Have you recently decided to go to graduate school? Congratulations! Graduate school is a major step in your life and career, but some challenges go along with it. One of these challenges is taking the GRE, also known as the Graduate Records Examination. Nearly 600,000 people take the GRE every year at 1,000 testing centers across the world.
The GRE features questions in analytical writing, verbal reasoning, and quantitative reasoning and is taken through a computer-based delivery system. Students are faced with questions that test the skills they will need to succeed in competitive graduate programs, including those in business and law. One of the best ways to prep for this complex exam is to take a prep course online.
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Disclaimer: Some courses may include an affiliate link. Courses were chosen first based on the methodology with affiliate links only added after the ranking was complete.
Online courses can be completed at your own pace and on your own schedule, and all the ones listed here are 100 percent free! Using our exclusive methodology, we’ve sorted them in descending order, with our favorite options at the top, but each course is worth a look. If you want to take the next step in your graduate school career, keep reading to see the ten best free online prep courses for the GRE.
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Ranking Ten Free Online Courses for GRE Prep
Free GRE Prep Course
Offered by 800Score
An 800 is the highest possible score one can receive on the GRE, and 800Score is willing to help students get there. 800Score aims to give all students access to higher education resources, and they make some of the most comprehensive free test prep courses on the internet. They offer a training system that teaches you the pace of the GRE, accurately preparing you for the amount of time the test will take you on the day of administration. They’ve also recently launched a new video game interface that makes test prep more engaging and aims to bridge the gap between learning and play.
By the end of the best free GRE prep course, students will be able to accurately assess any type of question on the GRE and know how much time they will have to answer it. There are more than 200 sample questions, about half of which come straight from the official GRE. Additionally, there are over 150 curated videos for you to watch for the best and most concise information.
Cost: Free
Certificate: No
Time to Complete: Depends on starting skill level
Curriculum: Beginner to advanced
User Experience: Good (course is currently in beta)
Quality of Instruction: Excellent
Pros:
- Start anytime and go at your own pace
- Comprehensive course made up of over 300 pages
- Five GRE sample tests
Cons:
- No certificate of achievement
LEAP GRE Prep Network
Offered by QS LEAP
QS LEAP’s GRE Prep is less of a concise course and more of a network of students working toward a common goal and helping each other along the way. The free platform is composed of thousands of students who aspire to ace the GRE sometime in the future, and the website offers ways for students to meet up digitally and work together to achieve their goals. The platform has more than 1100 practice GRE questions for students to answer and daily 30-minute classes on the math and language sections of the exam. There are also more than 600 blogs and videos students can explore on their own time to expand their learning.
By the time you approach your actual GRE, this platform will have enriched your preparation experience and allowed you to better understand the material—all with the help of other students like yourself. You can log on or off the platform at any time, allowing you the perfect way to fit in some studying even with a busy schedule. The site is also ideal for quickly reviewing topics right before your exam if you’re unsure about a few things.
Cost: Free
Certificate: No
Time to Complete: Not applicable
Curriculum: Beginner to advanced
User Experience: Excellent
Quality of Instruction: Excellent
Pros:
- Start anytime and go at your own pace
- Ability to connect and virtually meet up with other students
- Also offers resources on graduate schools’ individual requirements
Cons:
- No certificate of achievement
Khan Academy Instructional Videos for the GRE
Compiled by ETS
While Khan Academy doesn’t typically offer full, structured courses, it is an incredible online resource for students looking to study any possible topic. ETS is the company that formulates the GRE every year, and they know exactly what students need to learn to succeed. They aim to advance real-life knowledge and skills with their products, promoting quality and equity in education. They have compiled a list of roughly 50 short video lessons covering any possible topic you may face on the GRE math section.
The great thing about this compiled list of short courses is that you aren’t forced to go in order or complete every single one. If you have already been studying for the GRE, you likely know what sections of the math portion you need to review to succeed. This list details each section of the math portion and gives you the corresponding lessons you will need to study from, so you can jump around on the list and only check out the topics you need to shore up.
Cost: Free
Certificate: No
Time to Complete: As long as necessary for needed sections
Curriculum: Beginner to intermediate
User Experience: Excellent
Quality of Instruction: Excellent
Pros:
- Perfect for quick review
- You can pick and choose which sections you want to study
- Khan Academy is one of the most widely-used online tools for studying math
Cons:
- No certificate of achievement
- Not a structured course
Magoosh GRE Prep
Offered by Magoosh
Magoosh is often regarded as the best GRE preparation site on the internet, and its students have been offered admission to prestigious graduate schools like Harvard, Stanford, and Carnegie Mellon. While the prep course is undoubtedly less expensive than other online courses, access to the site is typically not free. However, users can sign up for a one-week free trial. While this isn’t a long time, it’s certainly enough to do some prep work if you’re cramming for your exam or just to test out the platform and see how you like it.
When using Magoosh’s prep course, you’ll have access to materials on all sections of the GRE as well as custom schedules to track your studying progress. Additionally, Magoosh offers full-length practice tests that are timed according to the actual length of the GRE. Plus, the site features an accurate score predictor tool that predicts a possible score based on your studying habits.
Cost: Free (With 1-week Magoosh trial period)
Certificate: No
Time to Complete: Varies
Curriculum: Beginner to advanced
User Experience: Excellent
Quality of Instruction: Excellent
Pros:
- Start anytime and go at your own pace
- Full-length practice exams
- Score predictor tool
Cons:
- No certificate of achievement
- Trial period is only one week long
GRE Prep Course 2
Offered by Jeff Kolbly on SkillShare
Skillshare is an online learning community where users can take advantage of a free level or pay a flat subscription rate to access all the site’s premium course materials. The platform has any course you could imagine, and this short GRE prep course by Jeff Kolbly is excellent for those looking for quick study material. SkillShare is currently offering a free basic level membership, while the premium version costs around $19 a month.
This GRE prep course only contains about 1 hour and 45 minutes of on-demand video with examples and explanations of questions you will face when taking the GRE. It focuses specifically on quantitative comparison math problems, which are some of the most challenging problems that students face on the exam. Jeff Kolbly has been teaching and writing in the test-prep field for more than 25 years, so you know you’re in good hands when reviewing his materials.
Cost: Free
Certificate: No
Time to Complete: About 2 hours
Curriculum: Intermediate
User Experience: Excellent
Quality of Instruction: Excellent
Pros:
- Start anytime and go at your own pace
- Focuses specifically on the most difficult exam questions
- Platform is entirely free
Cons:
- No certificate of achievement
- Does not review language section
Test Prep: GRE
Offered by LinkedIn Learning
LinkedIn Learning is an online learning platform offered by one of the internet’s leading networking sites. It’s a subscription-based platform, but the site provides new users with a one-month free trial period to access any of the website’s materials. This means you can take advantage of this GRE prep course for a few weeks at no charge.
Test prep tutor Vince Kotchian has been tutoring students for the GRE since 2008. He describes his teaching style as a mix of a rigorous approach to the material and teaching students using friendliness, empathy, and patience. By the end of the course, you will have a deep understanding of all the question types and the GRE structure, with methods to prepare for the test as you get closer to your exam date. The free online course will also teach students how to set their own personal GRE goals and develop their test-taking strategies.
Cost: Free Try a free trial for Linkedin Learning.
Certificate: No
Time to Complete: About 7 hours
Curriculum: Intermediate
User Experience: Excellent
Quality of Instruction: Excellent
Pros:
- Start anytime and go at your own pace
- Taught by an instructor who works in test prep full-time
- Goes over each type of question in-depth
Cons:
- No certificate of achievement
- Free trial period is only for one month
Kaplan GRE Bootcamp
Offered by Kaplan
Kaplan has remained one of the premier test prep sites for the last several years and is trusted by many students and their families. While Kaplan is typically a paid program into which students can enroll, they offer many free instructional courses on their site that are open to anyone. One of these courses is a two-hour GRE boot camp that goes over everything students will need to quickly prep for their GRE test day. While this is not a comprehensive preparation starting from square one, it’s a great way for test-takers to review topics quickly.
The boot camp will review topics such as how the GRE is scored, how to complete text completion questions, and how to complete reading comprehension questions. It also examines topics such as ratios and number properties. If you’ve been studying and preparing for your GRE already, this short boot camp can be great if you want to hear some studying materials from a new perspective.
Cost: Free
Certificate: No
Time to Complete: About 2 hours
Curriculum: Intermediate
User Experience: Excellent
Quality of Instruction: Excellent
Pros:
- Perfect for quick review
- Goes over multiple different types of challenging questions
- You can go back and review the video whenever you need
Cons:
- No certificate of achievement
- Not an interactive course
Featured Programs
Free GRE On Demand Trial
Offered by Veritas Prep
Veritas Prep is a site designed to help students prep for a variety of different standardized exams, including the GRE. While their full GRE on-demand program typically costs $600, they offer students a free trial of the online course that includes a few critical lessons designed to help you succeed. The trial course is taught by Joanna Graham, the director of academics at Veritas Prep and former director of operations at The Princeton Review. While you can’t access the full on-demand course for free, this short trial is an excellent way for students to see if they want to invest in the whole course or just want a quick review of the GRE sections.
In this short course, students will have a lesson on the GRE verbal section, the GRE quantitative section, and then two half-hour lessons on GRE logic. The whole trial course will take about two hours to complete and also features short sections on how to think like the test maker and how the test is formatted and scored.
Cost: Free (Trial course)
Certificate: No
Time to Complete: About 2 hours
Curriculum: Intermediate
User Experience: Excellent
Quality of Instruction: Excellent
Pros:
- Perfect for quick review
- Goes over all sections of the GRE and its format
- Taught by a former test prep employee at The Princeton Review
Cons:
- No certificate of achievement
- Not an interactive course
GRE Prep Course
ExamPal aims to make a GRE prep course that’s catered to you and your personal needs. Rather than giving all of their students a one-size-fits-all test preparation, they operate using a “pal-gorithm” that personalizes your course to fit your individual time frame and learns how you take tests. The algorithm will give you personalized questions at the right time based on items you have previously answered correctly or incorrectly. The algorithm also gives you feedback in real-time to help you improve your test-taking skills as effectively as possible.
Over 100,000 students have contributed their knowledge to ExamPal, and they guarantee that your GRE score will improve by at least 6 points. The site was created by individuals who have more than 20 years of test prep experience and is the only site of its kind with a 5/5 rating on TrustPilot. While ExamPal is typically a paid program, they offer a 7-day free trial for new users, which allows you to get a feel for the program and try out their test prep strategy.
Cost: Free (With 7-day Exampal free trial)
Certificate: No
Time to Complete: As long as needed
Curriculum: Intermediate
User Experience: Excellent
Quality of Instruction: Excellent
Pros:
- One of the most trusted test preparation programs
- Personalized algorithm to help you study
Cons:
- No certificate of achievement
- Free trial is only seven days
GMAT/GRE Math
Offered by Udemy
Udemy is one of the many sites that is considered a MOOC— a massive open online course provider. The website is free to join and offers members both free and paid courses presented by various qualified instructors. This course, which covers math sections on both the GMAT and the GRE, is free for any Udemy user and takes approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes to complete. While the free course is not interactive and only offers users on-demand video content, it is still incredibly helpful in overcoming challenging math problems.
The course specifically covers permutations and combinations, which are some of the more difficult math problems for students to master on the exam. At the end of the course, students will be able to tackle and solve these challenging problems in less than one minute by using various shortcuts they will learn. The course takes students from the beginning to more advanced levels of these problems, so no prior experience is required.
Cost: Free
Certificate: No
Time to Complete: Approx 2 hours and 45 minutes
Curriculum: Beginner to intermediate
User Experience: Excellent
Quality of Instruction: Excellent
Pros:
- Perfect if you specifically have trouble with the math section
- Great for beginners who have no math prerequisites
Cons:
- No certificate of achievement
- Focuses only on the math section, no verbal or reading comprehension
Frequently Asked Questions About Free Online Courses for the GRE
The GRE, like any other standardized test, can be pretty hard for first-time test takers. But although the GRE is considered a somewhat difficult exam, you can do things to make it a lot easier on yourself. Rather than stress during the weeks leading up to your test, you should block out some time to study a little bit every day. Thorough preparation can reduce your anxiety and boost your GRE score, allowing you to achieve your goals and go to the graduate school of your dreams.
If you’re looking into taking a GRE prep course online and are nervous about your test-taking skills, we’ve answered some of the most commonly asked questions below. Hopefully, these answers will help boost your confidence in your abilities and help you feel better about taking a prep course.
Who Should Take A GRE Prep Course Online?
If you plan on taking the GRE, you will benefit from taking one or more of these online courses. It’s that simple! Prep courses are one of the best ways to study for a standardized exam since they are consistent across the board. The type of questions you will come across on the GRE are typically the same year to year, so instructors can teach the content quite effectively in an online prep course.
Why Should I Take A GRE Prep Course Online?
GRE prep courses have been used ever since the test began, whether they were online or in-person. Online courses have some amazing advantages, especially now when we are enduring a global pandemic. Taking a prep course online allows you to work at your own pace and on your own schedule, picking up and putting down your materials whenever you have a free moment.
Taking a free online course also alleviates the stress of having to buy an expensive GRE prep book. Many online GRE courses are catered to your individual needs and algorithms and can recognize questions you need help with versus questions you need to work more on. Rather than working through an entire book to focus on the sections of the exam you need, online courses allow you to pick and choose which lessons to focus on based on your personal skills.
What Will I Gain From Taking A GRE Online Prep Course?
Many online prep courses for the GRE come from trusted websites that guarantee a raised score for their students. Some sites promise their students that if they complete the entirety of their test prep program as intended, their GRE score will increase by at least 6 points. This could significantly boost your chances of admission to the graduate school of your choice. An online GRE test prep course could mean the difference between an acceptance and a rejection to your dream school, so it’s vital that you take your studying time seriously.
Are Online GRE Prep Courses Hard?
Much like the exam itself, many prep courses can be considered difficult for students who haven’t studied for or taken the GRE before. Many instructors will also try to challenge their students to think critically about the type of questions they could face on the exam. While this might seem daunting or perhaps even threatening at times, the instructors teaching these prep courses just want to help their students succeed in any way they can.
If these courses weren’t difficult to complete, they wouldn’t help you study and think deeper about the exam! To do well on the GRE, these prep courses should challenge you and make you dig deep into your materials to answer tough questions.
Are Free Online GRE Prep Courses Worth It?
The short answer is yes; all of the courses on the list mentioned above are definitely worth it. There’s nothing to be lost when you select any of the offerings mentioned in this list because they are all completely free! The only thing you are giving up when you pursue one of these classes is your time, which will not be wasted if you genuinely want a higher score on your GRE.
On top of the cost of actually taking the GRE, preparing for the test can be incredibly costly. Some courses will run you between $200 and $800! If you can’t (or don’t want to) shell out that much cash preparing for your exam, a free online prep course allows you to study without sacrificing your bank account.
All of the courses mentioned on this list come from websites and instructors you can trust, who have spent many years perfecting the process of studying for the GRE. If you are approaching the day of your GRE test and are concerned about how well you will do, working with one of these free online courses is an absolute must.
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