What is a good GRE study plan?
A good GRE study plan runs 1 to 3 months at about 1 to 2 hours a day, and 8 weeks fits most people. Take a free POWERPREP practice test first. Spend the first half learning the question types and the math content, the second half on timed sections and full practice tests, and learn a few words every day.
The GRE General Test takes about 1 hour and 58 minutes since September 2023. It opens with one Analytical Writing task, Analyze an Issue, in 30 minutes. Verbal Reasoning has two sections of 12 and 15 questions in 18 and 23 minutes. Quantitative Reasoning has two sections of 12 and 15 questions in 21 and 26 minutes. The second section of each measure gets harder or easier based on how you did on the first.
Verbal and Quant are each scored from 130 to 170, and Analytical Writing from 0 to 6 in half points. Look up the average or recommended scores of the programs you want, then set a target for each section. Your plan length comes from the gap between that target and your first practice test.
Quant covers arithmetic, algebra, geometry and data analysis at roughly high school level, so most of the work is speed and traps, not new math. Verbal rewards vocabulary in context and careful reading. Both improve fastest with timed practice and a strict review of every miss.
| Weeks | Focus | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Baseline | POWERPREP practice test, set section targets, list your weakest question types |
| 2 to 4 | Content | Quant review by topic, Verbal question types, 15 to 20 new words a day |
| 5 to 6 | Timed practice | Timed sections of 12 and 15 questions, an error log, one Issue essay a week in 30 minutes |
| 7 | Full tests | A second POWERPREP test, rework your weakest types |
| 8 | Taper | Review your error log and vocabulary, keep the day before light |
- 1Take a free POWERPREP practice test from ETS under timed conditions.
- 2Check the scores your target programs report and set a target for Verbal and Quant.
- 3Book a test date 6 to 10 weeks out and block 1 to 2 hours on five or six days a week.
- 4Learn the question types: text completion, sentence equivalence and reading comprehension in Verbal, and quantitative comparison, multiple choice, numeric entry and data interpretation in Quant.
- 5Learn words in context every day with spaced flashcards, not long lists.
- 6Practice pacing: about 90 seconds per Verbal question and 105 seconds per Quant question. Write one Issue essay a week in 30 minutes.
- 7Take a second full practice test about two weeks before test day, then switch to review only.