How to Prepare for the GRE in Psychology
Students who want to attend graduate school in psychology have to first take the GRE (Graduate Record Examination) Subject Test in psychology. This test attempts to measure your knowledge of psychology and serves as an important part of your graduate school application. If you plan to take the GRE Subject Test in psychology, preparation is crucial to success.
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Instructions
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Download the psychology GRE Practice Book from the website of the Educational Testing Service (ETS). This free book contains information about the psychology GRE test as well as test strategies and a practice examination with answers. Take the practice test in this book and review all of the test information it contains before taking the GRE test in psychology. (See link in Resources to download a copy of the practice book.)
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Familiarize yourself with the test content, structure and scoring. The GRE Subject Test in psychology contains approximately 215 multiple-choice questions, and you have 2 hours and 50 minutes to complete the test. Test-takers score 1 point for each correct answer and lose 1/4 point for each incorrect answer on the test. The test contains material typically covered in undergraduate psychology courses. If you want to prepare for the GRE in psychology, knowing as much as you can about the test itself is necessary. Remember that 40 percent of the test covers experimental or natural science topics, 43 percent covers social or social science topics and 17 percent covers general information (such as research and psychology history).
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Review material from your psychology courses. Go over your class notes and old examinations. Look through your psychology laboratory reports and reread parts of your psychology texts as necessary. If you have a limited amount of time to study, make sure that you concentrate your efforts on the psychology topics or classes that gave you the most trouble in the past.
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Take practice GRE tests, or complete as many practice questions as you can. Doing so will get you comfortable with the test structure and test content. Taking a timed, full-length psychology GRE test will help you see how you do relative to the time limit of the test. Practice makes perfect. Taking practice tests or answering questions is crucial to GRE success.
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Talk to your psychology professors if, during your GRE preparation, you find that a particular psychology topic seems confusing to you. She will likely answer questions you have and try to clarify the topic for you before you take the GRE test.
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Tips & Warnings
Be sure to obtain a copy of the GRE Bulletin from ETS. You can download the GRE Bulletin from the ETS website, or you can order it by mail. (See link in Resources.)
Consider purchasing a psychology GRE review book. Several test-prep companies offer such books. These books contain practice psychology GRE tests, test-taking strategies and other important psychology GRE information. (See link in Resources.)
