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The REA GRE math prep book...

Posted: Mon Sep 14, 2009 1:42 pm
by EHart
I made the mistake of purchasing this book without researching it first - it has a very bad rep. I didn't bother to check into it until I took the first practice GRE for diagnostic purposes: it kicked my butt very, very badly. I'm a year out from my last math class, but I'm not too far out of shape when it comes to math (and my UG grades were pretty damn good, though not quite perfect). My question is, for those who know, how much harder are the REA practice questions than the real deal? I'm trying not to get too concerned about my performance on the diagnostic test (and my Princeton book is in the mail...), but it is a little disconcerting. Many of the questions had no apparent logical progression to the solution - they seemingly required many logical leaps of faith to reach the answers (some of which I still can't decipher from their "explanations"). Is the real thing really this hard?

Re: The REA GRE math prep book...

Posted: Mon Sep 14, 2009 6:53 pm
by Nameless
EHart,

Yes, the real test is challenge, before taking the test some of my friends had tried to solve all the sample tests, cover 6 practice tests from REA book, from Princeton's review, and some from some ones who took GRE before, however, when they took the real test, they did have not enough time to finish it, they told me that they wish they had had more time to do it. Learning to manage time while taking the real test will benefit yourself.
so be repaired for the test since it will play a crucial role when applying into good schools. Good luck !

Re: The REA GRE math prep book...

Posted: Wed Sep 16, 2009 5:16 am
by matter
I have been studying also. The review section in the Princeton Review is pretty good, it covers all the major points and specific things that are commonly seen in the questions. Do some review and problem solving in there for a little bit and take a real GRE test, and it will make you feel much better. I have heard that the REA questions aren't quite right, some people say they aren't that useful, but others say they are good for practice problem solving (which is probably valuable since materials are a little scarce). So don't judge yourself too hastily.

The GRE subject test questions remind me of the quantitative questions in the general test, they are testing whether you know the characteristics of different functions, mathematical objects, etc.

Remember that a diagnostic test will indicate what you need to study, so make up a solid study plan that will get you prepared on time.

Good luck!

Re: The REA GRE math prep book...

Posted: Wed Sep 16, 2009 12:23 pm
by EHart
Thanks, that's more or less what I was thinking. I've been reviewing diff eq and lin algebra for an UG class that I'm teaching this fall, but really didn't see much of that represented on the test (which kind of surprised me). The quantitative and properties of functions type questions are what I was expecting, but the REA test really had more puzzle-type questions...which was not at all what I was expecting. Anyway, my Princeton book arrives soon and I've cracked open some of the official GRE tests, which look MUCH easier. Hopefully more prep will make things go all smooth and creamy.

Re: The REA GRE math prep book...

Posted: Mon Dec 28, 2009 1:35 am
by Arslan Asim
CAn u please send me the soft copy of the book if you have. ?
EHart wrote:I made the mistake of purchasing this book without researching it first - it has a very bad rep. I didn't bother to check into it until I took the first practice GRE for diagnostic purposes: it kicked my butt very, very badly. I'm a year out from my last math class, but I'm not too far out of shape when it comes to math (and my UG grades were pretty damn good, though not quite perfect). My question is, for those who know, how much harder are the REA practice questions than the real deal? I'm trying not to get too concerned about my performance on the diagnostic test (and my Princeton book is in the mail...), but it is a little disconcerting. Many of the questions had no apparent logical progression to the solution - they seemingly required many logical leaps of faith to reach the answers (some of which I still can't decipher from their "explanations"). Is the real thing really this hard?

Re: The REA GRE math prep book...

Posted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 5:11 pm
by ana3a
EHart,
I used both the Princeton review book and the REA book. My suggestion is:

Princeton: use both the review material (summaries) and practice problems - everything here is similar to the real test.

REA: skip the review (especially numerical analysis, statistics -- the things he talks about are way too esoteric for the actual test). However, do all 6 practice tests. Contrary to some reviews of the book online, the 6 tests are not that different in difficulty to the real tests that I encountered. The only difference is, the real test would not contain the more "involved" questions (it's clear which ones, like you said).

Arslim: the used REA book costs just 5 dollars at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/GRE-Mathematics-R ... 0878916377

Re: The REA GRE math prep book...

Posted: Wed Dec 30, 2009 12:21 pm
by Arslan Asim
Ok thanks i did'nt know that.

Re: The REA GRE math prep book...

Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2009 11:55 am
by bobn
Princeton Review is good book and its must.

REA will be good practice, if you can score 90% + in REA, you will do well in test.