So I'm planning on taking my GRE's in December some time so I can start applying to grad schools for fall of 2011 during January and February. I've heard people say they're killer, while others say they're pretty easy. Which is it? Can any Chatterers offer me any tips on how to prepare for it?

Spend as much time as you can on verbal.

I was a journalism major in undergrad, only took one math-related course in my four years of college + my senior year (it was "intro to logic" my freshman year ... word). Didn't cram a whole lot for my GRE's, mainly refreshed my understanding of geometry and algebra and spent a little time on verbal, looking at words and definitions in the prep book I bought.

I did pretty well on math. So-so on verbal. Enough to get me into Boston U, but definitely not anything otherworldly.

Oh, and since you can't memorize every word and its definition at least give yourself an idea of what it means (i.e., study root words). That can help you out a ton.

BTW, what are you looking to study in grad school? Make sure before you actually take the test that it's needed at the schools you'll be apply to; many programs/schools don't require the test.

Easy. Studying for that is for incompetent people that don't belong in grad school....

I took it in September.
Not terrible but definitely take some time and review.
I just went through the Kaplan book and it was very very helpful.

The math is mostly stuff you haven't done since high school/freshman year of college.
Lots of geometry and weird algebra.
Run through the practice tests and you should be fine.

The Verbal is way harder.
Try and look through a few practice tests to get an idea of what to expect.
Not sure how much it actually helped me though.

Overall not too bad, I was happy with my score.

The testing day, they treat you like it's a prison so just be ready for that.

gorocks99;542608 wrote:BTW, what are you looking to study in grad school? Make sure before you actually take the test that it's needed at the schools you'll be apply to; many programs/schools don't require the test.

I'm looking at sports administration or sports business

Only bitches study for that kinda shit, darby. Quit being such a pussy about things and just roll.

^^^^

I would like to perform halfway decent on the test in hopes of increasing my chances of qualifying rather easily to continue my education @ the graduate level

As I said on the GMAT thread, it depends on the quality of school you aim to attend. If you want to go to any school anywhere, there's probably not a big need to study. If you want to increase your chances of employment upon graduation by going to a good school, then it's worth putting in some time to prep. There are numerous prep classes/books, but you may be best off taking a practice to set your baseline, and then focus on what you'd need to get to be competitive at your target schools.