why you missed the question
read any related text explanations and watch any related video explanations
watch any recommended lesson videos. don’t worry about watching them out of order or watching them again. you’ll likely be watching the videos a few times, especially those that relate to your weaker areas.
double check that you got the correct ones right for the right reasons. if you guessed or just weren’t all that sure how you arrived at the correct answer, devote time to reviewing the explanations and absorbing the underlying concepts and solution steps.
add any words from the questions that you only sorta know or don’t know to your vocabulary flashcards.
did any fall into your skip or guess bucket? did you recognize them immediately and quickly move on? it’s a good idea to train those instincts so they become second nature by test day.
day 14 – flex day
rest, review, practice or catch-up
if you’re feeling pretty good about where you’re at (both in the schedule and in your overall progress), take a break! you deserve one! but, if you are raring to keep going check out the following options:
spend some quality time with your error log. revisit (maybe redo a few) missed questions and review their associated lessons.
do more practice and review in the og or through your magoosh dashboard. you can set up custom practice sessions or launch timed sections.
if you are feeling a bit behind schedule, use this as an opportunity to get caught up or closer to caught up.
break out those math and verbal flashcards!
day 15 – algebra i
1.) watch the following magoosh lesson videos:
factoring rational expressions
practice
navigate to your dashboard and select practice → custom practice → all math → select clear all and then only check algebra. do 10 questions.
review
for each question from the above practice that you missed, add it to your error log and analyze what went wrong.
secondary activities (if needed or time permitting)
additional verbal practice options:
1.) continue with arts and letters daily or your preferred reading material. choose one or more articles and try to identify at least fifty unfamiliar words. with those words, make flashcards in your app of choice or with good old pen and paper.
after you read, write a concise summary or review of one of the articles, weaving in the vocabulary words you’ve learned from not only the articles but also lessons, practice questions, reading, etc.
2.) continue using the magoosh flashcard app and challenge yourself to learn 10 words daily. at the end of this week (if you started this last week), you’ll have encountered 210 words. for a deeper understanding of these words in context, refer to vocabulary.com.
additional math practice options:
1.) continue the og’s math review and dig into its practice questions.
2.) carry on with topics in the collaborative math review built by ets and kahn academy.
2.) use this week to review as many cards as possible in the next three gre math flashcard decks: mixed practice i, ii, and iii.
day 16 – algebra ii
watch the following magoosh lesson videos:
two equations, two unknowns ii
three equations, three unknowns
practice
navigate to your dashboard and select practice → custom practice → all math → select clear all and then only check algebra. do 10 questions.
review
for each question from the above practice that you missed, add it to your error log and analyze what went wrong.
day 17 – awa day (the issue essay)
writing tips for the 4 major scoring components
score your awa essay–use this link to analyze the issue essay you wrote during the practice test. it will help you better understand the process and the score your essay was given by the magoosh ai tutor.
note i: score your awa essay above leads you to the scoring rubric that will be used by the official readers when they evaluate your essay. even though the essays you write in your magoosh dashboard will be scored and given detailed feedback on how to improve by the magoosh ai tutor, it’s still important for you to read through and be familiar with the scoring rubric.
note ii: there could still be out-dated content pertaining to the argument essay in the above lessons. you can skip/ignore any references to the now retired argument task.
day 18 – advanced qc strategies
watch the following magoosh lesson videos:
qc strategies – picking numbers
navigate to your dashboard and select practice → custom practice → quantitative comparison → select all→ do 10 questions. be sure to watch for opportunities to use plugging-in as you solve these qc questions.
review
for each question from the above practice that you missed, add it to your error log and analyze what went wrong.
day 19 – word problems
watch the following magoosh lesson videos:
practice
navigate to your dashboard and select practice → custom practice → all math → select clear all→ check the boxes for word problems. do 10 questions.
review
for each question from the above practice that you missed, add it to your error log and analyze what went wrong.
day 20 – text completion
watch the following magoosh lesson videos:
intro to double blank sentences
intro to triple blank sentences
practice
navigate to your dashboard and select practice → custom practice → verbal → text completion→ select all. do 10 questions.
review
for each question from the above practice that you missed, add it to your error log and analyze what went wrong.
day 21 – flex day
rest, review, practice or catch-up
if you’re feeling pretty good about where you’re at (both in the schedule and in your overall progress), take a break! you deserve one! but, if you are raring to keep going check out the following options:
spend some quality time with your error log. revisit (maybe redo a few) missed questions and review their associated lessons.
do more practice and review in the og or through your magoosh dashboard. you can set up custom practice sessions or launch timed sections.
if you are feeling a bit behind schedule, use this as an opportunity to get caught up or closer to caught up.
break out those math and verbal flashcards!
day 22 – geometry i
watch the following magoosh lesson videos:
practice
navigate to your dashboard and select practice → custom practice → all math → clear all→ only check the box next to geometry. do 10 questions.
review
for each question from the above practice that you missed, add it to your error log and analyze what went wrong.
secondary activities (if needed or time permitting)
additional verbal practice options:
1.) continue with arts and letters daily or your preferred reading material. choose one or more articles and try to identify at least fifty unfamiliar words. with those words, make flashcards in your app of choice or with good old pen and paper.
after you read, write a concise summary or review of one of the articles, weaving in the vocabulary words you’ve learned from not only the articles but also lessons, practice questions, reading, etc.
2.) continue using the magoosh flashcard app and challenge yourself to learn 10 words daily. at the end of this week (if you’ve kept up the pace), you’ll have encountered around 280 words!
3.) in your dashboard, work through additional verbal timed sections.
additional math practice options:
1.) continue the og’s math review and dig into its practice questions.
2.) carry on with topics in the collaborative math review built by ets and kahn academy.
3.) use this week to review as many cards as possible in the final three gre math flashcard decks: mixed practice vi, v, and vi.
4.) in your dashboard, work through additional quant timed sections.
day 23 – geometry ii
1.) watch the following magoosh lesson videos:
practice
navigate to your dashboard and select practice → custom practice → all math → clear all→ only check the box next to geometry. do 10 questions.
review
for each question from the above practice that you missed, add it to your error log and analyze what went wrong.
day 24 – sentence equivalence
watch the following magoosh lesson videos:
avoiding pseudo-synonyms: practice activities
difficult words in a sentence equivalence
practice
navigate to your dashboard and select practice → custom practice → verbal → sentence equivalence → select all categories. do 15 questions.
review
for each question from the above practice that you missed, add it to your error log and analyze what went wrong.
day 25 – practice test
in magoosh, take a full-length practice test!
try to be sure that you have around 2 hours of uninterrupted. you want your practice test experience to be as realistic as possible. remember that there are no breaks given during the gre.
in your magoosh dashboard, navigate to practice → practice test.
as always, don’t worry about reviewing the test immediately after you finish. that’s for the next session.
day 26 – practice test review
open your error log for a deep-dive review of this last practice test.
consider the following:
reflect on the testing process: are you satisfied with your performance?
if yes, try to articulate the pacing choices etc. that helped you navigate this practice test successfully.
if no, try to determine what went wrong? did you spend too long on a question that you should have skipped or guessed? were you feeling tired or feeling frustrated by distractors?
as always, work through the following:
determine why you missed the question
read any related text explanations and watch any related video explanations
watch any recommended lesson videos. don’t worry about watching them out of order or watching them again. you’ll likely be watching the videos a few times, especially those that relate to your weaker areas.
double check that you got the correct ones right for the right reasons. if you guessed or just weren’t all that sure how you arrived at the correct answer, devote time to reviewing the explanations and absorbing the underlying concepts and solution steps.
day 27 – coordinate geometry
watch the following magoosh lesson videos:
practice
navigate to your dashboard and select practice → custom practice → all math → select clear all→ check the box for coordinate plane. do 12 questions.
review
for each question from the above practice that you missed, add it to your error log and analyze what went wrong.
day 28 – statistics and data interpretation
watch the following magoosh lesson videos:
practice
1. navigate to your dashboard and select practice → custom practice → math → data interpretation. do around 8 questions.
2. navigate to your dashboard and select practice → custom practice → math → statistics. do 10 questions.
review
for each question from the above practice that you missed, log the following:
try to determine and make note of why you missed the question
read any related text explanations and watch any related video explanations
watch any recommended lesson videos. don’t worry about watching them out of order or watching them again. you’ll likely be watching the videos a few times, especially those that relate to your weaker areas.
be aware of any trends that help you identify your strengths and weaknesses.
double check that you got the correct ones right for the right reasons. if you guessed or just weren’t all that sure how you arrived at the correct answer, devote time to reviewing the explanations and absorbing the underlying concepts and solution steps.
day 29 – final review day!
you are almost at the finish line!
pick out a few topics that you want to brush up on or questions that you want to review from your error log, or you could even re-watch a few lesson videos. keep it light and easy! today is not the day to overtax your brain.
watch this final lesson: test day
day 30 and beyond…
day before
focus on feeling your best for test day!
no gre preparation
eat a large, healthy, leisurely dinner—no alcohol
go to bed earlier than usual
day of
absolutely no last minute cramming!
eat a large breakfast, full of protein
do relaxing, fun activities to pass time until the test
if you have any remaining time before your exam, focus on a concentrated review
for whatever days remain before your test, keep up the work on gre math and verbal. some suggestions for what to do:
by selecting question type and difficulty on your “dashboard,” keep doing magoosh problems or do problems you’ve previously attempted over again to see how you do a second time.
keep watching magoosh lesson videos on whatever topics you feel you need to review.
keep reading challenging material to build vocabulary and acclimate to complex sentence structures.
keep drilling your vocab flashcards and your math flashcards.
if you have time for more practice tests, you can check out the free and paid versions of ets power prep. another highly recommended source for practice tests are those produced by manhattan prep.
you have done an incredible amount of work, so be proud of what you’ve accomplished!
good luck! 🙂
takeaways:
do your best to follow this list, and you will improve dramatically in a very short time. again, if you can’t commit the hours to this study plan, you may want to consider postponing your test or choosing one that works on a different timeline.
for more personalized support, you can sign up for a premium magoosh gre prep plan. we have affordable 1 month or 6 month subscriptions, or you can test out the material with a free 1 week trial. happy studying!
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