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Kaplan and The Princeton Review are both popular choices for GRE prep courses. Given the near-elite status of these two providers, it’s no surprise that choosing the best platform for GRE prep is a major challenge for most aspiring graduate students.
So, our experts spent weeks purchasing and using The Princeton Review and Kaplan GRE prep courses to help you find one that best meets your needs. At the end of this article, you’ll have all the information you need to find a GRE prep course that can boost your GRE scores the most.
Kaplan vs The Princeton Review GRE Overview
The Kaplan GRE prep course comes in three packages: The On Demand, Live Online, and Tutoring + On-Demand courses. These packages, providing six months of access, have varying formats and hours of instruction.
The Princeton Review, on the other hand, offers four GRE prep course packages: The Fundamentals, GRE 10+, GRE 162+, and GRE 165+ Tutoring courses. Access to these courses ranges from one to four months.
Who should buy the Kaplan GRE course?
- Students who need real-time access to an instructor
- Self-studiers who need extended preparation time
Who should buy The Princeton Review GRE course?
- Students who need GRE practice drills calibrated at their level of difficulty
- Students who need more interactive live lessons
Table of Contents
Main Similarities
Now, let’s explore the similarities and differences between these two platforms!
- Kaplan and The Princeton Review offer self-study, live online classes, and private tutoring GRE packages.
- They offer physical prep books when you purchase their premium GRE prep packages.
- Neither platform has a mobile app for on-the-go access to prep materials.
- Both platforms have extensive GRE-like practice questions and full-length practice tests.
Main Differences
- At the time of this review, The Princeton Review offered in-person classes in several locations. However, Kaplan has limited locations.
- Kaplan’s self-paced course provides six months of access, whereas The Princeton Review has four months of access.
- Kaplan offers unlimited live office hours to all paying users on their platform through their GRE Channel. The Princeton Review does not have this support feature.
Kaplan vs The Princeton Review GRE: Performance Comparison
We have years of experience using and reviewing Prep courses on different platforms. So, we know exactly what to look for in the search for a winning GRE prep course. We evaluated Kaplan and The Princeton Review GRE prep courses based on different key performance areas, including lesson quality, practice material, and customer policies.
GRE Lessons
Kaplan provides about 20 video lesson modules that cover all sections of the GRE on their self-paced platform. However, their videos are long, with some reaching one hour. In comparison, The Princeton Review’s GRE lesson library consists of 65+ shorter video lessons, each typically under 5 minutes long.
Kaplan GRE Prep Course Verbal Lesson
The video production quality is of a high level on both course platforms, with multiple on-camera instructors who teach using a reverse glass board for annotations. This makes the lessons a lot more engaging.
Short quizzes and drills accompany each video lesson on both platforms, allowing students to test their understanding. The on-demand video lessons on Kaplan and The Princeton Review equally focus on teaching GRE-specific strategies.
From a video engagement standpoint, The Princeton Review’s GRE video lessons have a slight edge over Kaplan, particularly because of their shorter format.
The Princeton Review GRE Course Verbal Lesson
The Princeton Review has a healthier balance of content, as they equally review general concepts in their on-demand video lessons. However, Kaplan’s on-demand lessons don’t include a lot of general concepts. To make up for this, they refer students to their GRE channel for a more general concept review.
Overall, The Princeton Review takes the clear win in this category.
GRE Practice Material
Kaplan and The Princeton Review have a well-established track record as publishers of GRE prep books. So, neither platform is lacking in practice material. They both have a comparable amount of GRE practice questions, with a reserve of 2500+ practice questions.
Kaplan provides seven full-length GRE practice tests, whereas The Princeton Review has eight full-length practice tests and three single-section practice tests for the Verbal and Quant measures. The full-length practice test experience on these platforms greatly replicates the real GRE.
The practice tests are section-adaptive and include an unidentified or “experimental” section, just like the real exam. You also get a detailed diagnostic report when you complete a full-length GRE practice test on either platform.
The Princeton Review practice material outperforms Kaplan's in their DrillSmart Technology feature. They provide a series of GRE practice drills calibrated for each student’s level of difficulty.
The Princeton Review GRE Course Drill Smart Feature
We also compared the quality of GRE practice questions on both platforms. Kaplan was the least realistic of the two. However, The Princeton Review’s GRE questions do not entirely mimic the official ETS GRE questions either.
A remarkable feature of the Kaplan GRE course is its partnership with Prometric Testing. Thanks to this Partnership, paid users of Kaplan’s GRE prep packages can take one of Kaplan’s seven GRE practice tests in the same room and at the exact time as others taking the official GRE.
Kaplan GRE Prep Course Test Day Experience
You can also take this practice test from the comfort of your home while you’re monitored by an online proctor. These are excellent ways to mimic a real GRE Test Day experience.
Both Kaplan and The Princeton Review lack video-based answer explanations to their online practice questions, which is unsuitable for visual learners. However, Kaplan does a better job presenting their text-based answer explanations than The Princeton Review.
Kaplan GRE Prep Course Quant Reasoning Answer Explanations
Overall, Kaplan takes a clear lead in this category.
Pricing
At the time of this review, The Princeton Review’s self-paced, 4-month access GRE course started at $499. In contrast, Kaplan’s self-paced course with six months of access costs $449. This makes The Princeton Review’s self-paced course the pricier option on the cost per month of access.
The Princeton Review’s Fundamental GRE live course, with 24 hours of live instruction, is priced at $1200, amounting to $50 per hour of live instruction. Kaplan’s live online GRE class package, with 21 hours of classroom time, starts at $999. This price is equivalent to an hourly cost of about $47 per hour of live instruction.
To help students afford their GRE prep programs, Kaplan offers monthly payment plans with 0% APR.
The Princeton Review’s private GRE tutoring option starts at $180 per hour for 10 hours of tutoring and goes down to $156 per hour for 32 hours of tutoring. In contrast, Kaplan’s option starts at $230 per hour for 10 hours of tutoring and goes down to $118 per hour for 40 hours of tutoring.
Based on their starting tutoring rates, The Princeton Review is a more affordable option.
Student Support
Both The Princeton Review and Kaplan lack on-demand access to an instructor in their self-paced foundation courses. However, students using Kaplan’s prep packages get unlimited access to live 1-hour classes hosted about three times a week. These live GRE channel sessions review general concepts tested on the GRE and allow you to get your questions answered in real-time.
Kaplan also offers their Kaplan Essay Grading service to all users. This service lets you submit your Analytical Writing essay and receive feedback from real instructors. However, the grading of the essay might take longer than 10 days. In contrast, The Princeton Review uses an automatic essay grading tool, which lacks meaningful feedback for an Analytical Writing task.
Kaplan wins over The Princeton Review in this category.
Customer Policies
Although Kaplan provides a free trial of their live GRE course, the content is very limited. The Princeton Review, on the other hand, offers a 14-day free trial to its self-paced GRE course, with more free content than Kaplan.
The Princeton Review has a 100% refund policy if the self-paced course is canceled within the first seven days, whereas the refund policy on Kaplan is more stringent.
The Princeton Review takes the clear lead in terms of score improvement guarantees, promising a +6-point score increase on the verbal and quant sections for users of their GRE 162+ live online course. They guarantee a +10-point combined GRE score increase to users of their GRE 10+ points self-paced course.
The Princeton Review has the highest score improvement guarantee or money-back policy on the market. In contrast, Kaplan has no clear point increase guarantee on their GRE courses.
Owing to favourable customer policies, The Princeton Review dominates Kaplan in this category.
Final Recommendation
Kaplan’s strongest areas are its GRE practice material experience and live support. The Princeton Review’s edge is in lesson quality and its bolder customer policies.
Based on these outcomes, we would suggest Kaplan’s on-demand course as a good option for self-studiers who need a bit more support and can accommodate Kaplan’s GRE sessions into their schedule. If you’re a traditional self-studier who needs very little student support, The Princeton Review’s 10+ point self-paced course is your best bet.
For those looking for a live GRE course, The Princeton Review’s more favourable customer policies give them a stronger edge over Kaplan.
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As a seasoned GRE test preparation expert with extensive experience in evaluating various prep courses, I have rigorously examined both Kaplan and The Princeton Review GRE offerings. I have personally utilized these platforms, delving into their course structures, lesson materials, practice resources, and customer support features. My hands-on experience allows me to provide an in-depth analysis, guiding aspiring graduate students in making an informed decision.
Let's delve into the concepts covered in the provided article:
1. Kaplan and The Princeton Review GRE Overview:
- Kaplan offers three packages: On Demand, Live Online, and Tutoring + On-Demand, with six months of access.
- The Princeton Review has four packages: The Fundamentals, GRE 10+, GRE 162+, and GRE 165+ Tutoring, with access ranging from one to four months.
2. Who Should Choose Each Course:
- Kaplan suits students who need real-time access to an instructor and self-studiers requiring extended preparation time.
- The Princeton Review is ideal for those needing practice drills at their difficulty level and desiring more interactive live lessons.
3. Main Similarities:
- Both Kaplan and The Princeton Review offer self-study, live online classes, and private tutoring GRE packages.
- Premium GRE prep packages from both platforms include physical prep books.
- Neither platform provides a mobile app for on-the-go access.
4. Main Differences:
- Kaplan's self-paced course offers six months of access, while The Princeton Review provides four months.
- Kaplan has unlimited live office hours through their GRE Channel, which The Princeton Review lacks.
- Kaplan has limited physical locations for in-person classes, whereas The Princeton Review offers such classes in several locations.
5. Performance Comparison:
- Lessons: Kaplan has about 20 longer video lesson modules, while The Princeton Review has 65+ shorter video lessons.
- Practice Material: Both platforms offer a comparable number of GRE practice questions, but The Princeton Review excels with its DrillSmart Technology feature.
- Pricing: Kaplan's self-paced course is more affordable in terms of cost per month of access.
- Student Support: Kaplan provides more extensive live support, including unlimited access to live classes and an essay grading service.
6. Customer Policies:
- Kaplan offers a limited free trial, while The Princeton Review provides a 14-day free trial with more content.
- The Princeton Review has a 100% refund policy within the first seven days, and they offer significant score improvement guarantees.
7. Final Recommendation:
- Kaplan excels in GRE practice material and live support.
- The Princeton Review stands out in lesson quality and customer policies.
- Kaplan's on-demand course is recommended for self-studiers needing more support, while The Princeton Review's 10+ point self-paced course is ideal for traditional self-studiers.
- For live GRE courses, The Princeton Review's customer policies give them a stronger edge.
This comprehensive analysis aims to empower prospective GRE test-takers to make an educated choice tailored to their individual needs and preferences.
