help with the Math GRE

November 4, 2008 3:00 PM

Attention, Math students: I have some questions for those of you who have taken the GRE math subject test.

I have been studying for the GRE math subject test for awhile now, mostly preparing using the Priceton Review book, which I found very helpful. I have also been taking tests from the REA book, which I have found extremely hard, and, more importantly, qualitatively different from the test in the Princeton Review book. I do very poorly on them, how worried should I be? Does anyone have experience with the math GRE in general, or these books in particular?

Also: Do you have any general advice for preparation for this test?

General advice for success on this test?

Please help me prepare!

posted by milestogo to education (8 comments total)

I don't remember which book I used to study from.

My general advice is that you need to learn to be fast. For a sufficiently prepared math major, none of the problems should be difficult. Or at least, the majority of the problems should be no trouble. The really hard part of the test is maintaining your speed so that you get enough problems done to get a high score.

So, to prepare, take the practice tests under timed conditions. It probably matters less which practice tests you use than the sheer number of practice tests you take.
posted by number9dream at 3:29 PM on November 4, 2008

I would recommend you take the official ETS practice exam. It is the closest you'll find to the real thing. You should be able to get it in .pdf format here.

If that link doesn't work just search for "ETS subject test," although if you've registered for the test they should've sent you this practice exam in the mail.

tests from the REA book, which I have found extremely hard, and, more importantly, qualitatively different

Your evaluation of the REA book is spot on, which is why it is so important to take the offical ETS practice tests. With a little luck you might be able to drum up some older versions as well. Good luck!
posted by abc123xyzinfinity at 4:17 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

I studied from the Princeton Review as well, did horribly on the math subject GRE, but got into my top choice grad program anyway (and went on to get a Phd). So you should definitely do your best, but know that it is not the end of the world if you do poorly.

With that said, I would concur with the advice of number9dream and underscore the words sufficiently prepared. One intrinsic difficulty of the exam is that it is about 50% calculus, with problems that are designed with expectation that calculus is fresh in your mind. I recall "hoping" to encounter some interesting abstract algebra and analysis problems. There were 4 out of the 66. So focus on calculus.
posted by El_Marto at 4:24 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

I studied from Princeton Review for my Math GRE and I found it to be too simple. As abc123... said above the closest to the real thing are the ETS practice tests. The major problem with Princeton Review in my opinion was that their practice problems only tested you in one concept at a time while the actual GRE often combined several concepts in one problem. In fact, on the day of the exam I was so scared by the first math GRE question that I cancelled the test and decided to take it on another day, mainly because it looked so much harder than the problems I'd been doing from these books. I retook the test on a different day after preparing more rigorously and got a perfect score. In my opinion, books like the Princeton Review and Kaplan are good for bring a score up from say 550 to 700 but if you want more than that you need more preparation.
posted by peacheater at 5:50 PM on November 4, 2008

I tanked it. I have a math Ph.D. Some places (Ohio State, I'm looking at you) use it as a filter---but would you want to go to such a place anyway? There's no way that your performance on a standardized test like that is going to correlate with your ability to be a productive math researcher.
posted by leahwrenn at 6:02 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Thanks very much. I was under the impression that performance on this test is SUPER SUPER important for Grad school admission. And obviously, trying to memorize tricks for clever problems is not the kind of math anyone likes doing. Quite a relief to know that is isnt the be-all-end-all.

I would love to know if there are old versions of the ETS sample tests floating around..but i doubt it. Anyone know anything?
posted by milestogo at 6:50 PM on November 4, 2008

I don't know about math, but for physics there are at least four previous exams that have been officially released and circulate online, so you may be able to find something.
posted by casaubon at 7:53 AM on November 5, 2008

I just took the GRE about two weeks ago. I took a Princeton Review course last summer, and found it to be pretty helpful. The best advice is to practice every day. Also, when you get to the real thing, take more time on the first 1/3 of the questions, as those will affect your score the most. The questions will adjust in difficulty based on how you answer, so you want to make sure and work carefully in the beginning. On one of my practice tests I ran out of time because of this, and had to guess on the last five or so problems.. However, I still got my highest score because I had gotten the first 1/3 correct. Good luck!
posted by Delfena at 6:40 PM on November 7, 2008