GRE Bites

For better or worse, the process of securing testing accommodations on the GRE can be protracted and expensive. Students cannot schedule a testing session with accommodations until their petition has been approved by ETS's team of psychologists, which can take several months. In this episode, Orion walks through best practices with respect to applying and securing accommodations on the test. Check...

In today's episode, Davis and Orion respond to another listener question. This one is all about staying cool in high-pressure situations where the stakes are high. Drawing on research in performance psychology, Orion discusses the importance of focusing on the process, and practicing indifference with respect to the outcome. Davis speaks on some of his own experiences as a competitive athlete. All...

Davis and Orion respond to another listener question in today's episode. The two have previously discussed the importance of the park screen ("How to get a real break on the GRE") for top-percentile performance. Utilizing this opportunity correctly can mean the difference between a good score and a truly great score. To this end, Orion shares his own park screen ritual to facilitate recuperation a...

In today's episode, Davis and Orion respond to another listener question. In previous talks, Orion has mentioned the importance of creating a "cheat sheet" over the course of one's prep. So what exactly in this cheat sheet? In short, a cheat sheet is a single-page document that contains all the math knowledge required to ace the quantitative section of the GRE. Orion discusses why this is importan...

The vast majority of students approach GRE problems completely backwards: they spend a lot of time getting into a problem (in the sense of re-reading the problem and thinking through the solution), and not a lot of time getting out of the problem (in the sense of rushing through the actual execution of the solution). At Stellar, we explicitly train students in the opposite approach, namely: gettin...

As stated previously, no one gets into grad school because of their GRE scores (though many people are kept out of grad school for the same). In today's episode, Davis and Orion discuss what actually moves the needle with respect to grad school admissions: goodness of fit. Basically, the more an applicant looks like someone who has already passed through the program, the more likely he or she will...

This can be somewhat of a bitter pill to swallow: you will never feel ready to take the GRE. And that's okay. You're going to do it anyway. Just like courage isn't the absence of fear, but the decision to act in the presence of fear, our approach to the test must be dictated by something other than our emotional response, which isn't always the most accurate or reliable barometer. Orion and Davis...

Let's face it: the reading comprehension passages on the GRE can be decontextualized, tedious, and boring. This is a dangerous combination, as it can significantly increase the likelihood that students zone out when they should be paying attention. In today's episode, Davis and Orion discuss two psych hacks that allow students to improve their focus on this half of the verbal section. Neither is a...

Just like baseball is a game of inches, the GRE is a game of seconds. What does this mean? It means that the difference between the merely good and the truly great often comes down to a differential application of time, on the magnitude of seconds. This is why, in the Stellar system, students are instructed in a second-by-second approach to problem solving, designed to maximize their efficiency. O...

There's no way around it. If you want to score higher on the verbal section of the GRE, you have to increase your vocabulary. And there are a lot of low-to-no cost options available to students to improve this skill set. Which one is the best? Introducing StellarGRE Vocabulary Flashcards! The only vocab app that utilizes semantic clusters to accelerate vocabulary acquisition. Download it for free...

In today's episode, Davis and Orion respond to another listener question on what makes for a top scorer. It turns out that there are two personality characteristics that are reliably associated with students who score in the highest echelons of the GRE: conscientiousness and humility. Orion explains further, using examples from his teaching experience. Check out StellarGRE: our top-rated GRE self-...

The big day is almost here! How should students spend their final hours before sitting for the GRE? In today's episode, Davis and Orion discuss general strategy with respect to this frequently asked question. The good news is -- if you prepared correctly -- there isn't anything left to do! Resist the anxiety-induced urge to cram definitions and grind practice problems. You already know what you're...

In a previous episode, Orion discussed the tradeoff between accuracy and efficiency: the faster you go, the less accurate you become. The key is to strike the appropriate, personalized balance. In today's episode, Orion and Davis discuss strategies for improving accuracy. In the vast majority of cases, students make errors when they are time travelling. The two describe this phenomenon and offer s...

In a previous episode, Orion discussed the importance of defensive skipping as an efficiency strategy on the quantitative section of the GRE. This helps students guard their time more prudently by not squandering it on time-expensive questions on their first pass-through. However, students can also use skipping offensively to get ahead of the clock. Today, Orion shares this simple, game-changing t...

Students are subject to tripping themselves up with the wrong framework when it comes to the exam. Thinking about the GRE as an intelligence test, or as an arbitrary and meaningless hurdle, will likely create unnecessary stress and resentment. The fact of the matter is that the GRE is a "how bad to you want it" test. It's very inconvenience and discomfort is designed to filter out less serious app...

In today's episode, we respond to a listener-submitted question on how to prevent studying burnout. To begin with, we stress the importance of not getting burned-out in the first place. An ounce of prevention here is definitely worth a pound of cure. And then we discuss the utility of a consistent, structured study plan -- and a definite endpoint -- in achieving this goal. Check out StellarGRE: ou...

Check out StellarGRE: our top-rated self-study program and the world's only empirically-validated GRE test prep system. Use the code "BITES" for 10% off all membership plans. To learn more, go to: https://www.stellargre.com. Can you actually see yourself succeeding on the GRE? If you can't yet even see yourself hitting your target score in your imagination, how can you reasonably expect to do so i...

Check out StellarGRE: our top-rated self-study program and the world's only empirically-validated GRE test prep system. Use the code "BITES" for 10% off all membership plans. To learn more, go to: https://www.stellargre.com. In today's episode, we turn our attention to that age-old question: "what is a good GRE score?" Though it may sound evasive, this can actually be a difficult question to answe...

Check out StellarGRE: our top-rated self-study program and the world's only empirically-validated GRE test prep system. Use the code "BITES" for 10% off all membership plans. To learn more, go to: https://www.stellargre.com. In today's episode, we respond to a question from one of our listeners. Apparently, he didn't quite hit the score he was hoping for on his first attempt, and is now considerin...

Check out StellarGRE: our top-rated self-study program and the world's only empirically-validated GRE test prep system. Use the code "BITES" for 10% off all membership plans. To learn more, go to: https://www.stellargre.com. In today's episode, we respond to a question from one of our listeners. Apparently, he's able to understand the explanation to any particular question, but is having difficult...

Check out StellarGRE: our top-rated self-study program and the world's only empirically-validated GRE test prep system. Use the code "BITES" for 10% off all membership plans. To learn more, go to: https://www.stellargre.com . There are a lot of GRE self-study programs out there. Which one is the best? In today's episode, we discuss Orion's top-rated course, and why it just might be the best GRE pr...

Check out StellarGRE: our top-rated self-study program and the world's only empirically-validated GRE test prep system. Use the code "BITES" for 10% off all membership plans. To learn more, go to: https://www.stellargre.com . For the vast majority of students, the time limit is the most challenging aspect of the GRE. And nowhere is this pressure felt more keenly than on the quantitative section of...

Check out StellarGRE: our top-rated self-study program and the world's only empirically-validated GRE test prep system. Use the code "BITES" for 10% off all membership plans. To learn more, go to: https://www.stellargre.com . The second law of thermodynamics states that entropy tends to increase in a closed system. This means that, if you do nothing, things fall apart. You have to do something jus...

Check out StellarGRE: our top-rated self-study program and the world's only empirically-validated GRE test prep system. Use the code "BITES" for 10% off all membership plans. To learn more, go to: https://www.stellargre.com . Vocabulary acquisition is -- by far -- the most tedious and time-consuming aspect of GRE prep. However, it's absolutely essential to raising the ceiling on your verbal score....

Check out StellarGRE: our top-rated self-study program and the world's only empirically-validated GRE test prep system. Use the code "BITES" for 10% off all membership plans. To learn more, go to: https://www.stellargre.com . This is the million-dollar question. Unfortunately, it's difficult to answer categorically, as there are a lot of individual differences between students. That said, there ar...