99 of 99 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Princeton Review vs. Kaplan, February 8, 2007
This review is from: Cracking the GRE Psychology Subject Test, 7th Edition (Paperback)
I studied from two books: The Princeton Review's Cracking the GRE and Kaplan's GRE Psychology. I never had a psychology class in college - I'm a chemist - most of this was new. But I scored an 800 on the test, apparently, 99th percentile. Here were my impressions:
Cracking the GRE - I enjoyed the presentation and the organization of the material. It was straightforward, covered the basics, and clean with upbeat, if cheesy, dialogue and photos. It made it easier to learn, but left out a lot that was in Kaplan. This is a quick review for someone without much time, but NOT for someone, like me, who knows nothing about psychology.
Kaplan - Much more thorough than Princeton Review's; it was very dense and seemed to try to touch on every concept that might be a question on the test. This can be a bit overwhelming and certainly confusing, as I noticed numerous typos, contradictions, and other errors that sent me to the web for clarification and correction. The book's organization is poorer for review than The Princeton Review's, so keep your own notes and keep them organized.
Both books contained some information not found in the other (this was more true for Kaplan than "Cracking"). Also, there were questions on the test wholly unrelated to anything I'd studied in either book. I suspect then, no prep book can prepare you completely for the test. Likewise, the books' sample tests will not reliably predict your performance, since the questions on the books' practice tests rarely require knowledge not supplied in the books.
If you're crunched for time, just get Kaplan's book and move on to "Cracking" if you've mastered the first. If you're really crunched for time, say a week or two, just go for "Cracking". But if you have the time, get both books. I found they supported each other and I learned enough to score better than most. Read "Cracking" first to get the test material straight in your mind, then Kaplan to fill in the gaps. In taking book practice tests, and the official ETS one (an absolute MUST since it seems more difficult), don't get too upset if you don't have a clue on some questions. I skipped about 5 questions on the actual test and I guessed on at least 10 more and I still did well.
Good luck.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Definitely Helped!, January 9, 2007
This review is from: Cracking the GRE Psychology Subject Test, 7th Edition (Paperback)
The chapter reviews in this book were concise and to the point...definitely meant for a person who is reviewing psychology material rather than learning for the first time. Very concerning, however, was the fact that I found several pieces of wrong information (wrong names, etc.). The practice test at the end of the book was a great review. I found it to be, however, much easier than the actual GRE. I did well on my subject test (score of 710) but scored almost perfectly on the practice test in this book. Not sure if this book contributed to my score but I definitely felt like it was a good review for the test.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Psychology GRE, October 7, 2007
This review is from: Cracking the GRE Psychology Subject Test, 7th Edition (Paperback)
I used this book in conjunction with
Kaplan GRE Psychology, 2007-2008 Edition (Kaplan Gre Psychology)These books combined totally prepared me for the Oct 07 psychology subject GRE. I found that there is no single book that does the job, but these two together were perfect.
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