Once you have decided that you should absolutely do an MS next year, you need to register for GRE. If you haven't decided that yet, I suggest you decide before July starts. This is because you need ample time to study for the test and retake it if you feel your score is very less. But normally the ideal time to register for GRE would be in April so that you can retake as many times as possible. One suggestion here. Don't retake GRE more than thrice. Because, if they ask you how many times you took your GRE in visa interview, you can't say 4 or 5 times. It will come out as if you are desperate to go to the US and they might deny your visa.
Ok, let's take it slowly and not think about all that now. Decide before July and register for the test. I have seen people who told me that they will prepare first and register for the test. But that will not work out for most people. But, if you register, then you will definitely prepare because you have paid money for the test.
Firstly, for writing GRE, you need to have a valid passport. If not, register for a passport and get it as soon as possible.
Registration:
You can register for GRE at GRE Official Page. There are options to register by phone and email. I am not sure about these. If you want to know more about this, just use browse through the ETS website.
Registering for GRE cost about $195 and if you want to postpone the test, it costs about $50.
The fee to change your test center is $50.
If you want to cancel your test, do it 4 days prior. Then, you'll receive half of your fee back. Otherwise, you won't get any refunds. So, that's $97.5.
You can take the GRE once every 21 days, up to five times within a year. Limit this to 3 times. Don't take more than thrice. This applies even if you canceled your scores on a test that was taken previously.
Preparation:
When registering for the test, make sure you leave enough gap to study. On an average, if you are free 24*7, you would need 1 month to prepare. If you are working or going to college, then take 2 months to prepare.
Learning GRE words is probably the easiest thing to do in GRE. Just try out Barron's app or use one of the Magoosh apps to learn. Make sure to learn at least 800 words. And finish it within a span of 1-2 weeks. If you are free 24*7, make sure to finish it within a week.
After this period, use the Magoosh apps every night before sleeping and learn a few words. But don't spend too much time on this. Just 15-20 minutes would be enough. But do it right before sleeping.
The most important thing to do is to take as many mock tests as possible. These will help you a lot more than learning words. I used Kaplan's GRE Premier. I read through the book within a week and started taking tests from the online portal that came along with it. I also took Manhattan's free test and a few other free tests online. The main thing to remember is to take the official GRE PowerPrep Tests 2-3 days before the actual tests. Since these are one time, save it for the last. And don't ever forget to take it because it's the most accurate measure of your score you could get on the test day.
IMPORTANT NOTE: While taking the tests, don't just take the test, see the score and forget it. Kaplan provides an extensive answer system that shows how and why your answers have gone wrong. Look at all the questions you answered wrong and try to understand why you were wrong. After the wrong answers, go through and revise all the correct answers just in case you accidentally guessed it or got the context wrong. While looking at these answers, just remember to look at the definition for all the words shown in those tests. That way you will cover most of the GRE words that you could have missed while learning words.
Don't worry if you get low marks all the time. These third party tests are a lot harder than the original test. Think of these as the maximum difficulty a GRE test can offer.
I am not partial to Kaplan. You can use any other material you want. Just remember to take at least 10-15 mocks before the exam. And, once again, don't forget to take the official mock tests 2-3 days before the exam.
Don't take any test on the last day prior to your test day. If you score very less in that test, your motivation will go down.
For Analytical Writing, just take the mock test questions and try to answer them to the best of your knowledge within the given time. Also, read a lot of questions they can ask and the proper answers to them. It is enough if you score 3+ in AWA unless you want to take up English or writing or journalism as your masters. In which case, you would already be better at this.
For math, again, just these tests are enough. Math in GRE is pretty simple. If you hate math or if you are not good at it, then you have to work a lot harder by trying to understand all the answers you answered wrong or guessed right. Either way, just the test is enough.
For people who can't read fast, try to read a lot of articles. Read Opinion - NYTtimes everyday. Open it in incognito, so that you won't hit the limit of 10 articles per day. If you do, close it and open in incognito again. Also, read a lot of other articles. Try to read faster so that you can finish Verbal section within time.
After the test:
Hopefully, you got a good mark on your first attempt. If not, register as soon as possible again. Finish your GRE by October. If you take till November, you won't have enough time to finish TOEFL and start applying to colleges. A lot of colleges have deadlines in December. So Make sure to finish GRE by October.
Next, i'll be talking about TOEFL and what after these tests.
Ok, let's take it slowly and not think about all that now. Decide before July and register for the test. I have seen people who told me that they will prepare first and register for the test. But that will not work out for most people. But, if you register, then you will definitely prepare because you have paid money for the test.
Firstly, for writing GRE, you need to have a valid passport. If not, register for a passport and get it as soon as possible.
Registration:
You can register for GRE at GRE Official Page. There are options to register by phone and email. I am not sure about these. If you want to know more about this, just use browse through the ETS website.
Registering for GRE cost about $195 and if you want to postpone the test, it costs about $50.
The fee to change your test center is $50.
If you want to cancel your test, do it 4 days prior. Then, you'll receive half of your fee back. Otherwise, you won't get any refunds. So, that's $97.5.
You can take the GRE once every 21 days, up to five times within a year. Limit this to 3 times. Don't take more than thrice. This applies even if you canceled your scores on a test that was taken previously.
Preparation:
When registering for the test, make sure you leave enough gap to study. On an average, if you are free 24*7, you would need 1 month to prepare. If you are working or going to college, then take 2 months to prepare.
Learning GRE words is probably the easiest thing to do in GRE. Just try out Barron's app or use one of the Magoosh apps to learn. Make sure to learn at least 800 words. And finish it within a span of 1-2 weeks. If you are free 24*7, make sure to finish it within a week.
After this period, use the Magoosh apps every night before sleeping and learn a few words. But don't spend too much time on this. Just 15-20 minutes would be enough. But do it right before sleeping.
The most important thing to do is to take as many mock tests as possible. These will help you a lot more than learning words. I used Kaplan's GRE Premier. I read through the book within a week and started taking tests from the online portal that came along with it. I also took Manhattan's free test and a few other free tests online. The main thing to remember is to take the official GRE PowerPrep Tests 2-3 days before the actual tests. Since these are one time, save it for the last. And don't ever forget to take it because it's the most accurate measure of your score you could get on the test day.
IMPORTANT NOTE: While taking the tests, don't just take the test, see the score and forget it. Kaplan provides an extensive answer system that shows how and why your answers have gone wrong. Look at all the questions you answered wrong and try to understand why you were wrong. After the wrong answers, go through and revise all the correct answers just in case you accidentally guessed it or got the context wrong. While looking at these answers, just remember to look at the definition for all the words shown in those tests. That way you will cover most of the GRE words that you could have missed while learning words.
Don't worry if you get low marks all the time. These third party tests are a lot harder than the original test. Think of these as the maximum difficulty a GRE test can offer.
I am not partial to Kaplan. You can use any other material you want. Just remember to take at least 10-15 mocks before the exam. And, once again, don't forget to take the official mock tests 2-3 days before the exam.
Don't take any test on the last day prior to your test day. If you score very less in that test, your motivation will go down.
For Analytical Writing, just take the mock test questions and try to answer them to the best of your knowledge within the given time. Also, read a lot of questions they can ask and the proper answers to them. It is enough if you score 3+ in AWA unless you want to take up English or writing or journalism as your masters. In which case, you would already be better at this.
For math, again, just these tests are enough. Math in GRE is pretty simple. If you hate math or if you are not good at it, then you have to work a lot harder by trying to understand all the answers you answered wrong or guessed right. Either way, just the test is enough.
For people who can't read fast, try to read a lot of articles. Read Opinion - NYTtimes everyday. Open it in incognito, so that you won't hit the limit of 10 articles per day. If you do, close it and open in incognito again. Also, read a lot of other articles. Try to read faster so that you can finish Verbal section within time.
After the test:
Hopefully, you got a good mark on your first attempt. If not, register as soon as possible again. Finish your GRE by October. If you take till November, you won't have enough time to finish TOEFL and start applying to colleges. A lot of colleges have deadlines in December. So Make sure to finish GRE by October.
Next, i'll be talking about TOEFL and what after these tests.
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