The Princeton Review GRE Prep Course Review 2023: My Personal…

Our Rating
4.2/5
Course Effectiveness90%
Price80%
Ease of Use76%
Student Reviews60%
Highlights
  • A wide bank of resources and materials
  • Great mentoring and instructor guidance
  • Plenty of live hours instruction and practice tests

The Princeton Review GRE is a solid review course that students should consider investing in.

Course Effectiveness
4.5/5

With versatile learning options and a wide array of resources, The Princeton Review GRE helps students prepare in the best way possible.

Price
4/5

The Princeton Review GRE course cost is a bit on the high end but provides tremendous value in return. Students won’t feel they’ve been ripped off when enrolled in the program. 

Ease of Use
3.8/5

The user interface can be buggy at times, leading to content errors in the middle of answering a practice test. This doesn’t happen often but can be troubling and frustrating in the long run.

Student Reviews
4.5/5

Most students highly praise The Princeton Review GRE because of its program offer and resources. Some of them, however, find the prep course lacking.

  • DrillSmart technology helps students prepare and adapt effectively for the actual GRE exam
  • Homework help and essay feedback help students improve in key areas needed during the GRE exam
  • A wide bank of resources and materials 
  • In-depth review to help students prepare in the best way possible
  • Great mentoring and instructor guidance
  • No Qbank available
  • Tutoring options could use more flexible price options
  • The self-paced course could use some improvement

About Princeton Review and Their GRE Prep Course

The Princeton Review was co-founded by Adam Robinson and John Katzman. The company offers tutoring & admissions resources, test prep services, online course materials, and books for more than 35 years. 

The Princeton Review GRE, in particular, adopts an adaptive approach to effectively meet the needs of the students and ensure their success. This is evident from the DrillSmart technology and the on-demand instructors who have each received positive and high ratings on providing students the guidance and mentoring needed to pass the GRE. 

We’ll dive deeper into these features in the upcoming sections below. 

Ideal User of The Princeton Review GRE

Because a variety of courses are on offer, this GRE prep course caters to a wide range of students, whether looking for just a quick review or a comprehensive one. 

The Quick Study course, for example, offers students a streamlined online course that comes with 2 practice tests, a diagnostic test, and some questions and drills. If you only need a refresher before your actual GRE, then this course is all you need. 

The live and self-paced options, on the other hand, are recommended if you want a more in-depth review. A live course option includes one-on-one practice test reviews that are facilitated by an instructor. Without a doubt, you’ll get more comprehensive tutoring. Also, since you can connect with your instructor outside of classroom time, you’ll get the focus and attention you need when you need it.

What Makes This Prep Course Unique?

DrillSmart Technology

DrillSmart uses adaptive technology to provide exams or drills catered specifically at the right level for the student.

For the calibration process to begin, an initial drill takes place, which is similar to taking a diagnostic test. The results or data from each question will dictate the level of difficulty for the succeeding drills throughout the course of the program. 

What’s great about this feature is that it provides students with a level of difficulty that’s manageable on their part. 

As the student progresses and learns to handle additional challenges, the DrillSmart technology will increase the difficulty level. This makes The Princeton GRE review course a standout prep program for students looking to achieve a higher score. 

Practice Exams

Among the various GRE prep programs offered, The Princeton Review GRE offers the most number of practice exams–a total of 8 full-length practice exams are available. 

Students will also receive feedback that will help them adjust to gain a maximum score. 

Princeton Review’s practice exams go hand-in-hand with their DrillSmart technology. As a result, the difficulty of practice exams will vary in difficulty as students progress to higher and more advanced levels.  

This may leave some students confused at first during the initial stages of the program; however, this also makes it easier for students to adapt to challenging questions they run into during the actual GRE exam. 

Ultimately, the GRE practice exams of Princeton Review equip students with course mastery, mental resilience, and stamina, which is essential in any exam. 

Instructor Guidance and Mentoring

The Princeton Review GRE prep instructors have shown outstanding performance for more than 35 years. 

Students have the option to choose three types of tutors such as Premier, Master, and Private, all of which have their respective levels of experience and tutoring expertise.

Premier level tutors carry 1,000 hours of relevant work experience. Master-level tutors carry 500 hours of relevant work experience, while Private level tutors have more than 40 hours of relevant work experience. 

Students looking for exceptional results should choose Premier tutors. Just be ready to pay for a premium price.

Homework Help

Princeton Review recently released an app for students to use called Connects Q&A (1), and it’s free to download from the Apple and Google Play stores.

This app is primarily designed to help students in areas such as Math and Science, including any word or number problems a student feels stuck with. 

All the student needs to do is take a screenshot of the problem they’re stuck with and the app provides a step-by-step solution for the student to review and understand better in context.  

Moreover, The Princeton Review is big on personalization. The test provider operates in the belief that no “one size fits all.” This is why their services can be customized according to your needs. Whether you choose to work one-on-one with a tutor or study on your own, there’s a course to match your unique needs and learning style. 

Curriculum Overview & Effectiveness

The Princeton GRE review course offers 4 various learning approaches:  

  • Self-Paced
  • GRE Quant 162+
  • GRE Ultimate
  • Private Tutoring

Self-Paced

Course Overview:

The Self-paced course comes with online Math fundamental lessons you can learn through the online portal. This also includes 8 practice tests, the DrillSmart technology, and video-based lessons.  

Choose Self-paced If:

You already have a solid understanding and good fundamental background on the GRE topics. 

Remember that the self-paced course does not come with a prep book or instructor. While it comes with comprehensive materials, you won’t have access to experts or tutors you can turn to if you hit a snag along the way. 

You’ll have to be almost fully equipped to tackle GRE to enroll in this course. Otherwise, choose a different program, such as the live online sessions. 

GRE Quant 162+ 

Course Overview:

The GRE Quant 162+ is the highlight of Princeton Review’s GRE prep program. This will give you get access to: 

  • 1 on 1 personalized Study Manager
  • 3,600 + GRE exam questions
  • 25 hours of GRE expert instruction
  • 50+ hours self-guided verbal instruction and exclusive 4.5 hours of Verbal Live online sessions

Quant 162+ is a premium and topnotch pick for students. It offers the most value in studying for the GRE and boosts their chances of acceptance into programs with a score of 162 and up. 

Choose Quant 162+ if:

You aren’t confident in going for a self-study approach and want to maximize your study time to achieve the highest score possible for the GRE. It offers a mix of self-study and focused guidance/coaching from an instructor and GRE expert. 

GRE Ultimate

Course Overview:

The GRE Ultimate is quite similar to the Quant 162+ except you don’t have the 162 Score Guarantee as part of the course and the hours for expert instruction is shortened. 

Nevertheless, the GRE Ultimate is a highly recommended course option for students because of its many course materials, resources, and Princeton GRE coaching. 

Choose GRE Ultimate if:

You’re looking to achieve a high GRE score both through in-person guidance and the convenience of a live online learning style. This is especially helpful if you’re one of those students who easily lose focus or get distracted without guidance from someone else. 

Private Tutoring

Course Overview:

Private tutoring takes on a more personalized 1-on-1 learning style where a student has a dedicated tutor or mentor to guide them in their GRE prep journey. 

Although students have the advantage of the flexibility to choose a preferred level of tutor to suit their needs, the number of hours can feel lacking and quite pricey.

Choose Private Tutoring if:

You need a boost in a specific area of the GRE, which a more in-depth review and step-by-step guidance can easily fix. Just take note that this program only provides you with either 10 hours or 18 hours total of tutoring time. So take this into consideration. 

Then again, if you get expert instructions within those timeframes you may not need all 10 or 18 hours before you’ll know exactly what to do to ace the GRE. Make sure to take advantage of every hour spent so it’s an hour well-spent. 

If you can’t decide which prep course option to go for, you can try Princeton Review’s free 14-day trial or their free practice test online. This way, you’ll be able to test for yourself if this GRE prep course is the right one for you.

Course Pricing Options

The Princeton Review GRE course fee can be a costly expense for most students, seeing as how its most popular option lands a four-digit price level. 

As for private tutoring, this depends on the number of hours you opt for. You can choose between 10 hours and 18 hours of tutoring time. There is also an hourly rate available if you don’t want to take the full 10 or 18 hours.

Platform’s Ease of Use

Princeton Review’s online platform is quite easy to use; however, users also reported content errors while in the middle of a practice exam. 

Although this bug issue only lasts for a while, it affects the timer set for each practice exam and can have a slight impact on how the results are collected afterward. 

A few typos were also noted as well as some inaccuracies with some explanations to certain questions. 

This is a concern for most students who opt for the self-study course. This is why a course with an instructor gives you an advantage as this greatly reduced such gaps. 

Is Princeton Review a Reputable Online GRE Prep Course? (Not a Scam)

With over 35+ years of The Princeton Review teaching students not only how to prepare for the GRE but also for the MCAT, SAT, GMAT, ACT, and so forth is a clear sign of the company’s credibility and reliability.

You’ll also find plenty of The Princeton Review GRE prep course reviews that validate the course provider’s capability to assist students to excel in the exam. 

Reviews and Real Unbiased Text and Video Testimonials:

Princeton Review receives a great amount of praise in helping students prepare for the GRE exam. What’s commendable is that the Princeton GRE online coaching process has helped many students get higher scores in the standardized test.

— Juliet Payne (trustpilot.com)

— Manan Sharma (trustpilot.com)

— Brittany Hampton (trustpilot.com)

Final Verdict & Recommendation

I give Princeton Review a total score of 4.2/5.

The program is a solid prep course for students to invest in. With a range of personalized options and astounding base of resources for students to have access to, the relatively steep price offers high value in return. 

I particularly praised The Princeton Review GRE classes’ live online and in-person course programs that can effectively prepare students for the exam. However, the self-paced option tends to be lacking and the self-study course can be challenging for some students. 

Still, it goes without saying that The Princeton Review GRE program receives a high satisfaction rating. After all, it is one of the leading prep course giants that has helped thousands of students take on the next level of their educational journey. 

In spite of its drawbacks, The Princeton Review is highly recommendable for those who are willing to spend a little more to get premium education value. 

Frequently Asked Questions

The Princeton Review is the best option to prepare for the GRE if you enroll in the live online or in-person course programs. The instructors are one of the key features that have helped many students achieve a high GRE score. 

For self-study learners who have busy schedules and various extracurricular activities, The Princeton Review might not be a sufficient learning platform for you.

Compared to the actual GRE tests, The Princeton Review’s practice tests have been rated best for starters or on average. Then again, it depends on what you already know or don’t know. The best course of action is to check out the free mockup exams and see for yourself.

References

  1. https://www.qna.conects.com/
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4.2