This manual,s new edition offers prospective graduate students intensive preparation for the GRE Graduate Record Exam. Opening chapters provide a perspective on the exam with a GRE overview, advice on effective test-taking tactics, and a diagnostic test to help students pinpoint their strengths and weaknesses. Subsequent chapters review all GRE test areas and include practice exercises for the following topics: antonym, analogy, and sentence-completion questions, reading comprehension, vocabulary, analytical writing, discrete quantitative questions, quantitative comparison questions, data interpretation questions, and math. The math review includes questions in arithmetic, algebra, and geometry. The manual's concluding section presents five full-length model exams that reflect recent GREs in length, question types, and degree of difficulty. All questions are answered and explained.
- Paperback: 600 pages
- Publisher: Barron's Educational Series; 18.0 edition (August 1, 2009)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0764142003
- ISBN-13: 978-0764142000
- Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.5 x 1.2 inches
- Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
Barron's (2009 ed.) and Princeton Review (2009 ed.) compared / contrasted, January 16, 2009 By P.W.
If you're preparing to take the GRE and trying to determine which book to use, the answer depends on your goal score. If it happens to be in the 500-650 range for either the verbal or quantitative sections, then most any review book should do the trick provided you invest a reasonable amount of time studying. Since the big name reviews (Barron's, Kaplan, PR) generally target this segment, any one of them alone should suffice.
If your goal is 660-800 in either section, and you don't have a natural talent that puts you in that range, then the main ingredient is: lots of studying.
At any goal level, Barron's is the best vocabulary review, hands down. It contains 50 word lists comprised of 3500 words whose usage is prioritized based on retired tests (i.e. if an obscure meaning of a word never came up on the test, the authors omit that definition so you don't waste time). To score consistently above 650, you'll need to know more than just the 333 words on the high-frequency list. To score consistently near 800, you'll need to know most of the 3500 words and be able to handle the tougher inferential questions that come up in high-level reading passages. The math review in this book is well done, but you'll need to look elsewhere for the more challenging math questions seen at the 700+ levels (Barron's is especially shallow on probability / permutations / combinations). The test taking tactics they present are well written and definitely useful. On the down side, the 2009 book doesn't contain significant revision from previous years and fails to include the new verbal and math question formats that ETS is gradually introducing (and which you may see on test day). It's an oversight which the authors ought to correct for 2010, but if you understand the actual material, you can get a great feel for the new formats on the ETS website.
Personally, I used the Barron's book as my main study tool. After digesting it and its practice tests, I moved on to the 2009 PR book. From a content perspective, there is very little in the PR review book that wasn't covered in Barron's and much that PR omits which Barron's covers well. I'd say I gleaned less than 10 new word meanings from PR (that weren't in Barron's), got a slightly better feel for probability from PR than from Barron's (but still not enough for high-end questions), and did learn a few good test tactics not covered in other books. All things said, format is what PR does best. PR understands its audience well, is very user friendly, is much easier to read, and is clearly designed for those with a short to medium attention span. But content is king for higher scores, and PR is definitely lighter in this department with one caveat: the online computer-based tests (included with a book purchase) are some of the best around and worth getting a hold of for this reason alone.
I didn't have the opportunity to review the Kaplan material, so can't give you a good feel except to say I've heard good things (especially about the math section). If you are looking for 700-800 level math, there are a number of off-brand guides available on the internet, including a great one put together by some very diligent (and very talented) Indian students. Best of luck.
Fabulous book & CD-ROM!!!!, January 12, 2008 By S. Mitchell "quirky reader"
At age 51, I was applying to grad school, and had to face the GRE. The English/writing part was no problem, but I had done badly in algebra in 9th grade, and never had trig at all. I had to learn it all in ONE MONTH. This book came through for me. It has very clear explanations of all key math points. I did all the practice problems in the book, pushing myself a little further every day. When I'd gotten through all the math, I tried a practice test. Only got a 250. I had the knowledge, but not the speed. That's where the CD-ROM came in. I took 2 practice tests a day, and slowly got my speed up. (Each time you do the practice tests, they are different. Now and then, there was a question I'd had before, but not often enough to significantly boost my score.) By the time I took the real test, I was getting in the 600s on the practice tests. I had figured out some strategies. Finally, I took the real thing, and got a 720 on both sections, for a total of 1440! I owe it all to the excellent math tutorial and examples in the book, and ESPECIALLY, to the real-time practice tests on the CD-ROM. I just cannot rave enough about this book!!
Perhaps the best book for the GRE!, November 7, 2007 By John Hopkins
As a former graduate student and someone who has already taken the GRE before, several times, I went into preparing for the GRE in a way that a former prisoner goes back into prison. Those who have taken the test before will understand what I mean. The GRE forces some people, those who want to do particularly well on the test, to kill their social life and become prisoners in their homes studying for this test every single day!
I want to wholeheartedly and without reservations recommend the Barron's GRE book, as it takes the time to cover the subject matter at a degree which surpasses any $1000 Kaplan class you will ever take. It forces you to analyze the questions, analyze your own approach/method, and to truly (I cannot stress this enough) LEARN (not just regurgitate, my friend) the material need for success on the GRE.
The GRE is not a test of regurgitation, but a test of your ability to problem solve, and problem solve well. Match this book with the Princeton review 2008 or 2007 book and you will be golden. Nothing else is needed. You will spend roughly $40 and will accomplish much more than others who have chose to take the expensive GRE courses.
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