|  | Authors: Sharon Weiner Green, Ira K. Wolf
Publisher: Barron's Educational Series
List Price: $34.99
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Rating:  75 reviews
Sales Rank: 46468
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Edition: 17
Pages: 560
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2
Dimensions (in): 10.8 x 8.5 x 1.1
ISBN: 0764179497
Dewey Decimal Number: 378.1662
EAN: 9780764179495
ASIN: 0764179497
Publication Date: August 1, 2007
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 21-25 of 75
My 2-Week Crash Course With This Book February 7, 2009
D. Ika (Boston)
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
At the last minute, I decided to apply for a master's program and I needed to study for the GRE--pronto. So I bought this book used on Amazon and I think it was very helpful!
The verbal section has lots of tips on doing well, it's almost complete. The complicated thing about the verbal section is that most of it cannot be explained--it's a lot of vocabulary, and this is something that you learn over a great period of time. Yes, you can memorize the vocab words, but it's best to do it over a stretch of time, rather than in just 2 weeks like I did. I did not get very far with memorizing vocab words, plus some pages were missing from my copy (publisher's mistake?) One downside to the verbal section of the book is that there are not enough practice questions.
The math section is perfect, it covers all its bases and has lots of practice problems.
The analytical portion was loaded with tips and was very helpful. The problem is there was only ONE sample essay. The authors could've done a lot better with that.
There are plenty of answer explanations, except for some questions when the answer is obvious, or in certain cases, when the definition of some words from the verbal section are already included in the book.
The MAIN thing I learned from studying for the past 2 weeks is that PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT. Here are my scores for the practice tests over the 2 weeks:
Diagnostic (1st) test: 470 V, 430 Q
2nd test: 580 V, 500 Q
3rd test: 480 V, 595 Q
4th test: 560 V, 430 Q
5th test: 450 V, 595 Q
6th test: 580 V, 590 Q
Real GRE: 510 V, 690 Q, 5.5 A
I didn't bring my verbal score up too high (maybe because english is not spoken very often in my home?), but I pulled my quantitative score up by more than 200 pts. I know LOTS of people who have pulled off an 800 in quantitative, so it's attainable. Most importantly, my score is high enough to get me into my master's program
My main take on this book is that if you spend a MONTH studying for about 2-3 hours, you will do EXCELLENT. Instead of spending thousands for a Kaplan course, which is nothing but reviewing a book JUST like this, you can spend less than $25, and with dedication, you can reach your goals. However, I do recommend buying another GRE book with more practice tests (this book only has 5). Once you take a lot of practice tests, you realize that ETS reuses a lot of the questions, just with different words. And you get used to the format and increase your score.
 Excellent GRE prep January 22, 2009
Elaine Myers (Missouri)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
After taking the GRE, I can report that the format of the test and types of questions match the review in this book exactly. Without reading this book, I would have had no idea what to study. This book also helps with test-taking strategies. These were worth the price of the book alone because I was having difficulty finishing the quantitative and essay portions until applying the tactics taught in this book.
 never received January 19, 2009
Amber Ault (Carlsbad, Ca)
0 out of 31 found this review helpful
This product was shipped to my billing address so I never actually received it- is there anything we can do about this?
Barron's (2009 ed.) and Princeton Review (2009 ed.) compared / contrasted January 16, 2009
P.W. (Washington, DC USA)
51 out of 52 found this review helpful
If you're preparing to take the GRE and trying to determine which book to use, the answer depends on your goal score. If it happens to be in the 500-650 range for either the verbal or quantitative sections, then most any review book should do the trick provided you invest a reasonable amount of time studying. Since the big name reviews (Barron's, Kaplan, PR) generally target this segment, any one of them alone should suffice.
If your goal is 660-800 in either section, and you don't have a natural talent that puts you in that range, then the main ingredient is: lots of studying.
At any goal level, Barron's is the best vocabulary review, hands down. It contains 50 word lists comprised of 3500 words whose usage is prioritized based on retired tests (i.e. if an obscure meaning of a word never came up on the test, the authors omit that definition so you don't waste time). To score consistently above 650, you'll need to know more than just the 333 words on the high-frequency list. To score consistently near 800, you'll need to know most of the 3500 words and be able to handle the tougher inferential questions that come up in high-level reading passages. The math review in this book is well done, but you'll need to look elsewhere for the more challenging math questions seen at the 700+ levels (Barron's is especially shallow on probability / permutations / combinations). The test taking tactics they present are well written and definitely useful. On the down side, the 2009 book doesn't contain significant revision from previous years and fails to include the new verbal and math question formats that ETS is gradually introducing (and which you may see on test day). It's an oversight which the authors ought to correct for 2010, but if you understand the actual material, you can get a great feel for the new formats on the ETS website.
Personally, I used the Barron's book as my main study tool. After digesting it and its practice tests, I moved on to the 2009 PR book. From a content perspective, there is very little in the PR review book that wasn't covered in Barron's and much that PR omits which Barron's covers well. I'd say I gleaned less than 10 new word meanings from PR (that weren't in Barron's), got a slightly better feel for probability from PR than from Barron's (but still not enough for high-end questions), and did learn a few good test tactics not covered in other books. All things said, format is what PR does best. PR understands its audience well, is very user friendly, is much easier to read, and is clearly designed for those with a short to medium attention span. But content is king for higher scores, and PR is definitely lighter in this department with one caveat: the online computer-based tests (included with a book purchase) are some of the best around and worth getting a hold of for this reason alone.
I didn't have the opportunity to review the Kaplan material, so can't give you a good feel except to say I've heard good things (especially about the math section). If you are looking for 700-800 level math, there are a number of off-brand guides available on the internet, including a great one put together by some very diligent (and very talented) Indian students. Best of luck.
Very helpful if you have time before your exam! January 6, 2009
Danie (Texas)
This book was very very helpful in preparing me for the GRE exam! However, make sure that you have plenty enough time to go through everything. If you're short on time, I'd recommend just reviewing the math section.
Showing reviews 21-25 of 75
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