The three biggest hurdles are managing time across dense reading passages, building vocabulary for high-level questions, and understanding the nuanced logic of sentence equivalence items. Many students also struggle with pacing—spending too long on one question and rushing through others. A tutor helps you develop strategic approaches for each question type, build efficient reading habits, and strengthen the vocabulary and reasoning skills that unlock higher scores.

Varsity Tutors connects you with an expert tutor who starts by diagnosing your strengths and weaknesses through diagnostic tests and conversation. From there, your tutor builds a customized curriculum focused on your weak areas—whether that's reading comprehension strategies, vocabulary retention, or logic-based question types. You'll work through practice problems, take full-length practice tests, review mistakes in detail, and refine test-taking strategies until you're confident and ready for test day.

GRE reading passages are dense and require active reading—annotating key ideas, tracking the author's argument, and understanding relationships between concepts. Many students benefit from learning to read strategically rather than word-for-word, and practicing on real GRE passages to understand question patterns. A tutor teaches you how to identify what matters, anticipate question types, and answer efficiently without re-reading entire passages, which saves critical time on test day.

Not thousands—but you do need to master roughly 500-1000 high-frequency GRE words that appear repeatedly across tests. More importantly, you need to recognize how words are used in context and understand word relationships tested in sentence equivalence questions. A tutor helps you build vocabulary strategically through spaced repetition, word families, and contextual learning rather than isolated flashcards, making the words stick and helping you recognize them under pressure on test day.

Most students benefit from 4-6 months of consistent preparation, though this varies based on your starting score and target. A typical schedule includes 10-15 hours per week of study, with regular practice tests every 2-3 weeks to track progress and identify remaining weak areas. Your tutor helps you build a realistic timeline based on your goals and schedule, ensuring you're studying smart—not just long—by focusing on high-impact areas rather than spinning your wheels on familiar content.

Test anxiety often stems from uncertainty about what to expect or lack of confidence in your skills. Working with a tutor builds both through repeated exposure to real GRE questions, timed practice tests, and detailed review of your mistakes so you understand exactly why you missed questions. Your tutor also teaches pacing strategies and mental approaches—like how to skip difficult questions strategically and return to them—that reduce panic and help you stay focused under pressure.

Practice tests are essential—they show you exactly where you stand, build test-day familiarity, and help you refine timing and strategy under realistic conditions. Taking full-length practice tests every 2-3 weeks gives you concrete data about progress and reveals patterns in your mistakes (e.g., always struggling with inference questions, or running out of time). Your tutor uses these results to adjust your study plan, ensuring you're spending time on what actually moves your score rather than reviewing content you've already mastered.