90 Day GRE Study Plan (Math Focused)

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90 Day GRE Study Plan (Math Focused)

By MIKE on March 5, 2012 in Study Guides and Plans
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OK, you are starting more or less from scratch, and you want to prepare for the GRE in 90 days. You need a
strategic plan to organize yourself. I designed four different versions of the 90 Day Plan, and I need you to
magoosh.com/gre/2012/90-day-gre-study-plan-math-focused/?utm_source=New+GRE+-+1+Week&utm_campaign=c9140c40f4-GRE1Week_Study_Schedules
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start with a little self-diagnosis. Which sounds most like you?

90 Day GRE Study Plan for Beginners: Help! Math and verbal both scare the living bejeebers out of me! I
need all the help and support I can get! Help!
90 Day GRE Study Plan (Math Focused): I have a natural affinity with the verbal, but the math is
far less intuitive for me. I would like to focus more there.
90 Day GRE Study Plan (Verbal Focused): Me a math nerd. Me think all math easy. Me have big verbal
problems. One day, me will talk good.
90 Day GRE Study Plan for Advanced Students: I actually feel reasonably comfortable with math & verbal;
if I took the test today, Id get around 600-650. Im interested in refining my understanding, and getting
into the upper 700s region in the next twelve weeks.
90 Day GRE Study Plan (Math Focused)
Essential Materials:
Magoosh GRE Prep
ETSs Official Guide to the GRE book (+ our free video explanations)
ETSs PowerPrep Software: If you are a Mac user that cant use ETSs Poweprep, or would prefer to take
the practice test on paper, you can print out ETSs practice test PDF (with video explanations here).
Take note that the Poweprep software and the paper-based test have overlapping material, so it wont be
of much help to do both, unless you space them out far enough so that you wont recognize the
questions and answers! I recommend using the Poweprep software if you can, since taking the test on a
computer is a better simulation of exam day conditions.
Subscribe to the Sunday New York Times (NYT), online or print
Reading material: this may be any non-fiction scholarly book, history and social science preferable. You
may also choose one of the recommended magazines: Scientific American, Atlantic Monthly, The New
Yorker, National Geographic, The Economist. You are reading (a) to build your reading comprehension
skills, (b) to refine your understanding of grammar and usage, and (c) to expand your vocabulary.
a journal or notebook (yes, a physical hard copy item)
Notecards
Supplemental/Optional Materials:
Any of the steps listed in the schedule for the materials below are purely for extra practice, so they are to be
done as optional tasks if you have extra time.
Any one volume of the Manhattan GRE books. Its an eight-volume set, so buy as much as you think will
help you and as you can afford. One of the purposes of getting one book is to get the code in the back,
to register and get access to six GRE tests online.
Barrons 1100 Words You Need to Know: a good starting point for learning GRE vocabulary
McGraw-Hills Conquering the New GRE Math: this book is for those struggling with the very basics of
math, folks who are sheer panic over almost anything mathematical. I assume that is relevant for you,
since you are following this plan.
Manhattan GRE 500 Essential Words Flash Card set another good starting point for learning GRE
vocabulary
Quizlet.com: gives you online access to flashcards, making it easier, say, to quiz yourself on your mobile
device
WordSmart: very basic level 1 definition of words with simple sentences
Dictionary.com: very good example sentences with definition
Wordnik.com: provides a flood of example sentences
Word Dynamo (Dictionary.com): give you little quizzes & games to add some variety to vocab learning
Magoosh iPhone/Android app, for mobile practice
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A note on learning GRE vocabulary: first of all, its important not only to learn the literal dictionary definition
(the denotation), but also to understand the metaphorical use of the word in context (the connotation). For
example, the word opaque literally means not transparent, but metaphorically it can means hard to
understand or, describing a person, it can mean thick-headed, stupid. Ultimately, you should strive to learn
both the denotation and the connotation of each word.
Nothing beats physical stacks of flashcards: You could have one pile for words whose denotation you are trying
to master, another containing words for which you know the denotation but not the connotation, and a done
stack that gets reviewed only rarely. Daily review of vocab is vital. I wrote this schedule recommending the
Barrons 1100 Words as a basic word list, but if you have another vocab list you would like use as your starting
point, use that. DO NOT limit yourself to just the Barrons words, or just the MGRE words. AS YOU READ and
find more words you dont know, look them up, make flash cards (including context), and mix them into your
piles.
A note on the prep books: Dont write in any of the test prep books, because for any of them, after a period
of time you may want to go back and do a problem again that you havent seen for a while. You can only
start it fresh if the page is free of your marks.
This 90-day plan demands a manageable pace that must be followed diligently so things dont get out of hand.
Its designed to have you improve as much as you can improve in a three month period. I have designed twelve
weeks, assuming 1-2 hours for each of the five weekdays, and one 4-5 stint on the weekend (Day Six). If
you would prefer to work on both weekend days, and free up some weeknight time, feel free to make those
changes.
Also, as much as possible, get enough sleep during this month. REM sleep plays an important role in encoding
long term memory, and in an eight hour period of sleep, the last hour has the most REM. If you are getting 7
hours/night instead of 8 hours/night, you are depriving your brain of one of its most powerful systems for
learning and remembering. Caffeine and energy drinks will keep you feeling awake if you dont get enough sleep,
but they dont do bupkis to replace the lost opportunity to encode more information into long term memory.
Abbreviations
OG = the ETS Official Guide to the GRE
MC = Multiple Choice math questions
MA = Multiple Answer math questions
NE = Numeric Entry math questions
QC = Quantitative Comparison math questions
TC = Text Completion verbal question
SE = Sentence Equivalence verbal question
RC = Reading Comprehension verbal question
AWA = the Analytical Writing Assessment, the essay-writing section
Week One
Week One, Day One
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1) Go to http://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/about/content/, and read about the content of the GRE. Click

on and read each sub-heading link.
2) In the OG,
Read Chapter 1, Introducing the GRE revised General Test
Read Chapter 2, GRE Analytic Writing (just the descriptions of the question, not all the sample material)
Read the introductory few pages of Chapter 3, GRE Verbal Reasoning (everything up to the sample questions)
Read the introductory few pages of Chapter 4, GRE Quantitative Reasoning (everything up to the sample
questions)
3) Start reading through the GRE Math Review, the entire Arithmetic section. Take notes in your journal on
whatever is unfamiliar. Do the Arithmetic Exercises and correct your answers.
4) In Magoosh, watch the following videos
In Math: under Integer Properties, the first two videos in that section
Week One, Day Two

1) Continue reading through the GRE Math Review, the first half of the Algebra section. Take notes in your
journal on whatever is unfamiliar.
2) Download and read the Magoosh GRE eBook.
In Math: under Integer Properties, up to Squares of Integers
4) In Magoosh, do the following problems
10 MC
For each Magoosh problem, after you submit your answer, on the next page which tells you whether you were
right or wrong, theres a video solution and below that a text summary. If you got the question right, skim
the text summary to verify you got it right for the right reason. If you got the question wrong, see if you can
figure out for yourself why the right answer is right. After thinking through it yourself, watch the video, taking
notes in your journal about any concept or any aspect of the question type that was unclear to you
Week One, Day Three

1) Continue reading through the GRE Math Review: finish the Algebra section. Take notes in your journal on
whatever is unfamiliar. Do the Algebra Exercises and correct your answers.
2) Download the Magoosh GRE Math Formula eBook.
Read carefully the first section, GRE Math Formulas: How to (Not) Use Them. Right now, just skim the rest of
the book, just to get a sense of what topics are covered. As you move through this plan, you will cover all of
these. Use this for reinforcement and review: as you cover a particular math topic in the Magoosh lessons,
read the corresponding part of this book to verify your understanding. By the end of this plan, you should know
every section of this book.
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In Math: under Integer Properties, up to GCD LCM Rule
10 MC
Week One, Day Four

1) Continue reading through the GRE Math Review, the Geometry section. Take notes in your journal on
whatever is unfamiliar. Do the Geometry Exercises and correct your answers.
In Math: under Integer Properties, up to Consecutive Integers
10 MC
Week One, Day Five

1) Continue reading through the GRE Math Review: read the first half of the Data Analysis section. Take notes
in your journal on whatever is unfamiliar.
In Math: under Integer Properties, the last two videos in that section
NOTE: As you finish each section of lesson videos, take the practice quiz at the end of the set.
In Math: under Arithmetic and Fractions, the first video in that section
10 QC
Week One, Day Six

1) Continue reading through the GRE Math Review: finish reading the Data Analysis section. Take notes in your
journal on whatever is unfamiliar. Do the Data Analysis Exercises and correct your answers.
In AWA: all ten videos
3) Today, you are going to write four essays, half an hour each. You will write two Issue essays and two
Argument essays.
For topics, go to the ETS GRE Issue Pool
(http://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/prepare/analytical_writing/issue/pool) and the ETS GRE Argument Pool
(http://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/prepare/analytical_writing/argument/pool). Figure out a way to pick
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topics at random (maybe you print the lists, cut it into slips of paper, and choose some at random). Write the
essays in a word processing program.
Now that you have these essays, what do you do with them? If you have a friend or mentor who is a gifted
writer, see if they would read the essays for you and critique them. If they are willing, you can show them the
assessment criteria in the OG, and ask them to follow it. If you cant convince anyone else to read it, you may
try posting them on that same GMAT club forum, and see whether an expert there will critique your essay.
Failing either of these options, at least you can set the essays aside, and in a couple days re-read them with
the OGs rubric beside you.
Week Two
Week Two, Day One
In Math: under Arithmetic and Fractions, up to Multiples of 10
2) In McGraw-Hills Conquering the New GRE Math
read Chapters 1-2
3) In Barrons 1100 Words You Need to Know
Look over the first 20 words (in Barrons or whatever vocab source you are using). For each one, if the
definition (both denotation and connotation) is not immediately obvious to you, make a flashcard for the word.
Review your flashcards
If you have a facility with words, you may find many of these words familiar at first glance, which will result in a
relatively small stack of flashcards.
4) Read your chosen reading material (one chapter, or a few articles). Look up and write down any words you
dont know.
10 MC
Week Two, Day Two

In Verbal: under Text Completion Overview, all six videos
NOTE: you may find the information in some of the verbal videos obvious. If the content of a video seems
obvious to you, dont suffer through it simply click to the end and read the summary to verify that theres
nothing youre missing.
read Chapter 3 and do the exercises
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Look over the next 20 words. For each one, if the definition is not immediately obvious to you, make a
flashcard for the word. Review your flashcards
dont know.
5 TC
5 SE
Week Two, Day Three

In Math: under Arithmetic and Fractions, the last six videos in that section
dont know.
10 QC
Week Two, Day Four

In Verbal: under Text Completion No Shifts, all four videos
dont know.
5 RC
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Week Two, Day Five

In Math: under Percents and Ratios, the first four videos in that section
dont know.
20 MC
Week Two, Day Six

1) Today, you are going to write two essays, half an hour each. You will write one Issue essay and one
Argument essay.
For topics, go back to the topics from the ETS Issue Pool & Argument Pool. Again, choose topics at random.
Write the essays in Word.
When done, share the essays with a trusted friend/mentor, or post in the GMAT forum, or set aside and critique
it yourself with the OG rubric in a few days.
2) In the OG & McGraw-Hills Conquering the New GRE Math:
a) in OG, do the Verbal Reasoning Practice Sets 1-6
b) in OG, do the Quantitative Reasoning Practice Sets 1-4
c) in McGraw-Hill, do GRE Math Practice Section 1
Treat this as a mock GRE. You might even combine it with the two essays, and do consecutive batches 2-3 set
without interruption, to simulate more effectively a real GRE. Set a timer for the time limits. Here are the time
limits to observe:
OG Verbal Reasoning Set 1 = 9 minutes
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OG Quantitative Reasoning Set 1 = 22 minutes

McGraw-Hill, GRE Math section = 35 minutes
After you are done, check all your answers. For any question you got right, skim the explanation to verify that
you got it right for the right reason. For any question you got wrong, read the explanation thorough, taking
notes in your journal on any concepts you didnt understand and anything about the question format that
psyched you out. If you still cant make sense of the question after reading the explanation, email us at
Magoosh.
If you are doing much better than expected on either Math or Verbal, this might be a good time to consider
whether you should switch to another version of the 3-month plan (see explanations of them at the top).
Week Three
Week Three, Day One
In Math: under Percents and Ratios, the last four videos in that section
read the intro to Part Three, and Ch. 7 through the section on Real Numbers; take notes in your journal on
anything new or unfamiliar.
dont know.
10 MC
Week Three, Day Two

In Verbal: under RC videos, the first six videos
read Chapter 7 up to the first set of Practice Problems; do the Practice Problems and check your answer;
take notes in your journal on anything new or unfamiliar.
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dont know.
10 TC
5 SE
Week Three, Day Three

In Math: under Algebra, Equations, Inequalities, the first four videos in that section
In Ch. 7, read the Ch. 7 section on Even & Odd Numbers; take the Number Properties Test 1, grade yourself,
and read the solutions; take notes in your journal on anything new or unfamiliar.
dont know.
10 QC
Week Three, Day Four

In Verbal: under RC videos, the last five videos
In Ch. 7, do the solved GRE Problems and GRE Practice Problems (immediately after Number Properties Test
1), grade yourself, and read the solutions; take notes in your journal on anything new or unfamiliar.
dont know.
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5 RC
Week Three, Day Five

In Math: under Algebra, etc., up to Factoring Rational Expressions
In Ch. 7, read up to and including the section on Prime Numbers; take notes in your journal on anything new
or unfamiliar.
dont know.
20 MC
Week Three, Day Six

1) Today, you are going to write four essays, half an hour each. You will write two Issue essays and two
Argument essays.
For topics, go back to the topics from the ETS Issue Pool & Argument Pool. Again, choose topics at random.
Write the essays in Word.
When done, share the essays with a trusted friend/mentor, or post in the GMAT forum, or set aside and critique
it yourself with the OG rubric in a few days.
Week Four
Week Four, Day One
In Math: under Algebra, etc., up to Three Equations with Three Unknowns
In Ch. 7, read GCD and LCM Revisited, do the Practice Problems immediately following that, grade yourself,
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dont know.
10 MC
Week Four, Day Two

In Verbal: under SE videos, the six videos of that section
In Ch. 7, take Number Properties Test 2, grade yourself, and read the solutions; take notes in your journal on
dont know.
5 TC
5 SE
Week Four, Day Three

In Math: under Algebra, etc., up to Working with Formulas
In Ch. 7, do the solved GRE Problems and GRE Practice Problems (immediately after Number Properties Test
2), grade yourself, and read the solutions; take notes in your journal on anything new or unfamiliar.
dont know.
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10 QC
Week Four, Day Four

In Verbal: in Text Completion Sentence Shifts, the first four videos
Beginning reading Chapter 8, through all the Properties of Operations; do the Practice Problems immediately
following, grade yourself, and read the solutions; take notes in your journal on anything new or unfamiliar.
dont know.
10 RC
Week Four, Day Five

In Math: under Algebra, etc., the last five videos in that section
In Ch. 8, read the first part of the Fractions section, up to the examples following Equivalent Fractions; take
notes in your journal on anything new or unfamiliar.
dont know.
5 MC
5 NE
Week Four, Day Six

1) Today, you are going to take the hard copy practice GRE at the back of the OG.
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For the two essay questions, write the essays in a word processing program. These essays you will either share
with a trusted friend or mentor, or post in the online forums asking for feedback, or critique later with the OG
rubric.
As much as possible, try to mimic the GRE conditions. Give yourself relatively short breaks in between
sections. Only eat the kinds of snacks that you are planning to bring to the real GRE. Note how your sleep the
night before affects your work. Note how what you had for dinner the previous night and what you had to eat
earlier that day affects your energy level and concentration. Write any observations in your journal.
Week Five
Week Five, Day One
In Math: under Word Problems, the first three videos in that section
In Ch. 8, finish reading the Fractions, section up to the Practice Problems; do the Practice Problems, grade
yourself, and read the solutions; take notes in your journal on anything new or unfamiliar.
dont know.
20 MC
Week Five, Day Two

In Verbal: in Text Completion Sentence Shifts, the last five videos
In Ch. 8, begin reading the Operations with Fractions section, the sections on addition & subtraction of
fractions; take notes in your journal on anything new or unfamiliar.
dont know.
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10 TC
5 SE
Week Five, Day Three

In Math: under Word Problems, up to Age Questions
In Ch. 8, finish reading the section on Operations with Fractions, do the Practice Problems, grade yourself,
dont know.
10 QC
Week Five, Day Four

In Verbal: in Text Completion Double Blanks, all five videos in that section
In Ch. 8, read the section Decimals, do the Practice Problems, grade yourself, and read the solutions; take
dont know.
5 RC
Week Five, Day Five

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In Math: under Word Problems, up to Shrinking and Expanding Gaps

In Ch. 8, do the Arithmetic Computation Test 1, grade yourself, and read the solutions; take notes in your
journal on anything new or unfamiliar.
dont know.
10 MC
Week Five, Day Six

1) Today, you are going to take your first of the MGRE practice tests. Take the whole test, and then read &
study the explanations, taking notes on whatever you got wrong whatever about the concepts or the
questions format was unclear.
Week Six
Week Six, Day One
In Math: under Word Problems, up to Three Criteria Venn Diagrams
In Ch. 8, do the solved GRE Problems on and GRE Practice Problems (immediately following Arithmetic
Computation Test 1), grade yourself, and read the solutions; take notes in your journal on anything new or
unfamiliar.
dont know.
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20 MC
Week Six, Day Two

In Verbal: in Text Completion Tripe Blanks, the first four videos in that section
In Ch. 8, read the short Word Problem section, do the Practice Problems (Word Problems), grade yourself, and
read the solutions; take notes in your journal on anything new or unfamiliar.
dont know.
10 TC
10 SE
Week Six, Day Three

In Math: under Word Problems, up to Growth Tables
In Ch. 8, read a little more than half the section on Ratios and Proportions; take notes in your journal on
dont know.
10 QC
Week Six, Day Four

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In Verbal: in Text Completion Tripe Blanks, the last three videos in that section
In Ch. 8, finish reading the section Ratios and Proportions, do the Practice Problems, grade yourself, and
dont know.
10 RC
Week Six, Day Five

In Math: under Word Problems, the last four videos in that section
In Ch. 8, read the Motion and Work Problems section, do the Practice Problems, grade yourself, and read the
solutions; take notes in your journal on anything new or unfamiliar.
dont know.
5 MC
8 MA
Week Six, Day Six

1) Today, you are going to take another one of the MGRE practice tests. Take the whole test, and then read &
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Week Seven
Week Seven, Day One
In Math: under Power and Roots, the first five videos in the section
In Ch. 8, read the short sections Percentage and Percentage Word Problems, do both Practice Problems
sets (one at the end of each section), grade yourself, and read the solutions; take notes in your journal on
dont know.
10 MC
Week Seven, Day Two

In Math: under Power and Roots, up to Simplifying Roots
In Ch. 8, read the section Types of Average, do the Practice Problems, grade yourself, and read the
dont know.
5 TC
5 SE
Week Seven, Day Three

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In Math: under Power and Roots, the last four videos in the section
In Ch. 8, read the section Powers and Roots; take notes in your journal on anything new or unfamiliar.
dont know.
10 QC
Week Seven, Day Four

In Math: under Coordinate Geometry, the first four videos in the section
In Ch. 8, read the short Standard Deviation section, do the Practice Problems, grade yourself, and read the
solutions; then read Simple Probability section, do the Practice Problems, grade yourself, and read the

dont know.
5 RC
Week Seven, Day Five

In Math: under Coordinate Geometry, the last five videos in the section
In Ch. 8, do the Arithmetic Computation Test 2, grade yourself, and read the solutions; take notes in your
journal on anything new or unfamiliar.
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dont know.
20 MC
Week Seven, Day Six

Week Eight
Week Eight, Day One
In Math: under Geometry, the first four videos in the section
In Ch. 8, do the solved GRE Problems and GRE Practice Problems (immediately following Arithmetic
Computation Test 2), grade yourself, and read the solutions; take notes in your journal on anything new or
unfamiliar.
dont know.
10 MC
Week Eight, Day Two

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In Math: under Geometry, up to Polygons

Begin Chapter 9. Read the first sections, do the first Practice Problems, grade yourself, and read the
solutions; then, read the Tables of Powers and Roots and the section Radical Expressions, do the Practice
Problems, grade yourself, and read the solutions; take notes in your journal on anything new or unfamiliar.
dont know.
10 TC
5 SE
Week Eight, Day Three

In Math: under Geometry, up to Circle Properties
In Ch. 9, read the section Operations with Radicals, do the Practice Problems and then Algebra Test I,
grade yourself, and read the solutions; take notes in your journal on anything new or unfamiliar.
dont know.
10 QC
Week Eight, Day Four

In Math: under Geometry, the last three videos in the section
In Ch. 8, do the solved GRE Problems and GRE Practice Problems (immediately following Algebra Test I),
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5 RC
Week Eight, Day Five

In Math: under Statistics, all five videos in the section
In Chapter 9, read all the short sections from Translating Verbal Expressions into Algebraic Expressions to
Division of Algebraic Expressions, do the two sets of Practice Problems, grade yourself, and read the
dont know.
5 MC
10 NE
Week Eight, Day Six

Week Nine
Week Nine, Day One
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In Math: under Counting, the first four videos in the section
In Ch. 9, read the sections Algebraic Fractions and Factoring Algebraic Expression, do the Practice
Problems, grade yourself, and read the solutions; then, read the section Operations with Algebraic Fractions,
do the Practice Problems, grade yourself, and read the solutions; take notes in your journal on anything new
or unfamiliar.
dont know.
20 MC
Week Nine, Day Two

In Math: under Counting, up to MISSISSIPPI rule
In Ch. 9, do the Algebra Test 2, grade yourself, and read the solutions; take notes in your journal on anything
new or unfamiliar.
dont know.
5 TC
5 SE
Week Nine, Day Three

In Math: under Counting, the last four videos in the section
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In Ch. 9, do the solved GRE Problems and GRE Practice Problems (immediately following Algebra Test 2),
dont know.
10 QC
Week Nine, Day Four

In Math: under Probability, the first three videos in the section
In Ch. 9, read the five little sections from Linear Equations to Equations with Radicals, do the Practice
Problems, grade yourself, and read the solutions; take notes in your journal on anything new or unfamiliar.
dont know.
10 RC
Week Nine, Day Five

In Math: under Probability, up to Determining Independence
In Ch. 9, read the section Systems of Linear Equations, do the Practice Problems, grade yourself, and read
the solutions; then, read the tiny section Linear Inequalities, do the Practice Problems, grade yourself, and
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dont know.
10 MC
Week Nine, Day Six

Week Ten
Week Ten, Day One
In Math: under Probability, the last four videos in that section
In Ch. 9, read the section Quadratic Equations and Inequalities, do the Practice Problems, grade yourself,
dont know.
20 MC
Week Ten, Day Two

At this point, you should be done with all the Magoosh lesson videos. Keep up a pace of watching 4-5 videos a
day, watching whatever videos you decide you need to see a second time.
In Ch. 9, read the section Functions, do the Practice Problems, grade yourself, and read the solutions; then,
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read a little more than half the section Algebraic Word Problems, take notes in your journal on anything new or
unfamiliar.
dont know.
10 TC
5 SE
Week Ten, Day Three

Watch any 4-5 videos for a second time
In Ch. 9, finish reading the section Algebraic Word Problems, do the Practice Problems, grade yourself, and
dont know.
10 QC
Week Ten, Day Four

In Ch. 9, do the Algebra Test 3, grade yourself, and read the solutions; take notes in your journal on anything
new or unfamiliar.
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dont know.
5 RC
Week Ten, Day Five

In Ch. 9, do the solved GRE Problems and GRE Practice Problems (immediately following Algebra Test 3),
dont know.
10 MC
Week Ten, Day Six

Week Eleven
Week Eleven, Day One
Watch any 4-5 videos for a second or third time
Begin Chapter 10. Read the section Points, Lines, Angles, do the Practice Problems, grade yourself, and
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read the solutions; then read the section Polygons, do the Practice Problems, grade yourself, and read the
dont know.
20 MC
Week Eleven, Day Two

In Ch. 10, read the section Triangles, do the Practice Problems, grade yourself, and read the solutions; read
the section Quadrilaterals, do the Practice Problems, grade yourself, and read the solutions; take notes in
your journal on anything new or unfamiliar.
dont know.
10 TC
10 SE
Week Eleven, Day Three

In Ch. 10, read the section Perimeter and Area, do the Practice Problems, grade yourself, and read the
solutions; read the section Circles, do the Practice Problems, grade yourself, and read the solutions; take
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dont know.
10 QC
Week Eleven, Day Four

In Ch. 10, read the section Solid Geometry, do the Practice Problem, grade yourself, and read the solutions;
read the section Coordinate Geometry, do the Practice Problems, grade yourself, and read the solutions;
take notes in your journal on anything new or unfamiliar.
dont know.
10 RC
Week Eleven, Day Five

In Ch. 10, do the Geometry Test, grade yourself, and read the solutions; take notes in your journal on
dont know.
10 MC
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Week Eleven, Day Six

1) Today, you are going to take the last of the MGRE practice tests. Take the whole test, and then read &
Week Twelve
Week Twelve, Day One
Watch any 4-5 videos for an additional time
At the end of Ch. 10, do the solved GRE Problems and GRE Practice Problems, grade yourself, and read the
dont know.
10 MC
10 MA
Week Twelve, Day Two

In a 35 minute sitting, take GRE Math Practice Section 2; grade it right after, but you dont have to check all
the solutions tonight.
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dont know.
5 TC
5 SE
Week Twelve, Day Three

Go over the solutions to GRE Math Practice Section 2. For questions you got right, skim the explanation, simply
to verify that you got it right for the right reason, and that theres nothing further about that topic you need to
know. For questions you got wrong, read the explanation carefully, writing in your journal anything new you
learn or anything you need to remember.
dont know.
10 QC
Week Twelve, Day Four

In a 35 minute sitting, take GRE Math Practice Section 3; grade it right after, but you dont have to check all
the solutions tonight.
dont know.
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5 RC
Week Twelve, Day Five

Go over the solutions to GRE Math Practice Section 3. For questions you got right, skim the explanation, simply
to verify that you got it right for the right reason, and that theres nothing further about that topic you need to
know. For questions you got wrong, read the explanation carefully, writing in your journal anything new you
learn or anything you need to remember.
Look over the what should be the last 20 words. For each one, if the definition is not immediately obvious to
you, make a flashcard for the word. Review your flashcards
dont know.
5 MC
10 NE
Week Twelve, Day Six

1) Today, you are going to take the practice GRE available through the GRE PowerPrep software. Pay attention
to any differences you notice between the MGRE tests and this one: this one is presumably much more
representative of the real GRE.
At the end, copy the essays you wrote into a Word doc, and as before, these you will share with a trusted
friend or mentor, or post in the online forums asking for feedback, or critique later with the OG rubric.
After Week 12: Concentrated Review

At this point, if you have been following the schedule, you should have done every question in both Magoosh at
least once. For whatever days remain before the test, keep up work on GRE math and verbal. Some
suggestions for what to do:
1) Through selecting question type & difficulty on the Dashboard, do Magoosh problems over again, and see
how you do a second time.
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3) Keep watching for a additional time 4-5 Magoosh lesson videos a day, on whatever topics you feel you need
to review
4) Keep reading your challenging material, to build vocabulary and acclimate your ear to eloquent style.
5) Keep drilling your vocab cards.
6) Re-read any topics in the McGraw-Hills Conquering the New GRE Math any topics where you feel you
would benefit from further review.
Day before the test:

1) No GRE preparation all day
2) Eat a large, healthy, leisurely dinner no alcohol!
3) Go to bed earlier than usual.
Day of test
1) ABSOLUTELY NO LAST MINUTE GRE PREPARATION!
2) Eat a large breakfast, full of protein
3) Do relaxing, fun activities to pass time until the test
Bring to the test

1) A liter of water
2) Healthy energy-packed snacks (nuts, protein bar, etc.)
3) On breaks, make sure to get up, move & stretch moving & stretching the large muscles of the body (legs &
torso) will get oxygen flowing throughout, which will help keep you awake and keep you thinking clearly.
By the way, students who use Magoosh GRE improve their scores on average by 8 points on the new scale (150
points on the old scale.) Click here to learn more.
About the Author

Mike McGarry is a Content Developer for Magoosh with over 20 years of teaching experience. He enjoys
hitting foosballs into orbit, and despite having no obvious cranial deficiency, he insists on rooting for the NY
Mets.
90 Day GRE Study Plan for Beginners

90 Day GRE Study Plan (Verbal Focused)
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16 Responses to 90 Day GRE Study Plan (Math Focused)
1.
Sara September 1, 2012 at 2:58 pm #
I have 45 days until I take the GRE, and Im pretty strong in my verbal/reading comprehension (Ive
been tackling vocab for the past 6 months). I literally have nothing to do for the next 45 days
except study for the GRE, and Ive worked it out so that I could complete this 90-day schedule in
36 days straight if I double up days and skip the rest day.
My questions:
1) I have the ETS OG, powerprep software, a subscription to Magoosh, and I read articles from The
Economist and The Atlantic as well as some stuff thats free on from the New York Times and New
Yorker. I dont have the Mcgraw-Hill Math book, instead I have the Nova Math Prep Course book
which has better reviews on Amazon as compared to the Mcgraw-hill. In your opinion, is it sufficient
to sub out the instructions for the Mcgraw-hill and apply them to the Nova book?
2) Regarding the Magoosh instructions, Ive looked over the schedule and I dont see where it
explicitly tells me to take the module quizzes. Are we just supposed to complete the quizzes after
we finish a section? The answer might be an obvious yes but I didnt know if that would take away
from the overall question bank and maybe the schedule doesnt intend for us to take the quizzes
immediately after reviewing the info, to see how well we retain it later on
Thanks and I love the site!
Mike September 2, 2012 at 12:59 pm #

Sara: Good questions. I appreciate your determination!
The McGraw-Hill is a great book if you are weak in math and want everything spoon-fed to
you. The Nova book has virtually no instruction, and is just a bank of very challenging
problems. As for the choice between the two, it depends on where you are as a math student:
if you need the hand-holding, McGraw-Hill is the way to go. If you relish the challenge of
throwing yourself into hard problems, go the Nova route.
For the module quizzes, yes do them when you finish the module.
Thank you for your compliments.
Mike
Sara September 2, 2012 at 2:41 pm #

Thank you so much! Ive noticed the wealth of problems and dearth (!) of explanation
within the Nova material, however I bought the Quantitative Comparison Manhattan Prep
book today (for the 6 practice GREs), so Im hoping that the QC book will make up for
some of that. I dont know what Id do without your schedule!!
Mike September 2, 2012 at 9:16 pm #

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Thank you for your kind words.

Mike
2.
Suzanne August 18, 2012 at 4:50 am #
Hi!
I just took the GREs and did aweful. 147 on quant, 158 on verbal, and 3.5 on awa. ugh. I expected
my quant score, but I did not time myself well enough on verbal and ran out of time on the first
section. I only really studied for a month. I am planning on taking them again in Nov. I printed out
the 90 day math plan. I work 12 hr shifts every weekend, taking 2 classes, volunteer in a research
lab 12 hrs a week, and I have a 2yr old and 13 yr old at home. soooo my question is what would
be the best way to take this plan and stretch it out over 4 months? I do not have 4-6 hrs on the
weekend so I am pretty much restricted to the weekdays. Any suggestions would be great! (By the
way, I am applying to a Human Development and Family Studies Phd program so Im not real
concerned about the quantbut I at least want to get to the 50th percentile!)
Mike August 18, 2012 at 8:40 pm #

If you are only shooting for 50th percentile on Quant, just drop the McGraw-Hills Conquering
the New GRE Math that will free time every day. The Magoosh videos & problems will be
enough in Quant. Since your weekends are jammed, it sounds like you will have fewer
opportunities for a full four-hour-sit-down practice GRE, although I would urge you to find the
time to do a couple of those during your four months. If you keep a pace of doing four-days
of this plan every week for the first two Day Sixs, you can break those into pieces and do
them on the week days, and just skip the other Day Sixs with the caveat, again, that at
some point, you create a full four-hour-sit-down practice GRE for yourself. Does all that make
sense?
Mike
Suzanne August 19, 2012 at 3:17 pm #

Yes, it does! Thank you!
Mike August 20, 2012 at 10:09 am #

Good. Im glad I could help. Best of luck to you!
Mike
3.
Dana August 13, 2012 at 12:10 pm #
Hi there I am using this study guide, with Magoosh and it is going well so far. But on numerous
days the author says: Today, you are going to take one of the MGMAT practice tests.
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Meanwhile it lists the following as the only required materials:

* Magoosh GRE Prep
* ETSs Official Guide to the GRE book (+ our free video explanations)
* ETSs PowerPrep Software: If you are a Mac user that cant use ETSs Poweprep, or would prefer
to take the practice test on paper, you can print out ETSs practice test PDF (with video
explanations here). Take note that the Poweprep software and the paper-based test have
overlapping material, so it wont be of much help to do both, unless you space them out far enough
so that you wont recognize the questions and answers! I recommend using the Poweprep software
if you can, since taking the test on a computer is a better simulation of exam day conditions.
* Subscribe to the Sunday New York Times (NYT), online or print
* Reading material: this may be any non-fiction scholarly book, history and social science preferable.
You may also choose one of the recommended magazines: Scientific American, Atlantic Monthly, The
New Yorker, National Geographic, The Economist. You are reading (a) to build your reading
comprehension skills, (b) to refine your understanding of grammar and usage, and (c) to expand
your vocabulary.
* a journal or notebook (yes, a physical hard copy item)
* Notecards (or Quizlet.com)
* WordSmart (or Wordnik.com)
What are the MGMAT tests that he is referring to and where are they to be found?
The McGraw-Hills Conquering the New GRE Math has three tests in it book but I dont think that
is what he is referring to.
Many thanks
-D
Mike August 13, 2012 at 1:07 pm #

Im sorry. That was a misprint, which I just corrected it now correctly says, Today, you are
going to take one of the **MGRE** practice tests. MGRE is an abbreviation for Manhattan
GRE, listed in the Supplemental Materials. If you buy any one book of that 8-vol series, you
will get access to all the online MGRE practice GREs.
Does that make sense?
Mike
4.
Alison August 9, 2012 at 2:25 pm #
Which GRE study plan should my daughter use?
She is an English LIt major, so she is obviously going to be very comfortable with the verbal side of
the GRE. She got a (disappointing!) 760 in critical reading on her SAT and 730 (if I recall correctly)
on her writing, although she didnt really do much work on preparing for the writing because her
chosen school didnt look at that score. She just used the official guide to prepare.
The math was different. Although she got As in math (e.g., precalculus, advanced precalculus, etc.)
in school and was in the top math section, but she was never really comfortable with it compared to
the verbal and she certainly lacked confidence. I sent her to a tutor for a few sessions to help with
the SAT math techniques/tricks/traps. She ended up with a comparatively weak 680. Fortunately,
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these scores were above the requirement for admissions to the honors program of her choice.
Sowhich GRE study plan track should she go for? Should she focus on the math track OR maybe
just go with the advanced student track?
She will probably need to go with the 90 day plan starting in the Fall so that she has time for a
couple of retakes, if necessary.
Thank you.
Margarette August 9, 2012 at 3:50 pm #

Hi, Alison
Id recommend that she use the Math-focused plan, but its really up to her she can pick a
plan to start out with, but she may find that she wants to re-adjust her focus along the way,
based on her performance, strengths/weaknesses, schedule, etc.
I hope that helps! Feel free to let us know if you have any other questions!
Best,
Margarette
5.
Melissa June 28, 2012 at 6:51 pm #
Hi, I was wondering is there a reason why you included the McGraw-Hill book into the schedule as
opposed to Manhattan GRE? Im using Magoosh and Manhattan GRE prep and could use some
insight on how to mix those.
Chris June 29, 2012 at 3:10 pm #

Good question!
The McGraw Hill is only the McGraw Hill Math book, and it should be used only if you need a
review of the fundamentals. If you are relatively strong at basic percentages, square roots,
etc., then you will be fine with just Magoosh and Manhattan GRE.
Hope that helps
6.
Audrey April 17, 2012 at 1:39 pm #
Magoosh,
These study plans seem great! Is there anyway to get them in an excel/word/printable format?
Thanks!
Margarette April 17, 2012 at 2:28 pm #

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Hi, Audrey
Were working on making PDF versions of all of our study plans, but it we probably wont have
them up for a few weeks at the earliest. For now, Id suggest copying the text of the plans
straight from the page into Word and printing from there.
Feel free to let me know if theres anything else I can help you with!
Best,
Margarette
Magoosh blog comment policy: To create the best experience for our readers, we will approve and
respond to comments that are relevant to the article, general enough to be helpful to other students,
concise, and written with correct grammar and spelling! :) If your comment was not approved, it likely did
not adhere to these guidelines. If you are a Premium Magoosh customer and would like more personalized
service, you can send us any questions you have through the Help tab in the product and we will always
respond within 24 hours. Thanks!
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2/13/13

90 Day GRE Study Plan (Math Focused) | Magoosh GRE Blog

Elizabeth just scored a 339. See how.

90 Day GRE Study Plan (Math Focused) | Magoosh GRE Blog

start with a little self-diagnosis. Which sounds most like you?

90 Day GRE Study Plan (Math Focused)

90 Day GRE Study Plan (Math Focused) | Magoosh GRE Blog

90 Day GRE Study Plan (Math Focused) | Magoosh GRE Blog

1) Go to http://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/about/content/, and read about the content of the GRE. Click

Week One, Day Two

Week One, Day Three

90 Day GRE Study Plan (Math Focused) | Magoosh GRE Blog

3) In Magoosh, watch the following videos

Week One, Day Four

Week One, Day Five

Week One, Day Six

90 Day GRE Study Plan (Math Focused) | Magoosh GRE Blog

Week Two, Day Two

90 Day GRE Study Plan (Math Focused) | Magoosh GRE Blog

Week Two, Day Three

Week Two, Day Four

90 Day GRE Study Plan (Math Focused) | Magoosh GRE Blog

Week Two, Day Five

Week Two, Day Six

90 Day GRE Study Plan (Math Focused) | Magoosh GRE Blog

OG Quantitative Reasoning Set 1 = 22 minutes

Week Three, Day Two

90 Day GRE Study Plan (Math Focused) | Magoosh GRE Blog

3) In Barrons 1100 Words You Need to Know

Week Three, Day Three

Week Three, Day Four

90 Day GRE Study Plan (Math Focused) | Magoosh GRE Blog

5) In Magoosh, do the following problems

Week Three, Day Five

Week Three, Day Six

90 Day GRE Study Plan (Math Focused) | Magoosh GRE Blog

Week Four, Day Two

Week Four, Day Three

90 Day GRE Study Plan (Math Focused) | Magoosh GRE Blog

Week Four, Day Four

Week Four, Day Five

Week Four, Day Six

90 Day GRE Study Plan (Math Focused) | Magoosh GRE Blog

Week Five, Day Two

90 Day GRE Study Plan (Math Focused) | Magoosh GRE Blog

Week Five, Day Three

Week Five, Day Four

Week Five, Day Five

90 Day GRE Study Plan (Math Focused) | Magoosh GRE Blog

In Math: under Word Problems, up to Shrinking and Expanding Gaps

Week Five, Day Six

90 Day GRE Study Plan (Math Focused) | Magoosh GRE Blog

Week Six, Day Two

Week Six, Day Three

Week Six, Day Four

90 Day GRE Study Plan (Math Focused) | Magoosh GRE Blog

Week Six, Day Five

Week Six, Day Six

90 Day GRE Study Plan (Math Focused) | Magoosh GRE Blog

Week Seven, Day Two

Week Seven, Day Three

90 Day GRE Study Plan (Math Focused) | Magoosh GRE Blog