Are you scratching your head and wondering if there is a way to score higher on GRE?
If yes, this article has plenty of information that you might need. I have researched and developed the best GRE prep courses that will guarantee a high GRE score.
With compelling video lessons, customizable study schedules, and resourceful materials, your GRE preparation will take off to the next level.
I have reviewed some of the best GRE prep courses and compiled a detailed article on the best GRE prep courses. In this article, you will learn everything about the best GRE prep courses, including their pricing, module, duration, and benefits.
In fact, I have shared a complete guide on choosing the best GRE prep course and an ultimate verdict on “which is the best GRE prep course?” in the end. Watch out!
- Magoosh GRE (Best Overall)
- Target Prep GRE (The Most Recommended)
- Kaplan Test Prep (Best Learning)
- Princeton Review (Best Quality)
How to Choose From The Best GRE Prep Courses? (A Guide)
No matter how deep your research gets, you might end up in a confused state on choosing the best GRE prep course, and so I have reviewed and curated a helpful educational guide that will help in selecting the best GRE prep courses right away. We at MyClass Tracks always strive to provide the best available resources.
In this guide, I have included several criterion factors that will provide a different perspective on making the final call for the best GRE prep course.
Valuable Instructors
You might think you can vouch for any instructor tutoring a session in one of the best GRE prep courses, but it does not work that way. You need to ensure that the desired instructor has compelling quality with a motive to upgrade your level.
Each instructor in the GRE prep courses that you take must provide valuable and knowledgeable advice on developing your GRE preparations better. If you spot an instructor with zero encouragement and motivation, then it could be a red flag.
To find out, you can simply look out for the instructors’ GRE score and make the call.
Detailed Curriculum
Each GRE prep course has its own set of guidelines and a fixed format to follow so that students can prepare for the actual GRE on a standardized curriculum. Still, not all GRE prep courses can promise a detailed curriculum. Watch out!
That’s when you need to get cautious about choosing suitable GRE prep courses. You need to check for the structuring of lessons, presentations, teaching style, and the approach that the desired GRE prep course promised is justified.
Ensure that you get a preview of the course curriculum, or you can try out free trials!
Study Materials
If you will pay a certain amount of money for education, then it is fair for you to expect the institution to deliver some rewards and assure added benefits. Likewise, the desired GRE prep courses must provide effective study materials.
The study materials must be well-formatted with adequate resources to make the most out of the learning. It does not matter what format you are receiving unless you are promised a set of innovative study materials to make learning easy.
Some of the best GRE prep courses also provide additional materials like flashcards.
Pricing
Usually, you might think that any purchase made in terms of education is an investment, but I would not entirely agree with you because let me explain.
If you are going to buy something “for the betterment of your education,” then you need to ensure that the pricing is fair and square and you are not falling into a trap.
Nowadays, false advertising has been rising, and you should not settle down for a compromised budget, so make sure the GRE prep course has a justified price.
In case you are confused with the pricing, look out for the benefits offered by them.
11+ Best GRE Prep Courses to Consider 2024
As mentioned earlier, I have come up with some of the best GRE prep courses after in-depth research with a thorough review process. In fact, I tested the following best GRE prep courses to ensure the quality, curriculum, and benefits offered:
- Princeton Review GRE
- Kaplan Test Prep GRE
- Magoosh GRE
- Achievable GRE
- Manhattan Prep GRE
- The Economist GRE
- Target Test Prep GRE
- PrepScholar GRE
- Varsity Tutors
- ExamPal
- ETS GRE Prep
Let’s dive into the details.
1. Princeton GRE Prep Review
Budget: $399-$2399 (private tutoring at $156/hr)
Module: In-Person and Online (self-paced is also available)
Timeline: 4months
Brief: With a 162+ score increase in GRE, Princeton Review ranks first in the list of best GRE prep courses. In Princeton Review, you are blessed with a compelling course curriculum with promising study materials. Plus, Princeton Review uses advanced tech support to ease the process and provide personalized teaching. You can take 8 full-length practice exams for revision and receive 2500+ text-explained practice questions in Princeton Review. Lastly, the online access is 6 months long.
Perks: High GRE score guarantee, a detailed curriculum, no. of practice exams, personalized teaching, and the option of a free trial.
2. Kaplan GRE Test Prep
Budget: $449-$2299
Module: In-Person, On-demand, and Live
Timeline: 6 months
Brief: Kaplan Test Prep provides robust study strategies and handy pocket references. In Kaplan Test Prep, you are promised exceptional instructor quality and receive helpful studying tips. Regarding materials, Kaplan Test Prep provides three exclusive workbooks tailored to your studying schedule. Kaplan Test Prep is also one of the best GRE prep courses that provide 5000+ practice questions for you to revise and practice after consuming top-notch video lessons with flashcards.
Perks: Provision of physical workbooks, effective flashcards, no. of practice questions, and excellent course quality with personalized tutoring.
3. Magoosh GRE
Budget: $149-$429
Module: On-demand Live, Online, and In-Person
Timeline: 10 days to 8 weeks
Brief: Magoosh GRE is the perfect GRE preparation kit with 1600+ practice questions, 8 full GRE official sections, and 3 full-length practice exams. In Magoosh GRE, you also get an excellent score predictor along with a 5+ total score guarantee. Magoosh GRE also offers an exclusive ask-an-expert feature for all its students. Additionally, you can pause your plan if you feel that you do not need it anymore. You can also check our Magoosh promo code here to save a few bucks.
Perks: GRE official sections, the option of a free trial, and comprehensive teaching.
4. Achievable
Budget: $199
Module: Self-paced
Timeline: 12 months (online access)
Brief: Achievable is the only GRE prep course that offers 9000+ practice questions along with 10 full-length practice exams. With a generous amount of benefits, Achievable can be used efficiently. Plus, you are also guaranteed a 7+ score increase. The only drawback of Achievable is that there is no standardized study schedule.
Perks: No. of practice questions, practice exams, and customizable study plan.
5. Manhattan Prep
Budget: $200-$1599
Module: In-Person and Online (self-paced)
Timeline: 4 weeks to 6 months
Brief: Manhattan Prep delivers 27 hours of live instructions along with in-depth video lessons so that you do not miss out on any section. In Manhattan Prep, you get excellent personalized tutoring. Plus, you will receive hard copies from Manhattan Prep for effective studying. The learning experience is splendid, and you can expect results.
Perks: The option of a free trial, personalized tutoring, and provision of hard copies.
6. The Economist
Budget: $349-$699
Module: Self-paced (private tutoring is available)
Timeline: 6 weeks to 6 months
Brief: With a complete focus on quant and verbal sections, The Economist provides excellent learning modules. In The Economist, you also get 5 full-length practice exams along with expert assessments to get going with the GRE preparations. Moreover, you are promised a 3-month free The Economist (magazine) subscription for vocabulary and verbal enhancement. The Economist guarantees at least a 7+ minimum score guarantee. Lastly, you can take up to 5 essay reviews and 2 live one-on-one private tutoring sessions with 99th percentile instructors.
Perks: Free The Economist subscription, private tutoring, and expert assessments.
7. PrepScholar
Budget: $38-$345 (limited offer)
Module: On-demand and Live
Timeline: 1 year (lifetime access is also available)
Brief: With 2000+ practice questions and 150+ hours of interactive lessons, PrepScholar has enough resources for you to level your GRE preparations. In PrepScholar, you also get an exclusive progress tracker followed by a guided study plan. You can also customize the study plan according to your convenience. Lastly, you can take up 2 official GRE practice exams and get a 7+ score increase guarantee.
Perks: Official GRE practice exams, customizable guided study plan, a progress tracker, and lifetime access.
8. Target Test Prep GRE
Budget: $149-$499
Module: On-demand and Live
Timeline: 6 months
Brief: You can spend thousands of dollars in prepping for GRE, but you don’t have to. You just have to find the right course for yourself which also fits your budget. Target Test Prep is on our list because of its affordability. It has very flexible pricing options, you can choose to prepare for your GREs and pay a monthly price of $99, and the best part is that you can cancel it whenever you want. You can also pay a one-time fee and get access to complete course material for six months. They also guarantee 8 points increase in your GRE score.
Perks: Offers five days of a trial at just $1, live support, and a custom GRE practice test engine.
9. Varsity Tutors
Budget: $99-$649
Module: On-demand, Live Classes, and Self-paced
Timeline: One Year
Brief: There are plenty of options available on Varsity Tutors for GRE preparation. They offer access to learn at your own pace, GRE on-demand, GRE on-demand plus, and GRE classes. You get more than 6000 questions and 90+ video lessons at your own pace course access. If you want to learn from an instructor, then you should enroll in GRE classes where you get 20+ hours of one-on-one coaching from an instructor and one year of access to the online course.
Perks: Free early study plan, where you get access to study plans and more than 700 practice questions.
10. ExamPal
Budget: $349-$999
Module: Self-Paced, On-demand, and Personalized
Timeline: 6 weeks – 6 Months
Brief: ExamPal is one of a kind test prep company that uses AI technology to provide more personalized assistance to students. They create flexible study plans based on the time student have left for exams, how much they have learned, and what skills they have. ExamPal offers three different pricing options based on duration: Express plan for six weeks, Premium plan for three months, and Genius plan for six months. They also offer a success guarantee, which includes up to 7-point improvement.
Perks: They also offer a 7-day free course trial, which does not require you to give your credit card details.
11. ETS GRE Prep
Budget: Free and Paid practice tests
Module: On-demand and Self-paced
Timeline: No time limit
Brief: ETS offers free and low-cost resources to help students prepare for their GRE exam. These are the official GRE materials that are great for learning and practicing before the actual exam. They also give you two free practice tests that are similar to the actual GRE test. Students can take these practice tests timed or untimed. It will be better if you take the test timed that will be good practice for the actual exam. After taking the exam, you will get a score and answer key with it and also detailed explanations of answers.
Perks: Free course materials, two free practice tests, free webinars, and two books on Quantitative & Verbal Reasoning and online writing prep that cost $20 each or $37 for both.
Reasons Why You Need to Take GRE Prep Courses:
Although some students might pace up and wrap up their studying in no time, most of the students fall back either due to tricky sections in the syllabus or a confusing studying schedule that cannot be followed regularly.
That is why GRE prep courses try their best to smoothen and ensure that you are getting the most out of their standardized format of learning with benefits.
GRE prep courses are basically well-curated study care that will provide everything you would need to get the highest score in the GRE.
From interactive strategic lessons to performance analysis trackers to engaging flashcards to practice tests, all the GRE prep courses are structured to help you. The best part about taking GRE prep courses is that you are guaranteed a high score.
Related Read:
Which are the Best GRE Prep Courses
After verifying all the best GRE prep courses, I have come down to the ultimate verdict – Magoosh GRE is the best GRE prep course at the moment.
Let me cover. Magoosh GRE has exceptional instructor quality and compelling benefits that show its excellence.
Still, you might get most of the content that you get in Magoosh GRE from other competitors, but Magoosh GRE does not settle for less quality. Secondly, Princeton Review and Kaplan Test Prep are tough competitors with similar benefits.
Kaplan Test Prep is excellent in terms of resources, and Princeton Review offers a detailed curriculum followed by Achievable and Manhattan Prep. Using customizable study plans and personalized tutoring, both are good GRE prep course options.
Not to forget, The Economist is an excellent choice since it provides expert assessments, 5 essay reviews, and focuses on quant and verbal. Plus, you get a free magazine, The Economist subscription, along with 5 full-length practice exams to revise better.
Lastly, PrepScholar is one of the underrated GRE prep courses with added benefits like a guided study plan, and performance analysis tracker, and you get official GRE questions.
FAQs
If you want to score high on your GRE, then you will need all the help you can get. You can not get the desired results by studying all by yourself unless you are a great student. It’s not necessary to enroll in a GRE prep course, but you’ll get better results if you do enroll.
You should take the GRE right around when you plan to apply for colleges. The scores you get on GRE will be valid for five years after taking the exam. If you have been preparing for GRE for 5-6 months and you think you are ready to take the exam, then you should take the exam.
All the courses that are listed above have their own strengths and weaknesses. Kaplan is known for its reputation, Target Test Prep for its amazing quant section, and the same with all the other courses. But the best & most budget-friendly option is Magoosh GRE.
The most affordable GRE prep course is PrepScholar; it gives you all the study materials to prepare for GRE at just $38, and you will also receive a 7 points increase guarantee.
Yes, GRE offers accommodations for disabled students where they can get extra time, a different test format such as in Braille language, and so on. If you want accommodations on your GRE, then you should submit a request before scheduling your test date.
