GRE/TOEFL

Now, I am supposed to blog about something that I do not know. Let me try going about it. But, I seriously advise you guys to look out elsewhere as to how to fare well on these tests.

GRE/TOEFL are very important. It always helps to have a good score. There is no harm in that. Please try to get a good score on these.

TOEFL: I particularly like TOEFL iBT style of testing language and conversational skills. I would say the standards set by TOEFL are required for comfortable living in the US.

• Preparation - Get yourself a copy of the Kaplan/Princeton book. Go through it on the surface to acquaint yourself to the test format. Take a practice test and see for yourself how you are performing. If you are not very good at spoken English, it could be a good idea to ask someone who is good at it to sit next to you. Take feedback. Practice a bit. Take the second test. You should be fine to go ahead and take the test.

GRE:

• Quant-It is mostly high school arithmetic. So, you should sail through pretty easily. The only key is not to commit mistakes in calculations. Solving a couple of tests would definitely better your performance and boost your confidence. It is a nice idea to refresh some of your geometric/other formulae.
  
  
• Verbal-Everyone follows the Barron's book. There is nothing like a syllabus for GRE. By following Barron's, you would learn a few words of a whole lot. Though it is advisable to go through the words in Barron's, I find it more important to try memorizing words as and when you see them - in movies, books, newspaper etc. I read that it is tough to learn words starting with the same letter. It would help if you keep learning words randomly. Some sites allow you to do so. Also, a huge mistake that people do is they learn all the words but they would have no idea as to how to apply them in the test. It is the practice tests that are more important. GRE Verbal gives you very less time. You should have done at least half a dozen tests to be able to manage the time well in the exam.

Sum-up:

• Take GRE/TOEFL roughly at the same time.
• Practice tests are the most important.
• Do not restrict yourself to one book. Try reading for different places.
• Look at the most frequent lists before you go to the test. People found this very rewarding.
• Focus and give the test well.

Note: Good GRE/TOEFL scores do not get you admits. But a bad score might influence your admit in a negative way. Give them your best shot and try to score well. But, please do not get discouraged if you have a bad score. There are lots of people who scored low and made it to top places. Universities look at what you did before - your course work, your projects, research, publications and experience.