Study Prof

Spiftaculous website Exemplar will show you lots of examples of that irritatingly unfamiliar vocabulary term in context so you can get the straight skinny on how it’s used. It will also give you some stats about how often your word is used by year and geographic locale. Strangely, it doesn’t give you the actual definition though–don’t ask me why–but combine it with wordnik.com for a more robust vocabulary experience.

A heads up; apparently the examples are drawn only from scientific literature. Didn’t seem to make much diff on the test words I typed in, but just so’s ya know.

More scrumptious FREE practice tests than you can shake a stick at for the GRE, SAT, and GMAT. Regular readers will know that sometimes third-party tests can be sub-par, but a quick perusal of some of the GRE tests shows only very minor errors. Let me know in the comments if you find big problems on any of the other sections. Still, gobs of great practice for the low low price of zero dollars. Thank you, Mathurs! Click the logo to check it out…

Dust off those synapses and belly up to the brain bar, pardner. You’re going to like this. Website Smart.fm takes some of my favorite learning principals (staggered review, automaticity, the Ebbinghaus learning curve, and more) and puts them all together in one slick and sociable site. Enter in whatever info you want to sear into your cerebellum or take advantage of the memory sets others have already created.

Take a peek at the intro video and then go give it a whirl. Click the pic to watch the video at YouTube.

Trying to study without being able to focus can be like a demonic real-life game of Whack-A-Mole. It’s frustrating, costly, and ultimately useless. Lifehack to the rescue! Take a look at their post on …

Simple Productivity: 10 Ways to Do More by Focusing on the Essentials

Most of us have been making flash cards since an enthusiastic third-grade teacher first used them to pound the multiplication facts into our resisting little cranial cavities. Why did she do it? Why, Mrs. Payne, why?

News flash; Flash Cards, boring and basic though they may be, work. But. They don’t work nearly as well for most of us as they should. Why? Because you’re doing it wrong. At least, I was doing it wrong throughout most of my college career. Here’s how to avoid my early mistakes. (more…)

abstruse
adjoin
alimony
analgesia
apathy
archetype
astringent
awl
behemoth
billowing (more…)

Do you know what “nemesis” means? A righteous infliction of retribution manifested by an appropriate agent. Personified in this case by an ‘orrible exam … the new GRE. –With apologies to Brick Top

Gahhhh! They’re changing the GRE. It’s newier! It’s spiffier! It’s more gee-whizzier! Or so they claim. Get the straight skinny on just exactly how they’ve monkeyed around with the Test We Love To Hate straight from the equine’s mandibles…

Click to Watch

Gratuitous "Awwwww" Ammo

Guess what! No … really … just guess.

ETS is planning on releasing a new version of the GRE test in 2011. I know, I know. You’ve heard this before. Weren’t they releasing a new GRE in 2007? And didn’t they axe it a month before liftoff? Yes, and yes.

But this time they’re SERIOUS. Really.

Get the full scoop on the newest new GRE and the anticipated changes here.

What does it mean for those of you getting ready for the GRE? If you are planning on doing some serious prep, do it now, while you still know exactly what you’re prepping for! Learn to lick the CAT (Computer Adaptive Test) NOW, while all the test prep companies still know exactly what the test looks like. Wait until 2011 and it’s anybody’s guess!

Double-click any word for the dictionary reference. Check back every day for more words.

abstract
adjacent
alimentary
anachronism
anvil
archaic
astral
awful
beguile
billow (more…)

To become an excellent turnip you simply sit around and wait for someone to dump manure on you and water you from time to time. That makes for a great vegetable, but not a great student. So why do most students sit in class and wait for knowledge to be dumped on them?

To become an excellent hawk you roam far and wide with your eyes peeled for anything that looks tasty. When you see it, you dive on it, kill it, and take it home to the kids. That’s also–figuratively speaking–how to make a great scholar.

During a lecture or while reading a text, you are cruising, eyes peeled, (more…)