One-Month Study Plan: Getting Started

If you're new to the GRE, please watch the following video which explains what the exam tests, how to study for it, the question types and tips and tricks!

Introduction to the GRE - Exam Walkthrough + Tips and Tricks

• MATERIALS
  • If you prefer digital copies (PDFs) of any of the Official Materials, you can purchase those by clicking here.
  • Please acquire the following materials:
    • GRE SuperPower Pack
      • GRE Official Guide
        • Link to the newest edition
        • This plan is designed with the older edition in mind. When it's updated, we'll just include the link to the newest edition.
      • GRE Official Verbal Reasoning Practice 
      • GRE Official Quantitative Reasoning Practice
      • NOTE: Usually cheaper if purchased in the bundle.
    • ETS Math Review Guide (free)
    • GRE Big Book
      • Note this is different than the Official Guide. You can find this as a PDF on the Internet.
    • The GregMat App (if you have any issues, please let us know)
      • Android
      • iOS
    • GregMat GRE Vocabulary List
      • PDF Form
        • Note that the PDF only goes up to group 32, but there are 34 groups on the site. Most of the resources on the site cover up to group 34, so don't worry. 
    • (Optional) Manhattan 5-lb Book
      • Used to reinforce Quant Concepts

• OTHER THINGS TO DO
  • Thoughts and Discussion on the Structure of the NEW GRE Exam
  • Scoring System of the New GRE
  • Familiarize yourself with the amazingly powerful (kidding) GRE Calculator
  • Create an ETS GRE account
  • Read the Study Plans FAQ for common questions
  • Sign in to our Discussion Forums
  • Upgrade your subscription to www.prepswift.com
    • Sister site of Greg Mat+
    • Cover the material more quickly and efficiently
    • Tons of to-the-point practice questions
    • Some FREE videos available on the site to get an idea of how it works

The videos below will introduce you to our philosophy for GRE success. If you watch these five videos, pay attention to them, and heed the advice within, your GRE prep, in our opinion, will progress much more smoothly. You'll also likely see much higher score gains.

• Video 1: You're Probably Still in the Memorization Stage
• Video 2: Being Busy Does Not Equal Being Productive
• Video 3: Retaining What We Learn
• Video 4: How to Properly Do the Vocab Mountain
• Video 5: The Tick Box Method

Not all of us have a math background. Some of us haven't touched the stuff since high school (or even middle school). That's okay. That doesn't mean we're destined to fail the GRE. 

In fact, if your math foundation is not very solid, you're probably better off using The I'm Overwhelmed Study Plan to really boost your quant foundation. If you go that route, you would do ONLY THE VERBAL in the 1-month Plan. You would skip all of the quant stuff.

If you want to get a more gentle (but also less in-depth) introduction to math foundational concepts, you can follow the instructions below. 

• NOTE: The material and excercises below do NOT have to be completed in one day. Take your time if need be. It's important to develop a strong quant foundation. 
• NOTE 2: Because it's so early in your preparation, it's okay if you don't understand everything you're reading. It's also not a big deal if you can't solve all of the exercises. As you move through the study plan, your quant foundation and confidence will continue to grow. Soon you'll be knocking problems out as if they're no big deal.

• FOUNDATION BUILDING
  • ETS Math Review Guide 

    • Carefully work through the Arithmetic Chapter 

      • pp. 3 - 27

    • Complete the Arithmetic Exercise Questions

      • pp. 28 - 35

    • Carefully read the Algebra Chapter 

      • pp. 36 - 79

    • Complete the Algebra Exercise Questions 

      • pp. 80 - 91

    • Carefully work through the Geometry Chapter 

      • pp. 92 - 114

    • Complete the Geometry Exercise Questions

      • pp. 115 - 124

    • Carefully read the Data Analysis Chapter 

      • pp. 125 - 184

    • Complete the Data Analysis Exercise Questions 

      • pp. 185 - 197

Even after working through the ETS Math Review Guide and completing the exercises, it's okay if the quant foundation concepts still seem challenging. Once you start the study plan, we're going to be reviewing these concepts again and again. I'm confident that things will start to click.

NOTE: It should be repeated that if you really want to have a strong quant foundation, you should do the I'm Overwhelmed Plan and use the 1-month Plan only for verbal. 

• If you need accomodations (such as extra time) and don't already have it, you need to start the process now, as it can take time to gather the documentation and for ETS to review it. This is all the more important if you don't already have a relevant diagnosis but suspect you have one (or if the documentation you have isn't in the right format), as you will in many cases need to be tested first. Please read this blog post to learn more about the process. You may wish to seek advice on forums.gregmat.com or on Reddit first (if it's highly confidental, you can email [email protected]). Seriously: do it before you start the study plan. 
• Note that you can only take five GRE tests in a rolling calendar year. While retaking once or twice is not a bad idea, we strongly recommend not to just continuously take tests and exhaust your attempts - we've seen people take four tests in four months and seek help only then which becomes a problem as they have only one shot left.