Quantitative = 160
Verbal = 159
GRE Experience
I gave my GRE on April, 14 2014. It had been a great experience. I got Q 160 and V 159 as per my unofficial scores.
My test was at prometric center FC College Lahore. I reached around 8:15am, there were some primary identifications at the main entrance. After that I went to the center security room, here I presented my passport for identity conformation. You have to provide your Passport OR ID Card (if it is in English). It is also advisable to take your ID Card and Copy of Confirmation Email although no one checks that. You are also provided with a locker here to put your belongings if you have any.
After that I reached the Test Center waiting hall, along with other GRE Candidates I was briefed with instructions about the test and test center rules and regulations.
Now coming to the important part, my test started at 9:00am sharp. The test center environment was really good and quiet. The first section was Issue and Argument Essay which were quite easy as compared to what I have attempted in practice tests. The second section was verbal it seemed okay but I was not sure that am getting the right answers or not. The third section was Quant which seemed really very easy. It was of the same level as in one of Princeton’s Practice test. Apart from one question I was pretty sure that I had got all right. This followed a ten minutes break.
You can leave the test center for this and get some fresh air but be sure to come back in time. The fourth section was Verbal it was like the previous verbal section and went okay. The nightmare began when I started fifth section that was of Quant. I could attempt only 15 questions and marked remaining 5 without completely solving them as I could not comprehend the questions. I could have done better if I had remained a little calm in this section because later that evening I realized that I got 2 questions wrong for sure just because I couldn’t calm my nerves. It was a great relief to see Verbal in sixth section which I did with extreme patience.
In the two sections of Quant questions were mostly from Inequalities (around 5) Probability (3) Geometry (5) Standard Deviation (1) Data Interpretation (6) Percentages (2) Simple Algebra (4). I was expecting a score of around 162 which was my average in Mock Tests.
All three sections of verbal seemed of same difficulty. Most of the words were familiar to those I did form High Frequency Word list and Class Tests. Some RC’s and Critical Reasoning questions seemed tough but most of them were easy to comprehend, but at no point I was sure that I will get a score of 159. I expected around 155 which was close to my average in 10 Mocks.
GRE Preparation
My preparation started with joining Brightlink Prep. As I had a Math background my Quant was not that bad and because of all those movies and seasons I watched, I was pretty much passable in verbal. The preparation plan was simple; joining the institute, attending the lectures and doing the assignments. The preparation program is very tough and demands lots of hard work and time and that’s what I gave it.
After 8 weeks program my course contents were complete and I gave my first ever GRE Diagnostic that of power prep and I got 306. I also did around six hundred high frequency words which in my case really helped a lot as my vocabulary was not that strong. Apart from that I just watched the Magoosh videos for revision, the content was similar to what I have already learnt in class. I took a week break for my Mid Terms. From 31st of April I continued my preparation again. I gave 10 MOCKS in 10 days. Every day I got up around 7 and attempted a test at around 8:30am. My average score was Quant 162 and Verbal 153. Apart from the mocks I did chapters from Manhattan Five pound for Geometry, Probability, Percentages & Inequalities as I was told that these were the hot topics these days.