![\"blog-resolutions\"](\"\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2016\/01\/blog-resolutions.png\")
Happy 2016! This is the year you get an awesome GRE score and are accepted to the graduate school of your dreams. Even if you\u2019re reading this well into the year, or you\u2019re half-way through your GRE prep, you could probably use some guidance, motivation and focus. Here are some New Year\u2019s resolutions to get you started or re-started on your journey to a great GRE score.<\/p>\n
1) Resolve to Motivate Yourself<\/strong><\/p>\n First, you need to know whether the GRE is even a factor for you, and if it is, what score you need. Some programs don\u2019t care about your GRE score at all, and some programs want something intimidatingly high. However, you won\u2019t know how much to prep unless you find out. So go do your research. You never know\u2014you might not even need the GRE at all.<\/p>\n If you do need the GRE, take a test. You can find a free one here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Again, if you\u2019re scoring well above the score you need to get accepted, you\u2019re done! Go take the real thing and use the extra time to focus on the rest of your application.<\/p>\n If you need to increase your score, the most motivating thing you can do right now is sign up for the real GRE\u2014pick some date 9-12 weeks from now. Don\u2019t wait to sign up. Trust me on this. Without a looming deadline you\u2019ll never pick up a book. Want to start jogging? Sign up for a 5k. Want to lose weight? Pick a wedding date and weigh yourself (I know this from personal experience, by the way).<\/p>\n 2) Resolve to Make Specific Action Goals<\/strong><\/p>\n Make sure your goals are both realistic and tied to specific actions. Resolving to study for 40 hours a week is unrealistic and a good way to doom yourself to burnout. Resolving to \u201cget a great score\u201d is fine, but unless you break that goal down to specific actions (finish one Strategy Guide every weeks) you\u2019ll never achieve it. To continue the losing weight analogy: a realistic and specific goal (if you\u2019re not working out right now) is to show up to the elliptical machine for 20 minutes 3 times a week. The weight will take care of itself.<\/p>\n Also, make sure your goal is under your<\/em>\u00a0control. You can control the work you<\/em>\u00a0do, not the actions of admissions departments. Therefore:<\/p>\n Bad Goals<\/strong><\/p>\n Good Goals<\/strong><\/p>\n 3) Resolve to Make a Schedule<\/strong><\/p>\n Most students who tell me they\u2019re \u201ctoo busy\u201d to study are lying to me or to themselves. Fine: their days are completely filled, but how much of that day is spent on Facebook or binge watching Netflix? The reason most well-intentioned students don\u2019t get work done (and the reason I fail to show up to the gym) is that GRE time isn\u2019t scheduled in the datebook.<\/p>\n So, schedule it with a pencil or your iCalendar\u00a0– now! Pick 20 minutes every day and put it in the calendar (Later, build up to 25 minutes twice a day and then more). Write it down and you\u2019re ten times more likely to shut off the TV or turn off the phone and get work.<\/p>\n 4) Resolve to Get Help<\/strong><\/p>\n You could<\/em> do it on your own, but if you need more guidance and motivation, you\u2019ll do way<\/em> better with a coach. Sign up for a 9-week course with ManhattanPrep<\/a>. Hire a private tutor<\/a>. If you\u2019re self motivated enough to do self-study<\/a>, great! There are lots of structured online options to give you concrete, actionable goals.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t forget peers and study-buddies. Find someone else who is working on the GRE and set up weekly check-in sessions.<\/p>\n There are lots of free resources out there. You\u2019re already on our awesome blog, so check out our online forums here<\/a>. Every other Monday I run a very cool free workshop called Mondays With Neil<\/a>. Check it out! Reach out to the online world for whatever else you need. It\u2019s amazing what\u2019s out there.<\/p>\n By the way: Do you suffer from severe test anxiety? Do you have a diagnosed or undiagnosed learning difference or ADD? Please reach out to a licensed professional to get the help you need. Many of my students have done amazing, life-changing work with professional psychologists, helping their futures in ways far beyond the GRE.<\/p>\n 5) Resolve to Get Smarter<\/strong><\/p>\n The best way to make yourself smarter is to read real books every day (the ones made of paper and ink are better than their digital versions). If you\u2019re not a regular reader right now, start with something fun, light, and entertaining: Hunger Games<\/a>, Harry Potter<\/a>, Gone Girl<\/a>, or whatever your friends recommend. Once you build some reading skills after a few weeks, check out the non-fiction aisles to find interesting well-researched books (I love Malcolm Gladwell<\/a>, Jared Diamond<\/a>, Michael Pollen<\/a>, and Yuval Noah Harari<\/a>).<\/p>\n On the math side, get back to your basics. Quiz yourself on your single-digit times tables. Watch YouTube videos for math tricks. Get math games for your iPhone. Online, there is great stuff here:<\/p>\n 6) Resolve to Start Today<\/strong><\/p>\n Reread this list and find ONE thing you can do in the next 5 minutes: Google a school. Sign up for a class. Block out some GRE time in your calendar. Don\u2019t get up from your desk until you\u2019ve done it. Sometimes getting started is 90% of the battle.<\/p>\n Just do one thing and you\u2019re well on your way!<\/p>\n Have fun and have a great year.<\/p>\n Happy 2016! This is the year you get an awesome GRE score and are accepted to the graduate school of your dreams. Even if you\u2019re reading this well into the year, or you\u2019re half-way through your GRE prep, you could probably use some guidance, motivation and focus. Here are some New Year\u2019s resolutions to get […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,3,6,7],"tags":[96,1362338,129,132,133,137,144,422,158,205,423,305],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-8682","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gre-applications","category-grad-school","category-gre-strategies","category-how-to-study","tag-free-gre-class","tag-grad-school","tag-graduate-records-examination","tag-graduate-school","tag-gre","tag-gre-class","tag-gre-how-to-study","tag-gre-new-years-resolution","tag-gre-prep","tag-how-to-study-2","tag-new-years-resolution","tag-study-tips"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8682","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8682"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8682\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8685,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8682\/revisions\/8685"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8682"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8682"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=8682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
\n
\n
\n
\n![\"neil-thornton\"](\"\/\/cdn2.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2016\/01\/neil-thornton-150x150.png\")
When not onstage telling jokes, Neil Thornton<\/a> loves teaching you to beat the GMAT and GRE. <\/em><\/strong>Since 1991, he\u2019s coached thousands of students through the GMAT, LSAT, MCAT, and SAT, and trained instructors all over the United States. He scored 780 on the GMAT, a perfect score on the GRE, and a 99th percentile score on the LSAT. Check out Neil\u2019s upcoming GRE course offerings here.\u00a0<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"