Are you an Arizona State University student that is considering grad school? If so, then you will need to take the GRE before applying. The good news is that ASU has a few different options to help you prepare for the GRE. Keep reading to find out how you can utilize all of your ASU resources both on and off-campus.
What Is ASU GRE Prep?
The ASU GRE Prep is a GRE preparatory course established by the Arizona State University in partnership with The Princeton Review.
It aims to bring students an interactive GRE prep course experience. The course options are only available to current ASU students planning to take the GRE within one year.
The Princeton Review’s self-paced course option will provide students with a thorough understanding of GRE test-taking strategies.
Students will also learn how to tackle both verbal and quantitative GRE questions.
Benefits and Highlights
One of the biggest benefits of the ASU GRE prep course is it’s free for current students. That means you will get all of The Princeton Review resources to help you prepare before the exam. You will also have access to the experienced staff at ASU to help guide you along the way.
The W.P. Carey School of Business at ASU has partnered with The Princeton Review to bring you actual GRE practice tests, which you can take on the computer under timed conditions.
- Self-paced course is free for ASU students
- Discounted rates on in-person courses
- Access to practice tests
- ASU staff guidance
- Non-ASU students are not eligible
- Must take the GRE within 1 year
3 Things To Consider Before Enrolling In ASU GRE Prep
1. Eligibility Requirements
Arizona State University recommends you schedule an appointment with a career advisor to ensure grad school is the right option for you. You can also attend a free graduate school seminar on campus. [1]
The GRE prep course is only available to students who are currently enrolled at ASU. It is not available to past students or non-ASU students. To be eligible for the ASU GRE prep program, you must take the GRE within one year of your prep course.
If you do not take the GRE, you will be required to pay for the GRE prep course. As proof you took the GRE, you must submit your scores to the ASU review office to verify that you met the requirements.
Recommended Article: 8 Recommended GRE Prep Courses
2. Course Options
The partnership between ASU and The Princeton GRE Review offers students two-course options. The self-paced online course is completely free for ASU students who meet the requirements. The online option provides practice tests, video lessons, text lessons, and a bank of GRE questions.
All of the material uses The Princeton Review’s adaptive learning algorithm to challenge students. ASU also offers instructor-led courses at a discounted rate if this is more your style of learning. The in-person course is discounted by about 38% for ASU students.
The discounted courses are offered through The Princeton Review as well. The same materials are given to students, but the instruction will be in-person in a classroom setting. For non-students of ASU, GRE Prep Club is also a good source in helping students how to tackle real GRE questions.
3. How To Register
If you meet all of the above requirements for enrolling in the ASU GRE prep course, you can register online. The first step is to take a knowledge check to ensure you meet all of the requirements.
Once you complete the knowledge check, a member of ASU faculty will contact you to complete registration. You will need to submit a copy of your transcripts and a program eligibility and verification form.
Real Student Results from Taking the ASU GRE Prep Course
We wanted to find out whether students who took the ASU GRE prep course saw a real improvement in their GRE test scores.
Accordingly, we had students take a GRE prep test before and after taking the ASU GRE prep course. We obtained each student’s Quantitative Reasoning and Verbal Reasoning results from each test and compared them to determine a percentage improvement.
Although students saw their GRE test scores increase after completing the ASU GRE prep course, their percentage improvement in test scores was slight. For example, one student achieved only a 15.9% improvement in score, while another saw no improvement.
How Accurate Is The ASU GRE Prep Compared To The Real Thing?
When preparing for the GRE, it is important to be aware of how you stand and what score you can expect. That is why a prep test should be as accurate as possible.
To see how accurate ASU GRE Prep is, we decided to test it.
We asked six students to study only using the ASU course, and when they were ready, they took both the ASU prep test and the official GRE.
When compared, their results gave us a picture of how accurate this prep test really is.
Here is what we got:
(Test score
predictor)
GRE Test
Score
(Test score
predictor)
GRE Test
Score
As you can see, the Princeton prep course is somewhat accurate when compared to other GRE prep courses on the market.
It might sound like 97% and 98% accuracy pretty close to the real thing, but when only one point decides whether you will pass or fail, this estimation error may be significant.
Potential Downsides
One downside to the ASU GRE prep program is it’s only available to current ASU students. If you are a current university student, check with your school to see if they offer options like this one.
Another possible shortfall is you must take the GRE test within one year of your prep program, or you will have to pay for the cost of the course.
FAQs
Why do I have to take the GRE within one year of my prep course?
ASU implemented this rule to push students to follow through and take the GRE. It also helps keep their partnership with The Princeton Review. That way, other students can enjoy free courses as well.
Where can I get additional practice tests?
The W.P. Carey School of Business offers current ASU students free online practice tests from The Princeton Review. You can register for the practice tests online. They are given under testing conditions to prepare you for test day.
Is The ASU GRE Prep Course Right For Me?
After our review of the ASU GRE prep course, we would recommend this option for current ASU students who plan to take the GRE within one year. It is completely free of charge as long as you meet the requirements. We think it’s a great deal for ASU students.
If you are not an ASU student or your school does not offer this program, we recommend checking out Magoosh for a GRE prep course. They have reasonable prices and a ton of study materials.
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