Helpful Resources You Need to Know About Before Your GRE Exam

Preparing for the next leap in your academic career? Numerous graduates every year are thinking about what their life will look like after they finish their undergraduate degree. It could look like finding work in the real world and beginning your career or it could mean spending some time off and traveling to enjoy yourself a little before you think about the next stage, but commonly it could mean a graduate program or school.

The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is a key part of the graduate or business school application process. The GRE is a standardized, multiple-choice, computer-based test that is often needed to get into graduate programs and MBA programs around the world.

The GRE test checks how well you know basic arithmetic, geometry, algebra, data analysis, and college-level vocabulary. More importantly, it measures your ability to understand and evaluate written material, think critically, and solve problems. 

The ETS created and provided the GRE so that graduate and business schools can compare applicants’ qualifications and readiness for graduate-level work using the same criteria. Graduate school and business school admissions committees evaluate your GRE score, as well as your academic record and other materials, to see if you are ready for the challenges of graduate school. If you do well on the GRE, it will be easier for you to get into graduate or business school.

Graduate programs and schools help undergrads build upon their education and specialize their focuses to help them in numerous ways. It could allow you to take a Master’s program that leads to a Ph.D., law school, dental school, or medical school. There are plenty of reasons to go on the graduate student route. First, you need the tools to help you pass the GRE, which is the graduate record examination. Here are some resources to help you out.

Princeton Review Practice Exam

Princeton Review, being a division of Tutor.com, is one of the most premier resources for helping learn the GRE. Finding good practice tests for GRE is not hard, but the Princeton Review version is considered one of the best because of its accessibility. The questions are not as hard as some so the results can be slightly skewed, but overall it is a must-use resource for prospective graduate students of any discipline.

Still, the Princeton Review practice tests are an excellent way to get used to the types of questions and structure of the GRE. They can also help you evaluate how prepared you are for the test. But combining your practice tests with other study materials is important to ensure you’re well-prepared. This could include GRE preparation books, online resources, and more practice tests. Many students use the Princeton Review’s practice tests to prepare for the GRE. Even though these tests can help, it is essential to know that they are not a replacement for the actual exam. 

Kaplan Practice Exam

Kaplan is another renowned company that helps people prepare for tests and offers GRE practice tests. The Kaplan practice tests are believed to be as close to the actual GRE, with questions that are similar in style and content to those on the real test. This is especially helpful for students who want to know what type of questions they will be asked on the exam.

Kaplan is a tougher alternative to the Princeton Review practice exam. Practicing for the GRE should be difficult to a degree, which is what Kaplan provides. This amount of difficult material helps you learn better because the actual GRE is not as hard as some of these practice exams, so it can help you prepare with a higher learning curve. Check out a review on Kaplan vs Princeton GRE practice exam if you still can’t decide which one is best for your study needs.

However, the Princeton Review’s prep courses cost a little bit more on average than Kaplan’s, but they also come with some unique score guarantee features that you don’t get with Kaplan, which makes it hard to compare the prices. The main difference between the Kaplan and Princeton Review courses is how they teach. Kaplan’s on-demand, video-based lessons are better, but the number and style of Princeton’s live classes are said to be better. Nonetheless, both Kaplan and Princeton Review include sets of hard copy prep books with their prep packages. (1)

McGraw-Hill Practice Exam

McGraw Hill is one of the “big three” educational publishers in the United States. It publishes educational content, software, and services for pre-K through post-graduate education. The company also publishes reference books and trade magazines for the business, engineering, and medical professions. In addition, they have offices in 28 countries, employs about 4,000 people worldwide, and sells products and services in about 60 languages. (2)

McGraw-Hill has been known as an educational publisher for a long time, and they have a lot of experience and knowledge in making high-quality study materials and tools. These skills are reflected in McGraw-GRE Hill’s practice tests, which are carefully made to be an accurate and valuable tool for studying for the exam. These McGraw-Hill practice tests are made by individuals who are knowledgeable about the GRE and the skills and knowledge you need to succeed in the exam. 

Furthermore, McGraw-Hill is a very popular publishing company for academic materials, so it is no surprise that they have their own version of this test available for practice. The physical copy of their material helps students prepare with a full mock exam, as well as giving an answer sheet for each question to help explain. This provides a very adequate amount of test prep.

Manhattan Prep Practice Exam

The American company Manhattan Prep (MGPrep, Inc.) helps people prepare for tests. Zeke Vanderhoek, who started the TEP charter school and was a middle school teacher in New York City, founded the business in 2000. It focuses primarily on the preparation for the GRE, GMAT, and LSAT exams. (3)

Along with Kaplan and Princeton Review, the Manhattan Prep practice exam is among the most lauded options available for prepping for the real GRE test. Where Manhattan Preps exceeds is in the fact that it is very easy to complete with good quality material. It takes about 3 hours, but the test gives you ample feedback on performance to help you understand your question-answering ability as well as logic.

One thing that makes the practice tests from Manhattan Prep stand out is their adaptive technology. The exams use an algorithm to adjust how hard the questions are based on how a student has answered them in the past. This makes the experience more personalized and more like the actual exam.

GRE Tutors

There are plenty of prep tests available in physical format and online, but sometimes you need a person to help walk you through. GRE tutors should be available through your school and through other third-party organizations. It could be beneficial to have a real person act as your proctor to help you prepare and learn the ins and outs of the GRE.

Many students find working with a tutor to be advantageous since it offers individualized instruction and feedback tailored to their particular requirements and learning preferences. A tutor can assist in determining the areas in which a student needs to improve and offer direction and solutions for challenging ideas and questions. A tutor can also help students remain focused and on schedule with their studies. 

However, choosing to work with a tutor to prepare for the GRE is a personal choice that is influenced by a number of aspects, such as your learning preferences, your financial situation, and the time you have available for studying.

Figuring out where to go after graduation is one of life’s biggest questions for a young adult. Some choose to jump into the workforce, others travel, and others would like to remain in academia. If you are someone who foresees a life in school beyond your undergraduate, then these resources will help you prepare for the GRE.

 

References: 

(1) https://testprepinsight.com/comparisons/kaplan-vs-princeton-review-mcat/#:~:text=The%20primary%20difference%20between%20the,of%20Princeton’s%20live%20classes%20better.

(2) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McGraw_Hill_Education

(3) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manhattan_Prep