Reddit mentions of Conquering the Physics GRE

You don't need to really understand the "underlying physics" to do well on the PGRE. The way to get a good score is to learn a few key facts and what sort of problem to apply them to by rote. Memorize the number 1.22 because it shows up in the Rayleigh criterion. Don't bother recalling that it's the zero of some Bessel function. Cram. Memorize. This is the sort of exam where writing speed can be a huge factor. It's a big, dumb ritual that everyone has to go through that teaches you nothing.

If you buy a PGRE practice book that comes with practice exams they'll likely be similar to the real thing. I can recommend this. A week of cramming from that increased my score dramatically.

Take it twice if you can afford to do so. The test is brutal and you will want as much preparation as possible. Get a copy of Conquering the physics GRE and take practice tests under test conditions. /r/physicsgre is low traffic but has some very good resources.

I think that the content of this post, especially for someone looking at Physics PhD programs, is spot-on. Focusing on grades now and getting into research ASAP are basically the two things you should do in the short term.

/u/luxuryy__yachtt is completely right, chronologically speaking, to leave the Physics GRE (or pGRE, as it is unaffectionately known) to the end. However, I want to emphasize just how important that test can be to your graduate hopes. It alone will not open any doors to you, but a poor performance on the pGRE can definitely close doors in a hurry. More leeway here is given to students from top undergraduate programs (think Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, MIT), while students from lesser-known programs have more to prove with their pGRE score, but do not take it lightly either way. I have friends from [insert elite, private university] who didn't take the test seriously, ended up doing poorly, and ended up being effectively locked out of the top 10 or top 20 for PhD programs.

Some (very top) programs seem to use pGRE scores as a hard cutoff and – at the very least – will look very critically at the rest of your application if your score is subpar, which is really unfortunate. The test is pretty dumb and effectively tests your ability to answer a bunch of questions about freshman-level physics really, really quickly, but scoring well (e.g. above 80th percentile, which is an 860) can be the difference in your application. For that reason, it is worth taking the time to ensure that you do well on it.

Now that I have hopefully scared you into caring about this exam, let me give you a quick DO's and DON'Ts in bullet format:

• DO take the Physics GRE seriously – the GRE General is a joke, but the pGRE is not to be trifled with
  
  
• DO study for the Physics GRE – how much study time you need will depend on your target score and how far away you are, but be prepared to dedicate a significant fraction of a summer to this
  
  
• DO NOT look at released exams yet – there's a limited number (5) of released exams currently available, so you should not be looking at them or solving problems from them yet, that way you can ensure to have a few exams with which to practice in a few years
  
  
• DO NOT worry about studying for it YET – you'll have ~3 years of physics classes under your belt by the time you take this exam, don't stress over the pGRE, or studying for it, just yet; that time will come eventually
  
  
• (when it is time to study, i.e. during/after your junior year) DO use Kahn and Anderson's book (Amazon link) – this is a great book that will walk you through the material you need, and comes with three (additional) practice exams
  
  TL;DR Follow /u/luxuryy__yachtt's advice. Just remember that the Physics GRE is a test that exists, will be very important to your grad school admissions, and will be something that you need to prepare for if you want to get into a top tier program. The details of the exam can get ironed out later; for now, just do your best to master the material in your classes and get involved in research.

There are plenty of books out there to help you prepare for the general GRE as well as the different subject tests. Here is a good example of one for physics. Most of the "tricks" involve recognizing certain classes of problems and utilizing dimensional analysis and proportionality arguments to identify the correct answer. The exam is multiple choice, which lends itself to a variety of techniques that don't involve a lot of deep physics.

Another piece of advice, if you are planning on applying to grad schools over the next year, then you'd better get moving. The Physics GRE is offered twice a year, in November and in April. You need to have your grad school applications submitted by early March at the latest, which means you need to take the test in November, April will be too late (a couple friends of mine got screwed by this, they didn't sign up to take the test until April, which was too late and the schools they applied to wouldn't consider their application without the GRE score). So make sure you do your research on what you need and when to apply for the various programs you're considering. It would be a shame if you didn't get in to the program you wanted because of administrative issues.

Get this book-

Conquering the Physics GRE https://www.amazon.com/dp/1479274631/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_PyADDbZYF289R

Practice all the exercises and skim through the text. I started with my Physics GRE prep two weeks before the test and scored full. This book helped a lot I think. All the best!

I agree with many other replies that you would need a B.S. in something more closely related to physics (math, chemistry, engineering, etc) if that's really what you want to do.

Note that it would be very difficult to find any program that would consider accepting you with a business degree. If you really think you want to give it a try, it's never too late to go back to school, but know that if you take physics seriously (as one of the other posters stated) it'll be at least 10 years of school. Source: I just defended my Ph.D. and have been in college for 12 years...I am not unique.

If you really want to give grad applications a try, note that you'll need the general GRE ($205), then the physics subject GRE ($150). Take a gander at this book for some physics subject test preparation. Note that to apply, there will also be application fees (generally ~$25-75), transcript fees (generally free-$25), and you'll have to find people that can write very strong letters of recommendation for you.

TL;DR: If you really want to pursue graduate physics, get a B.S. in physics first (and plan to dedicate at least the next decade exclusively to your studies).

The most recently released previous GREs are pretty similar in terms of question subject matter and form to what you'll see this year, so don't take all of those right at the beginning of your studies or you'll be left working through antiquated exams close to your test date.

Other than that piece of advice, I would second the recommendation of "Conquering the Physics GRE". It has both a good amount of very tailored subject matter review and lots of practice problems that are very similar to those found on the most recent GREs.