Magoosh vs Real GRE

Similarity of Magoosh Problems To Real GRE Problems

As a GRE tutor, I have sat for the exam over a half dozen times now, and used the official practice materials from ETS (the makers of the exam) extensively. In addition, as a contributor for this website, I’ve used and reviewed over a dozen different GRE prep courses. 

As such, at this point, I feel that I have a very solid grasp of the nature of real GRE problems, and I know pretty quickly when a prep provider’s questions are a close match or total junk.

I’ve become very familiar with Magoosh over the years, and I believe that their practice problems are much better than most others’. However, there is something you need to understand about Magoosh’s practice material. 

Some of their study material is official practice material from past exams, while some questions are simulated problems, created by their team of GRE pros. Let me break this down.

Official GRE Practice Material 

Of the 1,600 practice problems in the Magoosh GRE prep program, 160 of them are official practice problems from ETS. That means these are questions literally pulled from past exams. 

Magoosh gets access to these problems by licensing them from the makers of the exam, ETS. To my knowledge, Magoosh is the only GRE prep company in the US that gets access to these materials.

No other course that I’ve reviewed—including Kaplan, Princeton Review, and Manhattan Prep—gets access to these official materials. 

Granted, we’re only talking about 10% of Magoosh’s practice material being official material, but that’s still more than any other GRE prep provider can boast. 

To be specific in terms of what Magoosh provides, you get eight practice problem sets of 20 questions each (four sets for quant, and four sets for verbal). 

Magoosh separates these official materials out from the more general pool of questions, allowing you to save them for the end of your prep as you close in on test day. That way, you can simulate real exam sections with official problems. 

I like how they do that. And honestly, this is a major advantage for Magoosh students, as practicing under exam-like conditions with the most realistic practice materials possible is the highest form of prep work. 

So major kudos to Magoosh for scoring this license with ETS.

Magoosh’s Other GRE Practice Material

As for the other 90% of Magoosh’s GRE practice work, I generally found it to be a close match for the real thing. In my opinion, the 1,500 or so problems crafted by their in-house team of GRE tutors is a fair match for the content, style, difficulty, and length of real GRE problems, across both math and verbal.

I have personally found this to be the case and it’s generally the feedback I hear from students as well. With some other test prep companies, it is just clear as day that their in-house practice material is much easier or harder than the real thing. 

The issue obviously is that for simulated practice work that is too easy, you’re unprepared for the real thing come test day. And conversely, if the material is too hard, you’re making your life miserable training for a level of difficulty you’ll never experience. 

Magoosh is in that sweet spot of being a close match for the real GRE. Some questions are easier, and some are harder, but by and large, I would have a hard time deciphering real GRE problems from most of Magoosh’s mock problems. 

Conclusion

Whether you’re already using the Magoosh course and simply curious how the practice material you’ve been drilling will compare to the real thing, or you’re considering Magoosh’s prep program and doing some research, I have never had an issue with Magoosh’s practice work like I have had with other prep providers’ materials. It’s a close match for the real GRE, in my opinion. And with some official GRE practice material included, it’s a program that offers more value than most.