Physics GRE Discussion Forums

Hi,

I'm going into my junior year of school, and recently started preping for the GRE. I asked a few guys that I research with if they wanted to form a study group. Now we are all meeting tomorrow and I'm wondering what we should do. I know that doing practice exams and stuff is a good idea, because we can ask others how to solve the problems, or how to solve them more quickly, etc. But is there anything else we can do that would be helpful?

Thanks,
adam

1. Most of the test is intro physics level. Take that into account.

2. Work through at least some of the 4 practice tests early on in your studying. This will help you figure out what topics are most important and how the questions are asked. If you study heavily before taking any practice tests, you could easily 'waste time' (in terms of maximizing GRE score) by delving too deep into advanced topics that will never be covered.

I would recommend you each begin with one of the practice exams. Each of you take it at home under simulated (timed, no calculators etc) test conditions. When you get together to meet for the first time, go through each problem or as many of them as you can get through and discuss strategies for solving it. See how many different ones you can find and who can come up with the quickest route to the right answer. You'll quickly start seeing trends for using limits, units, simple physics reasoning tricks, etc. Often times the majority of problems can be solved this way. While you're doing this, you'll also learn where each of you needs the most work. If some of you need work in similar areas, get together and work practice problems from other sources, study that topic in HRW or Griffiths, and then a after some time of that, take another practice test and repeat.

I just want to emphasize that it is very important to do the four available tests independently and under real test environment. No matter how frustrated you feel when you are doing one of the tests, don't look up in a textbook or stop the watch. After all you are the only one who knows how you did in those practice tests.

Don't do it with your study mates, that will ruin the precious practice exams and that process is irreversible.

Good luck

Thanks, that is very helpful. I started the first practice exam, and I know what you mean about how you could easily waste time with advanced stuff. I feel like I have a good idea of what to study now.