A quick Google search of ‘gre prep’ is likely to come up with hundreds, if not thousands, of resources ready to sell you their course for a perfect GRE score. Before investing in an expensive course or home study program, however, you can start with some free GRE resources that will help you pinpoint your strengths, weaknesses, and hopefully lead you on the path to the right GRE prep for you.
There are a slew of free online GRE resources, but not all of them carry the same weight in helpfulness. To overcome this problem, we’ve partnered up with students preparing for the GRE and put together a list of 37 free resources for those getting started with GRE prep. These GRE resources have been carefully vetted and are completely free:
Getting Prepared For The GRE: 45 Resources
Free GRE Practice Tests
It’s true that studying with practice tests will help you to gain the endurance and sense of timing that is critical on the day of the test. Practice tests, also, give you an understanding of your baseline score (as with a diagnostic test) as well as how you are progressing, and, ultimately, should help you to predict your test day score.
The trouble with free GRE practice tests, however, is that the majority of them have been written by test prep companies and not by the ETS themselves. This is why, although they are great for practice, they can’t predict your future GRE score with total accuracy. We always recommend practicing with real GRE practice tests on the ETS site to make sure that you are getting the scores that you really need for the GRE. That said, free GRE practice test questions written by third parties still carry benefits, as you can practice your GRE test-taking skills on an infinite number of questions.
- Kaplan GRE Practice Test
- Manhattan Prep GRE Practice Test
- The Princeton Review GRE Practice Test
- ETS Free GRE PowerPrep Practice Tests
- Mometrix Free GRE Practice Test
- Test Guide Free GRE Practice Test
- Union Test Prep Practice Test
- Magoosh Free GRE Math Practice Questions*
- Grad Prep Free Mini Test
View more GRE Practice Tests
*Although this is not a full-length GRE practice test, you can still work through 15 GRE Math practice questions
GRE Question of the Day:
We don’t all have time in the morning to take a full-length GRE practice test, but we definitely can squeeze in at least one practice question every day. These free GRE Questions of the Day go straight into your inbox every morning. These organizations all offer GRE Question of the Day email subscriptions to help you maintain consistency in your GRE prep schedule:
- Test Prep Nerds Free GRE Math Question of the Day (Hey, that’s us)!
- Kaplan GRE Question of the Day
- Varsity Tutors GRE Question of the Day
- GRE Question-A-Day
GRE Flashcards
Using flashcards can be an effective way to review content as well as cut memorization time. We found some amazing free GRE flashcards that you can use to practice on-the-go or as a break from staring at your computer or a textbook. Some of these flashcard apps, like Magoosh, allow you to download the study straight to your smartphone, meaning you aren’t using your precious data for something boring like studying. 😉
- Magoosh GRE Flashcards App
- Prep Scholar GRE Words Flashcards
- Manhattan Prep GRE Flashcard Demo Set
- Quizlet 500 GRE Vocab Flashcards by Greenlight
- Varsity Tutors GRE Verbal & Math Flashcards
GRE Blogs
Getting familiar with the GRE takes a lot of time understanding what’s you’ll be tested on as well as how to approach your studying in the most efficient manner. These GRE blogs are devoted to providing you information on how to prep for the GRE as well as share free/affordable resources for your GRE prep journey:
GRE Forums
Forums can be a good place to turn to for help in your GRE prep or to utilize for unbiased student reviews or advice on specific prep products you’re eyeing. Here are our favorite GRE forums – You’ll find the latest GRE prep tips, discussion, advice, news, and probably some humor, too:
GRE Podcasts
There aren’t a lot of podcasts out there that just talk about the GRE, but you can find some nifty GRE vocab podcasts. Victor Prep and Nick’s Knack for Neologisms are a couple of podcasts that dive into commonly tested vocabulary and present it in ways that stick. There are also some education-related podcasts aimed at hacking habits, learning, behavior, motivation, and organization. The Tim Ferris Show and NPR’s Hidden Brain are a couple of my personal faves. Go ahead and give these podcasts a try and see which one grooves with you:
GRE Webinars:
You can find a lot of free webinars hosted by popular big-name GRE prep companies including Kaplan and The Princeton Review. These webinar events range from quant and verbal strategies to tips on grad school admissions. Simply sign-up and drop into whatever webinar fits your needs or interests. There is no limit:
Free GRE Trial Courses
Although free trials aren’t the full course, these free GRE trial course options allow you to “try before you buy.” Not everyone enjoys on-demand classes or wants to be taking classes online at all. This is a great way to see whether the course style meshes with you before committing to an expensive study option.
- The Princeton Review Free GRE Prep Trial
- Magoosh Free 7-Day GRE Trial
- Kaplan Free GRE Starter Pack
- Manhattan Prep Free Live Online GRE Prep Trial Class
GRE Blog Posts
Some of our favorite GRE blog posts of the year:
- What’s a Good GRE Score? Find Out in These 5 Steps
- How Many Times Can You Take the GRE?
- How Hard is the GRE?
- What to Bring to the GRE
Recommended GRE Courses & Discounts
These are our top 4 partner courses that we’ve featured in our best GRE prep courses for this year. Each of these courses have their own niche in the GRE prep market, and we share who should be taking each of these courses in their respective reviews.
- Read the Full Review Here
- Read the Full Review Here
- Read the Full Review Here
- Read our showdown on Kaplan vs PrepScholar GRE prep
- Read the Full Review Here
- Read the Full Review Here
View Our Full List of GRE Course Favorites
Recommended GRE Prep Books
These are the holy grail of GRE prep books that you’ll need for your GRE study plan. In this list are 2 official ETS practice question books that utilize real GRE practice tests:
- Manhattan Prep 5-lb Book of GRE Practice Problems
- Official GRE Super Power Pack
- Kaplan GRE Prep Plus
- ETS Official GRE Verbal Reasoning Practice Questions
View our Full List of GRE Prep Books
