Hi -
I have a quick question, I am looking to take a practice exam tomorrow morning in a public area to stimulate the testing center. All the libraries are close in my area, and would like to take it outside of my apt. Do you think taking a mock exam (2-4 hours) in Starbucks or a setting like that is the best idea?
You should expect the real testing experience to be minimally distracting—cubicles limit visual distractions, and many offer over-the-ear sound dampeners (or you can opt to bring your own earplugs).
A coffee shop leaves too many variables open (noise, business, etc.). Taking the test at home would likely be a more realistic testing experience than a coffee shop.
If you need to take the mock exam in a novel setting, consider a co-working or office space rental. There are websites where you can rent a space by the hour. If that’s too cost prohibitive, then a library would be your best bet. If they’re just closed on certain days of the week and not totally shut down, it might be worth it to plan your mock exam around the library’s hours.
Thank you, this is very informative! Also, which test should I take for my next mock exam so that I’m studying the right material and yielding accurate results to get a good representation on where I stand?
FYI, These past couple weekends I did power prep timed exam and Manhattan Prep; and my exam is on 11/12.
Any of the Power Preps should always be your first choice. If you have already completed the two free ones, there are three paid ones. If those are too expensive, you can take the practice tests in the OG book. Just make sure to not write in the book while taking the exam (you shouldn’t write in the books, anyway).
Beyond that, I’ll defer to @leaderboard for which third party practice tests would be recommended.
Where are you taking the actual GRE?
In the testing center
Well to answer your question, Alina is correct. The answer is technically “none”.