How to Take GRE Practice Tests

Imagine your teacher gives you a stack of old final exams. She tells you that your real final exam at the end of the semester will be the exact format as the exams she just gave you. Most likely you would practice taking those old finals. You should do exactly the same with the GRE. The GRE is your final exam, and believe it or not, past and real GRE practice tests are at your fingertips.

Where to Find GRE Practice Tests

The best place to find GRE practice tests is in the ETS GRE Big Book. It's from the makers of the GRE and it contains past real exams. You can also find practice exams in GRE prep books by Kaplan, Barron's, and Princeton Review. These books also contain test-taking strategies that could help you earn a high score on the GRE.

In addition to the previous mentioned books, you download a sample GRE CAT from the GRE website for free.

How to Use GRE Practice Tests

While you're taking practice tests, pay attention to the format of the questions, sections, and test as a whole. You'll see something very similar on test day. When you see a question, you should instantly recognize what type of question it is and how you should try to solve it. You won't need to waste time reading the directions for every question. Instead, you can focus all of your energy in answering every question correctly.

After taking a practice test, correct it, and note which questions you answered incorrectly. Don't stop there. Go back to the questions you missed and make sure you understand why you got them wrong. Too many students just find out what score they got on the practice test and move on. Pointless.

Understanding your mistakes is the most important thing you can do while taking GRE practice tests. When you understand why you made a mistake, the probability that you'll answer the same type incorrectly on the real GRE dramatically decreases.

In other words, the more mistakes you make while taking GRE practice tests, the less mistakes you will make on the real exam. The less mistakes you make on the real exam, the higher your GRE score.

You want a high score on the GRE, right? Take practice tests. Understand your mistakes!