GRE and TOEFL Preperation

,Assalamu Alaikoum everyone

It seems that everybody is facing the same struggles when it comes to applying to graduate schools abroad, GRE, TOEFL, and the statement of purpose …etc, are all fine sources of headache and the applications need a lot of work, and the sad fact is we don't .realize that until we start applying

I'm currently working on my grad studies applications and so far, I found some useful tips and websites which I found helpful for the TOEFL and GRE, so, I'm sending message to share them with you

For the TOEFL

I strongly recommend having a look at this file: TOEFL eBook

In short, it is written by someone who was grading with ETS (TOEFL test makers) and it gives you some tips on how to maximize your score for the writing and speaking sections, and how do the graders think and what do they want to hear/see. It was a very useful and short file and I believe it helped me when I had my TOEFL exam. Additionally, I checked on this book :Barron's TOEFL iBT Superpack (text only) 13th(thirteenth) edition by P. Sharpe,S. J. Matthiesen: S. J. Matthiesen P. Sharpe: Amazon.com: Books

The edition in the link comes with 8 practice sets ( it's like old exams, the more you practice, the more you get used to the nature of the exam) . Honestly, I don't know if the material of the book is helpful or not, because the main reason I had it is the practice tests, which were very useful and computer-based (similar to the actual exam experience). I practiced some of them + had a look at the first link, and in few weeks (2-3 weeks) I was able to score higher than what I expected.

For the GRE

The GRE has 3 parts



As engineers, you are expected to score high in the quantitative reasoning (it's more of a MATH 001, but the time is very limited and the questions' wordings can be tricky). There is an official guide made by the test makers: GRE The Official Guide to the Revised General Test with CD-ROM,Second Edition (GRE: The Official Guide to the General Test): Educational Testing Service: 9780071791236: Amazon.com: Books

What is in the guide can be easily found on their websites, but if you purchase the official guide, you get an access to 2 extra real practice exams ( there are 2 other exams, but available for free). Also, for the quantitative part, have a look at the math concepts in the guide (or online: http://www.ets.org/s/gre/pdf/gre_math_conventions.pdf ). I'm quite sure there's nothing new to you, but you might need a day or 2 just to ******* your memory about formulas you haven't seen in 4 years

Additionally, you might think of studying from another source. I had a look at this book : Cracking the GRE with DVD,2013 Edition (Graduate School Test Preparation): Princeton Review: 9780307944726: Amazon.com: Books. and it was useful for the verbal part. I don't know if it is the best book available or not, because I didn't check on book reviews and just bought this one based on someone's recommendation.

There is something important, ONLY the exams provided by the test makers are real GRE exams, all the other practice exams made by other publishers just trying to copy the test makers' questions styles

Other stuff I found useful

US news (Best Graduate Schools | Top Graduate Programs | US News Education): good for checking on schools rankings (by specialty), and if you make an account ($20/year), you'll have access to extra information about rankings and other useful stuff

Graduate School Admission, Advice, Discussions, Help and Information - The GradCafe Forums : A forum that you might find
useful

Study in USA - GRE, F1 Visa, H1B Visa 2013: Another website

That's all in my head right now, and thought maybe you find it useful. Also, please share you experiences so we can all learn from
each others since we are all in the same situation. And maybe we can gather and discuss these stuff further


Let me know if you have questions