are GRE prep courses worth it?

[futurepsych0]

Hey guys, I will be taking my GREs next year and was wondering if a 300 dollar 6 session preparation course is worth the investment. Needless to say, the only reason I ask is because 300 dollars is a lot of money for me right now. I'd appreciate any feedback especially from people who have signed up for one before. Also, is the Kaplan book the "best" to study from?

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[mixolyd]

300 is cheap. I've seen some prep courses that cost over 1,500.

Honestly this whole process is so expensive, 300 is a drop in the puddle. I spent 600 just on application fees, 375 to send GRE scores, 150+ in FedEx costs, etc.. It all adds up... If you're short on money, which is understandable, I hope you will have enough when the time comes to apply.

As for your question, no a course is not necessary. It depends what kind of person you are. If you cannot force yourself to concentrate, learn from your mistakes, take practice tests, drill vocabulary, practice, practice, practice, then you might need a course. The books have all the info you need. I spent maybe 60 or 70 on books and flashcards, and I studied about 6 hours a day for a month and did very well.

If I had to do it over again, I might try Magoosh online prep course. It's fairly cheap and I've heard very good things. In the end it probably would've cost the same.

You definitely need to get Kaplan's general book since it comes with like 5 practice tests. You can get more practice tests from Princeton Review online by "pretending" that you have their book. You can find the ISBN on Amazon and paste it it, and that gives you 2 more practice tests. The book also has a good formula guide for the math section. Verbal you need to read a lot (NY Times, New Yorker, Politico, scientific articles). I read all the time anyway, so reading comp. was a breeze, but either way you'll need to memorize vocab. I recommend getting Barron's Essential Words for GRE and PR's Word Smart for GRE books. Buy flash cards and go through each book and make flashcards of the words you don't know. Math is just a matter of memorizing the few formulas and hammering it over and over and over again with practice tests.

In terms of books, Princeton Review is great for vocab, Kaplan is decent at both, and Barrons is great for math. There's also a book called Nova GRE for Math book but I found it overly complicated and too difficult. Some people say it's necessary to get an 800, but I got a 750 by practicing Kaplan and Barron's math problems.

Good luck

 

[member612]

Hey guys, I will be taking my GREs next year and was wondering if a 300 dollar 6 session preparation course is worth the investment. Needless to say, the only reason I ask is because 300 dollars is a lot of money for me right now. I'd appreciate any feedback especially from people who have signed up for one before. Also, is the Kaplan book the "best" to study from?

Ditto to the previous response - 300 dollars is actually REALLY cheap compared to the usual ~$1000 range.

It all depends on how you are as a person - you know yourself best, and you're well aware of your study habits. If you cannot concentrate for the life of you and have extreme difficulty adhering to a strict study schedule without outside help, then that will be the best $300 you have ever spent. Otherwise, if you are pretty disciplined and believe you will be able to adhere to a pretty regular study schedule without outside imposition, save the money.

Honestly, I wish I could find the research article right now, but results show there's no considerable difference between those who take the courses and those who do.

 

[futurepsych0]

Thank you both for your replies. I will simply take the advice and study my butt off with the books.

 

[futurepsych0]

Thanks for your input. And the classes are 3 hours long. I tend to agree that the class won't give me anything I can't do myself. I will just stay dedicated and see what happens.

 

[HollyBerry]

I did Kaplan's course for around $1200, and it brought my scores up about 120 points (on the older scoring system). WORTH IT.

However, the practice quizzes and full-length tests were the most helpful. I'd acquire and take as many as you can, and read the prep book for test-taking strategies. You can do it!! Good luck!

 

[Doctor Eliza]

(Roughly 100 years ago) I took the Kaplan course. I tend to do well on standardized tests, but I knew it would be hard to motivate myself to study without a structured course. Nothing in the class was mind-blowing, but there were helpful tips and it absolutely served the purpose I had hoped. Parents were willing to foot the bill though. I might have found a different source of motivation if the money came out of my pocket. 😉

Good luck!
Dr. E

 

[Pragma]

Well, I do think that how you choose to study is a very personal decision.

How are you with standardized tests? If you usually score high, maybe you can get by with cheaper materials.

I studied in a very limited fashion for the GRE, and didn't pay for a course. It was many years ago, but I would say I was overconfident and naive. However, I did fine (well enough to get in)...although I think my verbal score would have gone up a lot had I made more study efforts.

I am personally cheap about study materials...but I have heard that they work well. They may be worth the investment if you are concerned/anxious, or definitely want to get the highest score you can muster.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

Well, I do think that how you choose to study is a very personal decision.

How are you with standardized tests? If you usually score high, maybe you can get by with cheaper materials.

I studied in a very limited fashion for the GRE, and didn't pay for a course. It was many years ago, but I would say I was overconfident and naive. However, I did fine (well enough to get in)...although I think my verbal score would have gone up a lot had I made more study efforts.

I am personally cheap about study materials...but I have heard that they work well. They may be worth the investment if you are concerned/anxious, or definitely want to get the highest score you can muster.

+1. I'd say the decision with whether or not to pony up the money for a class will be based primarily on how you generally do on standardized tests, and on how confident you are in your ability to adhere to a decent study schedule.

Like Pragma, I went fairly cheap--I bought one book (Barron's, I believe), and had a friend give me another that she had used (Princeton Review). My experience was the opposite of Pragma's in that my verbal was fine, but my quant likely would've been higher had I attended a class and had more exposure to strategies for approaching the questions rather than just memorizing formulas. In the end, though, I hit my pre-test goal, and all it cost me was the $30 or so for the book plus 2 months' worth of studying 3-5 times per week for about an hour a day. Then again, I tend to be a somewhat decent tester (particularly for multiple choice), so I knew that going in.

 

[futurepsych0]

I have always been a good test taker. However, it has always been in a structured classroom and I think that is the reason why I am freaking out. From what people are saying, 300 dollars seems to be a steal. I guess if I can raise the money I'd take it. After all, it can't really hurt. But I will take as many practice exams as I can possibly take. Thank you all for the advice.

 

[wandergirl]

I liked Princeton Review. I also studied off of Kaplan and Barrons at the library. I also used ETS' powerprep software. Interestingly, on powerprep there were SD questions, which was not covered in any of the other math reviews I had read. So I would definitely recommend using powerprep.

I agree with the others to drill, drill, drill on the math and study as much vocabulary as possible. I prioritized learning the hit lists and getting a basic sense of all 5000 or so that Barrons has (mostly is this positive, negative).

Re Princeton Review, I like it because it does a very nice job of breaking down problems and giving you strategies and shortcuts. However, in the end I found I was best served by just really knowing the math like the back of my hand and not worrying about shortcuts/tricks (except when they were obvious).

My other tip is to make sure to get a good night's sleep. If you have any problems with insomnia or like to sleep in, schedule an afternoon time if at all possible.

Good luck!

 

[Student2222]

I agree- Princeton review was a great course and I found it to be worth it. I tried to study without a course at first and found it was was really overwhelming. There is a lot to know and a lot of different helpful resources- it's hard to decide on your own where to start or what is important. I could not really decide what books to use and ended up also purchasing Magoosh (helpful but not as helpful as Princeton). If you can afford the 300 I'd say do it- redoing the GRE will end up costing you too!

 

[AnnoyedByFreud]

It depends on what kind of a test taker you are. I think they're a huge waste of money, but I tend to do pretty well on these types of exams. I studied out of the Kaplan book for about a month and got a 1370 (old test). If you struggle with standardized testing and/or lack the discipline to make yourself get in some study time, then maybe. Still, they're so expensive. At the very least try studying from a book first and take some practice tests, you might be better prepared than you think. Don't assume you'll need to shell out the cash for a class; use a class as a last resort.

 

[syzergy]

It really depends on you. I tend to do ok on standardized tests but not fantastic. I took the old GRE and did ok but definitely not high enough for some of my top, super competitive schools. I waited a year, studied hard, and took a half-off Kaplan course. It was still expensive but I raised my math score by 120 and my verbal by 100, placing me above the 1350 range I wanted. It was a combination of the class, more preparation, and better study habits. Not everyone needs a formal course but it was definitely worth my money.

Also @annoyedbyfreud: love your avatar 🙂

 

[applyingtograd]

I think one problem with prep courses is that they tend to limit the material that people study (i.e. if someone takes a Princeton Review class, they tend to pretty much only study from Princeton Review books).
I took a prep class over a summer, studied my butt off, and got 1290. A year later I studied for a month by myself using many many different prep books and doing tons of practice questions and got a 326 (1460). I think a major reason I did better was that studying from many different sources really helped prepare me for the tests because the tests questions always are a little different than what you expect.

 

[psychyogini]

If you are the self-disciplined type when it comes to this stuff, skip the course and study vocab, get the books, and take practice tests. However, I took a course and found the structure really helped. I don't care how brilliant you are, you have to prepare for the GRE. People who do score higher than they would have if they didn't prepare. Period. $300 is cheap compared to what you will save if you get into a funded program because your higher score made you a more competitive applicant. Good luck!

 

[wigflip]

$300 is cheap compared to what you will save if you get into a funded program because your higher score made you a more competitive applicant. Good luck!

Great point. I know someone with 0 pubs who got one of the top funded spots in her/her psych cohort. S/he attributes this to killing on the GRE.*

*Not all programs provide equal funding across all members of the cohort, and funding can come from a variety of sources. I think that said friend was actually been told that nomination for his/her funding award was linked to test score.

 

[wandergirl]

That's interesting, and I hadn't quite thought of it in terms of the financial benefits of a high score. Considering that, I think I would also recommend planning to take the test twice. The first time I took it was a disaster (not an exaggeration; mainly due to trouble sleeping the night before), so I decided not to score it. However, having that experience gave me clarity on the test process that I didn't have from the practice tests, which helped me to prepare to a new level for the second administration, where I received a 1580. On reflection, I think that if you are able to get yourself to put in the time on your own, that would probably be much more efficient than the classroom setting. A lot of preparation is the grunt work of drilling and memorizing, and I definitely recommend reviewing multiple sources.

 

[Doctor Eliza]

That's interesting, and I hadn't quite thought of it in terms of the financial benefits of a high score. Considering that, I think I would also recommend planning to take the test twice. The first time I took it was a disaster (not an exaggeration; mainly due to trouble sleeping the night before), so I decided not to score it. However, having that experience gave me clarity on the test process that I didn't have from the practices tests, which helped me to prepare to a new level for the second administration, where I received a 1580. On reflection, I think that if you are able to get yourself to put in the time on your own, that would probably be much more efficient than the classroom setting. A lot of preparation is the grunt work of drilling and memorizing, and I definitely recommended reviewing multiple sources.

I think that the strategy of taking the test twice can be a good one. I didn't do this with the GRE, but I did with the SAT. It allowed me to be calm because the first time, I knew I was going to take it again anyway and the second time I already knew I had one decent score.

OMG...just started to think about what year I took the SAT...how did I get this old!?

Good luck!
Dr. E