Editorial
Rob Franek, Senior VP, Publisher
Casey Cornelius, VP, Content Development
Mary Beth Garrick, Director of Production
Selena Coppock, Managing Editor
Kristen OToole, Editorial Director
Calvin Cato, Editor
Meave Shelton, Editor
Alyssa Wolff, Editorial Assistant
Random House Publishing Team
Tom Russell, Publisher
Alison Stoltzfus, Publishing Manager
Ellen L. Reed, Production Manager
Dawn Ryan, Associate Managing Editor
Kristin Lindner, Production Supervisor
Andrea Lau, Designer
The Princeton Review
24 Prime Parkway, Suite 201
Natick, MA 01760
E-mail:
Copyright 2014 by TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC. All rights reserved.
Cover art OJO Images Ltd / Alamy
Published in the United States by Random House LLC, New York, and simultaneously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto.
A Penguin Random House Company.
Terms of Service: The Princeton Review Online Companion Tools (Online Companion Tools) for the Cracking book series and 11 Practice Tests for the SAT & PSAT are available for the two most recent editions of each book title. Online Companion Tools may be activated only once per eligible book purchased. Activation of Online Companion Tools more than once per book is in direct violation of these Terms of Service and may result in discontinuation of access to Online Companion Tools services.
eBook ISBN: 978-1-101-88181-1
Trade Paperback ISBN: 978-0-8041-2470-6
GRE is a registered trademark of Educational Testing Services, which does not sponsor or endorse this product.
Editor: Selena Coppock
Production Editor: Jim Melloan
Production Artist: Deborah A. Silvestrini
The Princeton Review is not affiliated with Princeton University.
2015 Edition
v3.1
Acknowledgments
The following people deserve thanks for their help with this book:
Thanks to Kyle Fox for thoroughly reviewing and revising every drill and test question in the book. This update could not have happened without you.
Thanks to John Fulmer, the National Content Director for the GRE, for your hard work, unending patience, and great humor during the overhaul of this book.
Dominique Walsh, Neill Seltzer, Peter Hanink, Scott Patterson, Catherine Connell, Ellen Mendlow, Rachel Warren, Briana Gordon, Mariwyn Curtin, Katie ONeill, Curtis Retherford, and the staff and students of The Princeton Review.
Contents
So Much More in Your Premium Portal!
Register your book now!
- Go to PrincetonReview.com
- Youll see a welcome page where you should register your book using the ISBN. Type in 9781101881811 and create a username and password so that next time you can log into www.PrincetonReview.com easily.
- Now youre good to go!
Once youve registered, you can
- Take 4 full-length practice GRE exams
- Plan your review sessions with study guides based on your schedule4 weeks, 8 weeks, 12 weeks
- Watch tons of short videos in which top-notch Princeton Review teachers discuss graduate school admissions, GRE question types, strategies, and work through practice problems
- Read important opinions and advice about the GRE and graduate school
- Access crucial information about the graduate school application process, timeline, and checklist
- Access a tally of any book typos or late-breaking updates
Chapter 1
Introduction
What is the GRE? Who makes the test? Whats a good score? The answer to these questions and many others lie within this chapter. In the next few pages, well give you the lowdown on the things you need to know about the GRE.
CRACKING THE GRE
For a lot of people, taking a standardized test such as the GRE usually engenders a number of emotionsnone of them positive. But heres the good news: The Princeton Review is going to make this whole ordeal a lot easier for you. Well give you the information you will need to do well on the GRE, including our time-tested strategies and techniques.
A few years back, the GRE was rather significantly revised. This new version of the test supposedly allows graduate schools to get a better sense of an applicants ability to work in a post-graduate settinga goal that is unrealistic indeed, considering that the people who take the GRE are applying to programs as diverse as physics and anthropology.
Strategies Galore
In this book youll find The
Princeton Reviews trusted
test-taking strategies to
help you crack the GRE.
However, its safe to say that neither GREnew or oldis a realistic measure of how well youll do in grad school, or even how intelligent you are. In fact, the GRE provides a valid assessment of only one thing:
The GRE assesses how well you take the GRE.
Got it? Even so, you still want to do well on the GRE, because you still want grad schools to take you seriously when they consider your application. With this in mind, you should cultivate several very important skills when youre preparing for the test, and each of them is attainable with the right guidance (which well give you), a strong work ethic (which you must provide), and a healthy dose of optimism. Who knows? Maybe after working through this book and learning how to crack the test, youll actually look forward to taking the GRE.
So what exactly is this test youve heard so much about?
WHAT IS THE GRE?
The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is a 3-hour, 40-minute exam thats used to rank applicants for graduate schools. The scored portion of the new GRE consists of the following sections:
- One 30-minute Analysis of an Issue essay