GRE / Chemistry Subject Test Studying

[bluezor]

Hey all, I've recently begun studying for the GRE and plan on taking the test this spring or summer. My intent is to go to graduate school for chemistry in the fall of 2010. I bought the Kaplan test prep for the regular GRE but realized that I will have to take the subject as well.

I looked on amazon for potential subject test study guides and found a mass of 2.5/5 reviews, many reviewers stated they would have been better off studying old textbooks rather than the test prep book.

So my questions are this:

1. Is there a book that you would recommend for the Chemistry GRE subject test?

2. If not, what would you recommend studying for the subject test?

3. What other pearls of wisdom do you have regarding taking the GRE / subject test?

Any help would be appreciated, thanks.

 

[t!m]

It's true, there's nothing really good out there. I used the Princeton Review one, Cracking the GRE Chemistry, and it was decent. Review books help in that they condense the material. Many critics will say to study old textbooks ... but when you're studying for the GRE, you will not (and should not!) re-read all of your textbooks. The Chemistry GRE is (unfortunately) largely a test of memorization - especially when it comes to organic chemistry, and cramming reactions into your head before you go and take the exam can be surprisingly beneficial. Above all else, take practice exams! Go over them, find your weaknesses, check the ones you guessed on, find ways to rule out wrong answers - you'll hopefully develop good GRE-test-taking intuition. Good luck.

 

[Gokul43201]

If you are starting this early, I would recommend getting a test prep book (isn't there one that ETS publishes?) to get to know the syllabus well, but prepare from standard textbooks.