Physics GRE subject test study guide

First … some context

I am by no means an expert on studying for the pGRE.

In fact, I started out with an abysmal score… I took it in April of my junior year (DON’T DO THIS) and got a 3^rd percentile (460 raw)…

Yeah… If there were 100 people taking the test, I scored the 3^rd lowest…

Historically, students like me (from a small 4-year liberal arts college) struggle with the pGRE.

Thankfully, I figured out what worked for me studying, and for the October (senior year) test I scored a 59^th percentile (750 raw)

And so I just want to let you all know where I started and ended to alter you to how much weight to put into how I studied.

I might be the case that all my tips scale with score, and will help you if you’re already scoring around the 59^th percentile on practice tests.

But I ultimately don’t know. It might be that it is a very different hurdle to get from 59^th to 99^th when compared to getting from 3^rd to 59^th.

Recommended study plan

I followed the study plan available from the University of Washington’s webpage, but after following it, and finding what works for me, I’ve come up with a modified version of their plan.

Week 1 —   Take the 1986 practice test and review solutions

Week 2 —   Take the 1992 practice test and review solutions

Week 3 —   Take the 1996 practice test and review solutions

Week 4 —   Classical mechanics (where you are now equipped with 3 tests worth of material to guide your specific-area studying

Week 5 —   E & M

Week 6 —   Take the 2001 practice test and review solutions

Week 7 —   Thermo

Week 8 —   Atomic & Quantum

Week 9 —   Take the 2008 practice test and review solutions

Week 10 —   Review area in which I got the most questions wrong

Week 11 —   Take the 2017 practice test and review solutions

Week 12 —   Try to memorize everything in the 2001, 2008, 2017 exams

Week 13 —   Try to memorize everything in the 2001, 2008, 2017 exams

Week 14 —   Try to memorize everything in the 2001, 2008, 2017 exams

Week 15 —   Try to memorize everything in the 2001, 2008, 2017 exams

Study materials #1: practice tests

All exams up to 2008 can be downloaded from the aforementioned UW website.

And the 2017 exam can be downloaded from ETS’s official Physics GRE website.

Study materials #2: practice test solutions

Solutions to 1986 — 2001 exams:

http://grephysics.net/ans/8677/1

https://www.academia.edu/465257/Physics_GRE_Solutions_Omnibus

Solutions to 1986 — 2008 exams:

http://physgre.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/

Solutions to 2008 exam:

https://physicsworks.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/gr0877_solutions.pdf

Solutions to 2017 exam:

http://home.uchicago.edu/~abdelhafez/pgre.php

http://physicsgre.org/video-solutions/

Study materials #3: other people’s bible

While everyone says this is the best resource for studying for the test, I actually found the one on the next slide to be far easier to use.

But too many people stand by this book so I need to list it.

It also includes practice questions/exams, but I found them way harder than the official exams… But then again, maybe that’s why I only got a 59^th percentile… I’ll let you be the judge!

Study materials #4: my bible!

I loved this book.

Whenever I’d encounter a solution to a problem on one of the exams that I couldn’t understand, this book made it really easy to find the answer.

Study materials #5: a modern physics textbook

This textbook was used for my “modern physics” course and was very helpful for the atomic, quantum, particle, and solid state sections. It is however expensive and I ended up borrowing my old professor’s copy. If you took a modern physics course, I’m sure the textbook you used for that is fine.

Study tips

Wake up at the same time as the actual test (tests are at 8:30am, plan travel time and wake up time accordingly) for every practice test you do. Time yourself. Do it in a secluded room.

Study in the morning. You can later too if you’re hardcore, but make a habit of getting your brain to do physics after waking up.

Wear a simple (not digital) watch when you study/practice test/take the exam. The rules on ETS’s website say no watches of any kind, but all 3 tests I took had people wearing them who just feigned confusion and said, “they let us wear them at the last exam,” when the proctor reads the rules aloud.