Compare Top GRE Prep Courses - December 2024

What Is The GRE Exam?

What is the GRE and who needs to take it?

The GRE (Graduate Record Examination) is a standardized test that aims to predict your academic performance in graduate school or business school. Everyone who is interested in pursuing a master’s degree, MBA, specialized master’s in business or doctoral degree needs to take the GRE test. The GRE test score is an important part of the graduate school and business school application process and it is taken into consideration along with your work experience, academic record, and supporting materials. The GRE is owned and administered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS) who created it in 1949. There are about 1,000 GRE test centers in over 160 countries.

The GRE structure

The GRE is a multiple-choice and typically computer-based exam. The test’s question types closely reflect the skills and the way of thinking you’ll need as a graduate and business school student. Contrary to other standardized tests, in the GRE test you get the option to skip questions within a section, go back and change answers if you need and even have the flexibility to choose which questions within a section you want to answer first. The GRE has five sections: Analytical Writing, Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning, Unscored (may be either Verbal Reasoning or Quantitative Reasoning), and Research (used for ETS research purposes).
The first three sections aim to measures skills you must have if you want to succeed as a Graduate school and business school student.
Each section gets a separate scaled score:

• The Verbal Reasoning section is scored on a 130 to 170 scale.
• The Quantitative Reasoning section is scored on a 130–170 scale.
• The Analytical Writing section is scored on a 0–6 scale.

How much does it cost, and when it is offered?

Taking a GRE test will cost you $205 and includes sending your score reports to up to four schools. The GRE can be taken once every 21 days, up to five times within any continuous rolling 12-month period (365 days). The GRE score is valid for five years. So, it’s very important to take the GRE when the time is right for you, and to choose the right prep course as to minimize the likelihood of needing to retake the exam.
* Some prep courses offer to pay your GRE fee.

How to compare prep courses

During our research on test prep courses, we identified three key criteria for GRE students to consider:

1. How do I get the score I need, in the shortest amount of time?
2. Is it affordable?
3. Does it provide an enjoyable learning experience?

Before making a choice, ask yourself:
Does the company have the technology and means to both accelerate my learning and identify the best methods of problem-solving to help me achieve my desired score?
Finally, ask yourself: What investments do I need to make in terms of time as well as money?