A Guide to the GRE for PA School Applicants

By: Savanna Perry, PA-C

TL;DR

One-line Summary - What will someone take away from this post?

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What study materials does this GRE guide recommend?

Sandra's top pick is Magoosh, which she highly recommends. It builds study plans around your test date, keeps a running estimate of your verbal and math scores, and has an extensive question bank. In practice mode, each question comes with a how-to video and text guide explaining why answers are right or wrong, plus math shortcuts. The practice tests give a reasonably close score estimate, and the layout mirrors the real exam, including the on-screen calculator.

She also recommends Manhattan Prep 4th Edition guidebooks if you want something truly foundational. There are 8 books total that break down the whole exam. They're thorough and easy to read, so if you have the time and want to learn the ins and outs, you'll pick up a lot of helpful concepts.

In this post:

What does her 5-week GRE study plan look like?

Sandra is clear that this is what worked for her, so adapt it. In weeks 1-3, she did as many practice problems as possible, prioritizing math because it rewards repetition, and always made sure she understood why she got something wrong. She finished almost all of Magoosh's problems (700+ per subject) and aimed for about 3 hours of focused study a day, dialing back when she felt burnt out.

In the 10 days before the exam, she took 5 practice tests on a 1-day-on, 1-day-off rhythm, reviewing each test the next day to learn from her mistakes. The day before, she relaxed, reviewed easy-to-forget formulas like simple and compound interest, and did an equipment check if testing at home. On exam day, she woke up early, did something to warm up her brain like a walk or sudoku, ate a good breakfast, and tried not to stress.

In Our Experience

Guest contributor Sandra shares: my prep may look different from yours because I'd studied hard for the SAT and ACT before college, so a lot of overlapping concepts were still fresh. Take what fits your situation and leave the rest, because everyone studies a little differently.

What are her best GRE tips?

Start with a diagnostic test so you know your baseline, and don't get discouraged by the number. Set a dream score and work toward it. Work on your weaker section first. If you're in a time crunch of about a month or less, prioritize math, since it's generally easier to improve than verbal because it's repeating concepts in different forms.

For vocab, make a small dictionary or flash cards, look up every word you don't know, and build mnemonics. Use cheat sheets for formulas while studying (Magoosh has one), but skip them on practice exams for a realistic score. Learn to use the tiny on-screen calculator ahead of time, since it can recall values. And review the essay topics on the ETS website before exam day so nothing surprises you.

Every Pre-PA Should Know...

If you have a month or less to prep, put your hours into math first, since concepts repeat and your score tends to climb faster there than on verbal.

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Listen: Instagram Live FAQ: GRE Prep, Prerequisites, and Experience Hours

I dug up some old audio from an Instagram Live I did and turned it into an episode, because the questions people asked are the same ones I still get every week.

Episode show notes & key takeaways

I dug up some old audio from an Instagram Live I did and turned it into an episode, because the questions people asked are the same ones I still get every week.

This one is all over the place in the best way. Prereqs, the GRE, study methods, what counts as healthcare experience, why I picked PA over MD or NP, and what PA school was actually like. No script, just answering whatever came in.

If you're early in this process and you're not even sure what questions to ask yet, this is a good one to have on in the background.

What I answer

How long to study for the GRE and what to use
Whether it matters if you take prereqs at a college or a university
Taking prerequisites over the summer
Study methods for biology, chemistry, and anatomy
Whether resident care assistant hours count as healthcare experience
Why I chose PA over medical school or NP
The hardest part and the best part of PA school
How formal to be when you contact programs

Resources

Follow The Pre-PA Club: Apple Podcasts · Spotify · All episodes

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