I am scheduled to take the GRE PSY. in April, just a few weeks away. Due to personal issues I haven't studied much. Has anyone without much of a PSY background taken this test on short notice and scored above the 40%, if so what study guides did you use? Or should I just wait and be better prepared for the next exam date? Any feedback will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
I had about six months when I passed it in '95, but the best book for the job (as far as I'm concerned) is the Princeton Review's Cracking the GRE Psychology. Everything you need to know is probably in there, and it's only about 200 pages. Good luck. Cheers,
It may be likely you could hit the 40th percentile. You will know how close you are to meeting that standard by doing the GRE practice exams and scoring your performance. Cannot over stress the importance of doing the practice exams. The most well written, tightly packaged, and accurate primer I've ever read in any subject is the Princeton Review, "Cracking the Psychology GRE", so, in that respect, you are in luck. Further details below culled from the BA in 4 Weeks guide series. ETS Subject Exam Practice Tests As you may know, essential is the "Practicing to take the GRE Psychology Test" book from ETS, who produce the actual GRE advanced subject exams. Not a study guide but past examination papers. They are the best indicator of what you know, what you don't know, and where you should concentrate your efforts within the Psychology exam. Another great resource, is an abbreviated version of the above publication, available free in PDF format from ETS . . . . . http://www.gre.org/subdesc.html#psychology Princeton Review Primer Most of the study guides from other publishers are of limited value. One notable exception is the series from The Princeton Review called "Cracking the GRE"... (Biology, Literature, Psychology). I've used the Psychology offering and found it useful. The study notes are directly applicable to the GRE subject exam. The test questions are very close in level of difficulty and in scope to that of the actual exam. There are full answers to the questions in a subsequent section. Unfortunately, only 35 questions are included. If using the Psychology offering, be sure to know and understand everything in this very thin volume. If you do, you will score above the 80th percentile. REA GRE Guide Series The Research & Education Association (REA) publishes a series of preparation guides for all the subject exams. These usually contain more than one full mock exam with answers (e.g. the mathematics book contains six full exams) and many of the books provide study notes. I found the study notes in the political science guide quite useful (GRE no longer offers the Political Science subject exam, unfortunately). However, the level of difficulty and focus of the questions did not reflect that of the actual GRE subject exam. This seems to be a common trait in the REA series. The REA Psychology book was of limited value. Other Guides Other Psychology study guides from Arco and Barron's I found more a hindrance than a help, though the Barron's book was comprehensive, it lacked the keen focus of the Princeton offering in my opinion. Then again, others swear by it. Barron's "GRE Psychology 4th Edition", Palmer, Sharon, Schill. $14.95 In Summary ETS "practicing to take" exam papers series:............MUST BUY $13 Princeton Review "Cracking the GRE" series:.............MUST BUY $20 REA "Problem Solvers" series, Psychology: ...............BUY $20 REA "preparation for the GRE" series: ......................BUY (with reservations) $25 Barron's Psychology EZ-101 for starters .................$6.95 HarperCollins Abnormal Psychology for supplement.....$15 Arco/Barron's: keep your cash. Sources The books can be found at Barnes & Noble, Borders and other retail outlets, or from Amazon.com on the Web. The World Wide Web contains many useful and free resources, including objective Q&A. Further details plus links on the GRE Psych exam and other GRE subject exams at http://www.geocities.com/ba_in_4_weeks/2ndDegree.html Lawrie Miller (who scored above 92 percentile in the GRE Psych test using the texts recommended above) http://geocities.com/ba_in_4_weeks .
DON'T use one Princeton Review... Although this comes too late to benefit Manny above, amendment to the high endorsements of Princeton Reviews' Cracking the GRE Psychology...THERE ARE TWO versions in print and ONE IS INFERIOR TO THE OTHER! Check reader reviews on Amazon.com, but the one I used (cheaper, therefore I bought it) by Laurice Pearson is distinctly inferior to the one by Meg Jay! BOTH are by Princeton Review--but Pearson's is dicidedly inferior and not worth your money or time. Secondly, DO rely on the Official GRE sample and practice tests; as Lawrie says, it's the best gauge of your learning. (I made the mistake myself of using my samples last!--don't do this!) Finally, another good place to begin review for this GRE is Robert J. Stenberg's "Introduction To Psychology." It's cheap, comprehensive, and authoritative. --Orson
