Best Online GRE Test Prep Courses

When deciding how to prepare for the GRE, it is always a great idea to look at the best online GRE test prep courses because they are usually easily accessible, budget-friendly, and evolving as per the actual GRE exam. Below, we discuss the best online GRE test prep courses that are available in 2024.

Scholar Den

Founded in 2020, Scholar Den is a US based company and is a recent addition to the GRE test prep industry. The platform is an official licensee of the ETS, the company that makes the GRE test. Since its inception, it has amassed a strong following and a dedicated community. Scholar Den offers a variety of materials to study from, including but not limited to Vocabulary flashcards, lessons, practice questions, video explanations, and mocks.

Advantages

• Matches the difficulty of the real exam; Recently GRE has become increasingly difficult. Scholarden offers test prep questions that match the growing difficulty of the real exam, as their questions are up-to-date and based on the experience of real test-takers.
• Guaranteed Highest Score Improvement: They offer a guaranteed 20+ score improvement, which is the highest given by any test prep company.
• Rated # 1 for Maths Content: According to thousands of users, Scholarden has the best, most challenging, and up-to-date curriculum for preparing for the Quantitative Reasoning section of the GRE amongst all the test prep companies in the world.
• Affordable: The study plans for Scholarden are cheaper than most of the online test prep sites that you will find. Video Tutorials: Scholar Den offers incredibly detailed video tutorials and explanations that are of great help when practicing tricky questions.
• Provides the real GRE experience: Along with its up-to-date questions, it also provides an online experience that mirrors that of the real GRE. 
• Mocks: They currently offer 8 mock exams.
• Performance Analytics: The website records your progress and analyzes it, highlighting the areas of improvement. 
• Personalized Plan: The platform offers personalized study plans to meet the individual student’s specific requirements. 
• GRE Mentoring: The platform offers students to contact experienced GRE mentors to help guide them to prepare better and faster.
• Large quantity of practice questions: ScholarDen offers over 1600 questions, along with practice exams that you can use to prepare. 

Manhattan Prep

Manhattan Prep has been operational since 2000. 

Advantages

• Private training: The prep offers students additional in-person and online classes. 
• Large amounts of material; Manhattan Prep offers a large variety of questions and videos to use to prep with.
• Free Resources: Prior to paying for a study plan, the website also offers a list of free GRE resources that can be explored. 
• Mobile App available: Students can easily prep through the mobile app while on the go. 

Disadvantages

• Non-adaptive tests: The online prep app does not adapt the questions according to how many you get right, which is what happens on the actual exam. 
• Questions may seem redundant: questions provided aren’t as hard as the real exam and therefore seem redundant to those who already have a strong foundation and would like to improve. 

Kaplan

Kaplan provides a wide spectrum of services that extend beyond the GRE, nonetheless their GRE prep is a strong contender in the GRE prep space.

Advantages 

• A variety of practice questions: Kaplan provides a variety of practice questions that cater to the different sections of the GRE.
• Video Tutorials: There are in-depth explanations and tutorials available, which are pre-recorded and ready for the students to use. 
• Live classes: Kaplan offers over 21 hours of live in-class sessions. A main teacher conducts the classes, while additional instructors answer questions in the chat. 
• Individual training: Kaplan offers one-on-one help to students as well as a personalized plan to meet individual needs. 

Disadvantages

• Costly: Each course offered is quite costly, especially if someone were to opt for personalized training and an individual study plan. 

Magoosh

Magoosh is a US-based online test preparation service that provides students with help for several exams, including the GRE, GMAT, SAT, and TOEFL. The company began its operations in 2009 and has since built an extensive platform of tutorials, practice questions, and mock exams.

Advantages

• Easily accessible anywhere; Along with paid courses available on the website, Magoosh also has several apps that help with learning Vocabulary, Math and preparing for the GRE.
• Affordable: Compared to many of its competitors, Magoosh is considered affordable and worth the price. Detailed plans that differ according to the number of months allotted. Each plan is detailed and offers a day-to-day schedule for students to follow.
• Tracks Progress: The website analyzes your progress based on how many you get correct. It shows you how well you would do in each section and where you should improve, and also provides a predicted grade based on your current progress. 
• Customizable: The website allows you to customize your lesson plans based on your requirements. 
• Tutorial videos: As part of the study plan, you will receive video tutorials for each section of the GRE. The videos are detailed and easy to understand. 
• Large quantity of practice questions: Magoosh offers over 1600 questions that you can use to prepare. 

Disadvantages

• Self driven; After you pay to use a study plan, it is up to you to continue working on it to improve, there is no prompting from Magoosh to keep focused. 
• Limited live tutoring: Apart from the pre-recorded videos, Magoosh only offers live classes to those who opt for the six-month plan. Therefore, if you are short on time or money, it’s a deal breaker for you.

Princeton Review

Princeton Review offers different ways to study for the GRE, catering to a variety of students who may need hands-on help or prefer to work at their own pace. 

Advantages 

• Variety of courses to choose from: You can choose from either tutoring, live classes or self-paced learning, depending on your needs. You can also choose to study the fundamentals of the GRE and then learn the harder questions for a high score improvement. 
• Strong practice tests: Princeton Review offers Practice tests that are quite similar to the actual GRE exam. 
• Lesson plans: The paid lesson plans are based on how much the student would want to improve their score. So, after taking a diagnostic test, these lesson plans could help you decide based on how much you want to improve. 

Disadvantages

• Limited study material: Since there are different paid plans, you can only access the material that you pay for, and since each plan differs, you won’t have access to all the material unless you pay for it. 
• Costly: Though not as costly as Kaplan, Princeton Review is still heavy on the wallet and may not be cost-effective for some people. 

Final Thoughts:

A crucial step in studying for the GRE is finding the right tools to prepare with. Knowing the pros and cons of the best online prep available out there will surely make your choices easier and have you ready for the final exam in no time!