When you're working towards a goal, if you do nothing, you're actually slowly moving backwards. Every day you don't study, you actually forget a little bit of what you studied previously. If you put in ordinary effort, such as studying 20 minutes a day, you will combat that loss of progress but you won't make much forward progress. In order to truly make forward progress, you need to put in extraordinary effort - literally more effort than ordinary. Orion explains how he applies this philosophy to preparing for the GRE in this episode.

Achievable is a modern test prep platform for the GRE exam - visit https://achievable.me

The GRE is an adaptive test, which means that if you want to reach a top percentile score, you're going to face some tough problems on your second graded GRE Quantitative section. What makes a problem difficult isn't the content - it's the execution. 90%+ of 'difficult' Quant problems are actually "hybrid problems" that require mastery and application of 2 - 4 different solving techniques in the proper order to solve. Orion draws from his deep knowledge of the GRE Quant section to outline how he approaches these problems in this episode.

Achievable is a modern test prep platform for the GRE exam - visit https://achievable.me

We talked about how standardized testing can sometimes be tougher for people from disadvantaged backgrounds, and how that can make these tests a barrier that holds back these groups. As that topic has become a national conversation, some are arguing for the GRE to be removed as a requirement for most graduate school admissions. So, should it? Orion and I discuss the pros and cons.

Achievable is a modern test prep platform for the GRE exam - visit https://achievable.me

A listener Caleb asked us about an interesting problem: if you have a good GRE score, should you send it to a school you are applying to that does not require it? There are tradeoffs, and it depends on a few factors - Orion lays them all out and goes into detail in this episode.

Achievable is a modern test prep platform for the GRE exam - visit https://achievable.me

The GRE is a competitive arena. In a real way, you're competing against everyone else in the entire world that is taking the GRE exam, and these people are often super smart and very ambitious. You want a top percentile score, and ETS normalizes GRE scores - meaning that no matter how people do, the scoring is curved such that only a small proportion do well. This is why it's so important to put on your war paint, as Orion explains.

Achievable is a modern test prep platform for the GRE exam - visit https://achievable.me

We always tell you on this podcast that you really shouldn't go back and re-attempt problems, because to do so you'd need to save time to go back and that means you're rushing questions that you DO know how to answer.

But, in certain circumstances, it can be worthwhile to re-attempt a problem when you solve it for the first time and get an obviously wrong answer. There are two criteria: do you have time on this problem left over, and how surprised are you by the answer being wrong? Orion explains further in this episode.

Achievable is a modern test prep platform for the GRE exam - visit https://achievable.me

Clear, in his book Atomic Habits, talks about the phenomenon "the valley of disappointment", which is the gap between your linear effort put towards something and the exponential results you gain from investing effort into that thing. The GRE is a perfect example of this: you'll often spend weeks practicing a problem type before the improvements really kick in. You don't want to quit too early or you'll miss the gains! Orion explains how he keeps his students motivated during this valley in this podcast.

Achievable is a modern test prep platform for the GRE exam - visit https://achievable.me

How well do you need to do in the first section of the GRE quant or verbal sections to unlock the more difficult (but higher scoring) second sections of the adaptive test? Orion covers this topic, why you can't game the system, and how to maximize your overall score on this week's episode.

Thank you Chase from Arizona for emailing in this question.

Achievable is a modern test prep platform for the GRE exam - visit https://achievable.me

Let's imagine that you're taking the GRE and you come across a particularly tricky problem. You're stumped. Most students in that position ask themselves "What should I do?"

This is the worst question to ask yourself! Why? Listen to this week's episode to find out :)

Achievable is a modern test prep platform for the GRE exam - visit https://achievable.me

How does the power of visualization relate to the GRE? Your performance on the GRE is just that - a performance. Like an athlete or an artist, you need to perform well on your test day to get the best possible GRE score. Orion was surprised to find that even his best students had trouble imagining that they would be successful on the GRE, and if you can't visualize it or believe it, how can you enact it? It's been proven in psychology studies that visualization makes you more likely to achieve an outcome, and the GRE is no different. Orion explains how to leverage visualization to reduce your test anxiety and improve your score.

Achievable is a modern test prep platform for the GRE exam - visit https://achievable.me