[Zishen GRE High-Score Write-up]

[Prep Notes & Approach by Section]

[Vocabulary]

Vocabulary was the most useful part for me, especially the book GRE Selected Must-Know Vocabulary. Before I started preparing for the GRE I tried a few questions, and there wasn't a single word

I knew. Then, following instructor Li Shuo's usage guide and study schedule, I memorized the 1,000 selected words. Since I work full time, the time I could

use was fragmented, so I could only study during my hour-plus MRT ride to work (2-plus hours round trip). But the audio Li Shuo recorded

is packed with substance, averaging just over a minute of explanation per word, so the words stuck quickly. Add the schedule's built-in review rounds, and it really took me on vocabulary

from almost zero to test-ready. I only skimmed the 340 words in the last 5 sets and only really tried to memorize the first 1 or 2 of them; they didn't

seem to come up on the test either. The first 1,000 must-know words really are the essentials, and I think they are the most useful part of this course series.

[Text Completion]

This may be a biased view, but I think text completion really comes down to luck, especially since GRE sentences are so twisted and complex. The classes did teach me some methods

for judging whether an answer choice should point in the same or the opposite direction as the words around it, plus some grammar I hadn't seen. In the end, though, it still depends on whether you can quickly divine what the question

is getting at, so for me drilling questions was far more practical. I used the resources Wordgod provided, and every day after memorizing words I drilled

question after question. That's what really raised my accuracy noticeably.

[Reading]

My prep time was limited, so I half gave up on reading; getting half of a passage set right counted as a win. I did try hard to follow the lessons, but maybe

I'm a learn-by-doing type, and practicing reading questions in class didn't do much for me. So I went back to drilling, and Wordgod provided plenty of reading sets for that.

[Quant]

I think the typical Taiwanese student should find Quant easy; the biggest difficulty is understanding the English. Many problems we know well become impossible once they're asked in English,

so again, drill lots of questions and take the classes to learn the English math terms and their Chinese equivalents. I also used the lessons to see

whether there were faster ways to solve problems, and for some questions the instructor did offer quicker approaches.

[Logic]

The classes did help, but the questions vary a lot. The instructor's techniques are distilled from a huge number of past questions, and I'm someone for whom just listening to lectures doesn't

work, so I paired them with lots of drilling.

[Writing]

My prep time was limited, and the Japanese graduate schools I wanted to apply to only required a 320, so I didn't put any time into writing and ended up with just

a 2. But I got into a graduate school in Japan, and I don't regret it. I still listened to all the writing lessons, since I'd paid the tuition anyway. The instructor actually

covered a lot of substantive points, including essay structure and how to give examples, so if you need a writing score I'd still strongly recommend the lessons.

[Study Plan]

From the start I set a goal of 300 or above, because I'd heard a college friend got into the graduate school I wanted with a 29X. And based on Wordgod's course

materials, I'd have a shot if I could get half the questions right. So my plan was to finish all the online classes first and then drill questions whenever I had time. My time was split

roughly into 1 day of math and 1 day of multiple choice (vocabulary and text completion), plus a bit of reading when I had time left. I memorized words on public transit, like the MRT and

buses, strictly following the GRE Selected Must-Know Vocabulary schedule without skipping a single day. Most of the questions I drilled were on Kaomanfen, followed by PDF files linked from Wordgod's

cloud drive. On the test, a whole reading set was one I'd done on Kaomanfen the day before, so I picked the answers without even reading the questions. Pure luck

.

Next, I scheduled mock tests starting 2 weeks before the exam to rehearse test-day conditions and using the computer. Since the Taipei campus mock tests calculate your score from the number

of correct answers, I only ever got around 290 and figured that was my level. Luckily, on the real test I managed a 327 (not counting writing).

[Test Center Report]

American International Education Foundation

Easy to get to by MRT, friendly staff, and plenty of air conditioning. Very comfortable.

[Words of Encouragement for Other Test-Takers]

Remember to bring your passport. The first time I took the test I forgot mine, rushed home to get it and arrived at 10:00. According to the official website, you should still be admitted within 30 minutes of the start time,

but the proctor said on the spot that he had already read the test center rules and didn't want to read them again, so he asked me to leave.

[Score Report]