Not much has changed in 2013. The big players have slapped a different glossy cover on their respective books, left what’s in between the covers unchanged, and called them new books. That many of these books were originally published before the Revised GRE had even debuted suggests the content inside is anything but 2013.
On a more positive note, there were a few surprises, notably from Barron’s, who did not rest on its glossy- covered laurels, and released a book with six on-line tests (see below). Also you may want to check out this post on the best GRE study materials for 2013.
Kaplan 2013 GRE Premier: with 5 Online Practice Tests
Same bad prep. Apparently, they offer five on-line tests on the cover, but in reality only offer two (they’re working on the other three). That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as we could do without more mediocre content. Here’s last year’s review (since it’s the same old thing!): Kaplan New GRE Premier 2011-2012 Book Review
Cracking the GRE 2013 Edition by Princeton Review
Do you want to know what the Princeton Review 2018 GRE prep book will look like? Or maybe the 2025 Edition? Well, take the 2013, making sure you don’t look at the pretty face on the cover, and open to the first page. Voila! The contents will be no different from the 2018 book, just as the contents to 2013 book are no different from past editions. For the 2012 Edition review—yep, you guessed it: exact same book—read here: Princeton Review: Cracking the New GRE 2012 Book Review
Princeton also released a 1,014 questions for the GRE. While the sheer number of questions sounds like a boon to the GRE prep landscape, you may want to keep reading.
On this one, it may seem as though I’m being remiss in my job as a book reviewer. I decided not to review this book based on the history of the Princeton Review 1,014 Question Series (for the old GRE) being fraught with major typos and issues over the years, and the fact that the Amazon consensus for this offering is no different. Usually, I don’t rely on what other reviewers say, but when nearly every one opines that this book is filled with errors and will only hurt your score, or, as one reviewer eloquently put it, “torpedo your confidence”, I think the verdict is clear: Avoid this book.
Manhattan 5 lb. Book of GRE Practice Problems
The 5 lb book is a formidable addition to the GRE landscape, offering almost 2,000 questions. They weren’t joking about the the title. But ultimately, it’s a mixed bag of mostly excellent math questions paired with inconsistent–and at times mediocre–verbal content. Check out the 5 lb review here!
McGraw Hill’s GRE, 2013 Edition
Same book word-for-word as last year. Avoid this book. The review for the old book is completely relevant – given that, besides the cover, the book is exactly the same. Check out last year’s review here: McGraw-Hill’s New GRE: 2011-2012 Edition Book Review
GRE For Dummies Premier 7th Edition
This actually came out last year, but I’m including it as part of the 2013 series since this edition is the most recent one released. For full review: GRE For Dummies Premier 7th Edition Book Review
Barron’s 6 Practice Tests and Verbal Workbook
Barron’s, unlike its predecessors, has been busy with Barron’s 6 practice tests, which make for a pretty decent offering into the prep world.
Also Barron’s released another ‘Verbal Workbook’ over a year ago that I had never gotten around to reviewing. This is the most recent edition.
I’ll have these reviews up in a couple days, so be on the lookout for them. 
I’ll also be adding even more reviews of books as I sort through them, so make sure you check back soon.
So to reiterate, 2013 seemed to bring a lot of the same from the big GRE book publishers. I guess there’s not much surprising there! What are your thoughts? Are there any other books you’d like to have me review here? Post in the comments below!
Hi Chris,
I’m so glad to find this website. I’ll be taking my GRE in August as a first-timer. I’m really really nervous because the grad-schools require an average grade and their website posted ” a grade of 1200 or above”. im assuming that is calculated before the revised GRE. I would like to know what is an average for this new GRE? I seen people posting grades average from 150 to 160.
Second, I’m a very self-motivated & disciplined person, i thought of paying over 1k for classroom instructor, but maybe you can help me here (considering independent study over classroom now ) What books should i buy? or do you recommend?
Thank you!
Hi Chuyu!
Great questions. The average (about 50th percentile) for the new GRE is about a 151/152 in each section (or a 302-304 overall). You can find out more about average scores and score percentiles here: http://www.ets.org/s/gre/pdf/gre_guide_table1a.pdf
Secondly, if you’re self-motivated and disciplined, there’s no need to spend $1000 for a classroom instructor. You would fare just as well using books. In terms of book recommendations, for comprehensive review, we like the Manhattan series and The Official Guide. And of course, I’d have to recommend that you check out Magoosh!
You can sign up for a free trial here: https://gre.magoosh.com/subscribe/1-week
Hope that helps!
Best,
Rachel
Hello Chris,
I took the GRE actual test 3 times scoring Q:156-157-159, V: 143-143-145. I am planning to take a new exam within the next two months in June or July I am looking for a score within the range of Q-165+ and V-155+! Is this possible? I am desperate, I studied really hard before these tests but no significant improvement and not sure if Magoosh could help me?
I had very good preparation history, I took the Princeton Insructor-based course for 3 extensive weeks and solved all math questions and took all six practical tests. I also purchased kaplan, Barrown’s and official ETS guide, and solved all math problems from these books and Kaplan online. Also I took all the practical tests but the highest Q I achieved was 161. I noticed during my practice, that I am quite slow in solving hard math problems and 50-70% of the time I get them wrong! Although I didn’t work much on my verbal during preparation, this time I would like to improve my verbal as well.
After going through all of these materials, I am starting to have doubts about any further improvement especially for Q. What do you think I should do? and which plan I should take or concentrate on! One of your colleague suggested for me to take the beginner plan, but I feel this one is too easy for me especially for math, shall I take the advanced 90 month plan?
I really appreciate your help!
Hi MHD,
Wow, you’ve definitely worked very diligently at your GRE prep – I applaud your effort
.
I DO think Magoosh can help you. Our Quant has a lot of tough questions. I’d also recommend supplementing Magoosh with the Manhattan GRE 6 online tests (which come free if you buy just one MGRE book). Simply put, the Barron’s/Princeton Review/Kaplan questions just aren’t hard enough to prepare you for test day.
Also, our math explanations can make you a quant star quickly. MGRE also has a great explanations.
Of course, even using Magoosh/MGRE isn’t going to be the complete package without you understanding how your approach questions better. Many times I’ve seen students operate under the assumption that they only have to do more practice questions and there score will automatically increase. So you are not alone in your struggle
.
So make sure to review and understand why you missed problems, how you can go about answering the questions more quickly, and even return to similar questions after a week interval just to see if your approach has changed.
Again using Magoosh/MGRE will greatly help you in Quant. Throw in Magoosh for verbal and I am confident that when you take the test in July you will score your best yet.
As for study plans, don’t use the Beginnger for quant – it is too basic for you. Try using the advanced Quant plan. You should probably use the beginner plan, though, for verbal.
Good luck, and let me know how you progress along the way
.
Hi Chris,
Did you get a chance to review Barron’s 6 gre test book? How is it? And how do you rate – Kaplan GRE: Strategies, Practice and Review 2013 with Online Practice Test ?
Thank you.
Hi SP,
I indeed got round to it
. Here is my Barron’s 6 review:
http://magoosh.com/gre/2013/barrons-6-gre-practice-tests-book-review/
Here are my GRE book reviews 2013, in which we can find reference to the Kaplan book. Hope that helps!
http://magoosh.com/gre/2013/2013-gre-book-reviews/
Thanks Chris ! For Kaplan I was referring to the new strategies books (Kaplan GRE: Strategies, Practice and Review 2013 with Online Practice Test ) which Kaplan has published – here is the link to that book on Amazon – http://www.amazon.com/Kaplan-GRE-Strategies-Practice-Review/dp/1609781015/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1363532094&sr=1-1&keywords=kaplan+gre+strategies .
Hi SP,
Though that book looks very different on the cover from the one I reviewed the book is basically identical to the previous year’s edition, 2012. In general, a good strategy is to avoid Kaplan. Esp. for verbal it will not prepare you for the test (the math is also too easy compared to the actual test).
Hope that clears things up!
Sure, thank you!
I purchased the Princeton Review book before i read this unfortunately. How can i make it work? Also do you have any suggestions on who is best for test prep? Powerscore, Kaplan, Princeton?
Hi Jay,
I know I don’t have the most glowing thnings to say about the Princeton Review, but it is a great place to start (assuming you are just starting off). As long as you treat the Princeton Review book as a warm-up–before getting into the real tough stuff–you should be fine. For the tough stuff, I recommend the MGRE online practice tests (which you get when you buy one of their GRE guides), or Magoosh (which is all online).
As for Kaplan I can’t say many great things about it. Powerscore…I didn’t know they had a GRE book. Do you mean live classes?
Hi chris,
I have already purchased the Kaplan premeire book becuase a cousin of mine reccomended it saying that it’s the best one there and he got into grad school mostly because of that book. However, after reading you review I agree with you. The maths questions that I get right are highly easy and the ones i get wrong are mostly due to a careless mistake i make.
But now that i have purchased it and the book cost me Rs. 1150 (quite a lot given the salary i make) how can i make the best of it? or should i just let go of the book altogether.
P.S. I want to score at least 160 on both maths and verbal
Looking forward to your reply.
Hi Osama,
Sorry to hear that you are stuck with the Kaplan book
. One thing you can do, to experience real questions, is to take a practice GRE test by ETS. These questions are at the exact level you will see test day.
http://www.ets.org/s/gre/pdf/practice_book_GRE_pb_revised_general_test.pdf
As for the questions in the Kaplan book, do all of the math questions. The reading comp. passages are okay. Also read the strategy parts to see which strategies work. If the strategies don’t work for you, I’d recommend reading through this blog. All the strategies and practice content you find–for both math and verbal–are free.
We also have free ebooks. I’ve posted the link below.
http://magoosh.com/gre/gre-ebook/
This way you’ll get a lot of helpful content, without feeling that you wasted your money
.
Good luck!
Thank you. you got G+ or a facebook page?
Hi, Osama
You can find all of us on G+ or on Facebook here: http://magoosh.com/gre/2013/come-hang-out-with-us-on-twitter-facebook-and-more/
Best,
Margarette
Hi Chris,
Just wanted to know if Random variables and Probability distribution are major parts of the test?
Thank YOu
Hi Anurag,
No, not at all. On the entire test, you’ll probably see two questions covering these areas. It’s good to get practice on them. Students tend to become discomfited by these questions (even though they are worth no more than other questions). So it’s good to get extra practice on them, esp. when you can breeze through them test day.
Hope that helped
!
Could you please review GRE Analytical Writing: Solution to the Real Essay Topics by Vibrant Publishers and also if possible can u review GRE Reading Comprehension: Detailed Solutions to 200 Questions again by Vibrant Publishers
Hi Payal,
Hmm…I have never heard of this publisher before. I’ll definitely get a few of their books and review them. It will probably be a few weeks before I can review them though
.
Hi Chris,
Looking forward to your review on Manhattan 5lb book.
It’s is up! It’s the very first post on the blog
.
hey Chris, should i buy barron’s 6 gre test book?
Yes, it’s pretty good. I’ve written a full-review, which should be up any day now. I’d def. recommend reading that as well.