The GRE Test For Dummies (For Dummies (Career/Education)) |  | Authors: Suzee Vlk, Michelle Rose Gilman, Veronica Saydak
Publisher: For Dummies
List Price: $19.99
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Rating:  69 reviews
Sales Rank: 7514
Media: Paperback
Edition: 6
Pages: 360
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 10.8 x 8.3 x 1.1
ISBN: 0470009195
Dewey Decimal Number: 378
EAN: 9780470009192
ASIN: 0470009195
Publication Date: March 9, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com Review
It goes without saying that if you're taking the GRE you're not really a dummy. But GRE scores are an important part of any graduate-school application--so you need to do your best. Suzee Vlk, long time test-prep specialist and author of several Dummies books, can help. The GRE for Dummies is packed with useful information and strategies to help you prepare for the test. The book includes advice on how to use the book efficiently (Vlk estimates you'll need 31 hours to work through it), review chapters for all three sections of the exam, and two complete practice exams. Vlk also discusses the pros and cons of taking the GRE by computer or with paper and pencil and special advice for those who choose to take the computer-based test. In familiar Dummies style, Vlk includes a handy tear-out "Cheat Sheet" with a summary of the most important information and a "Part of Tens" section with 10 "wrong rumors" about the GRE and 10 relaxation techniques to use before and during the exam. With its witty writing, helpful icons in the margins pointing out important information, and useful vocabulary scattered throughout, The GRE for Dummies makes test preparation easy and relatively painless. --C. B. Delaney
Product Description
A totally effective and surprisingly fun guide to the Graduate Record Examination
In Fall 2007, the GRE Program is planning to implement significant changes to the verbal measure, quantitative measure, and analytical writing sections of the GRE. This easy-to-use, refreshingly irreverent revision shares inside information on what to expect with these changes, helping both recent graduates and workforce veterans prepare for the revised test, maximize their score, and get into the graduate program of their choice. It includes all of the secrets of the Internet-based test (iBT)-in which the computer generates unique questions according to correct or incorrect answers-as well as brush-up reviews on math and grammar, two complete practice tests, and proven time-management techniques that make test-prep fun and simple.
Suzee Vlk wrote For Dummies guides to the ACT, SAT, GRE, and GMAT and taught test preparation classes for more than 25 years. Michelle Gilman (Solana, CA) is the founder and CEO of Fusion Learning Center. Veronica Saydak (Solana, CA) is Director of student curricula at Fusion and has been tutoring test preparation at all levels for several years.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 69
 Should have gone with Kaplan (or something else!) November 6, 2009
KariGrace (Kentucky)
Let me start out by saying that generally I am a good test-taker. I am also an Honors student with a 3.9 GPA. I studied from this book and got a below-average score on the GRE. I do not attribute my score entirely to the book, but I do think I could have done just as well (or poorly, rather) on the exam without even cracking this book open. There are a few tips for how to relax before the exam than I did apply, but other than that, I found the book pretty useless. Now I have to shell out another $150 to take the exam again in order to have a shot at getting into graduate school. My suggestion is that you don't buy this book. Spend the little extra and get a book from Kaplan or Princeton Review. I hear they're much better at preparing you!
 The book that will you put you on your way November 3, 2009
P. Barrett Coleman (Richmond, VA)
This was my only study guide for preparation for the GRE Test and was suggested to me by my adviser. I found this to be all I really needed to get an above average score on the GRE. The book doesn't spend too much time on the math theories or memorizing thousands of words, but spends it more on the tips and tricks that the GRE test uses. The GRE doesn't seem much of an aptitude test to me; getting use to the format, learning the tips and tricks, and learning basic math and vocab things will be all one needs to get the grade they want.
We all have ways we take multiple choice tests. The problem is the GRE is different on a few levels and this book addresses those. This Dummies book will have a person comfortable with the format, but more importantly, outfitted with a systematic approach to every section. The way to analyze a question, whether it is an analogy, quantitative comparison, or essay, is probably the most important aspect of this book. These types of questions, not surprisingly, are not something I have ever faced in 4 years of college. Knowing how to break certain problems down was the most helpful part.
The GRE is considered an aptitude test, but there are plenty of tricks used that are sometimes counter intuitive. This book, through practice questions and practice tests, really makes it easy to approach the questions more tuned into those tricks and avoid them to turn trap questions into easy questions. The book never allows the person to stop thinking, and there are only so many traps that can be used.
The coolest thing about this book is how they use vocab. GRE vocab is used throughout the book to describe other things. It's not just a list of words (though there is a list of 300 words that are helpful), but words you get to see constantly used in context making it easier to remember. I saw at least 7 or 8 words included in this book on the GRE which probably directly lead to 60 or 80 points.
If I hadn't gotten the score I needed, I would have returned to this book and studied more. The only thing I didn't really do is go through everything AS much as I should have. I only memorized 150 out of the 300 words. I only had a grasp on a few of the math concepts. I did not really practice my writing portions. This book is just so unique in having full descriptions of the answers to problems, again reinforcing that systematic way to dissect problems.
Thanks For Dummies!
Math: A+ English: B October 18, 2009
M. Kim
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I have long snubbed the "Dummies" series as, well, for dummies. I never read a book in the series or did more than peek at a cover now and then. In preparing for the GRE, however, I pulled out all the stops and bought every single GRE prep book I could find. Surprisingly, this turned out to be my very favorite and most useful book. It is the only book in which I worked every single problem, read every single page, and felt prepared rather than overwhelmed.
Disclaimer: The level of problems in this book is admittedly lower than in Barron's, Kaplan's, or Peterson's. If you are absolutely desperate to get a 1600 on your GRE, this may not be the best book for you. If you're a bit intimidated by the GRE, however, and only need a satisfactory score (mine was slightly less than 1400) this is the book for you.
Benefits:
1. Lightweight. Don't underestimate this advantage! All of my other GRE books were heavy and a pain to carry on the train, on the plane, etc. Having a lightweight book made it much easier to remind myself, "Yes, I really DO need to take this book so I can study the 30 minutes before my meeting starts."
2. Good visual layout. The pages aren't overcrowded with hard-to-read small text, like the other prep books. I found my eyes getting very tired after studying from the other books (which, admittedly, had much nicer quality paper...but that made them heavier, remember?).
3. Not too much information. I personally hate math and was extremely overwhelmed by other study guides. This gave me one concept at a time, and I was able to study the book cover-to-cover within two weeks (at the rate of about 4-7 hours per day). That gave me confidence. If you have many months to prepare for the GRE it might be worth your time and money to buy one of the heavy-duty books, but I had only a month to study. This book was perfect, and my math score more than doubled!
It's important to note that many of the practice tests closely mimic the actual GRE tests. For the reading section, this can be deadly. I read a very complicated section about volcanic crust and tectonic plates in one of the GRE practice books (not this one), and I was unlucky enough to get a similar-but-just-slightly-different section for the actual test. Contrary to what you might think, this was near disaster! I couldn't remember what maddeningly minute details I had read in the practice test as opposed to what I'd read in the REAL test. The section took me far longer than it would have if I'd never encountered the material in the practice test, and I ended up getting a significantly lower score on the English section than I'd anticipated.
My point? That in preparing for the GRE, 15 practice tests (as other books offer) can actually be detrimental. More is not necessarily better. I found the practice tests in this book to be well-chosen and good preparation for the real test.
4. Good price. Some of the other books are ridiculously overpriced. At this price, this book is worth picking up as a companion to any of the other, pricier, books you may have purchased. I regret spending more $150+ dollars on other books and CDs when this was the book that helped me the most.
I'd especially highly recommend this if you are most concerned about the math section. If you are fine with math and more worried about the English section, you might need to supplement this book with outside writing and reading practice. However, for me (strong on English and weak on math), it was exactly what I needed.
Good luck on your test!
P.S. If your testing center is extremely strict, you may be forbidden from removing layers of clothing (as is suggested in the book). I followed the book's suggestions to wear layers (tank top, lightweight shirt, and cardigan) to the test room in case I got cold or hot, but the proctor told me I could not remove any clothing during the test. Just a warning. :)
Really helpful, not dry like other GRE prep books October 13, 2009
Kate
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I found The GRE Test for Dummies really helpful for general test taking strategies. I took the GRE last year with only the ETS preparation materials, and didn't realize until I read this book how many little tricks there are when it comes to the GRE. It's about strategy, and not so much about what you know.
The authors were funny and light-hearted which I appreciated, if for no other reason than that it made it easier to remember the strategies. The most helpful section was the math. I used this book along with The Princeton Review's 'Cracking the GRE' and Dummies offered some alternative problem-solving techniques for averages, permutation/combination problems, distance/rate/time problems, etc. Having a couple of techniques to use made me feel more prepared and it helped me understand the problems on a deeper level.
There are a couple practice tests at the end which were a good level of difficulty. Probably about average, since obviously they can't simulate the adaptive testing that the GRE actually uses. And I found the general information about what to expect on test day, etc. helpful. Even though I'd already taken the test before, the reminders were appreciated and made me feel more prepared.
Although I'm giving the book 5 stars, there are some weaknesses and reasons why I think it should be used in conjunction with another book (like Princeton Review's Cracking the GRE). The vocabulary lists are not nearly as difficult as they need to be if you want to get an exceptionally high verbal score. It's more geared towards getting an average score. Also, the analytical writing section is weak. They basically just tell you how to write well, but I found from my other study materials that there are actually strategies that can/should be used. Dummies doesn't mention any really useful strategies.
Between this book and Cracking the GRE, my verbal score went up 220 points, from 560 to 780, (I know, right!?!) and math went up from 630 to 650. My analytical writing went up 4.5 to 5.5.
I recommend this book!
 Published in 2002, so a little old now September 19, 2009
Diane Daly (Tucson, AZ USA)
I just received this book and was disappointed to find it's seven years old. Amazon should be more clear on publishing or copyright dates. There is at least one newer version--Vlk is one of 3 authors of it. Look for that one, perhaps on other sites if the Amazon site doesn't specifically tell you the date.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 69
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