Course
GMAT PREP COURSE

The Princeton Review GMAT Small Group Instruction Course

3.35 stars
20 reviews
Joined: Apr 2012
Purchased Course: Feb 2012
College: Cornell University
Major: Mathematics
Industry: Consulting
Country: United States
Verified Real Student Review

Great experience with Princeton Review!

5 stars
April 30, 2012
Company: The Princeton Review 32 reviews
Location: The Princeton Review - University City 2 reviews
Teacher: Daniel Kobza
Recommended forVerbal: Yes   Math: Yes
GMAT ScoresBefore: N/A   After: 760

I was very pleased with both the Princeton Review classroom course as well as my resulting GMAT score. It was absolutely worth the money.

I think you really get out of the course what you put into it. I did all the recommended and supplementary work the Princeton Review suggested (which amounts to a lot of time dedicated to studying). It not only really focussed my studying, but gave me ample practice in different kinds of problems. The facilities and teacher were great and really professional as well.

I signed up to take a KAPLAN course originally, but twice the courses I signed up for were cancelled due to less that 10 students signing up for them. There were only 4 students in my Princeton Review class! I'm so glad I took this review course and think it had a lot to do with the great success I had on the actual exam.


Joined: Apr 2012
Purchased Course: Nov 2011
College: Younstown State University
Major: Chemical Engineering
Industry: Other Manufacturing
Country: United States
Verified Real Student Review

Final Score Counts-- well worth the time and money

5 stars
April 17, 2012
Company: The Princeton Review 32 reviews
Location: The Princeton Review - Ohio State University 1 review
Teacher: Stefan Maisnier
Recommended forVerbal: Yes   Math: Yes
GMAT ScoresBefore: 450   After: 650

I was pleasantly surprised by my GMAT score increase of 200 points. Studied on my own for the first test and didn't receive a high score. Was reluctant to take the course due to the expense of it, but I was determined to raise my score in order to be considered as a good candidate for my MBA applications. In the end I spent the money and I was glad I did!! The instructor drove home the skills needed to determine the best method in taking a timed test and to ensure the students could determine the best answer. The study material was abundant and relevant to test day. The student must put the time in to complete the work but the instructor was great at making sure time was spent where the student would receive the most bang for their buck and effort.


Joined: Jan 2011
Purchased Course: Jan 2011
College: UCSD
Major: International Relations
Country: United States
Verified Real Student Review

Wonderful Tricks and Tips

5 stars
August 10, 2011
Company: The Princeton Review 32 reviews
Location: The Princeton Review - Holiday Court 1 review
Teacher: Jake
Recommended forVerbal: Yes   Math: Yes
GMAT ScoresBefore: N/A   After: 710

I am extremely happy with my class from Princeton Review.

First of all, the teacher had been working there for 15 years and was
qualified to teach the LSAT, GMAT and SATs. I believe his expertise and
depth of knowledge (especially from the LSAT) made a lot of difference
because it allowed him to bring in other points of view and examples that
a straight GMAT professor might not know. In addition, LSAT has harder
verbal questions that Jake was able to use as examples, making the GMAT
less complicated and made discerning patterns easier.

Second, the class met for 3 hours a week, with homework and pre-work
assigned every week. It was extremely helpful for me to help develop a
study pattern and habit specifically around the GMAT. We also had several
full length CAT exams scheduled that gave me a good idea how I was
progressing and what areas I struggled with in a timed environment (which
were different than what I thought when I was practicing).

Finally, Princeton Review knows all the tricks. They have a lot of insight
into the exam and how to beat it. These little tricks and hints (about
timing, ways to approach problems, etc) were essential to my success at
the end of the day. In addition, they give two books with your
registration fees, one is the official guide published by GMAC (used for
homework problems only) and one written by the Princeton Review that gives
more practice problems and hints in detail. They also target the homework
based on what your pre-test score was so you don't spend any time doing
problems that are too easy or too hard for you. AND they have a guarantee
- not happy with your score, retake the class, no questions asked. I
didn't need to do it again, but it was really nice to have that safety
net.

Take this class, you won't regret it.


Joined: Jul 2011
Purchased Course: Apr 2011
College: Tufts University
Major: Political Science
Industry: Multimedia
Country: United States
Verified Real Student Review

Helpful class overall, but some negatives

4 stars
July 24, 2011
Company: The Princeton Review 32 reviews
Location: The Princeton Review - Dupont Circle 2 reviews
Teacher: Evan Lewis
Recommended forVerbal: Yes   Math: Yes
GMAT ScoresBefore: N/A   After: 560

The Princeton Review class was very helpful. It helps you understand tricks of the test and how to look at questions. With that said, a lot of the help from the class actually comes from the work you do outside of class. Do the homework, do the additional homework, do the practice exams, and come to class with questions. Part of why the Princeton class is helpful is because it portions out homework in smart ways every week.

But there were definitely some downsides. When I signed up for the class, there was a major organizational breakdown. I received an e-mail saying not enough people signed up and therefore the class might not be held. They told me they would inform me of what would happen. No one ever called or e-mailed me to confirm anything. I called and e-mailed repeatedly with no answer. I showed up the day of the course and luckily it was being held, but the Princeton Review never notified me. Then strangely, they called me 2 weeks AFTER class begun to say, yes the course will be held. What?

Beyond this, no one in our class was informed of a syllabus. So for 2 weeks, none of us were doing the homework. When we finally found out about this, we had 2 weeks of work to catch up on. There were also some organizational issues with substitutes and switching our schedule, etc.

The instructor Evan was very nice and definitely had a good handle on the test. However he tended to over-explain things. A lot. He also tended to favor people who understood the material better. Though not intentional, this led others feeling a bit belittled.

Although this review sounds harsh, the course was very helpful to understanding the test and helping me discipline myself into doing the appropriate homework for where I was and what I was learning. I do think another teacher would have helped me a bit more - I found Evan a bit condescending at times and I would often get lost in his over-explanations. But he was a good guy and often times really helped me understand the concepts.


Joined: Jul 2011
Purchased Course: May 2011
College: Tulane University
Major: Business
Industry: Student
Country: United States
Verified Real Student Review

Good Course

4 stars
July 22, 2011
Company: The Princeton Review 32 reviews
Location: The Princeton Review - Sheraton Bucks County 1 review
Teacher: Zach Baldwin
Recommended forVerbal: Yes   Math: Yes
GMAT ScoresBefore: N/A   After: N/A

I liked my teacher and the methods were clear and extremely helpful. Would recommend to anyone taking the GMAT. Only issue was that Princeton Review is very expensive. Not sure if course was worth $1200, but it was definitely helpful.


Joined: Jul 2011
Purchased Course: Apr 2011
Country: United States
Verified Real Student Review

So-so instruction and customer service, but worthwhile in the end

3 stars
July 21, 2011
Company: The Princeton Review 32 reviews
Location: The Princeton Review - Dupont Circle 2 reviews
Teacher: Evan
Recommended forVerbal: Yes   Math: Yes
GMAT ScoresBefore: N/A   After: 690

I'll start by saying that the teaching methods and coursework did help me increase my GMAT score. My scores increased on each practice test and I got the score I was hoping for the first time I took the real thing. However, my two complaints concern our instructor and Princeton Review's customer service. Our instructor was clearly very intelligent, but at times his explanations were very convoluted and sometimes when other students asked basic questions, he seemed slightly annoyed and his responses would kind of like be, "uh duh, this is how you do it." My biggest complaint though concerns Princeton Review itself. There were issues with our class and whether or not it would be conducted due to low registration, but my responses to different emails were never replied to and others in the class tried to call to verify that the class was still on and also did not receive responses. This was very annoying considering we'd all paid a lot of money for the class. They decided to run the class, but the first day, our instructor was not there because they hadn't informed him in enough time for him to fit it in his schedule and we had a substitute instructor who was late. This was not a confidence-inducing start to the course.

Overall, it was probably as worthwhile as any other GMAT review class and, for me, the convenience of the location and class times made up for a lot of the deficiencies.


Joined: Jul 2011
Purchased Course: Jan 2011
College: University of the Pacific
Major: Management/Business Administration
Country: United States
Verified Real Student Review

Worth the money for the tips and tricks, but...

4 stars
July 21, 2011
Company: The Princeton Review 32 reviews
Location: The Princeton Review - SoHo Manhattan 1 review
Teacher: Brian
Recommended forVerbal: Yes   Math: Yes
GMAT ScoresBefore: N/A   After: 580

Overall, the class taught me great tips and tricks for both the verbal and math section. My instructor definitely emphasized using the online student center, utilizing the extra drills and practice problems. I thought the amount of homework was just right. But I wish we reviewed more of the homework at the beginning of each class. I also think the course should have been a couple classes longer, and maybe more emphasis on the grammar rules. But I found what I learned boosted my score.


Joined: Feb 2011
Purchased Course: Oct 2010
College: UT Austin
Major: Marketing
Industry: Computers/Software
Country: United States
Verified Real Student Review

Did not get a good score after taking the class

2 stars
July 21, 2011
Company: The Princeton Review 32 reviews
Location: The Princeton Review - Dallas 1 review
Recommended forVerbal: No   Math: No
GMAT ScoresBefore: N/A   After: 530

I feel that I was not very well prepared. At Princeton Review they are more concerned with teaching tricks and ways of solving the problems faster. I feel they are not too concerned with your understanding of the topics. Also, I was told that you should spend more time in the first questions since those counted more towards the score. I later learned that this strategy is not good.. Also, sometimes we would get behind and instead of staying overtime we got back to the topic on the next class (which I think is not good). In addition, I had two teachers one for Tuesday and one for Thursday, they had different methods for solving some of the problems which made everything more confusing.. I think there should be only one teacher per class so the course can run smoother.


Joined: Jul 2011
Purchased Course: Mar 2011
College: St. John's University
Major: Management/Business Administration
Country: United States
Verified Real Student Review

Very efficient crash course

4 stars
July 20, 2011
Company: The Princeton Review 32 reviews
Location: The Princeton Review - Forest Hills 1 review
Teacher: Ladenheim Warren
Recommended forVerbal: Yes   Math: Yes
GMAT ScoresBefore: 520   After: 600

Although the course may be overpriced, it was very effective in helping me attain the GMAT score I sought.
In order to ensure that I kept the "Princeton Guarantee" in tact, I made sure I completed all of the homework, practice tests and online coursework.
The most helpful practice for the GMAT though, were the online practice tests, and The Princeton Review course offered at least 6 different practice tests.
In the end, after completing all of the coursework, I signed up for the GMAT again, and received a score of 600, upping it 80 points from what I scored prior to taking the class.
The only complaints about the class I have were the condition of the classrooms used at the facility and, of course, the price (although I was able to obtain a coupon code for $250 off the cost).

All-in-all, great course, great results. I highly recommend the course.


Joined: May 2011
Purchased Course: Apr 2010
Verified Real Student Review

GMAT Review

4 stars
May 10, 2011
Company: The Princeton Review 32 reviews
Location: The Princeton Review - Chelsea - NYC Seminar Center 1 review
Teacher: curtis retherford
Recommended forVerbal: Yes   Math: Yes
GMAT ScoresBefore: N/A   After: 550

This was my second time taking the Princeton Review. They offer a comprehensive course full of helpful tips. I highly recommend the program.