GRE Study Plan from 150 to 160+: A Targeted “Fix What’s Broken” Approach

If your practice tests hover around 150, the fastest way to 160+ is not doing more random sets. It’s diagnosing exactly where you miss points and closing those specific gaps. The newer, shorter GRE makes this approach even more powerful: with fewer questions per section, every error matters more—so a handful of targeted fixes can move your score dramatically.

Today’s GRE is about 1 hour 58 minutes. Analytical Writing is one 30‑minute “Analyze an Issue” task. Verbal Reasoning has two sections totaling 27 questions (Section 1: 12 in 18 minutes; Section 2: 15 in 23 minutes). Quantitative Reasoning has two sections totaling 27 questions (Section 1: 12 in 21 minutes; Section 2: 15 in 26 minutes). There’s no scheduled 10‑minute break and no unscored experimental section. The test remains section‑adaptive: do well on the first section of a measure and you’ll unlock a harder second section that can yield a higher scaled score. You can still mark, review, skip within a section, and use the on‑screen calculator in Quant. Official scores post to your ETS account about 8–10 days after test day. For a 150→160+ push, this means accuracy and time discipline on the questions that already trip you up are the highest‑leverage investments you can make.

Going from ~150 to 160+ doesn’t require mastering the entire syllabus at once. It requires identifying a small set of recurring error patterns and eliminating them. Think in terms of error clusters—specific subskills you repeatedly miss (for example, percent change, exponent rules with negatives, or Text Completion where contrast keywords flip the logic). Close those, and your score moves.

Run a baseline that mirrors the shorter GRE: two Verbal micro‑sections (12 then 15) and two Quant micro‑sections (12 then 15), all timed to official limits. As you review, label every miss by both cause and subskill: Concept gap (didn’t know rule), Strategy gap (chose the wrong approach), Process/pacing (ran out of time or tunnel‑visioned), Misread (logic or detail), Careless (sign, unit, copy). Then tag the exact subskill (e.g., ratios, systems, prime factorization, function notation; or Text Completion contrast, Sentence Equivalence synonym trap, Reading Comprehension inference). Tally Frequency × Severity to rank your top 3 Quant and top 3 Verbal fix‑areas.

Exambank starts you with a diagnostic that estimates your Quant and Verbal baselines and auto‑tags your recurring misses by topic and error type. You get a tailored path that highlights your highest‑leverage fixes, plus predicted trajectories so you can see how specific improvements shift your expected score. That way you stop guessing what to study next.

Choose your top 3 Quant and top 3 Verbal clusters. For each, write a one‑line goal and a pass/fail exit criterion. Example: “Ratios and proportions: exit when I’m ≥80% on medium sets and ≥70% on hard sets under time, zero careless errors for two consecutive days.” Keep the list short so you can cycle through it multiple times before test day.

Minimize lecture time. Learn the exact rule or strategy, then immediately apply it to GRE‑style items with step‑by‑step guidance, then test yourself under time and review your thinking. Exambank structures sessions in this order automatically: concise lessons, guided walkthroughs that model expert reasoning, and timed quizzes that lock retention. Each loop should end with a written takeaway you can reuse later.

Translation and equations: turn word statements into equations, set up variables early, and annotate units. Ratios, rates, and percent: master part–whole tables, percent change vs. percent of, and multi‑step chains. Exponents and roots: signs, fractional exponents, and combining bases correctly. Linear systems and inequalities: isolate efficiently, graph key boundaries, and test critical values. Data interpretation: read axes, units, and question stem first; estimate to sanity‑check. Geometry essentials: triangles (Pythagorean triples, similar triangles), circles (central vs. inscribed angles), area/perimeter with algebra. Strategy upgrades that pay off: backsolving from answers on messy algebra, plugging numbers for abstract variables, and calculator discipline—only when arithmetic would cost more than 15 seconds. Common error to eliminate: dropping negatives or mis‑applying exponent rules; put a big “sign check” pause before you submit.

Text Completion and Sentence Equivalence: hunt for the sentence’s spine and signal words (although, however, because, thus). Predict a paraphrase of the blank before you look at the choices; on SE, verify both words produce the same meaning. Reading Comprehension: proof‑first reading—locate the exact lines that justify an answer and prefer text‑based paraphrases over outside knowledge. Pay special attention to trap patterns: extreme wording, out‑of‑scope, and cause‑effect flips. Build a small, high‑yield vocabulary network: focus on families of common GRE words and their near‑synonyms, logging misses to a personal deck you can actually review.

Average time remains roughly 1:30 per Verbal question and 1:45 per Quant question, but you should never spend that amount on every item. Use a two‑pass approach: harvest the quick wins, mark the time‑sinks, and return later if time allows. Enter each section with thresholds—for example, in Verbal Section 1, skip and guess if you’re 40 seconds into a Text Completion and still haven’t locked the sentence logic; in Quant Section 2, cap any algebra maze at 90 seconds before you try backsolving. Use Mark/Review deliberately: star two or three questions you’ll revisit only if you have a surplus minute at the end.

Week 1: Baseline and blueprint. Run the diagnostic, build your Fix List, and complete targeted lessons for your top 3 Quant and top 3 Verbal clusters. Do two timed micro‑sections per measure (12‑question sets) mid‑week and one full 12+15 per measure on the weekend. Write down one mistake pattern per day and its new rule. Week 2: Deepen the clusters. Replace broad practice with sets that contain 60–70% of your target subskills. Add one mini‑essay for Analytical Writing to lock a simple structure. End the week with a 2‑hour full simulation: Issue essay, Verbal 12+15, Quant 12+15. Week 3: Integrate and raise difficulty. Promote mastered topics and add the next most common miss in each measure. Introduce harder section‑adaptive practice by mixing medium and hard items. Run two simulations this week; review should take longer than testing. Week 4: Taper, accuracy first. Shift to shorter daily bursts, emphasize careless‑error elimination and pacing thresholds, and run one final simulation 5–7 days before test day. In the last 72 hours, do only light timed sets and targeted review of your error log.

10 minutes: warm‑up with two previously missed questions per measure and restate the fix. 20 minutes: Learn or Solve Together on one priority subskill. 20 minutes: a timed micro‑set (6–8 questions of the same type) at official pacing. 10 minutes: post‑mortem—rewrite the shortest possible rule that would have prevented each miss.

On two different days, hit at least 80% on medium‑mixed sets and 70% on hard‑mixed sets for your priority clusters, all under time. In two full simulations a week apart, keep section finishes within one minute of the clock with no last‑second guessing streaks. Your error log shows repeats trending to zero. If these are true, you’re positioned for a 160+ run.

Because there’s no scheduled break, train for a continuous two‑hour effort. Decide in advance where you’ll take micro‑breaths (for example, after question 6 of each section: relax shoulders, one deep breath, move on). Warm up for 10–12 minutes on test day with two easy questions of each type to prime recognition. During Quant, use the on‑screen calculator sparingly; estimate first to catch nonsense answers. During Verbal, force yourself to find textual proof for every choice you pick. After each section, mentally reset—don’t autopsy the one you just finished.

Use Exambank to do the heavy lifting behind the scenes. Start with its diagnostic to map your baseline and error clusters. Follow the Learn → Solve Together → Test Yourself flow so each session turns one fix into points. Let adaptive practice generate near‑unlimited GRE‑format questions that match your current level and adjust as you improve. Lean on analytics—accuracy by topic, time per item, and predicted score—to decide whether to keep grinding a subskill or move on. Streak tracking helps you stay consistent so gains stick.

To move from ~150 to 160+, you don’t need more hours—you need better aim. Study the test you’ll actually take, diagnose precisely, and run tight practice loops that close the gaps costing you points today. Do that for four focused weeks and your score will follow.