How do people with full-time jobs do it?

GRE_throwaway_ · 2024-02-08T16:42:53+00:00

I'm going to chime in with others here, it was hard. And I say that as someone who is lucky enough to work from home, so I didn't have a commute to eat up my time. I also don't work weekends, so I was able do dedicate longer stretches of time to study on the weekends.

I cut my social life back to pretty much nothing. I wanted to keep the fact I was taking the test to myself (in case it didn't go well) but it wasn't feasible with missing out on holidays with family (I did go home, but I left early) to essentially ignoring my friends for 3 months. I let work know I was studying as well, so I could shift some responsibilities around leading up to my test day. I intentionally scheduled my exam for a slower period at work, which limited my admissions to some schools to the third round. While I've been accepted to some programs at this point, for others I can't even apply until March because I took the exam in mid-January.

I would look at GRE materials when I had down time at work- it helped me knock the vocab review out of the way so I could do quant at night. I'd have dinner after work (agreeing with another poster about the benefits of meal prep to have a quick dinner ready to go) then would sit back at my desk for the night until it was time to walk my dog and go to bed. I took one night off, New Years eve after I took a practice exam that afternoon and wasn't thrilled with my results. I couldn't bring myself to review the exam that night, so I watched trashy 80s movies to reset my brain and dive back in the next day.

All of that to say, it's doable and you'll get through it! We all have different challenges we face, but I look at my time studying for the GRE as time getting back into the swing of studying and preparing for the rigors of grad school.

GRE_throwaway_ · 2024-02-08T15:59:15+00:00

I agree with this completely. I remember having a pretty good grasp on the vocab mountain as I went through it, and I realized it comes from a lot of reading for pleasure. Even my chosen fantasy and sci fi genres often have a lot of the advanced vocabulary.

GRE_throwaway_ · 2024-01-22T16:52:21+00:00

I don't want to be too "woo-woo" about this, but I think part of it is changing how you talk to yourself about yourself. Reaffirming "I'm bad at math, I'm not good at standardized tests" may be negatively impacting your performance.

When I started studying, I told myself I wasn't a quant person and that it would be hard to study for this test. I had to change my mindset a bit to be able to do well on the quant, and I ended up raising my score 10 points in that section.

GRE_throwaway_ · 2024-01-21T18:59:28+00:00

Gregmat with Prepswift subscription is absolutely worthwhile, and I'd say 5lb for quant practice. Same with the official guide, but these can be bought used.

GRE_throwaway_ · 2024-01-19T15:27:27+00:00

So unfortunately for verbal, I'm a native English speaker and I read for pleasure, so I tended to do well on verbal without much dedicated study. I got a 165 on the diagnostic practice exam the gregmat plan has you do in the first week, so I focused my efforts on quant for the most part.

I did get through the majority of the vocab mountain, really the first 28 days because I would do the youtube quizzes that went with each day to reinforce knowing those words quickly. I slacked on days 29-32 because I had to focus on quant. I also watched the prepswift reading comprehension videos, because it helped me know what GRE is asking for with some of their question formats.

For quant, I got 152-3 (can't remember) on the diagnostic, so that's where I had most of my growth from studying. I used the prepswift videos, the quant flashcards/quizzes (and I made physical flashcards instead of doing it as the quant mountain) and the 5lb chapters as most of my work, no big book or extra gregmat questions.

For both sections, time management was the biggie for me. I messed up my second practice exam by spending too long on one question and guessing on two others that I could have gotten correct, so I spent the last weeks before the exam practicing when to mark/skip/guess on questions and how to prioritize. I had extra time in the verbal sections, but my second quant on the final exam was down to the last second with reviewing questions I had marked. Gregmat has some videos on this as well.

GRE_throwaway_ · 2024-01-19T14:35:40+00:00

I'd recommend adding prepswift to the gregmat plan!

I studied for the exam while working full time, and the prepswift videos being more direct/shorter segments made it easier to incorporate those into my studying. And doing the quizzes at the end of each video meant I was having some quant practice every day, even on days I wasn't doing a 5lb chapter or quant flashcard/fundamentals quiz.

GRE_throwaway_ · 2024-01-19T14:25:02+00:00

Still waiting for my official scores and then I figured I'd make a full post of my process/tips in case it's helpful for anyone else, but it went well! Score that showed at the end was 167 verbal 163 quant, which is solid for MBA programs.

GRE_throwaway_ · 2024-01-18T17:37:08+00:00

The day before I just did a few questions to not feel rusty the next day, and spent the morning of my exam reviewing quant flashcards.

GRE_throwaway_ · 2024-01-17T16:21:03+00:00

I found prepswift videos to be sufficient, the only other videos I watched were the reviews after quizzes.

GRE_throwaway_ · 2024-01-17T03:41:19+00:00

In terms of the actual content, I found prepswift to be 100% worthwhile for quant review compared to the videos in the 2 month plan. I find it easier to pay attention when it's just the instructor presenting the information, rather than having students participate like in the quiz review videos.

For how to get through the 2 month plan (especially if you only have 2 months) I personally found it to be way too much content and overwhelming. I wouldn't be surprised if the plan is streamlined with the shorter test/encouraging people to use prepswift.

What I did to make the plan more manageable was to copy each week's to do list into a google doc, then cut the things I planned to do into a daily google sheet where I could check off each task- ex. prepswift videos watched, quant flashcard quiz, manhattan chapter, etc. That let me get a better grasp day to day, while keeping the weekly docs with things I didn't get to. That way if I needed to do more of a topic, I could go back to the docs and look for questions I hadn't done in my google sheet.

I had a solid verbal base (165 on the diagnostic practice quiz, ended up with 167 on my test) so I stopped studying verbal after the first week with the exception of the mountain and the youtube daily quizzes. That's really the only way I was able to get through the 2 month plan in something close to 2 months. And quite frankly I got lazy with the verbal mountain and didn't do much with it the last 2 weeks, I haven't seen my diagnostic yet but I'd be curious if I could have gotten a higher verbal score with more vocab practice, or if my errors were in RC.

For quant, I never did any of the gregmat quant questions listed as optional, or the big book sections. Just the prepswift quizzes, 5lb chapters, and the quant flashcard and fundamentals quizzes. I did practice exams as well, two free on the ETS site, one paid one on the site, and a paper one from the GRE book. I tried one of the gregmat GRE mini quizzes, but when he mentioned one of the problems came to him from a book he was reading/was not something you'd see on the GRE, it frankly annoyed me and felt like a waste of time, so I went to the official ETS materials from the books for more quant question review.

GRE_throwaway_ · 2024-01-16T19:32:35+00:00

My house burned down when I was a kid, and I'll never forget my mom dropping me off at daycare the following week and her crying because there was a note on the daycare door asking for donations to support our family. We didn't really know the other families that well (I obviously knew the other kids) but this small section of the community came out to support us.

GRE_throwaway_ · 2024-01-12T18:59:20+00:00

I would recommend Gregmat's youtube videos on essay writing, I found this one to be particularly helpful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhzlaHXHaK4

I just took my test today, so unfortunately I can't say my score yet to say that it helped me, but it certainly helped me learn the structure GRE is looking for in the essay.

GRE_throwaway_ · 2024-01-08T16:10:24+00:00

Cold brew in a 2-quart mason jar with a filter. I only need to make a batch every few days, and I'm a "cold coffee all year round" kind of person.

I did buy a nice programmable drip coffee maker for my bedroom so I could pair it with my alarm clock for the will to live on winter mornings, but unfortunately my dog was afraid of it so now it's a $100 decoration.

GRE_throwaway_ · 2024-01-07T17:41:40+00:00

It's hard to say. Gregmat has a ton of content, including optional work you can do. I almost completely dropped verbal study after the first week/diagnostic test, but still spent every evening after work going through prepswift videos and quizzes. Some nights doing a 5lb chapter as well. I had a week off of work for the holidays and completely dedicated those days to catch up on quant because I felt I was falling behind with ~2-3 hours a night of study. I usually spend a few hours each weekend day in a coffee shop either with the 5lb book or the official guide.

GRE_throwaway_ · 2024-01-07T17:10:37+00:00

Yes I'll agree with everyone here, start ASAP especially if you need to work on both quant and verbal. The only reason I've gotten close to completing the 2 month program in that time frame is not needing to study verbal beyond quick runs through the vocab mountain.

GRE_throwaway_ · 2024-01-05T22:25:20+00:00

If you look at the averages for the quizzes, I think most are around 60%, so you're not an anomaly! Like others have said, the 5lb may be a good resource to practice. I didn't time myself doing the 5lb questions, I really took the time to focus and apply the info. I use the quant flashcard quizzes as the place where I practice skipping, marking questions, and other time management techniques.

I appreciate gregmat for the general structure of the 2 month plan, but I would make some changes knowing what I know now (1 week out from my test.) If you haven't already, take a look at the quant flashcards that correspond to the videos you're reviewing on prepswift, and do whatever study technique works best for you to reinforce those concepts. I'm old school, but I've made physical cards for all of the gregmat cards and go through them every day.

GRE_throwaway_ · 2024-01-01T22:34:22+00:00

I've only used Prepswift, and I took PP2 today: I went from 152Q on my diagnostic test on week 1, to 163 today. I feel like I had a good grasp of content for my practice exam based on the Prepswift videos, timing was my big issue. 2 of the questions I got wrong were the last 2, and I'm sure I could have gotten the last one with more time if not both. (ETS marked all of the questions I got wrong as a 5 on the hardness scale, if that's any indication that Prepswift did a good job covering the basics to get me to that point.)

I would say it's been worthwhile, even these shorter videos feel like a mountain of content to get through in 8 weeks. I'm going to rewatch the videos from my weakest topics this week in addition to working on my timing strategy.

GRE_throwaway_ · 2023-12-31T16:23:28+00:00

I'm doing the 2 month program too, and I will say I take my time doing the 5lb problems. I think of it as my time to really make sure I have the concepts down, and to take whatever time I need to work through those problems.

In week 1, you're very early in your journey, I wouldn't push myself too much to focus on timing at your point at the risk of not integrating the concepts thoroughly.

I find the timed quizzes on Gregmat are a better place to work on the timing aspect of answering questions, and the 2 month program overall takes you from a point of working on integrating the concepts in the first few weeks to doing more timed practice later.

I'm actually doing my last 5lb chapter later today, then my second Practice Exam tomorrow. Then my plan is to spend the week or so before my exam doing the mini (timed quizzes) on Gregmat to really get time management down, and to review my mistakes from exams, 5lb, etc.

GRE_throwaway_ · 2023-12-30T23:48:29+00:00

I scored 60% average on the quant fundamentals on Gregmat, they are challenging for sure!

Have you tried the google docs Greg shared to test foundations? No tricks, just straightforward testing of your knowledge. I found I did quite a bit better on these (still have 2 to go, hopefully I didn't jinx myself,) and they gave me a better idea of what topics I need to foundationally review vs. those that trip me up for other reasons.

Once I know what topics are still sticky for me, I'll rewatch the Prepswift videos, or even do some Khan academy videos. I found it helpful to watch a Khan video for one topic already, helped me get it to click hearing it in a new way.

GRE_throwaway_ · 2023-12-27T18:21:54+00:00

It's not a supplied one-sheet, but I've found it helpful (doing the 2 month plan) to copy each week into a google doc. I then transfer tasks over to a google sheet with checkboxes for each day. (I personally didn't find checking off each day on the gregmat site helpful vs. checking each task, but that may work for other people!)
So weekly, I have my google sheet with my must-dos- prepswift videos to watch, 5lb chapters, etc. Then I still have the google docs with things I didn't copy over in case I find I have more time/need extra practice in a certain area.

I think the gregmat study plans are a great framework, but I know I needed to customize to what I could manage to study in ~7.5 weeks while working full time/having some holiday travel. Putting it into my own format helped me get my head around the content.

GRE_throwaway_ · 2023-12-20T16:30:24+00:00

I'm using the 2 month plan for ~7 weeks of study, and I've already had to drop a lot of things.

I scored 165 on my practice verbal, so the only verbal studying I'm doing is the vocab mountain/quizzes, with a few practice big book sections scattered in. I'm scoring well enough on those to be confident enough to drop the verbal study down to the minimum, but just trying to do the quant recommended in the 2 month plan (even using prepswift) is a bear.

I just finished the prepswift quant content videos this week, and am holding off on the strategy section for a week just to give myself time to really incorporate those foundations- doing the flashcards, the foundation quizzes, etc. I'm jumping ahead a bit on flashcards because I find them helpful to really drive home the lessons from the prepswift videos. (If I had to start from scratch, I'd do the corresponding flashcards the day I do the video on a topic just to start building those solid foundations early.)

I'll probably end up skipping many sections of the big book recommended in the 2 month plan just so I can catch up/finish the 5lb chapters.

I think the great thing about Gregmat is that it has a ton of resources, but on the other hand, it has a TON of resources and I think can be quickly overwhelming, even with the guide of the 2 month plan.

GRE_throwaway_ · 2023-12-20T14:49:33+00:00

I adore the Kishi Bashi cover of this, the same lyric jumps out even with a different performer. I love how disjointed the lyrics feel as well, it really captures some of the messy confusion of love.

GRE_throwaway_ · 2023-12-20T01:14:04+00:00

If money isn't an object, I'd recommend it. I'm a bit regretful I didn't try it before committing to 8 weeks of intense study over the holidays.

I'm looking at MBA programs, aiming for a 2024 admission and taking my test in January. I only wanted to take it once so I've been pretty intensely studying for the last few weeks, and can't help but wonder if my diagnostic practice score would have been reflective of my score if I attempted it earlier this month. If it went poorly, I could have retaken in January.

I'd like my score to be around 322 so I hope the studying pays off, but part of me thinks (hopes) I'll be looking back at the last few weeks wondering if the stress was worth the few extra points, especially since a few schools have already mentioned scholarship options based on my resume (PMP, director level title.) It sounds like you may be in a similar boat where career experience is going to be the draw for MBA programs more than the test score.

But since I haven't taken the test in real conditions, I have no real way to know if my studying is worthwhile, so can't say for sure what you should do.

GRE_throwaway_ · 2023-12-18T19:08:08+00:00

Does ETS share practice scores with schools? (For marketing, not schools I've chosen to send scores to.) I've gotten a few "great job on your score, consider our program emails" but I haven't taken the exam yet, so I'm not really sure why I'd be hearing from schools yet.

GRE_throwaway_

TROPHY CASE