If you thought studying for GRE while at college was tough - trying studying for GRE while you are working! Its tough! I spoke to Nitin from Bangalore about his experience of studying and excelling at GRE while still working full time. Nitin was kind enough to share a lot of his preparation ideas and his background - and in general his thoughts as he prepares to app for academic year 2009.

1. Which college did you graduate from?
Nitin: I graduated from IIIT-Allahabad with degree BTech(IT) Dec 2006.

2. Where do you work right now?
Nitin: Currently I am working as senior Java Developer in Arcot Systems R & D, Bangalore , India. Its a US based company and creates security based software products for banks and financial institution.

3. How did you think about going to US for graduate studies?
Nitin: I am really interested in some of the fundamental areas of computer sciences and would like to pursue an in-depth study according to my interests. Also the correspondence I had with my undergrad college batchmates and seniors who are currently pursuing higher studies in top US universities, about the propitious state of scientific education in US universities has also been a driving force in my inclination towards higher studies in US.

4. How do you think it is going to help you in your career?
Nitin: I think it’ll be beneficial in a number of ways.It’ll equip me with better technical skills and applied knowledge which have become extremely essential in IT industry.Also, it’ll be helpful in gaining better research skills and social skills and increased exposure to vital international experience.

5. When did you start preparing for GRE?
Nitin: I started preparing for GRE in June, this year.

6. How did you prepare for it? How did you manage work and study both?
Nitin: I followed the standard practice of preparing for GRE. I memorized all of the 50 wordlist of Barrons in 2 months. To juggle between the work and study was the difficult part, but little bit of discipline and time management goes a long way; being consistent is the key here. After completion of wordlist , I gave lots of tests, those that are available from GRE Big Book and Barrons and also some online tests . For analytical writing, I read ARCO Essay after which you get a sufficient idea of the structure of a good issue and argument topic response.

7. You just gave the GRE - how did you fare in it?
Nitin: Think I am a little bit disappointed by the score (1390) as I was regularly getting better score in practice tests, nevertheless I am pretty optimistic about getting admission into a decent American University for MS degree program in Computer Sciences.Lets see how it goes.

8. What advise would you give to students whose GRE is coming up?
Nitin: Be regular with revising your Word Lists. (Note from kaaledge: If you want free GRE Vocab words on your mobile phone sent thru SMS: go here) Practice with as many tests as you can specially towards the actual GRE exam date which tunes you to the duration and pressure well .Specifically give atleast one practice test from GRE powerprep within 3 days of your appointed test date in examlike conditions.