Grateful to find hope when I was frustrated with GRE scores – From Q153 to Q166

[Background] Hong Kong native, finance professional
[Test Scores] Total 303 → 323, Q: 153 → 166
[Preparation Time] September 2020 – August 2021
[Materials] textbooks from GRE classes

Because my job was extremely busy, I often worked overtime until late at night, it was hard for me to have time to study for the GRE. However, I still made sure to practice every day since my math was pretty weak. My experience is for those who are also bad at math, so feel free to skip if you are not!

I usually hear people say “GRE math is easy!” But if you’re like me, struggling with math, I can tell you it’s not that easy!

Firstly, the GRE covers a broad range of topics. There are many concepts that I am not familiar with.

Secondly, since I have been working for several years after graduating from college, and have not studied math since then, my priority was to build a solid foundation for my math ability. However, GRE math is very broad, some questions are too tidy, and you have to finish them within a limited time. Don’t you think trying to reach scores over 165 by self-studying math was almost impossible and self-torturing?

As a working professional who was weak in math, sometimes got an F, and had to retake the test, I enrolled in a large-group math program. But I found frustration and wasting money. The curriculum of large-group programs was fast in order to accommodate every student, teachers couldn’t address every question and help build my basic ability in math as I expected. Too many concepts to explain, and there was no time to go through them one by one.

At this point, I was actually thinking about giving up. My test scores after taking classes and practicing made me even more frustrated. I thought maybe I was just not talented enough, even hard work was helpless. Still, I wanted to give it a last shot. I didn’t really want to give up my dream of applying to business schools. And then I found Candice’s online GRE math tutoring courses.

I began weekly math tutoring sessions before my work. I feel grateful for that time cause it allowed me to review math concepts. I wish I had a teacher like this when I was younger. My priority was to achieve a good score on GRE. After the basic lessons, the real challenge started with the practicing section.

Every week, Candice gave me extra assignments based on my weaknesses from mock tests. At first, it felt nothing special, but after a while, I realized that I was not afraid of math anymore. Instead of having no ideas when seeing questions, I could react logically and mathematically, and then spot the right answer. You can’t rely on memorizing formulas or specific question types for GRE math because the test is flexible. Some questions are just so long to test your time management, judgment, and stability. Candice was my coach identifying my weaknesses and improving them, also reminding me to keep practicing even if I got good scores on mock tests. Her final review sessions before the test also helped ease my anxiety. No matter when or where, Candice always responded to my questions, following my erratic overtime working schedule. On the day of the actual test, as someone who often worked until late at night, dealing with competitive environments, and struggling with math, my scored went from 153 to 166! I finally felt my efforts had paid off.

Besides following Candice’s study plan, my advice is to always review your mistakes! You can get a small notebook to write down questions you answered wrong and review them anywhere. If you don’t try to understand your mistakes, you are just repeating things you already know and the same mistakes.

As for English, my level was quite solid. The key is to memorize vocabulary! Practice 5-10 RC sections and 1-2 sentence completions daily. If possible, try to read 1-2 articles from the NYT every day! I think it should be no problem reaching 155 or more!

Good luck! Let’s work hard together!