According to the 2020 PAEA program report, about 58% of physician assistant programs require the GRE for admission so chances are, you might have to take it yourself if you plan on applying anytime soon.
If you’ve never heard of the GRE before, I would describe it as the “adult” version of the SAT that we all dreaded in high school. It has a writing, math, and verbal section and is about 3 hours and 45 minutes long. I recommend taking the exam before the application cycle opens (or as soon as you can after) so that you can have your scores back and ready to be sent in time. That was my plan, but due to the pandemic starting my exam got cancelled and I ended up taking it at home in August of 2020. I studied for about a month and scored a 314, which I felt confident submitting to my schools.
Most programs are looking for scores above the 50th percentile, which usually comes out to a score of 300 overall. If you can get that, you’re good to go!
Here are my top 3 tips for studying:
- Take a timed, full-length practice exam BEFORE you start studying. This will help you get an idea of your baseline score and your weak spots. For me, my weak spot was math so I knew I had to focus most of my time on math strategies and concepts in order to raise my score significantly.
- tip: instead of taking a practice exam from a workbook or paying for one online, use the free practice tests provided by ETS when you register for your exam. They are timed, very similar to the real deal, and calculate your score automatically upon finishing – win win!
- Focus on active recall instead of passive studying. When you read from a textbook, your brain is just passively consuming the information and making you think you know it. To really test if you know the material or not, you need to force your brain to actively recall information by quizzing yourself. I used Magoosh to do this and loved being able to select topics I was weak in to create customized quizzes for the day. It generated tons of multiple choice questions for me and my favorite part was being able to review my incorrect answers with video explanations. I followed the one month study plan and loved that everything was super user friendly and already laid out for me. With the help of Magoosh, I was able to raise my score 15 points from my first full length practice score! For me, it was definitely worth the investment.
- Download a vocabulary app. Even though most of my focus was on improving my math score, I still wanted to make sure I was expanding my vocab whenever I could. I used Magoosh’s free vocabulary app and did the flashcards in my free time, on my lunch breaks, etc. and definitely saw an improvement.
- tip: I read somewhere that reading non-fiction articles out loud also improves your vocabulary and context skills so I did this as well. Try it out and see for yourself!
Keep in mind that your score only lasts 5 years so you don’t want to take it too early.
If you want to start PA school right after college and plan on applying the summer after your junior year of college, the best time to take the GRE would be the summer after your sophomore year or anytime during the school year. If you plan on taking a gap year, that is also a great time to study for and take the exam.
If you’re still a little confused on where to start or how to create a study plan, I highly recommend checking out Magoosh – it is 100% worth the investment.
My recommendations for GRE resources I used & loved:
GRE Pocket Reference
Magoosh GRE
GRE Vocab Flashcards
GRE Prep Plus