Best Way to Prep For a Perfect GRE Math Section Score

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around strategies and resources for preparing for the GRE math section, with a focus on achieving a perfect score. Participants share their experiences, suggest materials, and discuss the importance of practice and test-taking techniques.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested
  • Homework-related

Main Points Raised

  • One participant with a math degree expresses confidence in scoring above average but seeks resources for achieving a perfect score, specifically looking for challenging problems.
  • Another participant questions the relevance of a high math score for graduate school applications, suggesting that only unusually low scores may be a concern.
  • A participant mentions their experience of improving their score significantly through practice problems, highlighting the importance of speed in addition to accuracy.
  • There is a discussion about the effectiveness of different study materials, with one participant mentioning Barron's as a resource used.
  • Some participants argue that rigorous problem-solving techniques may hinder performance on the GRE, advocating for quicker, less methodical approaches instead.
  • One participant shares their experience of scoring well despite initial struggles, emphasizing the need for practice and familiarity with the test format.
  • Another participant reflects on the nature of IQ tests, suggesting that preparation plays a significant role in performance.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a range of views on the best preparation strategies, with some advocating for rigorous methods while others suggest quicker techniques. There is no consensus on the best approach or the necessity of achieving a perfect score.

Contextual Notes

Participants mention various study materials and techniques, but there is no agreement on which resources are definitively the best. The discussion includes personal anecdotes that may not apply universally.

Who May Find This Useful

Individuals preparing for the GRE math section, particularly those aiming for high scores or considering graduate programs in math or related fields.

torquerotates
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Ok so I have a degree in math. I'm pretty sure I'll get above average on the GRE math section. But I want to get a perfect. What are the best sources to get a perfect score? I tried reading princeton review, but they mostly give me common sense type questions. Are there any books that gives me a bunch of those headache inducing brainteasers?
 
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Are you applying to math grad schools or science grad schools because I don't think either of those care about your math score unless its unusually low like 600's
 
Statistics. But I still want to get a perfect score since I might be tutor for gre/sat math.
 
Just do lots of practice problems. The first time I took it I hardly studied and got a score in the 600s. Then I spend a week doing some practice problems and got a 770. I had like 8 questions that I didn't have time to solve so I just guessed. So speed is an issue too.
 
Physic_UG. What source did you use? Did you skip the easy problems or did you do them all?
 
torquerotates said:
Physic_UG. What source did you use? Did you skip the easy problems or did you do them all?

Well, anything that didn't have an obvious solution I would actually do. The problems are easy. My issue has always been with speed. I think I use more rigorous techniques (like actually setting up algebraic equations) to solve the problems but it is probably faster to look at the solutions and try to work backwards on some of them.

This test is not an IQ test and your score is highly a function of how much you study. For a math major you could probably get an 800 after devoting around 7-8 hours or maybe less of solid studying. All of the problems are similar in the techniques used to solve them.
 
oh, and I think I used barrons
 
Physics_UG said:
This test is not an IQ test and your score is highly a function of how much you study.
If there was a multi million dollar industry behind coaching for IQ tests you would find they are a greater function of how much you study than you think
 
jesse73 said:
If there was a multi million dollar industry behind coaching for IQ tests you would find they are a greater function of how much you study than you think

This is probably true. Hence IQ is meaningless.
 
  • #10
torquerotates said:
Ok so I have a degree in math. I'm pretty sure I'll get above average on the GRE math section. But I want to get a perfect.

Don't get too cocky. I had a few minutes talk with some Oxford math students when I took the subject GRE last November and one of them did really terrible the first time because the really elementary questions threw him off.

Physics_UG said:
I think I use more rigorous techniques (like actually setting up algebraic equations) to solve the problems

This is what will kill your score in my experience, both in the general and subject GRE's. Forget "honest" clean methodology, nobody is going to look at your work. Practice quick and dirty methods.

The official GRE guide has a CD with 4-5 real exams you can take either timed or without timing.
 
  • #11
Lavabug said:
Don't get too cocky. I had a few minutes talk with some Oxford math students when I took the subject GRE last November and one of them did really terrible the first time because the really elementary questions threw him off.



This is what will kill your score in my experience, both in the general and subject GRE's. Forget "honest" clean methodology, nobody is going to look at your work. Practice quick and dirty methods.

The official GRE guide has a CD with 4-5 real exams you can take either timed or without timing.

true, but I still did well enough with a 760 on quant.
 

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