GRE Prep Course [Paperback]

Jeff Kolby (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1997 | ISBN-10: 1889057010 | ISBN-13: 978-1889057019

Comprehensive, Rigorous Prep for the GRE.

Every year, students pay $900 and more to test prep companies to prepare for the GRE. Now you can get the same preparation in a book. GRE Prep Course provides the equivalent of a 2-month, 50-hour course.

Although the GRE is a difficult test, it is a very learnable test. GRE Prep Course presents a thorough analysis of the GRE and introduces numerous analytic techniques that will help you immensely, not only on the GRE but in graduate school as well.

Features:

* Math: Twenty-two chapters provide comprehensive review of GRE math.

* Verbal: Develop the ability to spot places from which questions are likely to be drawn as you read a passage (pivotal words, counter-premises, etc.). Also, learn the 4000 essential GRE words.

* Writing: Comprehensive analysis of the writing task, including writing techniques, punctuation, grammar, rhetoric, and style.

* Mentor Exercises: These exercises provide hints, insight, and partial solutions to ease your transition from seeing GRE problems solved to solving them on your own.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

I would most highly recommend Nova's GRE Prep Course for both quant and verbal. I looked at Kaplan, Barron's, and a bunch of others, but they weren't anywhere near as thorough as Nova. For the quant, there are tons of questions for every problem subset, strategies and tips, and a diagnostic test to help you focus in on your problem areas. It also has great resources for the verbal, in terms of practice questions and vocab lists.

I took the GRE after six years away from college coursework, and about fourteen years after taking any math course (last one was Calculus). I'm applying for Arabic lit, so the quant wasn't as important to me, but with the help of two weeks of intensive study with the Nova book I was able to pull up my score from a 680 on my first practice test to a 730 on the actual exam. The finer points of the verbal section helped me pull up from a 730 to an 800.

Jeff Kolby has also written another book for Nova called the GRE Math Prep Course. Since this focuses just on math, it may have even more depth.

Good luck, knock 'em dead. --A student --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Publisher

Comprehensive preparation for the GRE

Every year students pay as much as $900 to test prep companies to prepare for the GRE. Now you can get the same preparation in a book. GRE Prep Course provides the equivalent of a two-month, 50-hour course.

Although the GRE is a difficult test, it is a very learnable test. GRE Prep Course presents a thorough analysis of the GRE and introduces numerous analytic techniques that will help you immensely, not only on the GRE but in graduate school as well. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 624 pages
• Publisher: Nova Pr (January 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1889057010
• ISBN-13: 978-1889057019
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,684,986 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth it, September 29, 2002

By 

Jennifer Usry "jenus80" (Salt Lake City, Utah) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: GRE Prep Course with Software (Paperback)

Though several other reviewers seem to find this book mediocre at best, I found that it was very helpful in a lot of ways. The questions seemed a lot harder than actual questions on ETS practice tests as well as on the real GRE, so when it came to actually taking the test I felt that everything was pretty easy by comparison. My score was much better after having studied this book than it would have been without it. Granted, I did come across some wrong answers in problem explanations, but very few when considering the sizable quantity of practice questions in this book.

The Quantitative lessons were the most helpful to me, as they provided in-depth reviews of all the concepts that are likely to be encountered in the exam, with practice problems for each concept. The logic sections were also very helpful, especially when it came to practicing how to concisely jot down the conditions of a problem and how to draw the right kinds of diagrams quickly. Finally, the verbal section provided a good review, including a list of 4000 important vocab words. Unfortunately, the vocab definitions provided were extremely brief, and I found it necessary to turn to another study guide for more extensive definitions.

Overall, though I didn't manage an 800-800-800 like some reviewers who used this book (I wish I could have gotten that score!), I did very well (well enough to feel no inclination to take the test again). I found that the only factor that lowered my scores at all was the fact that I had trouble finishing all the questions on the quantitative and analytical secitons within the time limits (damn those time limits! damn them to hell!). I was much better off for having studied with this book and I would recommend it to anyone, although I'm sure that most study guides are fairly equivalent. What really makes the biggest difference is the time and effort you're willing to devote to studying this or any other guide.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book but order way in advance, February 5, 2002

By 

Martha Garduño (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: GRE Prep Course with Software (Paperback)

This book is great, it has a lot of excercises but be sure to have enough time to study, at least 2 months, before the exam.

Most of the exercises are of equal or high complexity as the actual exam.

This is the book to study from.

30 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Buy something different, September 5, 2002

By 

Katie Bell "mphkatie" (Chapel Hill, NC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: GRE Prep Course with Software (Paperback)

This particular GRE review book is actually quite difficult to use and does not, I believe prepare you for actual GRE questions.
1. The anylytical or Logic portion of the book (Soon to become obsolete) is ridiculously easy, I scored 800 each time on all the tests in the book, and found they had no helpful strategies in the logic section. While I scored a 760 in Analytical, I did not find anything in this book remotely challenging when it came to test day...

2. The Verbal section of the book does have a helpful vocabulary list, however, their one word definitions are not always entirely accurate in defining these words, thus on test day, you may come up against a word with two meanings such as Purchase (traction or to buy) or Slip (used by potters, or to fall, or an undergarment) and only know one. In addition, their questions for the reading interpretation are somewhat vague and really open to interpretation.
3. Math is my weak point. The math section was thorough enough it seemed to me, but there were several errors.

The other complaint I have regarding this book is the unusual percentile scoring which seems to have very little rhyme or reason. While it appears logical, it scores your test very differently than an actual CAT exam would- despite it being on the computer. The book bases your score on number of questions answered correctly, where as the CAT bases it on the weight of the questions you answer correctly...Based on the scores I got from this book I would have had a 1630, when in reality I scored 1860.

There are several GRE prep books out there. i would recommend you choose a company that focuses on Test Preparation (ie Princeton Review and Kaplan and a few others) to find a more reliable prepatory course....Taking the test is stressful enough without this confusing document.