r/gregmat

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I'm having trouble following the plan, as it looks like there are three separate video series going on. Currently I'm following the top-most video "Text Completion and Sentence Equivalence (TC and SE) Session 1", but then am i supposed to complete the other two as well, or do they have update tips/tricks or how it's supposed to work?

Also, can someone tell me how much time they've given on this 1 month daily?
I'm just in need for verbal, as I'm switching from GMAT so my quants is pretty good. Just need a plan for verbal, but these words and vocab feels too much to remember. TIA

I gave the GRE last week and scored 316 (162Q, 154V). Before the exam, I took 2 PowerPrep tests and 1 GregMat mock, and my scores were almost identical (159–162Q, 150–154V). It feels like my scores have plateaued despite a month of preparation.
I’m planning to retake the GRE on 31 July and am aiming for 325–330, with 165+ in Quant.

Verbal
I completed all GregMat Verbal videos, finished 20/34 Vocabulary Mountain groups, practiced TC/SE on GregMat, and used the Big Book for RC.
My plan is to finish all 34 vocab groups and continue practicing TC, SE, and RC. I think this should be enough unless I’m missing something.

Quant (Main Concern)
I’ve completed all GregMat Quant videos, solved the Manhattan 5 lb. exercises, and spent the last few days before the exam doing GregMat Quant practice.
My biggest issue is that I barely finished the Quant sections on time. GregMat’s strategy suggests having 4–5 minutes left for review, but I had none.
I’m not sure what’s holding me back:
Am I still using traditional methods instead of GRE shortcuts?
Do I take too long to identify the concept being tested?
Is my overall solving speed just too slow?
During mocks, I noticed that whenever I tried to speed up, my accuracy dropped. So I switched to solving more carefully, which improved accuracy but left me with no buffer time.
For the next 30 days, my plan is to mainly do timed Quant practice/tests on GregMat. I’m also wondering whether I should redo the Manhattan 5 lb. book focusing on faster methods, or use some other resource.
For those who improved from ~160–162Q to 165+, how did you practice? What would you do differently over the next 30 days to improve both speed and accuracy?

Currently sitting in the test centre and am about to give my exam but wanted to put a post here to thank gregmat and the wonderful team for making it so easy students to prepare for GRE. You the Goat!

I have seen quite a few posts here from folks struggling with time management on the GMAT Quant section. It was definitely something I struggled with too during my GMAT prep, so I wanted to share a few things that helped me.

A bit of context - when I started GMAT prep, I was pretty out of touch with a lot of the high school / college math tested on the exam. I started around 8 months before most R1 deadlines, but because I was aiming for some Early Decision applications, I gave myself around 6 months to hit my target score. I spent the first 2-3 months on developing my familiarity with the content and the last 2-3 months on execution/test taking refinement. Towards the end of 6 months, I was consistently scoring 50/51 on the quant section and ended up with a final score of 780 (Q50/V47) on the classic GMAT. I also recently scored a Q89 on the GMAT focus official practice test.

I did go through a phase a couple of months before my exam when I was hovering in the Q46-48 range (equivalent to Q78-80) and I felt like I was hitting a plateau. One of the major issues was timing. I was doing okay on easy/medium and some hard questions, but a lot of hard questions consistently took me more than 2.5-3 min or sometimes even more than 4 min. This timing issue became particularly exposed in the first two official practices when a lot of the questions felt very much on the tougher side and were taking me really long to solve. Given my 50+ hrs/week full time job, I didn’t have infinite time to grind through questions and needed some major tactical changes to my approach.

Here are a few things that worked well for me:

Stricter time limits - This was a core component of my timing strategy - I challenged myself to solve most of the questions under 2 min during practice drills (or even 1.5 min if possible), even the hard ones. It didn’t always work out of course, but it really forced me to dig deep during review to find the hidden shortcuts and develop strategies that would help me get the answer faster (more on that below). My mindset shifted from “did I get it right?” to “did the get it right in the quickest way possible”

Finding cleaner solution paths - Early on, some of the hard questions were still taking too long. So, during review, I’d sometimes sit down with one question for 5-7 min + to find out if there is an alternate path - strategic use of answer choices, using odd-even number combinations and properties to solve integer based equations, using venn diagrams to solve probabilities, comparing answer choices, estimation, etc. I put in effort to come up with these myself (vs looking at the solution on GMAT Club for example), even if it took longer coz it helped me build the mental muscle to ensure I can execute on these tactics under pressure in the exam. I ended up making a list of these questions where I was able to find useful shortcuts, and I would review that list from time to time to keep some of these tactics at my fingertips and apply them more readily.

Setup for word problems - Even some of the easier word problems were taking me 2.5 + min. Word problems with long multi sentence setups were really frustrating because my accuracy was almost 100% but these consistently took me a long time. There were no freebies - unlike some of the other question types where if you know the trick you can solve it in 30 sec. I realized that my first read was a somewhat passive read - me trying to just understand the context of the word problem. I shifted to make it a bit more active - I used the first read to assign variables and write out any given relationships between the variables. The second read was then focused on understanding the key aspects of the problem and then I could dive right into solving the problem. This also made the second read much shorter and selective (sometimes even unnecessary) and helped me cut down my word problem speed by 30+ seconds.

Bailing strategies - When it comes to bailing, some people recommend bailing after spending 3-4 min on a question. I actually bailed earlier when I realized I was not getting close to the unlock point - the point where you know that you can solve it but just need to perform some more calculations. If I didn’t have a reasonable path by around 60–90 seconds, maybe 2 minutes max, I’d seriously consider making an educated guess and moving on. Either I reached the unlock fairly quickly, or the question was going to become a 5–6 minute time sink. Also, In the actual exam you can’t be too worried about your clock so I would practice this bailing tactic during my drills outside mocks to build that intuition. The exception to this bailing rule is if you’re near the end of the section and have a lot of time left. Then sure, maybe spend more time. In one of the mocks I was doing really well and getting most of the questions done in less than 1-1.5 min, and then I got a gnarly probabilities question around Q17-18 that took me 5+ min to solve. I ended up with a perfect score in that mock, but if it had happened in one of the earlier questions, I was going to bail.

Reviewing slow questions, not just wrong ones - This was a big one for me. If a question took me 3+ min, I’d still spend a good amount of time reviewing it and figuring out if there was a cleaner solution, was it a setup speed issue, did I recognize the unlock too late, was I slow with calculations, etc. This really helped me squeeze the juice out of the limited number of official questions and massively helped develop that pattern recognition

This is not meant to be a comprehensive list of time management strategies. Fundamentally, if you get better, you get faster, and that takes practice. But these are the ones that benefitted me most in terms of improving overall execution efficiency once the content was in my grasp.

Happy to answer questions/follow ups!

I'm currently considering Target Test Prep for GMAT prep, mainly because I’ve heard strong things about their Quant and overall structure. I’m not questioning whether the content is good — from what I’ve seen, the content seems high quality and very thorough.

My concern is more about whether the course is realistically completable, especially for someone working full-time.

TTP seems extremely long: hundreds of hours of videos, tons of lessons, thousands of questions, and a structured study plan. I understand that thoroughness can be a good thing, but at some point I wonder whether the course becomes so long that full completion is unrealistic for a normal working professional within the access period.

That matters to me because if I’m paying a premium price, I don’t just want to use 30–40% of the course selectively. I want to feel like the full product is realistically usable. Otherwise, it raises the question: is the course designed to be completed, or is it so long that most people never actually finish it?

I’m also a bit concerned about the guarantee requirements. I’ve asked a TTP rep multiple times for clear details on the exact benchmarks required for the score guarantee, especially the accuracy benchmarks and what “100% completion” actually means in practical terms. Instead of giving a direct answer, the responses have felt vague/circular and mostly point me back to the guarantee page. But when I check the page, I mainly see the 100% completion requirement and don’t see the exact quantitative benchmarks clearly spelled out.

That has honestly put some doubt in my mind. I’m not saying TTP is bad, and I’m not accusing them of anything. But if a company is selling a premium course with a guarantee, I feel like the requirements should be very clearly explained before someone pays.

So I’m curious:

For people who used TTP while working full-time, did you actually complete the course?

How many months and roughly how many hours did it take?

Did the course feel efficiently thorough, or did it feel unnecessarily long?

Did anyone else have trouble getting clear answers from TTP reps about the guarantee requirements?

Do you think TTP is best used as a full course, or more selectively for weak areas?

I’ve seen some people say TTP feels “long on purpose,” meaning the course is so extensive that completing it for the guarantee becomes very difficult. I don’t know if that’s fair, which is why I’m asking. I’m trying to separate legitimate criticism from internet exaggeration.

Would appreciate honest opinions from people who actually used it, especially working professionals.

Using prep swift, the formula recommended for sum of multiples in an interval requires you to first determine if all multiples will be paired, and then apply one of the below:

- (# of pairs * sum of an interval pair)

- (# of pairs * sum of an interval pair) + (unpaired middle integer / 2)

I find this kind of tedious and a little confusing. I return the same results if I apply the below to any range:

-(# of multiples * sum of an interval pair) / 2

I’m wondering if there’s a reason I really need to get comfortable with the first approach, if my formula is off, or if other people just find the first approach more intuitive?

Anyone started the 1 month plan recently and planning to take the test in August? Wanna study together and hold each other accountable? 😭

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The answer key says A, which I would agree with . . if the question stipulated that n >0. Am I crazy??

Give mock test from KAPLAN and got only 140 in verbal . Facing lot of problem in verbal , even though I learnt around 27 group (GREGMAT) and done strategy classes also(1 month plan)

Plz suggest something how to improve

I’m looking for some advice on whether I should retake the GRE one more time or be done with it.

For context, I’m applying mainly to M7 MBA programs this fall, ideally Round 1 in early September. I’m also considering law school/JD-MBA programs, likely applying to law schools a little later, around October. I am a white male in the USA working in M&A for a tech company. Did a rotational program for two years and I’ve been placed in this M&A role for about a year now. I graduated from Ohio State in 2023 with a 3.90 GPA, majoring in finance.

My goal going into this whole process was around a 330+, ideally 332–335 if possible. I know that may sound like splitting hairs, but for the schools I’m targeting, I wanted the GRE to really be a strength. I did not take college applications seriously enough after high school, and I’ll be damned if I make that mistake again. I want the best possible GRE score that is realistic.

Official GRE attempts:
Attempt 1 on June 5: 167Q/162V/5.5AWA
Verbal Misses on Attempt 1: 2RC/2TC/3SE
Attempt 2 on June 28: 165Q/162V/??AWA

Some background on my prep:
I studied pretty seriously for this. I have been grinding since February. My baseline was a 156Q/155V, but that was on Manhattan Prep. Since then, I have studied 2-4 hours on average six days per week. I learned roughly 1,700 GRE vocab words across different lists/apps, did ETS material (verbal reasoning book in full, quant book in full), GregMat verbal/RC work (1 month plan in full), quant and verbal review with GregMat tutors, four official practice tests (scores ranging widely, highest 331 on PPP1), error logs, etc.

On my first official test, I got the 329. I was happy with the quant score, but I honestly thought verbal could have been better. I got frustrated after realizing I made a quant mistake, and I think that threw off my focus on verbal RC. So after the first test, my thinking was: if I can keep quant around 166–167 and get verbal up even a couple points, I could realistically get 331–333. That’s why I retook.

But yesterday’s second attempt did not go that way. Verbal stayed exactly the same at 162. It was much harder than last time, despite me putting 90% of my effort over the last few weeks into verbal. Especially SE. I knew the words but seemingly every problem, there were three options that were so similar I couldn’t easily narrow to two.
It was discouraging. Quant dropped to 165. To be fair, the quant also felt noticeably harder this time, so I’m not totally shocked it dropped, but it’s still frustrating.

So now I’m trying to decide what to do.
Part of me thinks I should stop because:
I already have a 329 with 167Q. For M7 MBA apps, that’s probably good enough, but I am not certain. I’m applying Round 1 in September, so essays/resume/recommendations/school research are becoming more important as the time crunch gets worse.

I still believe my ceiling is higher than 329.
My first attempt had a few things go wrong mentally, and the second attempt felt like a much tougher form. A 331–333 would obviously feel better for top MBA/JD-MBA/law school applications, but that could be unrealistic.

To be honest, my entire issue is SE/TC. My RC has always been very strong. But the similarity between words in answer choices continues to bite me no matter how hard I try to stick to the GregMat strategies and no matter how many GregMat tutoring sessions I have.

For anyone who has been in a similar position or who has strong thoughts: would you retake again, or would you stop and focus fully on applications? Thanks so much!

I am basically at the end of my prep journey and now finishing up my quant for that 167+ score.
So as the title suggests,I am basically looking for a SERIOUS and GENUINE study buddy with whom I can finish my quant prep.

In return, I can help with verbal (I am fairly good with RC, SE and TC) part of the reason because I had a group of studdy buddies with whom I used to practice verbal regularly and had to go through lots of discussion of why this and why not this kinda discussion, that kind of helped my initial verbal preparation. Now I am looking for somebody who is basically great at quant and somebody who needs help on verbal.

As for my quant, it is decent but not an area I feel 100% confident about, I still get thrown off by weird concepts sometimes (for example minimum-maximum numbers in overlapping sets, stupidly lengthy word problems {yes I know piece by piece strategy but still I can’t reliably do every word problems with 100% accuracy}) but I have completed all of prepswift and got 85% to 90% on foundational quizzes. Regularly going through quant mountain and error logs.
In my sectional mocks I am getting 10-11/12 and 12-13 out 15. My target is to go 167 and beyond (12/12 and 13+ out of 15). So I am looking for someone who is proficient in quant and mainly who is genuinely up for help as well. As for me I will try to provide as much as support as possible for the verbal section.

Things we will do together:

1. Do timed sections on the same set.
2. Discuss what went wrong and WHY went wrong, what concepts to be learned from there
3. Sharing of knowledge / tips / tricks.
4. Week by week basis shared goals.

I am a 26M and looking for somebody from my home country (Bangladesh) or surrounding ones such as India, Pakistan for easier communication but honestly geography / gender don’t matter as much as a genuinely driven person who can help and willingly wants to beat the sh#t out of GRE together lol. So please comment down.

As greg says, let’s bring it home!

Hi guys, I got a 307 on my first attempt (V149 Q158) and I'm trying to get to 320+. Timing and bad SE and TC were the main reasons I lost so many points. I was guessing the last 3-4 questions blind in every single section.

I got diagnosed with ADHD after the exam, I've submitted an accommodation request to ETS and I'm waiting to hear back, probably end of July or August before I can even rebook.

I have GregMat, PrepSwift, and the official guide digital PDFs. I genuinely don't know which GregMat plan makes sense for my gap or how many hours a day I should be putting in. I have the time right now, I'm mostly free for the next two months.

Also debating whether to start slowly chipping at MBA essays in parallel or connecting with alums. August is already cutting it close, perhaps getting familiar with the apps and putting thoughts down might compound.

My plan is to split my day between 3-4 hours Verbal, 2 hours Quant, and 1-2 hours to essays and connecting with alums. Any suggestions?

TY TY TY IN ADVANCE :) 🙏

Quick profile: 28F, 3.9 GPA, Indian, international exposure (NY and SF), experience with fruit tech company, fashion brands, my own startup, background in design, storytelling, and communications.

Also posted this on r/GRE :)

Hey everyone!

I'm a 23M from India, working full-time while preparing for the GRE and targeting Fall 2027 master's admissions.

I'm currently following GregMat's 1-month plan (Week 2, Day 3). My biggest challenge isn't understanding the material—it's staying consistent. I've realized I do much better when I'm working towards a goal with other people. Having someone to talk to, share progress with, and be accountable to really pushes me.

I'm looking for people who genuinely want to work together, not just exchange a few messages and disappear after a week.

What I have in mind:

Sharing daily goals and end-of-day updates (timing doesn't matter—just update whenever you're done for the day)

Regular check-ins over Discord, WhatsApp, or Google Meet—whatever works best

Discussing tricky GRE questions, vocab, and strategies

Maintaining an error log together after quizzes and mocks

Weekly catch-ups to review progress

Maybe solving questions or reviewing mocks together on weekends

One thing to mention: I actually prefer studying alone most of the time. I'm not looking to be on a call while studying every day. I'd rather study independently and then connect for check-ins, discussions, and accountability. So our schedules don't have to match perfectly, and time zones aren't a big constraint.

I'm not looking for perfection. We all have bad days and lose motivation sometimes. I just don't want either of us to disappear because of a rough week. I'll do my best to check in on you, encourage you, and help you stay on track, and I'd appreciate the same in return.

Apart from GRE, I'm also trying to improve myself as a person by building better habits and becoming more consistent. I'd love this to be a positive partnership where we motivate each other, celebrate the small wins, and get through the difficult days together.

If things go well, I'd also love to continue beyond GRE—helping each other with university shortlisting, SOPs, applications, admits, and everything that comes after.

If this sounds like something you'd enjoy, feel free to DM me. Hopefully, we can make this journey a little less lonely and help each other become more consistent, both for the GRE and beyond.

I memorized every single word in vocab mountain, yet when I took the actual GRE there were many words I had never even seen before. Not to mention that the wording on the text completion questions was infinitely harder to understand than the practice problems he gives you. On my practice tests I was averaging around 160 verbal but I ended up getting a 152 on the real thing.

Hi everyone,

My GRE is in mid August and I'm aiming for around 320.

I'm currently using GregMat I'm overwhelmed plan. I come from a premed background so quant is still new for me.

My current plan is:

• Finish all Quant modules first (I'm currently at Arithmetic) and evry module is taking 2 days
• Do end-of-module quizzes and review mistakes
• Then later focus on mixed practice + timed sets

For verbal, I’ve learned about 120 vocab words but haven’t started proper strategy for TC/SE/RC yet.

Right now I feel a bit overwhelmed and I'm not sure if I should:

• continue finishing all quant modules first, or
• start mixed/timed practice earlier

Also not sure when to properly start verbal strategy.

My main goal is just to know if my approach is correct or if I’m wasting time somewhere.

Thanks in advance.

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Here greg gave the explanation for the semantic guess,
what's the positive word to describe someone's views. Then he goes like supportive.
Only +ve option is thoughtful so he choose that.

for the positions she took, here doesn't positions mean jobs/responsibilities, if they were complicated or i guessed a semantic word like challenging.
Or am i using too much outside knowledge like people respect you for having challenging role etc. so that's a positive word.

thanks :)

Hi I’m applying to pt school soon and I’m taking the GRE this saturday. Only 3/7 schools I’m applying to require GRE scores. I have the GRE codes for those 3 schools but I remember hearing something about a PTCAS code. How does this work? Will I go in for the test and only put down the codes for the three schools or is there a PTCAS code I need to find? help!

Yesterday had 1st gmat quant class with new teacher. I like the way he explains, and the approach in total.
We were doing the tasks for the work done together/two vehicles start moving towards each and other questions like this. Seems like i do understand the questions, but it is hard to wrote it down and solve it to have an answer.
Is it normal? Does it usually happen?