The GRE is keenly interested in your ability to use logic and mathematical thinking to find shortcuts that radically simplify the comparisons in the QC. The GRE is not interested in your ability to perform detailed, time-consuming calculations. You don’t have to perform a detailed calculation. These are just a few tips that can be very helpful for students studying for the subject test.1) Compare, don’t calculate: Your job is to figure out which quantity is bigger, or whether they are equal. I think this was essential in relieving the stress and anxiety students had. Having practice sessions over food set the tone for a casual study environment. Ivan Ventura (now at Cal Poly Pomona), I held GRE practice sessions early fall once a week for 6 weeks, with pizza served. Knowing this one concept gets students ahead on the exam.Ĭreate a GRE Community: Along with Dr. For instance, an analysis of past GRE data shows that multivariable calculus is the subject area with the poorest results, however almost every practice exam has a question on applying Green’s Theorem directly, where doing so simplifies a problem to multiplying the area of a region by some constant.
#GRE MATH EXAMPLES HOW TO#
Knowing how to do such problems quickly saves time on the exam itself. Patterns in Old Exams: Past GRE exams tend to have problems types that are repeated over and over. A quick way to address this problem is to pick a nontrivial pair (x,y) of integers, say for example x=3,y=2, for which 8x-5y is divisible by 7, then check which of the given answers also satisfies the same divisibility property.
However, it can be much quicker, as in this problem, to focus on strategies inherent to the test. Which of the following must also be divisible by 7?Ī) -6x+2y b) -6x+3y c) -5x+3y d) -5x+3y e) -5x-2yĪs mathematicians, our natural tendency is to explain phenomena that divisibility captures. Suppose x and y are integers, and 8x-5y is divisible by 7. To see an example of this, consider the following problem: This is one of the biggest struggles I had while holding prep sessions, but it’s a key one to address. However, the goal with the GRE Math Subject Test is to answer problems as quickly and accurately as possible, rather than lament over depth. Prepare Specifically for the Test Itself: As mathematicians and educators it is our natural tendency to want to teach the inner workings of a subject area, and spend time motivating the concepts at hand.
Content flow charts allow students to see a topic holistically, which is extremely advantageous for quick recall. This could include specific counterexamples, and also general properties of functions that are continuous but not differentiable. Furthermore, they can write or draw examples of what could go wrong in the other direction. Then, they can place an arrow from the differentiability box to the continuity box because the former implies the latter. For instance, if a student is reviewing single variable calculus, they might create small boxes with the definitions for continuity, differentiability, and integrability. This involves placing definitions, theorems, and implications from a particular subject area all on one large poster. In order to practice having recall at their fingertips, I highly suggest students make a content flow chart for a subject area. If f(x) is the real-valued function f(x)=x|x|, then which of the following must be true:Ī) II only b) II and III only c) I and II and III d) III only e) I onlyĪpproaching this problem requires quick recall of different concepts on single variable functions. An example is the following sample problem I created for a GRE prep program at Harvey Mudd College: One of the potential issues with this approach is that problems on the GRE Math Subject test tend to require recall of many different aspects of a subject instead of focus on an isolated topic. In this post, we suggest strategies for helping students prepare specifically for this test.Ĭreating Content Flow Charts: You might have seen students prepare for the subject test by reviewing specific content and working on practice problems on the chosen content. GRE practice books published by the ETS help with math content review, but do not develop strategies for tackling the seemingly esoteric style of problems on the subject test. Only a handful of practice exams are available, many of them outdated and irrelevant to the current exams. Despite being an integral part of one’s application, there aren’t many relevant resources for preparing for this exam.
A common part of one’s graduate school application portfolio, the GRE Math Subject Test is notorious as a standardized test that covers fundamentals from courses throughout undergraduate mathematics. “How should I prepare for the GRE Math Subject Test?” This is a common question asked by students embarking on the math graduate school application process, yet many professors don’t have a great answer.
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