Cracking the GRE, 2003 Edition

by Karen Lurie

The Princeton Review realizes that acing the GRE is very different from getting straight As in school. We don't try to teach you everything there is to know about mathematics and essay writing - only... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0375762477
• ISBN13: 9780375762475
• Release Date: June 2002
• Publisher: Princeton Review
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 8.3" x 10.8"

Customer Reviews

A Decent But Incomplete Resource

"Cracking the GRE" is a decent value for the money, but I'd recommend spending at least equal time with ETS' excellent (and free) Powerprep software...The Princeton Review will provide you with concrete strategies for "cracking" each type of question (eliminating answer choices, making reasonable guesses, plugging in numbers, etc.) that ETS will not give you in Powerprep, and you'll find what this book lacks (math and practice exercises) in Powerprep.The verbal section was short but useful, especially the "GRE Hit Parade" list of vocabulary words that pop up on the test again and again. In fact, the information in the verbal section seemed to correlate directly with questions on the practice tests provided by ETS on the Powerprep software. I've always been strong on verbal sections of standardized tests, so I figured that this section wouldn't teach me much. Wrong. I increased my verbal score on practice tests from 640 to 770 after using "Cracking the GRE" as my sole prep source. The math section was a different story. While there was a good basic review of basic math operations and geometry, I found it didn't prepare me for the stickier questions on the ETS practice tests. My practice test math score increased a measly 10 points after using the book, and there were two questions that I couldn't figure out how to do even after consulting the book again while looking at the questions. The math review and practice questions on Powerprep are FAR superior and better approximate the real test.This edition also contains a useful guide to the analytical writing section with some practical tips for organizing your writing and using time, as well as a list of sample topics. If you are not a confident writer, this section is excellent preparation, and if you are one, it's good review.The online tools (lessons, exercises, and 4 practice tests) that come with the book were one of the main reasons I chose it instead of Kaplan. The lessons and exercises are sort of useful, but very limited. They are also really slow to load for modem users. As far as the practice tests go, after comparing them with Powerprep's practice tests I'm a little wary of using them. The Powerprep questions just seemed so much harder and more...well, devious...than the ones PR could come up with. Another shortcoming is that there are relatively few practice exercises available. For both verbal and math, the book provides 20 each of easy, medium and hard questions. For those of us who learn by doing, this is just not enough. Again, Powerprep has an advantage, providing three practice sets for each type of question (antonyms, sentence completion, quantitative comparison, etc.) you'll encounter on the GRE.Overall, I recommend "Cracking the GRE" as a worthwhile supplement to what ETS provides.

A quality book that prepares you to take the GRE

I've been studying for the GRE over the past few weeks. I've read just about every book out there that prepares students for taking the exam. The Princeton Review book provides lots of details about how to answer every question type. Buyers get an added bonus in that they are given four full-length practice exams through review.com. I recommend getting this book as well as the Kaplan version. Stay away from all of the rest of the guides.

Cracking the Gre, 2003 (Princeton Review),

This was an excellent study aid. I used many study guides for the GRE prior to using this one and found this to be the most helpful. If you work well with having planned strategies this is the book for you!! The pages are filled with helpful strategies to pick the best fit answer on the test. Great way to learn the process of elimination to find the best answers. It really improved my scores!!!

Cracking the Gre, 2003 (Princeton Review)

This book is well written, and, in addition to the useful tips on doing well, the authors are able to convey in a humorous manner what the GRE and the ETS are about. I didn't have time to peruse the Math section, but the Verbal and Analytical Writing Sections were very helpful. It was the only book I used to prepare for the test, so I cannot compare this with Barrons, Kaplan, or others. I will say that the reading comprehension part of the Verbal section was not sufficiently developed, which is a minus point. On balance, however, an extremely useful tool.