Several students preparing for the GRE are curious to know about the number of full-length mock tests that they should take to ensure a good score.

Many erroneously believe that taking six or more GRE practice tests would translate into a high score. 

Although mock exams are essential to scoring high on the GRE, it is even more critical to plan when and how often to take them.

So how many GRE mock tests should you take? It depends on your preparation and the amount of time that you would need to prepare.

Mock tests should be used as a yardstick to measure your weaknesses so that your preparation can be tweaked accordingly.

Take One Test Early On

Once you are well acquainted with the test structure and type of topics tested on the GRE, you should immediately attempt a mock test to see where you stand and plan your study schedule. Most people stall taking mock tests as they feel they need to prepare more and are afraid to take them. However, remember that it’s fine to get a lower score in your initial mocks.

The initial tests will indicate which areas you need to work on and which areas can be ignored – in short, prep optimization.

Once you take the first test, you can then outline how much time you will spend on the challenging topics. It will also guide your learning and the kind of strategies you need to develop to be able to attempt the questions in time.

Take a Test Every Few Weeks 

After you put your GRE prep into full throttle, you should set an interval to take mock exams after. This interval could be 1-2 weeks, depending on your study pace. After you finish a mock, you should spend plenty of time dissecting the whole exam to find your mistakes, identifying trends (in the type of questions you get wrong), and finding the topics you struggled with during the test.

The next 1-2 weeks should be spent on working on these mistakes. Once you feel confident about not repeating the same mistakes, you should take the next mock test.

While taking the mocks helps you build your stamina in taking the test and learn to manage your time, the period between the mocks is most crucial as this is when you improve your performance by tackling your weak spots.

Then Take 2-3 Tests Every Week

You have covered all the topics, and you think you are performing reasonably well on the mocks, what’s next? You should start attempting mock tests more frequently, 2-3 tests per week.

Keep analyzing your performance on these mocks.

Once you start getting your target score and achieve the performance you hope to have in the actual exam, you can schedule your GRE test. It is best to take a full-length test every two days – taking consecutive exams can be strenuous and taxing.

Make sure you take all mock exams under the same conditions to ensure an apples to apples comparison. I strongly urge students to take all mock exams at the same time each day. For example, if your actual test is at 10 am, you should take all of your mock exams at 10 am. Never take mocks in the evening, or at night, or after office/university. Never take more than one mock exam in a day.

If you have already scheduled your test but do not think you will get the score you wish to get, it will be best to reschedule it for a later date. It costs $50 and spending this money will be better than giving the exam multiple times.

If you adopt this strategy, you can expect to take 10-15 mocks while preparing over three months and fewer if you take comparatively less time to prepare. You can find mock tests from the following sources:

2 Power Prep ETS GRE Exams

You can get two adaptive computer tests from ETS by downloading the Power Prep software for free from their website. The software gives you a true reflection of the actual test in terms of the visual interface. The tests also provide you with a very close estimate of your GRE score for the verbal section. However, ETS inflates your quant scores in general by 4-5 points. 

6 Manhattan Full-length Tests 

You can find one free full-length test on the Manhattan website after making an account. Six practice tests can be purchased (which includes the one free test). These tests are adaptive, but they are a good indicator of your actual GRE test day performance, especially on the quant section.

4 Princeton Review GRE Practice Test

The Princeton Review tests offer good verbal content and a few very tricky quantitative questions. Princeton’s 3-4 full practice tests will benefit you as you can get additional practice.

4 Kaplan GRE Test

The quant questions on the 4 Kaplan practice tests throw a lot of right quality probability questions. Overall, Kaplan tests are slightly below par than the actual GRE. Nevertheless, they are still a good practice.

Practice tests from ETS & Manhattan are your best bet for predicting your actual level of preparation. Kaplan & Princeton mocks are also a good practice.