Words for Smart Test Takers 2nd Edition (Academic Test Preparation Series)

I took the GRE years ago, but had to take it again since my score expired. I used this book to studying for the test, and started studying months before I took it. I memorized 695 words from this book and boosted my score by 90 points, obtaining a 710 (98th percentile) on the Verbal. 95% of the words on the test were ones I had memorized from this book.

It wasn't easy memorizing 695 words, but it was SO worth it. I got accepted into graduate school.

Excellent review and insight into the world of SAT and GRE. Beside the vocabulary exercises, the introduction and study skill hints are vitally helpful. If you want to improve your SAT verbal score by 15 - 25 %, this book will help you do it. I'm saving a copy for my son when he is reaches High School.

I am halfway through this book right now in preparation for the GRE and must commend its vocabulary and format. It repeats words as you continue through it to give you a more flexible understanding, and although I cannot rate its usefulness for standardized tests, I do have faith in the work that it puts you through.
However, I must point out that the reader has to be on the lookout for typos that either misspell words, add apostrophes instead of letters, imprecise definitions (or definitions whose emphasis is the opposite from the truth), and even an incorrect answer on a quiz's answer sheet. If you use another dictionary to, say, compile your own list of words to memorize, you'll nullify this problem, but it is rather unacceptable for a book on words to mess them up so frequently. Still, though I haven't looked into the alternatives, I would recommend this resource for your word-boosting needs.

A giant step in the right direction for MAT, SAT, GRE and overall knowledge.

Many of the words I saw on the GRE test were in the words lists at the beginning on this book: 99 Words for Smart Test Takers and their GRE word list.

I found it to be a relief to have a smaller list of words to work with (rather than Barron's 3,500 words) that were actually on the test.