Cracking the GRE, 2005 Edition (Princeton Review Series)

Rating:
Summary: great to learn the strategies
Review: I am not a native speaker and started to study with Barrons and was overwhelmed by the 5000 word-list and the huge amount of information they are trying to get across. The Princeton Review helped me to get the strategies to use on the GRE. It is probably true that the practice examples (even the hard ones) are a bit too easy. After working with the Princeton Review I therefore returned to Barrons to practice. A combination of both seems to be a good strategy.

Rating:
Summary: Not adequate, misleading
Review: I just took the GRE and used this book to prepare. I read the entire thing. Memorized all of the vocab words. Did all 4 practice tests. Studied for several weeks. I was an A student in college. I began the GRE feeling prepared, after all I did know everything in this Princeton Review GRE guide. I was shocked to discover that the quantitative portion of the actual GRE is much, much more challenging than any of the Princeton Review sample problems or practice tests. This review guide did not adequately prepare me for the test. As a result, I did not finish the math section and got a lousy score. I FEEL MISLED! I must say, however, that the book was entertaining and easy to read.

I have decided to take the exam again and, in preparation, I purchased Barron's "How to Prepare for the GRE Test" and Kaplan's "GRE and GMAT Exams Math Workbook". I have begun reading the former and already I have learned several techniques that the Princeton Review guide never mentioned. In addition, the practice problems in Barron's are much more realistic. They certainly resemble those found on the actual GRE. Barron's examples are challenging so that you aren't surprised when you enter the exam. Overall, Barron's provides much, much more information, review, and strategic advice then Princeton Review did.

In a nutshell: Look elsewhere. Unless you are an absolute math and verbal genius, this book will not adequately prepare you for the GRE.


Rating:
Summary: Dearth of Math Problems. Look Elsewhere.
Review: I was a loyal princeton review customer when I bought this book. Back when I took my SAT in high school, I used almost every prep book. PR was the best by far.

With the GRE, I decided to trust PR for my prep again. The vocab is fantastic, as always, but you could probably do better with their little book, Word Smart for the GRE. The math review, on the other hand, leaves something to be desired. There are way too few problems and the practice exercies and tests were far too easy. The test is much harder. You are probably better off getting the book that ETS puts out, Practicing to Take the GRE General Test.

The book is heavy on fluff (that you can probably find on the GRE website) and thin on substance.

Best of luck.

Rating:
Summary: From a veteran GRE taker...
Review: In the past ten years, I've taken about half a dozen real- or mock-GREs, used several different prep books and taken one prep course. This book is the only Princeton Review product I have tried to date, and it yielded my highest scores ever.

It is a bit longer on strategy and shorter on sample questions than it could be, but I think that's only because PR assumes the test taker will already have a strong knowledge base to work from when taking the GRE. If you don't have a decent foundation in English and math, no amount of strategizing is going to help you. But understanding the rules of the GRE game (and it IS a game) can make a big difference to a student who does have a solid foundation. This book is definitely aimed at people who know the material and just need to learn the tricks ETS uses.

In that respect, PR has done its homework. With lots of practice as directed by the book, I found many of the tougher math questions easier to solve quickly using its methods, and was better able to decipher the word salads in the verbal section. The strategies on educated guesses are especially helpful in the inevitable "crunch time" when you have five or six questions left and only two minutes to go! As for the new essay section, PR's explanation of how to attack it should be required reading for all test takers. I would never have approached the section as I did without this book.

The practice regimen PR recommends does take a lot of self-discipline, so those who are prone to distraction are probably better off with a course than with this (or any) book. But if you're good at practicing and studying on your own, this is a terrific option.