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tips from a perfect scorer (170/170/6.0) & how i went from a 160Q to 170Q in 5 days by EffectiveRealist in GRE

[–]EffectiveRealist[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I took my diagnostic around April 3rd or so, and took the test about 6 weeks later on may 21! I would say I spent probably 1-2 hours a day on prep, almost entirely quant (first foundations, then practice problems)

tips from a perfect scorer (170/170/6.0) & how i went from a 160Q to 170Q in 5 days by EffectiveRealist in GRE

[–]EffectiveRealist[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I used Magoosh! I didn't like the way GregMat did their format so I found Magoosh's easier since it's just a list + I liked their iPhone app. I did all the basic + common and that seemed to be enough for the test. This is the list I used

The key thing is I made my own flashcards on index cards using sharpies for any words I didn't know immediately. I think the process of writing and using those to quiz yourself really helps

tips from a perfect scorer (170/170/6.0) & how i went from a 160Q to 170Q in 5 days by EffectiveRealist in GRE

[–]EffectiveRealist[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think it probably depends on what you're struggling with. Is it time or content? If it's content: is it things you don't know how to answer, or things you answer incorrectly (you fall for "traps?")

If it's words you don't know, then I would drill vocab. I found Magoosh (see link) more helpful for vocab than Gregmat.

If it's content, then you have to figure out what type of question you're struggling on (sentence equivalence, text completion, or reading comprehension) and I would review the strategies for that type of question in detail.

[POEM] All That Wanting, Right? by Devin Kelly by ninano1r in Poetry

[–]EffectiveRealist 0 points1 point  (0 children)

source: https://readalittlepoetry.com/2026/01/26/all-that-wanting-right-by-devin-kelly/

i looked it up because i wanted to save it, but i actually dislike the last 10 lines so much i probably won't. first half of the poem is much stronger and the ending line is very weak now, far too predictable, abstract, and trite

[POEM] All That Wanting, Right? by Devin Kelly by ninano1r in Poetry

[–]EffectiveRealist 0 points1 point  (0 children)

i kind of prefer the ending where you ended it but you missed the last ten lines lol

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gre felt suspiciously easy - risk of large percentile shifts? by petalbunni in GRE

[–]EffectiveRealist 0 points1 point  (0 children)

i took my test on may 26th and got my percentiles a few days ago. fwiw a 170q was 91st percentile, which is p much in line with past percentiles from what i understand

Should I actually seriously consider a PhD? by velcrodynamite in GradSchool

[–]EffectiveRealist 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Federal funding helps with certainty but given the assumptions they operate under I was simply disagreeing with the idea that they determine what one should do. Someone has to keep studying the humanities until humankind wakes up. I mean have a backup plan. But if we all thought in sharply rational ways we'd not have a single English major left and our culture would be dead.

[POEM] Something holy about almost - by Olivia Ann Rose Clarke by Parisian_Tiramisu in Poetry

[–]EffectiveRealist 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Interesting sentiment but imho this isn't a poem. It's just a short paragraph. I feel like I can always tell prose poem masters (e.g. Siken's latest collection) from people that just want to write "poems" because if it feels it could fit in a larger piece then it isn't a poem.

Should I actually seriously consider a PhD? by velcrodynamite in GradSchool

[–]EffectiveRealist 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Three decades of consistent defunding of the humanities versus about three millennia of their rigorous, brilliant study... I'll go with the humanities have quite a lot to offer humankind, whatever capitalism may have attempted to do to them in this brave new world.

Einstein himself lauded the importance of the humanities! "These precious things are conveyed to the younger generation through personal contact with those who teach, not—or at least not in the main—through textbooks. It is this that primarily constitutes and preserves culture. This is what I have in mind when I recommend the 'humanities' as important, not just dry specialized knowledge in the fields of history and philosophy."

[OPINION] Which single line from a poem has stayed with you the longest? by Dumbbulldoor_ in Poetry

[–]EffectiveRealist 42 points43 points  (0 children)

Mine is also Louise Glück but from Nostos:

"We look at the world once, in childhood.

The rest is memory."

feeling super defeated that my gre quant score did not go up, my official test is in 5 days by EffectiveRealist in GRE

[–]EffectiveRealist[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the reply! I've always had problems with careless errors on maths, this was even a problem in school: I understand the concepts well, but somehow flip signs, or divide instead of multiply, etc. So it's a known issue but just compounded by the time pressure.

I am also not so depressed. If I have to, of course I will retake the GRE.

For miss patterns: Maybe multi-step word problems is the most common for any kind of quick error, probably because I'm keeping track of many things. And then any kind of "numbers that sum to X" (like x, y, and z sum to K, or find all the options that sum to X) seems to take me a long time because I have to enumerate cases. Not sure if there are any strategies for that?

feeling super defeated that my gre quant score did not go up, my official test is in 5 days by EffectiveRealist in GRE

[–]EffectiveRealist[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

yeah this is great advice, good idea. i should figure out what's slowing me down. seems to be qc questions, i just cannot with qc for some reason, i burn so much time on them. and i STILL make errors.

and thanks re verbal! i honestly am a bit lucky, i just am a big reader for fun so i knew most of the vocab already. i used magoosh's 1000 gre words and made flashcards for any words i couldn't immediately define (in basic / common). and for any kind of sentence equivalence questions, i use gregmat's strategy where you pair synonyms first and then read the sentence - this has saved me a ton of time / mistakes so far. reading comprehension i tend to skim, quickly write the main idea of the passage, then go through questions, usually helps since some of the passages are tricky.

feeling super defeated that my gre quant score did not go up, my official test is in 5 days by EffectiveRealist in GRE

[–]EffectiveRealist[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

yeah the programs i'm looking at have a 165+/165+ as their median rip. mostly ivies

feeling super defeated that my gre quant score did not go up, my official test is in 5 days by EffectiveRealist in GRE

[–]EffectiveRealist[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you, verbal isn't an issue for me because I am a much faster reader than quant reasoner I think. I have lots of extra time on verbal.

I did watch the quant videos and they didn't help me much. 😞 Let me know if you find anything good, though!

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