GRE GUIDE: May 2010

Saturday, May 29, 2010

CUT-OFF SCORES

Table for Suggested GRE Cutoffs for Engineering Programs at US Universities

UNIVERSITY	Avg* Verbal	Avg* Quant	Min Q**	Comments
MIT	560	775	760	EE, CS Admissions for PhD only
Stanford	580	780	760
Berkeley	530	765	750
Georgia Tech	545	765	750
UIUC	530	770	750
Cal Tech	570	800	790
CMU	550	765	750
USC	480	750	710
Cornell	605	770	750
U of Michigan	525	765	750
UCSD	505	755	720
U of Texas, Austin	540	755	730
Texas A&M Univ.	510	755	730
UCLA	540	765	750
Purdue	510	740	700	GRE not required for CS
UW Madison	565	780	760
U of Maryland	525	755	720
Princeton	580	785	770
UCSB	545	770	750
Northwestern	510	765	750

* The avarage score is compiled from various sources and rounded off. These are provided for a general idea. Errors may exist.
** The minimum scores are for a general idea only. Most Universities do not have or disclose an exact cutoff score. Your chances of admission are very low if your GRE score is between the average and suggested minumum score. Verbal scores are not important for Engineering programs.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

word groups

Abhorrent, abominable, detestable, execrable, loathsome, obnoxious, repellent, repugnant, odious, heinous, disgusting

2. Abandon, renounce, maroon, leave in the lurch, forfeit, disown, waive, ditch, abdicate, jilt, forsake, abjure, disown, repudiate

3. Abnormal, aberrant, anomalous, bizarre, eccentric, freak, idiosyncratic, queer, wayward

4. Scurrilous, calumnious, libelous, opprobrious

5. Libel, calumny, defamation, denigration, misrepresentation, obloquy, slander, aspersion, vilification, malign, traduce, smear, besmirch, tarnish, imputation, vituperation, defile

6. Abundant, bountiful, copious, luxuriant, rampant

7. Abuse, assault, execration, invective, vituperation, affront, berate, castigate, inveigh, odium

8. Acclaim, applaud, extol, commend, kudos, laud, eulogize, ovation, esteem, plaudits, acquiescence, endorsement, mandate, ratification

9. Accusations, impeachment, allegation, summons, indictment

10. Acquit, absolve, exonerate, vindicate

11. Bounty, largesse, munificence, philanthropy

12. Commendable, absolve, exemplary, laudable, meritorious, honorable

13. Contemptible, despicable, detestable, disgraceful, loathsome, odious, ignominious, dishonorable, discreditable

14. Condemnable, reprehensible, deplorable

15. Censure, condemnation, culpability, reprimand, recrimination, reproach, denounce

16. Aggressive, antagonistic, bellicose, belligerent, pugnacious, warlike, fractious, quarrelsome, contentious, litigious, militant

17. Irascible, petulant, peevish, dyspeptic, cantankerous, irritable, bilious

18. Agreement, accord, conformity, consensus, harmony, unanimity, compact, treaty, covenant, truce, pact

19. Approbate, comply, accent, concur, approve, acquiesce, concede, accord

20. Alleviate, abate, allay, ameliorate, assuage, mitigate, slake, subdue, temper, relieve, mollify, appease, conciliate, placate, gruntle

21. Alliance, affiliation, coalition, concordat, compact, confederation, consortium

22. Allure, attract, beguile, decoy, entice, lure, magnetize

23. Mitigate, palliate, extenuate

24. Coax, wheedle, inveigle, cajole

25. Amiable, affable, amicable, genial

26. Amorous, carnal, enamored, erotic, lustful, lecherous, licentious, salacious, lascivious, libidinous, lewd, prurient, lubricious, bawdy, erotic

27. Ancient, antediluvian, antiquated, archaic, outmoded, pass?, primordial

28. Animosity, acerbity, acrimony, animus, antagonism, antipathy, asperity, malevolence, rancor, vindictiveness, enmity, malice

29. Anonymous, incognito, pseudonymn

30. Phlegmatic, sluggish, languid, indolent, listless, lackadaisical

31. Apathy, lassitude, lethargy, debility, languor

32. Apex, acme, apogee, zenith, crest, culmination, summit, pinnacle

33. Apologetic, contrite, penitent, remorseful, rueful

34. Apprentice, novice, tyro, greenhorn

35. Appropriate, apposite, apropos, apt, befitting, felicitous, opportune, pertinent, seasonable, seemly

36. Arbitrary, autocratic, despotic, imperious, tyrannical, totalitarian

37. Arbitrary, capricious, whimsical, erratic, eccentric, mercurial, quirky

38. Ardent, zealous, fervent, impassioned, passionate

39. Arduous, grueling, laborious, herculean, onerous

40. Altercation, bickering, clash, dispute, feud, squabble, wrangle, quibble, carp, cavil

41. Arrogant, cavalier, haughty, impudent, supercilious, swaggering, presumptuous, snobbish, condescending, insolent

42. Articulate, eloquent, glib, lucid

43. Asperity, abrasiveness, acerbity, acidity, acrimony, churlishness,

irascibility, rancor

44. Atrocious, heinous

45. Augury, premonition, forewarning, portent, foreboding, bode, foreshadow, presentiment

46. Ascetic, austere, Spartan, self-denying

47. Frugal, parsimonious, stingy,

48. Banal, clich?d, commonplace, hackneyed, humdrum, platitudinous, stereotyped, trivial, trite

49. Banish, exile, expel, rusticate, outlaw, oust, expatriate, deport

50. Banter, badinage, chaffing, repartee

51. Barbarian, boor

52. Barrage, fusillade, onslaught, bombardment, assault

53. Barrier, embankment, rampart, bulwark, blockade, fortification, palisade

54. Beget, procreate, father

55. Bell, carillon, knell

56. Bemuse, befuddle, bewilder, stupefy, confound, daze, flummox, muddle, mystify

57. Benevolent, altruistic, beneficent, benign, compassionate, philanthropic

58. Berserk, frenzied, frenetic, demented, deranged, maniacal

59. Bizarre, eccentric, freakish, grotesque, outlandish, weird, idiosyncratic

60. Beseech, implore, importune, entreat, supplicate

61. Besiege, beleaguer, pester, badger

62. Bewitch, captivate, enrapture, enchant, enthrall, entrance, mesmerize, ensnare, endear, engaging

63. Biased, bigoted, chauvinistic, jaundiced, partisan, tendentious, patriotic, jingoistic, sectarian

64. Genealogy, lineage, pedigree, race

65. Blasphemous, impious, irreverent, profane, sacrilegious

66. Blatant, barefaced, flagrant, conspicuous, shameless

67. Blaze, conflagration, holocaust, carnage, massacre

68. Boastful, vainglorious, bragging, conceited

69. Boisterous, obstreperous, rowdy, uproarious

70. Burlesque, caricature, travesty, lampoon, parody, sham, pastiche

71. Circuitous, devious, labyrinthine, meandering, oblique, rambling, tortuous, serpentine

72. Dainty, squeamish, fastidious, meticulous

73. Dappled, pied, motley, speckled, variegated

74. Dawdle, dally, loiter

75. Dexterous, agile, nimble, deft, adroit, lithe, limber

76. Devilish, demoniac, diabolic, fiendish, infernal

77. Dingy, murky, drab, seedy, dowdy

78. Discordant, cacophonous, clashing, dissonant, incongruous

79. Dormant, comatose, quiescent, latent, torpid

80. Ephemeral, fugitive, evanescent, fleeting

81. Etiquette, civility, protocol, decorum

82. Exuberant, ebullient, effervescent, vivacious, exultant

83. Fashionable, modish, vogue, contemporary, trendy

84. Flirt, coquette, philanderer

85. Gaunt, emaciated, cadaverous, lanky, haggard

86. Grandiloquent, bombastic, melodramatic, pompous, rhetorical

87. Heresy, unorthodox, heterodox, iconoclast, pagan

88. Hoodwink, cozen, deceive, dupe, hoax

89. Impromptu, extemporized, offhand

90. Impregnable, impenetrable, invincible, unconquerable

91. Insidious, deceptive, treacherous, surreptitious, furtive

92. Lament, dirge, elegy, requiem

93. Melancholy, lugubrious, disconsolate, despondent, somber,

dejected, plaintive, lamenting, doleful

94. Paraphernalia, appurtenance, accessories

95. Perfunctory, cursory

96. Pestilence, blight, pandemic, plague, contagion, epidemic

97. Pillage, depredation, marauding, plunder, despoil, ransack, ravage, devastate

98. Prevaricate, tergiversate, equivocate, evasive, elusive

99. Profuse, exuberant, prolific, lavish, abundant

100. Profound, erudite, esoteric, recondite

101. Suspicious, apprehensive, skeptical, dubious, incredulous, wary

102. Sycophantic, flattering, servile

103. Therapeutic, curative, salubrious

104. Tumult, pandemonium, turmoil, chaos, commotion, turbulence, uproar

105. Virtuoso, maestro, prodigy

106. Voracious, ravenous, rapacious, insatiable, avid

Friday, May 14, 2010

MATERIAL

The GRE Big Book
`http://rapidshare.com/files/25410505/bigbook.zip`

(Please paste the links in your browser and click enter. For some reasons I cannot link directly to rapidshare stuff. This goes for all the stuff emntioned below)
Vocaboly Software
`http://rapidshare.com/files/25413579/Vocaboly.rar`
5 Quants GRE tests
`http://rapidshare.com/files/73539115/5_Quants_GRE_tests.zip`
800score.com 28 maths tests
`http://rapidshare.com/files/73540181/800score.com_28MATHS_29.zip`
CAT simulator useful for GRE
`http://rapidshare.com/files/73540589/CAT_27s_Simulator_GRE.zip`
Nova Prep Guide
`http://rapidshare.com/files/44846489/Nova.pdf`

Best GRE Stuff Here

- GRE Maths Skills - a really nice guideline for the GRE Quants section

- GRE Antonyms and Analogies practice - an ebook that compiles the best practice questions on analogies and antonyms.

Wishing all the best for your GRE if you're preparing to give it these days... Get a wonderful gre score and make me proud!

How to Prepare for GRE

Loads of people ask me this question - How do I start my preparation for the GRE exam? I normally just point them to this blog. But even people who visit greghost.blogspot.com ask this question in the comments section. So i decided to write a short guide on preparing for the Graduate Record Examination.

Firstly, make sure that when you register for the test, you have at least 3 months to study! Anything less than that is educational suicide - unless you're in the IIT...

Secondly, there is no such strategy which says that you should start studying from the Verbal section and then move on to Quants or vice-versa. Start with whatever you are comfortable with! I started preparing with the verbal section because my language skills are far better than my mathematical skills. Starting your preparation with something you find easy helps defuse stress and arouse interest in what you're studying.

The GRE preparation study is never ending...you can't have enough practice in maths and almost nobody can memorize the meanings of all those thousands of words. So these 2 things - Quants and Words - should be universal in your preparation, i.e. you should study them every day even as you set up targets for the more particular sections.

Those who are good with English should not get overconfident. The reading comprehension section can be quite tricky. Its not like those simple comprehension passages that you get in your 10th and 12th standard board exams.

Some of the books I recommend for GRE preparation you will find on the right sidebar of this blog. Quite a few are available on this blog for free download if you know where to look (just click in the right places!) make your preparation a mixture of online and offline study. I always recommend number2.com for their short mock tests.

Finally, dont procrastinate (if you don't know the meaning of this word, your GRE preparation is lagging!). Laziness never did you any good and never will. If you find it difficult to study in the morning, then be a night bird and work hard.

Once you think you have studied enough, start giving the mock test in the ETS powerprep CD. That test will give you a good indication of where you stand. Identify your weak areas from the result of the test and try to strengthen them with practice. As the Bhagwad Gita says, "karma kar, Fal ki Chinta Mat kar" . May the force be with you!
Those who have already given their GRE are most welcome to share their experiences and provide tips in the comments section.

Pages

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Table for Suggested GRE Cutoffs for Engineering Programs at US Universities

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Friday, May 14, 2010

Wednesday, May 12, 2010