Make the GRE the easy part
of your application.
Graduate admissions is a stack of things you can't control. The GRE is the one you can. The program rebuilds quant you haven't touched in years, teaches verbal as logic rather than vocabulary, and fits a working adult's calendar.
GRE tutoring isn't open yet. The waitlist is free and first come, first served; members hear first and get first pick of diagnostic slots.
Taught by Rick, founder, 99th percentile. One tutor in every session.
What the GRE rewards.
Quant is narrow
The GRE tests arithmetic, algebra, geometry and data analysis, nothing past high school. The difficulty is in how it asks, especially quantitative comparison. Relearning the asking is far faster than relearning the math.
Verbal is logic
Text completion and sentence equivalence are structure questions dressed as vocabulary. Students who learn to read the clue and the pivot word outscore students who memorize 1,000 flashcards.
The second section is earned
The GRE is section-adaptive: your first Verbal and Quant sections decide the difficulty of the second, and the top of the scale lives in the harder version. Accuracy early matters more than speed late.
The GRE, section by section.
| Section | Questions and time | What it tests | Where points leak |
|---|---|---|---|
| Analytical Writing | 1 task, 30 min | Analyze an issue: a structured argumentative essay | No structure, vague examples, not taking a position |
| Verbal Reasoning | 27 q, 41 min 12 + 15 questions | Reading comprehension, text completion, sentence equivalence | Memorizing vocabulary instead of reading structure, long-passage timing |
| Quantitative Reasoning | 27 q, 47 min 12 + 15 questions | Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, data analysis, quantitative comparison | Quantitative comparison traps, rusty fundamentals, calculator over-reliance |
Format from ets.org. Pink marks where students most often lose points.
Where GRE points go.
Your diagnostic shows which of these are yours. Usually two.
- 1
Relearning all of math
Students open a 600-page book at chapter one. The GRE asks a narrow set of concepts in a specific way. We teach the asking, with fundamentals rebuilt only where your diagnostic says they're missing.
- 2
Flashcards instead of structure
Vocabulary helps at the margins. The points are in reading the sentence's logic: the clue, the pivot, the direction. That skill transfers to every verbal question.
- 3
Ignoring quantitative comparison
Nearly a third of quant questions are QC, and they have their own traps (plugging in, the D answer, assuming figures are to scale). They are the fastest quant points to gain.
- 4
Studying around a job without a plan
Adults fail the GRE through drift, not difficulty. Two fixed sessions a week and a Sunday practice test is the structure that survives a work calendar.
What a GRE program looks like.
Diagnostic and debrief
Full-length proctored GRE, or your official score report if you have a recent one. Quant fundamentals audited topic by topic. Verbal misses classified by structure, not by word.
Rebuild
Quant from the ground up where needed, in short daily sets. Verbal structure method on text completion and sentence equivalence. Writing template.
Adaptive practice
Weekly proctored tests. First-section accuracy drilled to earn the hard second section. QC traps catalogued.
Finish
Dress rehearsal, timing locked, protocol written. Most students test within two weeks of finishing.
GRE questions.
I haven't done math in years. Is that a problem?
It's the normal starting point for GRE students and the fastest to fix. The GRE's math is narrow and predictable. We rebuild only what the diagnostic shows is missing, in short daily drills, and most people are surprised how little it takes.
I already have an official score. Will I need a diagnostic?
No. When the program opens, an official score report is enough to run the debrief from. The diagnostic is for people who haven't sat the test yet.
How long does GRE prep take?
Eight to twelve weeks for most working adults at two sessions a week. Faster is possible if your deadline requires it, and we'll tell you what's realistic in the debrief.
Do programs still require the GRE?
Many have gone optional, which makes a strong score more useful, not less: it's a way to stand out that most applicants skip. If your target program is truly test-blind, we'll tell you to save your money.
When does GRE tutoring open?
It is waitlist only for now. Join the list on this page and you hear first, with first pick of diagnostic slots when it opens.
Join the GRE waitlist.
GRE tutoring isn't open yet. Leave your details and target test date and you'll hear first when it opens, with first pick of diagnostic slots. Free, no commitment.