Customer Reviews

The GRE Test for Dummies, Fifth Edition

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I am taking the GREs to get a certain score to get into the school of my choice. I have taken this test twice and failed to reach my goal. Prior to the the first try I shelled out big money for a Kaplan course and bought Kaplan's cd-rom. For the second test I bought Princeton's cd-rom. I memorized hundreds of vocabulary words, took endless practice tests, and sat through banal classes -- and still was not able to meet my goal. If you are applying to graduate school, all of the standard guides and cd-roms will seem patronizing at best. In desperation and preparation of my third try I bought the 'Dummies' book. While some of the vocabulary is rather general, the tactics are marvelous! The vocabulary is based on roots, prefixes and suffixes... much better than memorizing definitions by rote. The study strategies are really useful. The math section explains each answer in full. The time management strategies are great. I would highly recommend using this book in conjunction with one of the standard ETS guides. While the title is daunting, you won't be disappointed with the content.

This book is extremely helpful, and the author's sense of humor makes the studying bearable. Also, the way the vocabulary is integrated into the entire book means you are learning it even while studying for other parts of the exam. The most helpful parts are the math reviews, I actually re-learned years worth of algebra and geometry without too much effort. Again, the best part about the whole thing is that the author actually has a sense of humor, the book is not nearly as dry as some of the others I bought.

I used The GRE for Dummies as well as the Cracking the GRE CAT (with CD Rom) to study for the GRE. Both had their strengths. In the GRE for Dummies, the math review was superior, the prefix, suffix, and root review was excellent; and especially helpful was the note that prior to studying, one should see whether or not the graduate school requires all three scores. I did that, found that I would not have to spend very much time studying for the analytical section, and was appreciative of the time saved. Using these two books, I did quite well on the GRE!

Beware...althought this text is easy (and relatively painless) to read, the math section does NOT provide adequate preparation. Several types of questions found on the actual GRE are nowhere to be found in this supposedly comprehensive study guide. I was very disappointed when, after studying the math section religiously, I encountered problems on the GRE that I could have easily solved, had they been reviewed in the math section of the study guide. I would recommend using this guide in conjunction with another (possibly the ETS) study guide to prepare for the GRE.

I purchased this book 2-3 weeks before taking the computer-based GRE. I went through all the material and took both practice exams. I found the book to be extremely useful in terms of the many tips for doing well, even though you may not have the material totally mastered. I am 40 years old, married, two kids, and work full-time. I needed something that could help me get it done quick. This book really proved to be well worth my time and money. I will say that I found the analytical and verbal sections on the actual test more difficult than the practice exams. Nevertheless, I scored just as well on the actual test as on the practices: V-580, Q-530, A-580, for an overall score of 1690. I needed a 1600 for the masters program I am applying to. I really think the strategies I learned from the book are what helped me, because there were several questions on the exam I felt clueless about. Thanks Suzee!

I bought this book based on the online reviews, and I have to say, the reviews are accurate. This book teaches you a lot about the tricks and traps of the GRE--some of which you can apply and some of which you won't see on the actual test. The math review is good and easy to understand. The analytical review helped me the most--just by practicng the logic games, you will learn a lot about how to do well on this section. The verbal review is okay, but it is better, I think, to start way ahead of time and learn as much vocabulary as possible. (It is extremely difficult to do well on the verbal section if you try to cram at the last minute--unless you have a superior vocab to begin with...) The best feature of this book is the fact that it is easy and interesting to read. As for my last word of GRE advice: take a snack or something to drink, because you will be so zonked by the time you have your break, you will need a little sustenance. Good luck!

I flipped through several "traditional" GRE self-study books, but with little time to prepare (i.e. two weeks) and no desire to memorize lists of obscure vocabulary words, I bought this book. After a week of learning strategies and understanding how the test works, my practice test scores soared! And I wound up scoring well over 600 on the math and analytical portions of the test. Thanks to the author for the first EFFECTIVE book for taking a standardized test!

If you are going to take the GRE, buy this book and no other. The author fills you in on all the tricks you need to know to score well on the GRE (and there are many), and does not waste your time with lists of 30,000 vocabulary words. Spend your time learning the structure of the test and how to avoid the traps, then learn the basic information. Her chapters on algebra and geometry are much more useful than Barron's or any other books I looked at, and her strategy for vocabulary makes much better use of your time than memorizing vocabulary. The only way the book falls short is in preparation for the unique features of the computer-based test. All the books I looked at fell short this way, even the ones that claimed to have sections on the computer-based test.

I used this book as my only preparation for the GRE, and found it invaluable. The GRE itself is serious and stressful enough, and it was nice to have a book that looked at it more light-heartedly and with a grain of salt. I took the computerized version of the exam, and was very happy with my results. In fact, before buying this book I had no idea what to expect from the Analytical section of the exam, and thanks to the advice and practice questions provided, my analytical score was an 800--a perfect score! If you feel you need more preparation than a book can provide, by all means take a preparatory course or get a CD-ROM, but I found this book to be more than adequate.

Unfortunately, there were many GRE words that were unlisted in the index, which made it time-consuming to write down these words when I was making flashcards for myself because I had to review the entire book, in order, to locate these words. Clearly, the index needs to be corrected in an updated, newer version. In addition, I found some typographical errors throughout the book, too, which also need to be corrected in a newer edition. While, Ms. Vlk is extremely intelligent, has great wit (her jokes in the GRE are extremely funny), I cannot recommend this book to those who are less inclined to do well on tests. You might do better to either (A) use the Princeton Review books, or try another book that is much more detailed because I did not even score near as high as I should have on the GRE--I received a ridiculously low score of 820! To review, buy The Princeton Review books or maybe even Kaplan or Barron's because you'll probably do better! I think the "GRE For Dummies" book might actually be more suited for someone, who does extremely well on these type of exams and just needs a quick review as opposed to someone such as myself, who needs more help and more problems to solve.