“How To Choose A GRE Study Guide…If You Expect To Get The Score You Need”
If you’re gearing up to start reviewing the ETS GRE test, then you might look at your prep courses and books as the key to your success. After all, where would you be without the endless supply of practice test questions know-how, GRE study guides and flash cards?
But one GRE test study guide user learned a shocking truth about one of your seemingly closest “allies”: the diagnostic test.
You know what we’re talking about here. That exam that you first take before you even consider starting up your GRE study. That pre-test that determines the entire shape of your preparation for this notoriously hard assessment. That evaluation that supposedly reveals your strengths, and “effectively” targets your weakest areas you need to focus on in your study guide for the GRE exam.
Well, if you’re a fan of the diagnostic exam, then you might want to sit down for this announcement…
…Because it’s going to change the way you look at how you use your GRE guide.
A Sneaky Trick From “Top” GRE Test Study Guide Companies
Before we examine one of the sneakiest tricks the test prep industry has kept undercover, let’s stress one thing: as a general rule, diagnostic exams are good for your exam practice. They can help shape the direction that your review takes including what GRE study you need to focus on.
But when it comes to a diagnostic exam that’s offered by one of the so-called leading exam preparation providers, it becomes a different matter altogether. In fact, I’m ready to reveal that when it comes to doing diagnostic testing, it’s not your increased score that the test prep companies are after…
…It’s your money.
According to our anonymous source, “No one should put much credence into diagnostic tests given by major publishing companies. These tests are typically designed so that the test taker gets an extremely low score to begin with.
“Then the companies push prep classes that cost thousands of dollars on the panicked student, who’s likely to sign up because they believe that they need all of the GRE exam study guides and tutoring help that they can get. When the student takes the actual exam and sees how high their score is, they then attribute it to that prep class.”
Our source adds: “It’s pure genius.”
Bona Fide Study Guide For The GRE WITHOUT The Deceit
So if you want to hold on to your hard-earned money but don’t want to sacrifice the diagnostic exam, here are a few tips that’ll improve your GRE study without breaking the bank or losing valuable review time…
- Find a GRE prep book that doesn’t have a major publishing name attached to it. Additionally, don’t search out a test that’s got the “diagnostic” label attached to it. Any practice exam in your study guide for the GRE test can be used as a diagnostic exam.
- Don’t let fear be your major motivation into purchasing a preparation manual. With this emotion driving you, it’s highly likely that you’ll end up with the most expensive option.
- If you do take a diagnostic exam offered by a major publishing company, compare the score to one you’ve received on an official ETS GRE practice test. If the scores aren’t within twenty points of each other, then you know something isn’t right.
Want more top-notch GRE practice questions and study guide advice?
Go to: GRE Study Guide right now.