Can anyone offer any thoughts on the quality of the GRE prep courses that they have taken? It looks like this forum is more about undergrad topics, but I figured I would post and see what comes up.
I went through the "Cracking the GRE 2010" Princeton Review book for the old GRE, and I thought the questions they put in there were not even close to the difficulty of the real GRE. Based on that, I'm assuming the Princeton Review course isn't all that good. I could be wrong.

I wouldn't worry too much about GRE prep courses. For one, they are INSANELY expensive, and the results are questionable in my opinion. I'm taking it tomorrow and I went to Barnes and Noble and I got a variety of GRE prep books. Not nearly as expensive but they teach you tricks to help with the questions, and you can learn more at your own pace.

Get a book, study basic math that you should remember from HS, study common word list. If you dont score well with doing those simple things, might want to ask yourself if grad school is really for you.

I took an $80 prep course thru Blinn online, helped A LOT. But that was with the 'old' test, I'm not sure if they have a course for the new version of the GRE.

I kind of agree with Randy. I was in such a rush when I signed up for the test that I didn't have time to review, as the test was two days later. After a few minutes of shaking off the HS math rust, was in a groove, and did pretty well. I would just use the free ones that I think they offer on the ETS website to remind you of the geometry and algebra principles.

Thank you all for your input so far.
Maybe I should add a little to my opening post.
I don't mean to tell my life story. However, what follows are all factors weighing in my decision.

1) Cost isn't the biggest concern. As long as these courses have a reasonable ROI and the degree I'm choosing to get is worth the money, my parents have generously agreed to pay for it.
2) I'm a weak test-taker. A lot of it is from test anxiety, but I do feel some explanations and strategies for answering questions would be helpful.
3) I'm also considering a tutor + cheaper online course videos, instead of classes. I've taken a weekend GRE course before. That "Study Prof" one at A&M. It didn't really help, and I didn't have time for any outside studying on my own. So I completely bombed the GRE first time around. I also tried self-studying for the LSAT with PowerScore LSAT books and those books just confused me further.
I'm not some lazy, 2.8-achieving dimwit; I just haven't quite found the best way that I learn to take these tests.
I was also told during high school that maybe I wasn't cut out for college, due to a diagnosed "learning disability." Garbage. I didn't let the SAT, or any other learning problems, stand in my way of college before. I'm not letting the GRE stand in my way of Grad School.

I'm horrible on standardized tests, the Blinn course honestly put 200 points on score. I took it after studying on my own, and then re-took it after the course. It was completely worth it IMHO.

Depending on how good your language skills are I'd only study the math with is as others said, high school grade. Tri, algebra, and algrebra 2. (lots of angles and stuff).

I got an 800 on the math and a 375 on the english, which is horribly bad. BUT, there were words on the english section that I had never seen before in my life. When I told my wife this, she didn't beleive me and just thought that I must have been stupid. When she took it, the first thing she told me was how hard the english was.

The analogies/synonms are the worst part of the test, and imo don't actually test shet for your knowledge.

Study the math, look through a work book of words (go buy the books from half priced or something).

don't spend the money on a class. Also be sure you kick ass on the first few questions because if not you're regulated to taking a "dumber" verison of the test and can only achieve a score of a set number, less than 800. If you miss the first 5, you're test is automatically "changed" in the computer. (This was the case in 2007 - not sure if still the case)

[This message has been edited by OnlyForNow (edited 2/14/2012 2:22p).]

^ that is no longer the case

Thanks Max.

Do you have enough willpower to actually study for the GRE on your own? I only used the Kaplan GRE book for the math reviews and practice tests and ended up with a 790 math and 610 verbal. If you can make yourself sit down and study (I waited until the summer), you shouldn't need a class. The book showed me what areas I was weakest at, so I focused on certain types of math problems, etc. Some of the classes offered won't treat you as an individual.

Also, don't forget to use the ETS website! They have ALL of the essay prompts they could possibly ask you on the website. You can also download the same software they use for the real test and practice so you don't freak out the day of.

Since this post seems to be getting some reads still, I thought I would offer an update. If anyone who looks at this post is curious as to what I decided, here it is.

I looked at Kaplan, Princeton Review, Barron's, Manhattan GRE, etc. test review books at Barnes & Noble. Some of the strategies they suggest for answering questions were helpful to me, and some were not. I think you all are probably correct. If one has enough self-motivation and isn't an extremely weak student in any subject area, they can study on their own for much less money. There is enough material out there that this can be done. Find what works for you, memorize vocab. lists, take practice tests. It's still not cheap to study effectively for this test on your own, especially if you end up getting a private tutor. (Unless someone will tutor you for free. Lucky you.) Books are anywhere from $20-$50, as an average, and you will need a lot of them for practice and reviewing.

I, however, need tutoring for the Quant. section. Anyone who would offer to tutor me for free is crazy.
Kaplan lets you take the classroom course for free when you buy a tutoring package, so I will be negotiating with the Parental Fund to sign up with them. I used some Kaplan material for studying for the LSAT and it helped. I still think, though, that Kaplan's and Princeton Review's books are too simple once you've gotten pretty far in studying. If I'm not totally burned out by the end of the course and tutoring, I plan to work a lot of practice tests and ETS material, work through the NOVA math, Manhattan Verbal, and memorize Barron wordlists. I'm viewing the Kaplan course/tutoring as a foundation for further studying. Something I need since I'm not a good test taker.

There it is. Thanks to everyone for their advice.

Seriously, look at high school geometry and algebra.

Craziest thing I saw on my GRE was a matrix from algebra 2... and I about crapped my pants when I saw that.

I also didn't remember what complimentary or supplementary angles were so I had to guess.

Good thing I bombed Algebra II in high school. Yeah, I'm trying to reteach myself Algebra right now. And failing. WEE!
This is where I would get into what I think about standardized testing, but that's another discussion.

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I got an 800 on the math and a 375 on the english, which is horribly bad. BUT, there were words on the english section that I had never seen before in my life.

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That was my reaction too. (And I got an 800 on math and 590 on verbal.)

If you need local tutors - either I or someone else can help. I have helped on both GRE (including the revised version) and GMAT and have tutored many students with success.

My link is here:
http://collegestation.universitytutor.com/tutors/16827
You can find other tutors at the same url:
http://collegestation.universitytutor.com/

Didn't take the GRE, but did take the GMAT. Horrible test taker. My score went up 100 points after I used Veritas Prep and got into my #1 MBA program. They are really expensive, but it worked for me. Very awesome company. I know they do GRE stuff as well. Good luck.

An additional update. I've decided to make this a sort of Idiot's Guide, Journey Through the World of GRE Prep thing. For whomever happens to need some honest input.:

A family member reviewed and recommended the Princeton Review GRE prep course, so I ended up enrolling in that one. I also found a $500 off promo code which brought the price down to, I believe, what you pay for their small group classes. Also, there are only four people in my class, including myself, so I ended up getting a good deal. (A good deal when we're speaking of GRE prep courses, that is.)
Anyway. Two classes in, I've found that as stated,---if not in this thread, in many other GRE course review threads---the vast majority of improvement has been from the homework/practice I've done on my own. There is only one class session a week, and usually with all the homework and pre-work you're expected to do, I get to class behind and the techniques taught don't make much sense or stick in my memory until I get caught up on the homework and practice practice practice. I guess at this point I can't say that I regret enrolling in the course. I needed the kick in butt to really start practicing. This stuff bores me to death.
I hate that school has become more about test scores and memorization than learning by doing and making mistakes.
I'm still a bit worried that material used to practice and their practice tests are not as difficult as the real GRE. However, I feel I cannot form a complete opinion on that until I take more practice tests and get further into my studies.

(By the way, my apologies for the comma happiness and any other grammar mistakes. One of my side projects is doing a good update on my spelling and grammar knowledge.)

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I hate that school has become more about test scores and memorization than learning by doing and making mistakes.

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This is called getting a job .. again .. if you think this way why do you want to go to grad school?

Pretty good advice on here. It is all about will power. If you can actually make yourself study and get the necessary prep time to set aside time to study you will do fine. The math section is pretty simplistic and takes practice. The verbal is fine and you can use many techniques to do well as. Focus on the 250 most used words too (in the Kaplan Book can probably find online). Probably saw like 30 of them on there that I previously didnt know. I felt like for me the course would be a waste of time, but I also had the summer off and just focused on my prep.

Didn't study for the GRE, got piss drunk the night before and made and scored well enough to get into Mays. Can't remember the score. Just wing it.