If you’re in the market for a GRE prep course, then you definitely want to shop for a course that is right for you.
However, with such a wide variety of companies offering online courses, choosing one company to go with can be overwhelming.
However, in the following article, we’re going to take a look at a company called Magoosh, which is one of the leading companies in GRE prep.
Who is Magoosh?
Magoosh, which is an online learning platform has been in the GRE prep game since 2011 and has assisted millions of students to achieve success in the GRE or improve their scores.
Their plans are 100% online, accessible from multiple devices, and also come with a seven-day risk-free trial. Perhaps one of the main features of gauche is its price.
It’s a bargain compared to other programs. When it comes to first-rate study materials, their subscriptions are ranked high, and they have a responsive customer support team on standby to answer any questions you have pertaining to the GRE.
Who should use Magoosh GRE?
The people that should be most interested in Magoosh GRE are future graduate students. Graduate programs make use of the GRE admissions metric for masters and doctoral programs. So from the sciences to the humanities, this applies almost across the board.
Additionally, you have to take all the sections irrespective of what programs you are applying to.
Some exceptions to this are that STEM programs will usually not bother much with your verbal score, and the humanities programs very rarely care about your Quant scores.
The only exceptions to this are medical school, law school, and sometimes business school. So, in a nutshell, anyone planning on writing the GRE, but don’t want to spend an arm and a leg doing so, should be interested in this course.
Magoosh GRE Ease of Use
Aside from being affordable and very accessible, one of the bonuses of using Magoosh GRE is at the site is extremely user-friendly and customized for flexibility and learning. So since it’s easy to navigate, each section is clearly displayed on your dashboard and very easy to find.
So starting from the dashboard, you’ll be able to easily move wherever you need to from the practice test and questions section to notes and suggested lessons as well as your personalized review section.
Since the focus should be on studying, the creators of Magoosh have ensured that navigating and using the apps is easy.
Interface
The Magoosh site consists of an easy-to-use interface that’s also simple to navigate. Since everything is displayed clearly, the interface is not overwhelming.
The bonus is that when you register for a Magoosh account, you are given a video tour of the platform when you register. Another advantage of using the site is that everything is accessible via the dashboard.
Magoosh GRE Learning Methods
Studying
Magoosh is 100% online and self-paced, so you decide when, where, and how you want to study.
All of the course materials are available across all platforms, from your mobile devices to your laptop, ensuring you can easily consume content as and when it suits you.
Video
Magoosh offers both text and video explanations. This feature alone makes the Magoosh GRE test PREP the best in terms of value for money.
There are approximately 1 to 3-minute video explanations to delve deeper with each question than you’d get with a text explanation. They do this by dissecting the answer conceptually and demonstrating how to solve it simultaneously.
So the videos basically extend the full complexity of the problem, which can be hard to do by looking at a paragraph of text. So that said, these videos are one of the best ways to show why something works and how to solidify the skill and apply it to other problems.
Practice
Practice questions and full-length practice tests are two of the key components to finding the best online GRE practice that applies to all possible ways you might want to study for the exam.
So the study practice materials are what you’re going to rely on the most and, therefore, should be the materials you evaluate first.
Magoosh believes in constantly evaluating your progress with practice tests as it is vital to your progress and what’s more important than the practice questions when practicing. This is why the course consists of more than 1000 practice questions as well as three practice exams.
Tests
Magoosh offers just three practice tests compared to competitors who offer between 6 to 8 practice tests, but it’s still a lot when it comes to getting a feel for the overall experience and length of the actual GRE.
We also have the ability to generate practice tests from your pool of unanswered practice questions; however, Magoosh recommends that you create no more than three practice tests.
Magoosh GRE Pricing
Subscription
Magoosh offers a one-week free trial option, which gives you the opportunity to test out the platform and then decide with its the best choice for you.
During this time, you’ll be able to watch 20 videos that cover different topics all relevant to the GRE and also answer 20 practice questions.
You would have to choose between the one-month premium and the six-month premium options once the free trial period expires.
The six-month premium plan is sometimes discounted to $179. The regular price is set at $894.
The one-month premium plan can be purchased for just $149, which makes it a great choice if you want to take several GRE practice testS before the real GRE.
Private Tutoring
Every student has different studying requirements, and since Magoosh is the intuitive online platform that it is, they are offering four GRE tutoring packages that provide students with one-on-one instruction from a GRE expert.
How it works is that each package is priced with an hourly rate; however, the more hours you buy, the lower those rates go. Magoosh is still more flexible and cost-effective than many other GRE tutoring plans on the market.
The GRE tutoring options are as follows:
- Starter: This allows you to choose 2 – 3 areas for the tutor to focus on during a one-hour teaching session and costs approximately $100.
- Verbal: You’ll receive verbal lessons and four hours of tutoring for $350, which equates to $87.50 per hour
- Math: Math/quantitative lessons includes four hours of tutoring for $350 or $87.50 per hour.
- Premium: The premium tutoring plan covers the quantitative and verbal sections as well as essay grading and review. This option costs a hefty $600 for eight hours or $75 an hour.
Score Increase Guarantee
When you opt for the Premium GRE program with Magoosh, you’ll receive a score improvement guarantee. This basically means that if you don’t see a five-point increase on your old GRE score after you completed the course, you’ll get your money back.
While this guarantee is absolutely fabulous, it does have some limitations, and you can have a look at their website for more details regarding that.
What makes Magoosh GRE stand out from the competition?
One of the aspects that make Magoosh stand out from its competitors is its affordability.
Magoosh’s courses are available at a fraction of the cost of similar services offered by Kaplan, Princeton, and Manhattan prep.
How does it compare to Kaplan or Princeton?
While Princeton does offer much more material than Magoosh, the difference is that Magoosh is an affordable option with a lot of resources on its own.
So if you don’t want to spend an arm and a leg on a GRE prep course, but you still want to have a good chance of acing the exam, and you appreciate access to a sizable library of videos, questions, and various guides, then Magoo should is the clear winner.
Princeton and Magoosh both have great courses for GRE, and the six-month plan from Magoosh costs $179, while Princeton Review, on the other hand, will cost you $499 for the self-paced package. Additionally, the live online version of this prep course from Princeton will cost you $999.
Magoosh GRE Customer Service
Magoosh does offer 24/7 email support to all members. So if you have any questions about the platform or the content, experts will answer your questions within hours.
You can even mark a question as “urgent” and Magoosh customer support will prioritize it.
Magoosh GRE Pros and Cons
Pros
Affordability
This is one of the more affordable test prep companies available.
The packages available on Magoosh would cost you anywhere between 3 to 10 times more with competitors. They also offer a seven-day no-strings-attached refund, which demonstrates the company’s confidence in their courses.
User friendly
Thanks to the simple and easy to use interface provided by Magoosh, you’ll never spend too much time trying to find sections on the site. The bonus is that everything is accessible via the dashboard.
Study resources
You are free to access your content anyway and at any time, thanks to the Magoosh mobile app, which features all video lessons that appear on the site.
There are also tons of other resources available aside from the mobile app. Some of these resources include a blog with information on standardized tests, online flashcards, several YouTube channels, and lessons from experts, as well as a few free e-books.
Customer support
Magoosh offers a 24-hour email facility for members, and they will answer questions regarding the platform and the content within 24-hours.
Personalization
The courses are completely flexible so that you can personalize them to suits your learning needs. The study plan is based on your needs, and the platform allows you to customize tests and rewind and skip lessons as and when you need to.
Another bonus is that you can pause your subscription until you’re ready to start studying again if you need to take a break.
Quizzes and practice tests
There are lots of full-length practice tests for all standardized tests to help members assess the progress they’ve made.
Once you’ve completed the practice test, you receive a score estimate from the system to give you an idea of the result you would have achieved in the actual test.
You can also review your answers and watch video explanations once you’ve completed the test to see where you’ve gone wrong.
Video lessons
The majority of the content on Magoosh is short video lessons. These lessons are headed by expert tutors and, therefore, easy to follow and understand. You can always slow down or speed up the videos to suit your needs.
Cons
Limited practice tests
One of the drawbacks of using Magoosh is that there are not as many practice tests as other companies. And this is especially disappointing since once you answer all the available questions, there’s no way to get more questions on the platform.
It’s also highly unlikely that most students will exhaust all the course material; however, there may be a small percentage that does.
Essay grading
Essay grading and reviews are only available on the premium package.
Conclusion
Passing or failing the GRE test depends on a variety of factors, such as how recently you are taking math lessons to your writing skills.
If you want to increase your chances of passing the GRE, we recommend getting the Magoosh six month premium model. It will increase your chances of passing the test without you having to spend too much money.
Ultimately, Magoosh GRE is designed to help you improve in every segment that GREs cover and achieve results that you can be proud of.