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Last Updated on April 20, 2023
If you’ve just decided to take the GRE, you may be wondering how much time is required to prepare for test day. This is an important yet challenging question because several different factors come into play. Students have different educational backgrounds and life experiences, different skill levels, and different GRE score goals. To complicate matters, everyone has varying work, family, and personal commitments, rates of learning, and access to quality test prep materials.
While you will need to fine-tune your GRE preparation strategy to fit your individual situation and goals, there are some overarching principles that everyone preparing for the GRE can follow to get started. In this article, I’ll provide some guidance on how to determine your GRE preparation time and create a tentative study schedule. Let’s start with the basics, and then we’ll look at some of the more individual concerns.
- Start Early
- Have a Goal in Mind
- Assess Your Current Abilities
- Analyze Your Practice Test Results
- Learn From Students Who Shared Your Goals
- Devise a Strategic Plan
- Evaluate Your Schedule and Habits
- Study Smart
Start Early
Look at just about any news headline on grad school admissions, and you’ll see that competition for seats is fierce. Statistically, you’ve never been up against a tougher field of competitors. A high score on the GRE can be a tremendous gold star in your portfolio, so it’s essential that you give yourself the necessary amount of time to fully and properly prepare for test day. Starting your preparation early can help you earn that great score without the last-minute cramming that can result in careless mistakes, or the anxiety of wondering whether you’re prepared enough, which can affect your concentration during the test.
A high score on the GRE can be a tremendous gold star in your portfolio.
Even if you feel that you are starting your GRE study on very solid ground–perhaps your job requires many of the skills the GRE tests or your daily schedule affords you ample study hours–it is still in your best interest to begin your GRE preparation early enough in the application process that you won’t be constrained by time should an unforeseen change in your schedule arise or your prep not go as smoothly as planned. If you wait until fall (or worse, winter) to begin preparing, you run the risk of either not meeting the application deadlines or applying with a less-than-competitive score. Remember, you will want plenty of time to work on your applications themselves. You may be setting yourself up for a lot of stress if you plot out your GRE study timeline such that you’re trying to write personal statements and finish up your exam prep simultaneously.
You have nothing to lose and everything to gain from starting your GRE prep as early in the application process as possible. If you’re ready to take the GRE earlier than you thought you’d be, that will be one less thing to worry about as you’re completing your applications.
TTP PRO TIP:
Start your GRE preparation early so that you can weather even unforeseen circumstances without stress.
Have a Goal in Mind
If you don’t know where you’re going, how will you get there? Before you begin preparing for the GRE, it’s important to determine your score goal. After all, the course of study for a student whose target score is 330 (90th percentile) will be very different from that of a student with a goal of 315 (75th percentile). Research the programs at the grad schools you’re interested in to see what their students’ average and median GRE scores are. While many grad schools have not released complete GRE score breakouts for their entering classes, as they have for the GMAT, you can still gain some insight by doing a bit of research. You will find that you should strive for a combined score of at least 330 if you aspire to any of the top graduate programs in the nation.
In addition to having a combined score goal, it’s important to know your target scores for the quantitative sections and verbal sections separately. For example, if you plan to study science, math, or business, admissions will likely care a bit more about your quant score than they will if you are applying to a program in journalism or social sciences, in which case your verbal score will likely carry more weight.
Bear in mind that you can’t score a combined 330+ based on a great score in only one section. Both scores are critical to attaining a competitive GRE ranking. Don’t underestimate the value of being well-prepared for the section you think matters less.
KEY FACT:
You should strive for a combined score of at least 330 for entry into any of the top graduate programs in the nation.
Assess Your Current Abilities
Now that you have a score goal, you’ll need to determine how far from it you currently are. To get an accurate assessment of your current GRE score, take a free, full-length GRE practice test from the ETS (makers of the GRE) website. When taking your practice test, replicate the actual test-taking experience as much as possible: go a quiet spot such as a library (if possible, choose a location outside your home, since you won’t be able to take your actual GRE at home) and take all of the test sections under proper timed conditions, with no breaks other than the one allowed on the actual GRE. And, of course, do your best!
Analyze Your Practice Test Results
With your first GRE practice test under your belt (congratulations!), you should conduct a general analysis of your test results. What was your overall score? What were your quantitative section and verbal section scores? Don’t worry too much about topic-specific questions you answered incorrectly; the sample size of these questions is small. For example, just because you were presented with one right-triangle question and you answered it correctly doesn’t mean you can skimp on studying geometry. Likewise, just because you got one Venn diagram question wrong doesn’t mean you’re terrible at overlapping set questions. You’ll need more data to reach specific conclusions regarding where to focus your study efforts. For now, keep your analysis simple. Are you ten points from your goal? Fifty points?
Learn From Students Who Shared Your Goals
Once you know your goal and how your current skills stack up, you’ll want to devise a tentative yet thoughtful test study plan. To make such a plan, it’s helpful to know how long other students like you have studied for the GRE.
Unfortunately, there isn’t extensive research regarding the amount of time to study that GRE students require; however, GMAT preparation time has been well-documented, and it’s useful to extrapolate that data to the GRE.
Let’s look at the minimum threshold that most competitive students strive for: the 90th percentile, which is a combined GRE score of approximately 330. In one study, GMAT students who scored in the 90th percentile or higher studied for 121 hours on average. One hundred and twenty one hours may seem like a lot, but many students find that they need to study for 300 hours or more to earn a 330+ on the GRE. Furthermore, if you’re a student who has been out of school for a while or who struggles with a lot of the content that the GRE tests, you may find that you need to study for 450 hours or more to reach a 330 score.
Remember, an average is just that; GRE study timelines will differ depending on background and current circumstances. Consider the average time a reference point to help you start your study. Also, keep in mind that it’s better to go into this process expecting more work rather than less. In general, hard work and devoted study are the norm for competitive applicants. Yes, I have had students earn 330+ scores in far fewer than 121 hours, but as we’ve already learned, when it comes to planning for the GRE, it helps to give yourself a solid cushion of time to study.
Devise a Strategic Plan
You know your GRE goal and where your score currently stands. Your job now is to create a strategic study plan. Let’s discuss some scenarios that students commonly face.
You Need a 10- to 15-Point Increase to Reach a Score Goal of Less Than 317
Total Study Time = 192 hours (3 months)
Let’s say, for example, your current score is 295 and you’d like to increase that to somewhere between 305 and 310. A realistic plan would be to study for two hours each weekday and three hours each weekend day, totaling 16 study hours per week. Keeping that pace, most students can realize this 10- to 15-point increase in three months.
You Need a 10- to 15-Point Increase to Reach a Score Goal Greater Than 317
Total Study Time = 256 hours (4 months)
Let’s say your current score is 307 and you’d like to increase that to between 317 and 322. A realistic plan would be to study for two hours each weekday and three hours each weekend day, totaling 16 study hours per week. Keeping that pace, most students can realize this 10- to 15-point increase in four months.
You Need a 15- to 25-Point Increase to Reach a Score Goal of Less Than 323
Total Study Time = 320 hours (5 months)
Let’s say your current score is 298 and you’d like to increase that to between 313 and 323. A realistic plan would be to study for two hours each weekday and three hours each weekend day, totaling 16 study hours per week. Keeping that pace, most students can realize this 15- to 25-point increase in five months.
You Need a 20- to 30-Point Increase to Reach a Score Goal Greater Than 325
Total Study Time = 384 hours (6 months)
Let’s say your current score is 307 and you’d like to increase your score to between 327 and 337. A realistic plan would be to study for two hours each weekday and three hours each weekend day, totaling 16 study hours per week. Keeping that pace, most students can realize this 20- to 30-point increase in six months.
Keep in mind that these are rough, average figures. You could be an exceptionally fast learner with a high aptitude for the content and skills tested on the GRE. In that case, your study time could be significantly less than the times I’ve outlined above. Likewise, if you’re a person who learns more slowly and has a lower aptitude for GRE content and skills, you may require significantly more time to study than what I’ve outlined.
Another key point to consider is that, in general, the higher your starting score, the more difficult it is to get those extra points. You’ll notice that in the sample study plans above, increasing from 307 to 317 requires more hours than increasing from 295 to 305 does, even though in both cases we’re looking for a 10-point increase.
Let’s consider a few other factors to further personalize your study plan.
Evaluate Your Schedule and Habits
All students learn differently, and it’s important to know your learning style and how you can best accommodate it. For example, many students learn most efficiently when they spread out their studying. Perhaps they do an hour in the morning, an hour at lunch, and two hours in the evening. If you could keep such a study schedule, you’d be logging four hours per day, or 28 hours per week. At that rate, you could rack up 300 study hours in just over 10 weeks. If, on average, you can study for only two hours each day–perhaps you have two quiet hours in the morning, before you start the rest of your day–you will need about 20 weeks to rack up 300 study hours. Remember, it’s important not to cram the material in an attempt to shorten your study duration. It doesn’t do you any good to rush through a study session only to realize that the information washed over you and you wasted your time. Instead, strive to build deep mastery. Do a sensible amount each day, and make your studying count.
Remember, it’s important not to cram the material in an attempt to shorten your study duration.
If you know your school, family, and work commitments, and know that the example scenarios of 16 hours per week won’t be sustainable for you, you’ll want to create your own GRE study timetable based on your test date and how many total study hours you need.
TTP PRO TIP:
Do a sensible amount of preparation each day, and make your studying count.
Study Smart
Although hard work is a critical part of GRE preparation, you must also work smart. One way to work smart is to use the best possible study materials. Remember, the tools with which you prepare can be major assets or major liabilities. Research your options. Read reviews. See what other successful students have used. There is nothing more costly than investing your time learning subpar content, skills, and strategies. Plan your GRE study timeline wisely, and then use it wisely.
TTP PRO TIP:
Use the best study materials available!
Good luck!!!
