500 Advanced Words: GRE Vocabulary Flashcards

I've been a GRE tutor since 2008, and have gotten a perfect 170 on the verbal section. Like Manhattan's excellent "Essential" GRE vocabulary flashcards, the "Advanced" series is a great way to build your vocab.Things I like:1. Like the Essential cards, these cards on the front have the word, the part of speech (along with alternate parts of speech - abase is a verb, but abasement is a noun), and the pronunciation. Try using a word when talking to someone - it'll help you learn it!The back of the cards have a brief definition, a sentence or two using the word, and related words / synonyms. Some of the cards have the etymology of the word, or its origins, and some even have a memory trick. Like for abasement - which means lowering of status - you can remember "the basement" - where you might go if you're feeling abasement. Pretty cool.2. The words are almost all relevant to the GRE, with just a handful of exceptions. For example, I can't imagine the word "acidulous" will appear on the GRE. 99% are relevant. And don't forget, vocab words appear in reading passages, too.Things that could be improved:1. Just like the Essential cards, the usage of many of the words isn't that memorable. Creative usages are more likely to stick in your brain, and writing your own sentence using a word takes time, but it'll make it stick better if it evokes an emotion of some kind.2. There aren't instructions on how to best use the cards. See my review of the Manhattan GRE Essential flashcards for my advice on this (the periodic review method).FYI, the average person will perhaps know about 10% of these words. That's fine - you're not going to see a vocab product that is 100% words you don't know.The Bottom LineThe extra features of these cards make them a better tool for learning GRE vocabulary than any other cards I've seen.In my study plans, you'll find all my GRE prep recommendations.

The media could not be loaded. I don’t finish to learn each word but until now my impression it’s good, I like the product, it’s material it’s fine, it’s a good vocabulary, some word I knew before but other are new, I like when something cards has “ memory trick” or “more information” are very practical. It’s size is small and compact ( I attached a photo with the flash card’s box next to a regular netbook) but the flash cards has a perfect size.

*Same review written for the Essential cards.I bought several different GRE prep books and subscribed to an online resource (Magoosh). While Magoosh has a great app for studying on mobile devices and computers, having tangible flashcards really helps me focus. I’ve been reviewing the cards everyday for over a month and have been consistently scoring in the 95%+ on Magoosh’s Verbal *vocab* sections. These cards plus consistency have made a HUGE difference in both study habits and outcome so far. I highly recommend, even if you’ve already purchased an app or prep service.For size reference, they are small - about the size of a regular playing card. The box in the stock photo is turned with the top of the box facing forward, so it actually lays down differently.

These are a great match to the Essential Words cards, and they even start the numbering on these at 500 so you don't mix the two sets up if you don't want to. Here is my review of the essential words:I bought the Kaplan AND these Manhattan GRE flashcards. The Manhattan are better, and here is why:Basically they are both the same in content. The Kapplan have a nice pronunciation guide, which is the only benefit they have over these.The Kaplan cards (NOT THESE MANHATTAN CARDS) are cheap. They are printed on thin paper, and they are physically pretty small. Also I wish the printing on the back were upside-down from how it is now (both brands are like this). These Manhattan cards are bigger, printed on card stock but still reasonably thin, and come with a nice key-ring that fits through holes. With these Manhattan cards you load up the key ring, and blast through about 50, maybe stash them in a large pocket and get to them later, or throw them in the backpack. Those Kaplan cards you are forced to try and keep the tiny cards together in stacks. The Manhattan you will use more because they are just easier to work with.

I feel compelled to write a review for these, because I had a hard time deciding which set to buy for studying for the LSAT (though vocabulary is not explicitly tested, it can be helpful should you come across one of these words on the test).They're well made, sturdy, and have great definitions, usages, and even their Latin/Greek origin. They're pretty funny too - often quite sarcastic.

I'm positive these cards boosted by GRE verbal score. I did a couple of practice tests before and after, and they were always lower than my Quant score. Well, after I took the official GRE, it turns out my Verbal was way higher than my Quant. To be honest, I did lower on my Quant that expected - test day jitters? - but I did much better than I had predicted on my Verbal. My percentile predictions were based on like 10 practice sections I had completed, and I just averaged those.I really like the key ring that's provided so you can take them with you pretty much anywhere. I know I did! The cards themselves were quite durable.