The issues I faced while my GRE prep
Before saying anything, there is no easier way. You've got to put in the raw work.
That aside, here are a few things I faced while preparing and how I overcame them.
- GRE felt overwhelming when I started.
There were so many things to cover that I felt lost and kept postponing my prep.
What helped:
GregMAT. Their study plan is very structured, and I followed it honestly. It helped me get into the flow. Every day I was making some progress, and that kept me motivated.
- I set the bar too high.
If I couldn't solve even one question, I'd get frustrated and start thinking I wouldn't be able to clear the GRE.
What helped:
This was especially true for Verbal. I'm a STEM student, so Quant came naturally, but Verbal was tough. I shortlisted the universities I wanted to apply to, checked what kind of Verbal scores they expected, and set a realistic target instead of chasing perfection.
- I started taking mocks early and scored much lower than I expected.
That honestly killed my motivation for a while.
What helped:
I realized I wasn't scoring low because I lacked knowledge, but because I lacked strategies. GregMAT teaches a lot of test-taking strategies, and they are genuinely important. I started applying those strategies while practicing and kept taking mocks. My scores gradually improved, and even my worst mocks started becoming decent.
- After a while, my score got stuck.
No matter how many mocks I took, it just wouldn't improve.
What helped:
I realized I was making a big mistake. Just giving more mocks doesn't improve your score. You have to change something after every mock. I had gotten into my comfort zone. I started analyzing each mock carefully, figuring out what went wrong, and making sure I fixed those mistakes in the next one. That's when my score started improving again.
Conclusion:
• The start will probably feel overwhelming.
• Get GregMAT (it's economical and genuinely very good).
• Stick to one plan. I personally didn't use anything else.
• Learn your fundamentals well, and don't ignore strategies—they're super important.
• Give lots of mocks and simulate the actual exam as much as possible. By the time the real exam comes, it should feel like just another mock.
• Most importantly, analyze your mocks. That's where the actual improvement happens.
That's pretty much all I did, and I ended up with 324 (Q167, V157).
Hope this helps someone who's just starting out :)