A Candid Interview with Shyam
Shyam is a young working professional from Wipro Technologies. He developed a passion for higher studies while he worked at Wipro. And hence his journey with GRE and AdmitEDGE blossomed with a lot of enthusiasm. Despite his tight work schedule, Shyam somehow found sufficient time to prepare and he scored a very good 315 in GRE. He looks forward to specialize in the field of Industrial Engineering either at Carnegie Melon University or Purdue.
To understand about his GRE Online preparation process and his success mantra, we decided to have a small conversation with Shyam, the man himself.
Shyam Experience – GRE verbal practice test
What are you currently doing Shyam?
Currently, I am working as an Oracle Administrator in Wipro Technologies, Chennai
Can you please tell us about your GRE scores?
I initially joined AdmitEDGE for preparation and got a score of 315. I scored 156 in Verbal and 159 in Quant. When I joined I was not at this level; my diagnostic score was way below than this. But, after repeated practices and tests, I achieved this score through sheer hard work. Hard work is always fruitful. Complete GRE verbal practice testhappened to be a perfect launch pad to pursue my dreams.
When did you join AdmitEDGE?
I joined AdmitEDGE ( …formerly GREedge) before 5 months in order to improve my chances of getting admits from top-notch universities. GRE is one of the important factors to get your profile to the admissions committee. While considering the options, I felt an online academy would best suit my kind of work and AdmitEDGE proved to be a safeguard for all kinds of purposes. I had to take a diagnostic test in which I scored low. Constant practice and feedback from SFAs helped me get past difficulties and score 315 in GRE
How did you prepare for Verbal?
I think Verbal is pretty much my strong point compared to Quant. I used to read a lot of articles, columns in Cricinfo and other stuff. I also used the Wordbot feature to learn vocabulary. Finally, I got a verbal score of 156 which I consider a pretty decent score. I started learning vocabulary from Day 1. I used to go through the meaning, learn the synonyms and then use it in a proper sentence.
Reading Comprehension, Text Completion, and Sentence Equivalence- What did you do?
RCs can prove to be very difficult. But you should break them down, analyze them and then read it. After doing this, you’ll be able to answer all the questions using a few quick techniques. There are a lot of question types like Inference questions, Negative, and Positive questions. Understanding them is very important and SFAs will help you out in that. Wordbot is the right key here. Sentence Equivalence is a bit tricky. From the six answer choices, any of the options might suit in. But, only 2 choices will be exactly matching the question. Having a sound knowledge of all the GRE words will definitely help. Learning words with the closely associated words is the best way to cope up with Sentence Equivalence. Text Completion tests your ability to put the word in the right context. GRE verbal practice test part comprises of these three. With the right amount of practice, it’s very easy to score above 160+ in Verbal.
What did you do for Quant?
For Quant preparation, I primarily relied on the old mantra “PRACTICE”. Practice till you gain sufficient knowledge in all the areas. Once you get that, you can solve any type of problem irrespective of the difficulty level. Initially, I would suggest to learn concepts thoroughly, write down the formulas in a sheet of paper and keep the paper adjacent to you while solving. Gradually your memory power will increase and you will automatically use the formulas. I believe certain topics in Quant need more concentration. But trust me, it’s just basic mathematics. With the right preparation methods, you can easily score 170 in Quant.
Why do you think AWA is very important?
I got a score of 3.5 in AWA section. I think this section is being avoided by most of the GRE aspirants. But believe me it is one of the most important section. The admissions committee would be able to evaluate your writing capabilities through the section. These guys are not looking for a perfect 6. It is very tough since we are not native speakers of English. But having a sound knowledge of vocabulary and grammar can fetch a score of 4+ which is considered to be a very good score.
Would you like to share your experience with AdmitEDGE?
Yes, I would love to. In a nutshell, learning experience with AdmitEDGE was awesome. Initially I had a dilemma whether to trust an online academy and invest my father’s hard earned money over there. But later after attending a lot of seminars, I came to a conclusion that I should join an online academy and that would definitely be AdmitEDGE. After the registration process, they gave a diagnostic test where the SFAs were able to guess my abilities in Quant and Verbal. My diagnostic score was very average. Losing the touch right after college, it was difficult to score well in the diagnostic test. My SFAs evaluated the responses and designed a perfect study plan for me to concentrate on areas where I was weak.. I was pretty strong in Verbal than Quant. For Quant, my SFAs helped me out and I was able to do well. I spent 6-7 hours during the final stages of preparation and I would like to thank AdmitEDGE for the score. Without them, it wouldn’t have been possible.
Shyam Experience about GRE verbal practice test
What do you think is very exciting about AdmitEDGE?
You would get a lot of free time during college. But in a workplace, getting the job done should be our top priority. After going home, you would definitely want to relax. Going to a coaching center for GRE after hectic work schedule might be impossible. I was looking for some place where I could use my available time effectively. Finally, I found out AdmitEDGE platform where everything is online. You need not come physically to any place. Be it weekends or weekdays, you can log in from wherever you are. This is an exciting factor for Working Professionals to consider choosing AdmitEDGE.
How did your SFAs at AdmitEDGE help you?
There is an exciting concept called SFAs (Student Facilitators & Analysts) in AdmitEDGE. As the name suggest, they facilitate you throughout the GRE process. It is one of the bright features of AdmitEDGE. You will be able to contact your SFAs anytime and they will get back to you in the next 24 hours with relevant solutions.
Experience with AdmitEDGE in one word?
If I should explain my experience with AdmitEDGE in one word, then I would use the word “SANGUINE”. Sanguine means pretty optimistic and positive during odd times. This word would perfectly suit my learning experience with AdmitEDGE.
What is your success mantra?
My success mantra is to be good at whatever you do. Do your best and wait for the rest.
What is your word of advice to all the GRE aspirants?
My advice to all the GRE aspirants would be to use the Learning Tracker from AdmitEDGE. Learning Tracker has all the resources which are required to get 340 in GRE. It is designed with cutting edge technologies and the information available there is very good. Please make full use of the Learning Tracker from AdmitEDGE.
Most of the working professionals suffer due to their tight hectic schedule. They become very lethargic and do set aside enough time to prepare for GRE verbal practice test. Like Shyam, if the right GRE program guides you through your tough times, every working professional can go ahead and crack the GRE effortlessly. Shyam’s experience with AdmitEDGE has been amazing. He prepared with Complete GRE program from AdmitEDGE and that helped him boost his GRE score to 315.
If you wish to break the obstacles and get a high GRE score using Complete GRE, you can click here.
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