GRE study plan for the shorter GRE General Test
Grad school deadlines are fixed, and GRE prep has to fit around work or classes. This prompt has your todo.is agent plan your weeks for the shorter GRE, mix Quant and Verbal by your diagnostic score, send daily vocabulary in context, and give feedback on your Issue essays.
The prompt
- Make me a GRE study plan. I am taking the GRE General Test on [TEST DATE] and I am aiming for [TARGET SCORES]. My diagnostic was [DIAGNOSTIC SCORES]. I study [STUDY SCHEDULE]. Plan the weeks so I spend more time on my weaker section, include timed sets, and schedule the official POWERPREP practice tests (with links). Send me 10 high-frequency GRE words a day with an example sentence, as a CSV I can import into Anki. Give me an Analyze an Issue prompt every Sunday and score my essay on the 0–6 scale with comments. Deliver an Excel plan and send daily tasks at [TIME] on Telegram.
What to change
- [TEST DATE]: E.g. "September 20". Leave a few weeks before your first application deadline in case you retake.
- [TARGET SCORES]: E.g. "Verbal 160, Quant 165, Writing 4.5". Check the averages of your target programs.
- [DIAGNOSTIC SCORES]: From a free official practice test, e.g. "V 152, Q 158, AW 3.5". Or "none yet".
- [STUDY SCHEDULE]: E.g. "1 hour before work Monday to Friday, 3 hours on Saturday".
- [TIME]: When the daily task should arrive, e.g. "6:45".
Example result
- GRE plan: 9 weeks to V 160, Q 165
- Test: September 20 · Diagnostic V 152, Q 158, AW 3.5 · 8 hours a week
- The shorter GRE in brief
- • About 1 hour 58 minutes in total
- • Analytical Writing: one Analyze an Issue essay, 30 minutes, scored 0 to 6
- • Verbal Reasoning: 2 sections, 27 questions. Scored 130 to 170.
- • Quantitative Reasoning: 2 sections, 27 questions, on-screen calculator. Scored 130 to 170.
- • The second section of Verbal and of Quant adapts to how you did on the first.
- Time split
- Verbal 55%, Quant 35%, Writing 10%. Your Verbal gap is 8 points, your Quant gap 7, and Verbal gains come slower.
- Weeks 1 to 3: Verbal basics, Quant review
- • Text Completion and Sentence Equivalence: find the clue words and predict a word before reading the choices
- • Reading Comprehension: one passage a day, summarise each paragraph in five words
- • Quant: number properties, ratios, percentages, exponents. Learn to spot when the on-screen calculator wastes time.
- Weeks 4 to 6: harder sets
- • Quant: data interpretation, probability, coordinate geometry, Quantitative Comparison tricks (try 0, 1, negatives and fractions)
- • Verbal: 2-blank and 3-blank completions, critical reasoning style passages
- • POWERPREP test 1 at the end of week 4
- Weeks 7 to 8: timing
- • Full timed sections every other day
- • POWERPREP test 2 at the end of week 7
- • Issue essay: intro with a clear position, two body paragraphs with specific examples, one paragraph on the counterargument
- Week 9: taper
- • Light mixed sets, vocab review only, no new content after Wednesday
- Today's vocabulary (sample)
- • laconic: using very few words. "Her laconic reply ended the meeting."
- • mitigate: make less severe. "Extra testing mitigated the risk."
- • equivocal: open to more than one meaning. "The results were equivocal."
How to do it with todo.is
- Take a free official practice test, then put your scores and schedule in the prompt.
- Paste it on the Today screen in todo.is, or send it to your agent on Telegram.
- You get an Excel plan, an Anki-ready CSV of words and a daily task message.
- Send your Sunday essay as text. Your agent scores it and points out the one change that would help most.
Tips for a better result
- Learn words from sentences, not lists. Sentence Equivalence rewards knowing how a word is used.
- On Quantitative Comparison, test special numbers (0, 1, negatives, fractions) before you pick an answer.
- Mark and move on. You can return to marked questions within a section, so do not sink three minutes into one.
- Book your test date early. A fixed date keeps the plan honest.
GRE study plan: FAQ
- How long should I study for the GRE? Many people study 6 to 12 weeks at 6 to 10 hours a week. Raising a score by more than 10 points in one section usually needs the longer end.
- Is the GRE shorter now? Yes. Since September 2023 the GRE General Test takes about two hours and has one essay task, the Analyze an Issue essay.
- Can I use a calculator on the GRE? There is a basic on-screen calculator for Quant. You cannot bring your own.
- Is my essay score from todo.is official? No. Your agent gives an estimated score using the public scoring guide. ETS scores the real essay.
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