Raj
Raj Vimal
Study Abroad Expert
Updated on Mar 21, 2025 09:57 IST

This article will give you an outline of how you can prepare for GRE exam in one month. Having a strong foundation of basic math and verbal reasoning skills will give you an advantage. Remember, preparing for GRE in a month requires a lot of effort and concentration. Let's get started!

GRE-Preparation-Plan-for-4-Weeks

If you are focused and confident about your prep, a GRE One Month Plan will work out great for you, as long as you are willing to put in the time. You need to dedicate at least 3 hours per day for GRE exam preparation. on average; that too, only if your basic math concepts are clear. If you find yourself struggling in the mathematics section, you will need to put in some extra effort to do GRE Preparation.

In addition, if you are strong in certain sections, you can skip those sections or you can pay a little less attention to them. The plan that we have provided can be customized according to your needs, time availability, and strengths and weaknesses.

Also Read:

Essential GRE Books for One-month

Check out the list of GRE prep books. These books are easily available online or offline. 

  • ETS’s PowerPrep 2.0 Software
  • ETS Official Guide (kindly opt for the latest edition released)
  • Manhattan GRE Guides
  • Manhattan Prep 5 lb. Book of GRE Practice Problems
  • Magoosh GRE Prep
  • Khan Academy concept-based videos

Also Read: GRE Pattern

Week 1 : GRE Preparation

Primary Goals:

  • Start with understanding the pattern of the test and take a diagnostic test
  • Explore the official ETS GRE website thoroughly
  • Complete the entire Official Guide study material. This should be the base of your preparation to which you will add more layers.
  • Revisit math fundamentals
  • Learning how to approach the verbal section
  • Read a few articles from recommended books
  • Learn 150 new words to build up your vocabulary
  • Watch Khan Academy concept-specific videos, especially for the math section
  • Appear for a full-length mock test at the end of the week. You should be able to score better on this test, as compared to the diagnostic test. Review the areas where you are struggling to get a good score and study those topics again. Prepare short notes if possible.

Secondary Goals:

Math- As mentioned earlier, you should have a good knowledge of Maths. Students need a deep understanding of topics like Algebra, Geometry, and Data Analysis. It is advisable that analyze the math section of the GRE syllabus before starting your preparation.

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  • Watch introductory videos on general math strategies lessons, arithmetic and fraction lessons, per cent and ratio lessons, and the integer.
  • Go through ‘Easy’ and ‘Medium’ question sections of Arithmetic, Percent, Ratio, Power and Root. If required, watch related videos.
  • Solve additional questions about these concepts from the GRE guide.

Verbal

  • Go through easy questions of the ‘Text Completions’ lessons.
  • Practice at least 30 Text Completion questions with easy and medium difficulty.
  • Go through the ‘Reading Comprehension’ lessons.
  • Practice at least 30 of the Reading Comp practice questions.
  • Go to Quizlet.com and make use of the available flashcards of words you did not know.

Supplemental/Optional:

    • Read two articles from a daily English newspaper every day. Find fifty new words and learn their meanings.
    • Write a short summary of one of those two articles. Use the new words you learned in appropriate places.

Week 2 : GRE Preparation

Primary Goals:

  • Add 150 new words to your vocabulary, and review words from last week as well.
  • Revisit lessons learnt last week whenever you feel you need a refresher.
  • Watch more Khan Academy videos, making sure you take the follow-up quizzes after the video.
  • Appear for two full-length mock tests this week. Review your performance on both the tests.
  • Revise your notes from the first week along with the official material.
  • Start practicing from the Manhattan Prep 5 lb. Book of GRE Practice Problems

Secondary Goals:

  • Work through algebra, equations, and inequalities lessons.
  • Try at least 100 extra practice questions from these concepts.
  • Complete 75+ questions from text completions, sentence equivalence, and reading comprehension.
  • Take Test from the PowerPrep 2.0

Supplemental/Optional:

  • Read two articles like last week. If you read something from the business section last week, try reading science articles this week. Write short summaries of these articles.
  • From the GRE Official Guide, take Practice Test 1. If you are very ambitious, take a Manhattan GRE online practice test.

Week 3 : GRE Preparation

Primary Goals:

  • Complete all math modules
  • Complete all the verbal modules
  • Revise your notes
  • Learn 200 new words this week
  • Revisit lessons from last week in which you struggled
  • Appear for as many full-length mock tests as possible.

Secondary Goals:

  • Quiz yourself on the vocabulary learnt from the last two weeks.
  • Complete 150 math problems from sections you are weak in.
  • Complete 75+ verbal questions.

Supplemental/Optional:

  • Read three articles daily, and repeat the process from previous weeks.
  • Take Test 2 from PowerPrep.
  • Take a Manhattan GRE practice test.

Week 4 : GRE Preparation

Primary Goals:

  • Again revise all your study material. Remember, in any competitive exam, revision and practice are the keys to success.
  • Start doing the hard questions of both the math and verbal section.
  • Watch Permutation & Combination, and  Probability videos from YouTube.
  • Take at least two full-length mock tests.

Secondary Goals:

  • For math, you should do 20 questions, within a total of 35 minutes. You should do at least four such timed sections.
  • At the end of each section, calculate your score to keep a track of your growth.
  • Learn 150 new words.
  • Keep reviewing the math flashcards from quizlet.com each day.

Supplemental/Optional:

  • For the high scorers: Take another Manhattan GRE test.

Success in any exam will depend on your own hard work. Feel free to change this plan according to your own needs. However, make sure that you do not stop working hard because ultimately it is your own score.

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Q:   What are the best apps for GRE preparation?

A:

There are multiple applications available on the internet, where you can prepare for the GRE exam. Some of them are free while many of them will ask you to pay some amount. Below, we have mentioned some popular apps which can help you to assess your preparation:

  1. Magoosh GRE Prep
  2. Manhattan Prep GRE
  3. Kaplan GRE Prep

Other than, you can explore other mobile applications.

Q:   What is the best book to prepare for the GRE?

A:

There are three sections in GRE exam so you need to buy separate GRE books to prepare for these sections.

Best Books for GRE Analytical Writing:

  • GRE Analytical Writing - Solutions to the Real Essay Topics - Book 1 and Book 2 by Vibrant Publishers.

Best Books for GRE Quantative Reasoning:

  • Kaplan GRE Maths Workbook
  • Barron’s New GRE

Best Books for GRE Verbal Reasoning section

  • Manhattan Prep Complete Verbal Set
  • ETS Official GRE Guide

These GRE books are easily available in the market.

Q:   How to book GRE exam slot?

A:

To make GRE slot booking, you need to follow these steps

  1. Visit the ETS GRE website.
  2. Log in to account. Else, create an account (if not an existing user).
  3. Select the GRE Test (General Test or Subject Tests).
  4. Select the GRE exam centre, dates and time.
  5. Complete the register and make the payment using your credit card.

Q:   What is the best time to take GRE Exam?

A:

The best time to take the GRE exam depends on you. Ask two questions to yourself,  

  1. Are you prepared to take GRE exam?
  2. When are you planning to apply for admission?

The ETS conducts the GRE exam every month so you can take the test according to your schedule. Also, the validity of GRE scores is five years, but it's generally recommended to take the GRE within a year or two before applying for admission.

Q:   What are the upcoming GRE test dates for Indian students in 2025?

A:

GRE exam dates 2025 for upcoming months are already announced. The dates are not same for every city. It means you need to check the upcoming dates for your the nearest city at the time of slot booking. Visit the official website of ETS and scroll down to upcoming dates.

Q:   When is the ideal time to take GRE?

A:

Any time is ideal for taking GRE exam, if you are well prepared. You need to keep few things in mind before taking the Graduate Record Examination:

  1. If you have completed your preparation and feel confident about the GRE syllabus, it's the right time to take the exam.

  2. If the deadline is approaching (e.g., within 10 to 15 days), you should take the exam as soon as possible.

Q:   Does the University of Essex require IELTS?

A:

International students whose native language is not English must meet the University of Essex English language requirements to get admission. The university accepts IELTS scores as proof of English language proficiency. Mentioned below are the IELTS scores required for UG and PG admission at the university:

English Language Test

 Score

IELTS

Overall score of 5.5 to 8.0 with minimum of 5.5 to 7.5 in each section

The university also accepts the score of other English language tests such as TOEFL and PTE for admission to undergraduate and graduate programs:

English Language Test

 Score

TOEFL iBT

Overall score of 72 to 114

PTE

Overall score of 59 to 84 with minimum of 59 to 80 in each section

Also read: Required IELTS Score for UK Universities

Q:   Is university of West of Scotland good for international students?

A:

The University of the West of Scotland has five modern and diverse campuses in United Kingdom. The University has welcomed more than 3,000 international students which are representing 1/3 of the globe. They also have 130 European partners who are actively in global study and exchange options through the Commonwealth universities programmes. The University also offers study abroad opportunities for UWS who are eligible for the same and also have more than 20 transnational education partners worldwide which helps them deliver UWS Bachelors and Masters Degrees around the world.

About the Author
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Written by
Raj Vimal
Study Abroad Expert

Raj Vimal has experience of 7+ years in SEO Content Writing, which includes 5+ years in the Ed-Tech industry. He has written articles about studying abroad, especially in the USA, UK, and other English-speaking coun... Read Full Bio

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Comments

(8)

R

Rikit

2 years ago

Hi, presently I'm pursuing my B tech in computer science and I'm in my 1st Semester of 4th year and I will complete my 2nd Semester around the month of July, I have not yet started any preparation for GRE or the process of applying for passport, please I need help with how these process goes and I n

...Read more

Reply to Rikit

R

Rahul Singha

2 years ago

Hello Rikit. You are advised to visit the official GRE website for the latest prep material. It is highly advisable that you source your prep material only from genuine sources such as the official GRE website. You can get in touch with our Shiksha Study Abroad counsellors for assistance with unive

...Read more

R

Rohit Mudaliar

3 years ago

Hii, you have mentioned ETs guide 2nd edition. The latest edition is 3rd. May i know the reason?

Reply to Rohit Mudaliar

R

Rahul Singha

2 years ago

Hello Rohit. This is an oversight and has been rectified.

R

Rahul Sathe

5 years ago

Hi, I want to pursue my master in pharmacy abroad..so which exams should i reffer except GRE...

Reply to Rahul Sathe

R

Rahul Singha

2 years ago

at times you could also opt for an alternative exam if you are not comfortable with GRE. Kindly check the university application requirements for details.

R

Rahul Singha

2 years ago

Hello Rahul. This would entirely depend on the university admission/application requirements. If the university requires GRE then you can opt for the GRE exam.

5 years ago

Hi, I want to join Economic s MA in University of SUNY Albany NY..do i have to give GRE exam..they have mension only ILETS and TOEFL

Reply to

5173871
Swameeka Medhi

5 years ago

Hi Manjit, this program does not require the GRE. But if you have any queries you can drop them an email directly to find out.

5 years ago

Please I from Ghana and this is my time viewing this post.. I want to write GRE . please can you help with the preparation if possible the books .. Thank you Will be glad to rec a mail from you soon . cdababio@gmail.com

Reply to

5173871
Swameeka Medhi

5 years ago

Hi Clementices, please refer to these guides to help you out with the GRE prep https://studyabroad.shiksha.com/exams/gre/preparation-tips https://studyabroad.shiksha.com/exams/gre/sample-papers Also, read the article above to plan your schedule.