GRE Online Courses - Magoosh vs Barron's vs MGRE

[jadore530]

It seems like there is some variation in the reviews for the online course materials for Magoosh, Barron's and Manhattan GREs.  I really need work on both quant and and verbal so I'm looking for prep materials that are good for both sections.

 

I have the ETS Official Guide and was planning on buying the 8 Manhattan GRE Books - was looking at purchasing Magoosh but as I was searching for reviews on Magoosh (other than the testimonials from their website), I stumbled onto here! 

 

Magoosh and Barron's is currently on sale for $99 and Manhattan is $450 for the self study and prep books.  

 

If you studied using these online materials, what would be your recommendation? I'm hoping to score somewhere in the 330 range because of my not so excellent undergrad GPA.  

 

Any input will be appreciated. Thank you!! 

[imnotbatman]

Hey! I strongly recommend Magoosh. I bought the Magoosh online prep for the same price as you and I borrowed the Manhattan books from the library. 

 

I'm not sure how long you have to study or your financial ability to pay for the textbooks/courses etc but I would recommend Magoosh if you could only choose 1 thing to get. 

 

Try to find the Manhattan GRE books in the library first (or the GMAT ones- they are the same except for one part.) That will save you money. 

 

For myself, I studied 6 months on and off using Magoosh and ended with a 318 (162v and 156q). I was really nervous on the day of the exam and from the Magoosh predictor my actual quant score was wayyyyyy below the predicted score (160). I took a month off of studying and then bought the Manhattan online tests (http://www.manhattanprep.com/gre/storeitemshow.cfm?ItemID=76) for $30 and spent the next month strictly working with Magoosh and the MGRE tests. I ended up with a 333 (167v and 166q).

 

What I really liked about Magoosh is the detailed explanations for every single question as well as their lessons. For the Manhattan ones, sometimes, you have no idea what you did wrong and the explanations are not that great. 

 

If you want to score above 330, what I would suggest is to work on Magoosh and filter to the 'hard' questions only. Always do it in 'timed' mode. Buy/do as many 'full' practice tests as you can and always correct your mistakes. My biggest problem was not that I didn't know the answers- but on test day, I was so preoccupied about getting everything correct that I spent way too much time per question and ended up with a lower score. 

 

I hope this helps!Good luck!