Total Score: 333
Verbal: 163
Quant: 170
GRE Test Day
Very nervous. But the practice tests I had taken earlier helped me think of this like any other practice test. I had a 2 hour drive from my home to the test center. I was early for the test, first they checked my ID and then guided me to the waiting room. I freshened up a bit and convinced myself that it is OK to FAIL. They had some form to fill up in cursive regarding the confidentiality, usage of personal information etc. They tell you what you can do and cannot do in the test, most of which you already know. However, one thing I found annoying was that they don't allow to take even water inside the test room. After that, they take your biometric information and search for any possible malpractices. Then you enter the test room and start your test.
I got three verbal and two quant sections(V Q V Q V). The format for the verbal sections followed the same pattern as in Manhattan practice tests. That definitely helped, because I was accustomed to this arrangement of questions.
The words per se in TC and SE were not unknown. Almost, if not all words were either from the 500 essential word list or the advanced one. The only few unknown words occurred in the questions itself, however, either they were not required to answer or were words in frequent use in NYT or Economist. The sentences were twisting, and if you didn't catch the clue, it's probable that you will choose the wrong set of options. This is because, since you know the meaning of the words in the options, you can easily conjecture a possible situation where a combination of words in the options might make sense but it will be wrong in the "big picture" of the sentence, because you missed the clue. So basically, when you are practicing always adhere to the strategy and don't wander to the options aimlessly because even if it serves you now, it will be useless in the GRE. Why I am saying that is because the actual GRE sentences are more tortuous than those in Manhattan (even those in 5lb), which sometimes tends to put a bit too much weight on the vocab part. However, Manhattan 5lb is still the best and comprehensive book on the market (More on that later)
Now, the RCs were typical GRE - boring! I was never good at RCs, I knew that. My hit ratio had plateaued at around 80% when I thought I understood the passage and around 50% where I went ahead without understanding the passage because of time constraints. Thankfully, since the format of the questions matched Manhattan's I didn't have much problem in time management - I knew I can cover up later in the SE part. Or that, around 5 minutes would be enough for the final combo of short passage and ASP. I found the GRE RCs, especially in the second section, to be more dense than Manhattan RCs. There was this one short passage where the introductory sentence went on for like 6-8 lines on the computer; it had quotation marks, em dashes, semicolons - a nightmare. And to make it worse, one of the question was based on that sentence. But the rest of the passages, were not that tough. However, someone targeting a higher verbal score will encounter more of those types, I presume. ASP were entirely Manhattan-like.
Now, the quant section was way way easier than Manhattan's. When I saw the second "tougher" section on the test, I thought I had botched the first - because it seemed not to contain the "Devilish" questions. However, the questions were definitely tricky, easy to make mistakes even when you know the concept. Most of my time consuming problems were from statistics - one, because those types are my weakness and two, I think I got more than my fair share of those. The surprise package were DIs, they were unlike I had ever seen, the solutions required no to minimal computation, lesser than on some other questions, in both sections. However, the second section DI problems were comparatively tougher - more prone to careless mistakes but still required minimal computation.
Some QCs as usual were tricky, Manhattan-like, but still slightly easier on the whole, I guess. Manhattan gives the most exhaustive strategies on QCs and their primary tactic of "Prove D" saves you some points while also saving some precious seconds in each QC. Honestly, on the whole, after solving Manhattan quant, you can score better in the GRE quant if you avoid careless mistakes.
PrePrep
Before you start your preparation for the GRE it helps if you plan things out. To do that, start with learning about GRE on a whole from the ETS site - the basics.
Then first, recognize where are you now? As in, if you take the test today what will be your score?. You can take a sectional test only or a complete full-length test. A full-length test, with the essays, gives you the complete picture. It will also help in recognizing whether you need help in the essay part - an oft ignored part. My score was 321 [155V 166Q] in one of Barron's Test. I didn't want to "waste" one of Manhattan's (a attitude which came back to bite me later)
Second, what is your target? You can decide that by seeing the ferreting out average GRE scores of admitted students shown in university pages you are interested in or can be a general score. But set a target for yourself, because you will need something to judge yourself against. Once you set the total target, set sectional targets. For example, I think GaTech admission office shows a GRE average score of 324 for Fall '13 admits. So my target was around 330 (+6 for offsetting any possible untoward incidents) Now I subtracted 170 (accounting for maximum possible points in quant - decided on the basis of my performance in the diagnostic test) to get a score of 160. Takeaway: score a minimum of 160 in verbal to achieve 330, without which it is impossible. So, my target was to cross the 160 barrier in verbal while maximizing quant as far as possible. Convert your abstract,amorphous goals into measurable, concrete targets.
Finally, time. Now since you know where you are and where you want to be, decide the path you want to take. That depends on many factors many of which are subjective. For me, I started learning words from Feb-end, then slowly moved into full blown GRE preparation by end of April.
Preparation
First things first, Manhattan has the best repertoire of GRE materials by far. So, if you are in a quandary whether to indulge or not, I can say that you will give yourself the best chance with it's materials. I had its 5lb book and the book on RC and essays.
First, do a quick SWOT analysis of your diagnostic test and all subsequent tests. List your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. What this does is forces you to analyze your performance and recognize trends in your mistakes. Manhattan's assessment reports are a great help in this regard. For example, your report might read as
- S - Good in quant >165 probable
W - Vocab is too tough, took too much time reading RCs, made stupid mistakes in quant
O - Can get a 170 in quant if I am careful
T - Art passages, Long sentences
You can clearly recognize which parts are earning you points and which parts are eating into your potential, if you analyze your tests this away. Once you know this, you can put dedicated effort in fortifying weak avenues.
Second, don't ignore mistakes. Make a word file which has print screens of all the questions you faltered in. Keep looking for trends - some faults that has crept into your prep. Like, for example, I realized I was not reading the entire question in RC especially where the question extended to over 3 lines. This can be overlooked once or twice but I was doing it again and again. Something that I was able to iron out. Seemingly, inconsequential and easy to miss, but every mistake you make less on the Test is a point earned.
If you are solving problems from the tangible 5lb book(not ebook) or any book for that matter, then while solving categorize your solution on the basis of how sure you are that it is the correct answer. One way of doing that is using symbols, circle for highly confident, square for a maybe and triangle for a "I am guessing". What this does is, it makes you think about your strategy, and is helpful in making sure that you actually stick to the tips in the books and are not just randomly sticking to your old ways. In addition, while checking with the answers, you should check how many of the "confident" answers you got wrong, how many "maybe" and how many "guesses". Also, it goes without saying that, you should see the explanations for all these answers, especially the "confident" and wrong ones, and glance over those of correct ones to ensure that you got them right for the correct reason.
Third, remember that it is not the quantity of problems you solve that is paramount but how much you learn from them. Solving 1000 problems without any analysis only allows your mistakes to grow deeper. Solve less, if you have less time, but don't compromise on the analysis part. That is what will make you better. Not solving many problems. Having said that, always be on the look out for different varieties of problem, that you haven't encountered before, especially for quant.
Next, to score high in quant, it is very important to revise the entire section once you are done with the section. One way of doing that is by targeting to do the entire section in lesser time, say 30 mins, giving you 5 mins to check and rectify any faults. I was never able to do the Manhattan Math section in 30 mins, but had at least some time to revise. But you cant push it though, because in your rush to complete the section you might increase your mistakes. So, what you can do is use the "mark" feature intelligently. If you have analyzed yourself well, you pretty much know your "2+3=6" mistakes and the traps that you are prone to, so whenever the problem requires you to add 2 and 3, select your answer and go ahead but "mark" the question for further review. So, when you have finished your section you can be frugal in expending your precious time on those questions first. Then if the time permits, revise other answers. The tougher Manhattan maths section made sure that I solved the GRE maths section well within time and had time to revise the entire section as well. That is the single most important reason for my 170.
Also, be organized in your work on scratch paper. First of all, this avoids silly mistakes. In QC, if you need to calculate make sure you keep A part on the left and B part on the right. Avoids the heartburn of choosing A when you meant B. Second, write the question number when you are solving the question(I would further advocate to solve one below the other, but I wouldn't want to sound pedantic). For, it is way lot easier when you are revising your work in the end. For example, you need not draw geometric figures again, you needn't write some basic steps and start checking from where the calculation/concept actually begins(and hence greater chance of identifying and rectifying a mistake). Basically, it affords the same advantages of that of studying from a tidy notebook for your maths exam.
For, TC/SE I would recommend the 1000 Manhattan word list. And yes, do buy them, why Manhattan flash-cards/word-list is the best is because of its sentences. The sentences that it uses are similar to GRE sentences. The word list is also available in the last strategy guide(Not sure about the 4th edition though). The word-list/Flash-card sentences inoculates against misconstruing sentences on the actual test. Something that quizlet doesn't do.
Apart from that, do ensure that you are thorough with the sentence structures that are used in the ETS guide and in Manhattan practice tests. You know the double negatives, pivots etc well. I can vouch for the fact that it well definitely help. While Manhattan books sometimes do seemingly put a lot of weight on vocab, it also introduces novel ways test-writers use to trick you.
For RCs, I, initially, used the "Text-to-me" strategy and then moved onto remembering the summarized points where possible. The method is given http://7sage.com/lsat-reading-comprehension-the-memory-method/. I used to go back to note making to what I thought were tougher passages. However, RC was not my strongest part. I am pretty sure I lost most of my 7 points were due to mistakes in the RC. If you dont know where to start, use the Manhattan strategy guide 7 and solve as many passages as possible from the 5lb. It definitely helps, but beyond a point I just couldn't improve. For ASP, you have to understand the structure of the argument; without breaking it down, it would be improbable that you will get the right answer.
So, that is about it. Thanks for reading. If you have some questions, I will definitely try to answer them to the best of my ability.
All the best !!