Plateaued in GRE Verbal – Need Advice and Motivation

GRE General
1

Hi everyone,
I’ve hit a plateau with my GRE verbal score and could really use some advice. Here’s the breakdown of my attempts so far:

1st: 153V, 158Q
2nd: 153V, 160Q
3rd: 156V, 164Q
4th: 154V, 167Q

I’m retaking the test on January 6th and aiming for a verbal score of 165. I’ve used these resources so far:

Practice

  • Official guides
  • Gregmat
  • Big Book question papers (I was doing well here, so I’m confused about what went wrong during the tests).

Vocab

  • BrightLink Prep 600 words
  • Barron’s 333
  • Gregmat’s Vocab Mountain

I feel stuck and don’t know how to restrategize at this point. If anyone has suggestions on how to improve or spot my weak areas, I’d be so grateful.

Also, do you think it’s too late to take the test again? I’ve been feeling really drained and demotivated, but I’m ready to put in the work if there’s still hope.

Any advice, resources, or even just words of encouragement would mean the world to me right now.

Thanks in advance!

2

Can you do the following for me?

Firstly, take a look at this video: 4 Keys to a High Verbal Score - January 11, 2022 - GregMat

Then, let’s start by assessing the first “key”:

  1. Go to https://www.gregmat.com/skill-building/generated/vocab-check
  2. Set the groups to all the groups you’ve learned
  3. Set the word count to 30
  4. Complete around 6 of these
  5. Let us know your scores
3

Hi Ganesh,

Thank you for getting back to me. I believe there’s still room for improvement in my vocabulary. I’ve also reviewed the math and pairing strategy, and I think my main challenge lies in implementation. Could you please guide me on the next steps to improve further?

  • Group 1–5: 30/30
  • Group 6–10: 28/30
  • Group 11–15: 29/30
  • Group 16–20: 26/30
  • Group 21–25: 27/30
  • Group 26–30: 25/30
  • Group 31–34: 26/30

Thank you!

4

Did you watch the video?

The vocab is pretty solid (a good indicator would be an avg of 27+/30). It seems like vocab is not your issue, so it seems you need to begin from the strategy stage again.

Go to Recorded Classes - GregMat - GregMat and then do:

  1. One of the TC and SE Courses
  2. One of the Reading Courses

in their entirety.