Your first session focuses on assessment and goal-setting. A tutor will review your target score, timeline, and any practice test results you have, then diagnose your strengths and weaknesses across the Quantitative, Verbal, and Analytical Writing sections. From there, you'll develop a personalized study plan that prioritizes the areas where you'll see the biggest score improvements.

Students typically find the Quantitative section most challenging, particularly data interpretation and geometry problems that require both math skills and strategic thinking. However, the Verbal section trips up many test-takers because it demands not just vocabulary knowledge but the ability to understand complex passages and nuanced argument structures under time pressure. A tutor can help you develop section-specific strategies—whether that's mastering quantitative shortcuts or improving reading comprehension speed.

Much test anxiety stems from uncertainty about what to expect or feeling unprepared for specific question types. Tutoring builds confidence through repeated exposure to authentic GRE questions, timed practice tests, and proven test-taking strategies that reduce guesswork. Working with a tutor also means you can practice pacing techniques and learn how to manage difficult questions without derailing your entire test performance.

Most students benefit from 8-12 weeks of focused preparation, though this depends on your starting point and target score. If you're aiming for a top-tier program, you may want 12-16 weeks to thoroughly master challenging content and refine your test-taking strategy. A tutor can help you create a realistic timeline based on your baseline performance and can adjust your study plan if you need to accelerate or deepen your preparation in specific areas.

Practice tests reveal exactly where you stand and identify patterns in your mistakes—whether you're missing certain question types, running out of time, or misunderstanding content. Taking full-length, timed practice tests under realistic conditions also builds the stamina and mental endurance needed for test day. Tutors use your practice test results to focus your study time on high-impact areas rather than reviewing content you've already mastered.

Pacing is a learnable skill—it's not just about working faster, but about knowing when to skip a difficult question and come back to it later. Tutors teach strategic approaches like identifying question difficulty levels quickly, allocating time based on point value, and using elimination techniques to narrow choices faster. With guided practice and feedback on your timed attempts, you'll develop the judgment to manage the 3.5-hour test without rushing or wasting time on low-value problems.

Look for tutors with strong GRE scores themselves, proven experience teaching test prep, and familiarity with the current test format and question types. Ideally, they should have helped multiple students improve their scores and understand the nuances of each section—not just content knowledge, but strategy and pacing. Varsity Tutors connects you with expert tutors in Sacramento who have deep GRE expertise and can tailor instruction to your specific goals and learning style.