GRE Preparation

We can help your score get you where you want to go with a comprehensive, yet accessible GRE program for test-takers of all levels.

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Process

Is the GRE right for you?

Most graduate schools, including many MBA programs, use GRE scores during their admissions process. We can help you get your score in shape.

1

Determine when you need to take the test

The GRE is administered year-round in the computer-based format. Most programs only require an applicant's unofficial results in their application, so in theory you could take the exam on the day your application was due. However, achieving your best score on the GRE takes time and it's nice to have the test out of the way by the time your graduate program application process is in full swing. Because applicants may only take the GRE once within any calendar month, we advise students to schedule an exam date at least six weeks before the earliest application submission deadline.
Visit the official ETS website north_east
2

Familiarize yourself with the format of the exam and official resources

In addition to understanding the different question types and familiarizing yourself with the timing requirements, we recommend that you complete the sample questions provided on the GRE website.
View the ETS summary of the GRE north_east
3

Establish a baseline on a practice test

Establishing a baseline is a critical step in the process of studying for the GRE. We highly recommend taking a full-length practice exam as your diagnostic. Take the diagnostic exam under timed conditions and complete it in one sitting. Give yourself three hours and forty-five minutes to complete the test, including a ten minute break. Your score on this diagnostic exam is not particularly important; your correct and incorrect answers serve as a starting point for building a syllabus customized to your strengths and weaknesses. 
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4

Create a preparation plan

Start your preparation early. The GRE is highly coachable, patterned, and predictable. Familiarity with the test material through repetition leads to dramatically superior outcomes on test day.
View a sample syllabus
5

Start tutoring, and later practice testing

You’ll meet with your tutor regularly (ideally, at least once/week), complete homework in between sessions, and take practice tests. Practice tests are the best way to measure how well you’re applying the methods you’re learning in tutoring sessions, and to gauge the progress of your score.

Tutor spotlight

We are a group of exceptional GRE tutors prepared to meet the needs of every kind of student. As a prerequisite, every tutor joining us has scored in the 99th percentile on the exam. But, we also look for effective communicators, savvy interpreters of testing data, and structured thinkers.

Meet everyone

We are a group of exceptional GRE tutors prepared to meet the needs of every kind of student. As a prerequisite, every tutor joining us has scored in the 99th percentile on the exam. But, we also look for effective communicators, savvy interpreters of testing data, and structured thinkers.

Terry

Terry holds a BA in English and French (Amherst), and an MPhil in European Literature & Culture (University of Cambridge). He holds a PhD in French Language and Literature from NYU and currently teaches at Vassar.

Jimmy

Jimmy is a PhD candidate in Sociology & Social Policy at Harvard. He holds a JD (Harvard) and BA in English and Social Studies (Harvard). Currently, he is a Lecturer on Law at UCLA Law and a pro bono attorney.

Colleen

Colleen earned a PhD and MA from Harvard University in History, an MA in Modern European History from St Andrews, and a BA in History and Art History from University of Notre Dame. Currently, she is a researcher at Johns Hopkins.

Graham V.

Graham holds an MD (Vanderbilt University Medical School) and MBA (Harvard Business School). He earned his BS from MIT in Materials Science & Engineering. Currently, he is an Emergency Medicine Resident at Vanderbilt Medical Center.

Susan

Susan studied English at Rice and graduated summa cum laude. After serving in Teach for America, she earned her PhD in English at Harvard. She has held faculty positions at Wake Forest and Yale and currently lives in London.

Bassel

Bassel received an MS in Civil Engineering from MIT and a BS in Engineering from Harvard. He has taught college courses on topics ranging from probability and statistics to modern history.

Paul C.

Paul is a PhD candidate in African and African American Studies at Harvard, where he has received multiple awards for his teaching, as well as several research fellowships, including a Fulbright-Hays fellowship.

Jonathan W.

Jonathan is an MPA student at Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs. He earned his Bachelor's from Tufts University, where he double-majored in Politcal Science and Economics.

Elliot

Elliot earned his BS in Biology at MIT, and his MSc by Research in Clinical Medicine on a Rhodes Scholarshop at Oxford University. Currently, he is an MD/PhD student in the the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology program.

Sarah G.

Sarah earned her BS and MS in Physics at MIT. She now studies the interface between quantum theory and gravity as a research fellow at the Center for Theoretical Physics at MIT.

Aditya K.

Aditya is a PhD student in Computer Science at the University of Illinois. He received his BS in Computer Science and Applied Computational Mathematics from CalTech and MS in Computational Science and Engineering from Harvard.

Erin B.

Erin holds an MFA from the Iowa Writers' Workshop. She also holds an MA in Modern & Contemporary Literature (University of Virginia) and BA in English (Rutgers University, summa cum laude with high honors).

Paul W.

Paul holds a BA in History (Yale) and MA in Global Affairs (Schwarzman College, Tsinghua University). A recipient of the Fulbright and Schwarzman Fellowships, Paul is currently a Presidential Management Fellow in Washington DC.

Di

Di is an MBA student at the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business and has deferred admission to Harvard Law School. He received his BS in Mathematics, and BAs in Economics and Statistics at the University of Chicago.

Daniel Pa.

Dan is a PhD student in Mathematics at Ohio State University. He attended Bard College and graduated summa cum laude with a BA in Mathematics and a minor in Physics.

Troy

Troy graduated from Yale with a BA in Ethics, Politics, and Economics. After serving in Teach for America, he attended Harvard Law. Currently, Troy works for an education technology startup focused on preparing students for college.

Akash

Akash is an MD candidate at Harvard Medical School. He received his BS in Biomedical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University, and completed a one-year retinal neurophysiology research fellowship at the National Eye Institute.

Alexander V.

Alex earned his Master's in Musicology from Oxford University and his Bachelor's, with a double major in in Mathematics and Music, from Harvard University. He has been tutoring students for over eight years.

Caroline B.

Caroline earned her Bachelor's degree from Harvard in Chemical and Physical Biology. After graduation, she conducted reserach in health economics and policy. She is currently a medical student at Harvard Medical School.

Ash

Ash earned a BA in Social Studies (Harvard), an MPhil in Intellectual History and Political Thought (University of Cambridge), and a JD (Yale). He is currently a PhD candidate in Political Science at Columbia University.

Ash N.

Ash received his MA in Economics from Columbia University. He graduated with a degree in Electrical Engineering and Econometrics from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (summa cum laude, Tau Beta Pi).

Kate H.

Kate earned her BA in Public Policy from Stanford, and then completed a year of service with City Year San Jose before joining The Bridgespan Group, a nonprofit consulting organization. She now teaches English in Madrid, Spain.

Charles P.

Charles graduated from Princeton University with a BSE in Mechanical Engineering and Certificate in Theater and Dance. He has been a private tutor in New York City for over twelve years.

Sam D

Sam holds a BS in Physics (Cornell) and a PhD in Physics (Harvard). He's now a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Pennsylvania, studying physical systems and machine learning applications.

Adrienne

Adrienne received her English PhD from Harvard University, her MFA from the Iowa Writers' Workshop, and her BA from Princeton University. She is a nonfiction writer and poet, and teaches in the Writing Program at Princeton University.

Gus

Gus is currently in his fifth year of pursuing his PhD in Clinical Psychology at Columbia University. He is currently conducting psychological research using experimental and survey methods and serves as the doctoral student leader of the Internet, Disclosure & Psychotherapy Lab.

Liam B.

Liam holds a BS from Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations. After graduating, he accepted a leadership development role within the healthcare sector of CVS.

Sheela

Sheela earned her BFA in Vocal Performance and BS in Psychology from Carnegie Mellon University. She earned a Postgraduate Diploma in Vocal Performance from the Royal College of Music and an MSc in Cognitive & Decision Sciences from University College London. She also holds a JD from Yale Law School.

Alice Wa.

Alice studied English Literature at Wellesley College and graduated cum laude with honors. Currently, Alice is studying at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, specializing in Teaching and Curriculum. She's conducting her practicum at Arlington High School, where she teaches 9th grade English.

Hollis P.

Hollis holds a BA in Rhetoric and a BS in Environmental Economics and Policy from UC Berkeley. He is presently an MA Candidate in Architecture at Harvard University.

Kellen H.

Kellen holds a BA from Princeton in History & African American Studies, and a PhD from Columbia in History. She was a Predoctoral Fellow at UPenn’s McNeil Center for Early American Studies, and is now working on her Postdoctoral Fellowship at Penn State University.

Dmitry K.

Dmitry studied French, German, and Political Science at Middlebury College, graduating magna cum laude and a Dana Scholar. Three semesters studying abroad in Paris and Berlin solidified his lifelong love of Europe. Subsequently, he completed a Master’s in Development Economics at the Sorbonne in Paris.

Nick S.

Nick graduated from Columbia University with degrees in English and Economics. He next earned a teaching certificate and moved to Barcelona to teach English. Since 2003, he’s been teaching all over the world, usually spending winters in Berlin and summers in Barcelona.

Paige B.

Paige is a research associate at Harvard Business School’s Project on Managing the Future of Work. She earned her MBA at MIT Sloan School of Management and her bachelor’s in Materials Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

Marta

Marta is an MD Candidate at Harvard Medical School. Prior to matriculating at Harvard, Marta headed to Bonn, Germany as a Fulbright scholar. There, she conducted research related to Parkinson's disease and expanded her German language skills.

Xavier

Xavier graduated from Yale College in 2019 with a BS in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology. During the summers, he researched Type II Diabetes at Yale Medical School and HIV at Harvard Medical School. Currently, he is pursuing a Neuroscience PhD at Columbia University.

Valerie A.

Valerie completed her BS in Mechanical Engineering at MIT. She then completed her MS in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Tech. She is now a mechanical engineer in the nuclear power industry.

Eleanor S.

Eleanor is an MBA/Masters in Computer Science dual degree candidate at the University of Chicago/Booth School of Business. Previously, she received her Bachelor’s degrees in Economics and Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry from Yale University.

Sean B.

Sean graduated from Yale University with a degree in American Studies. After teaching in Oklahoma City at Odyssey Leadership Academy, he went on to earn his MFA in Poetry at Boston University.

Rasheca

Rasheca was a Robertson scholar who attended Duke University and also had the opportunity to simultaneously major at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. At Duke, Rasheca majored in Public Policy and at UNC Rasheca majored in Nutrition. She graduated in 2020 summa cum laude, with distinction, and as a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She is currently pursuing a medical degree at Harvard Medical School.

Iggy

Iggy majored in Mathematical Sciences at West Point. He now studies machine learning and applied mathematical techniques at MIT, working at the MIT Lincoln Laboratory to develop algorithms that predict the impact of cyber-attacks on national defense systems.

Tarika

Tarika graduated with dual degrees in Philosophy and Biochemistry from The University of Texas at Austin. She then spent a year as a research fellow at the Mayo Clinic Biomedical Ethics Research Program in Rochester, Minnesota before moving to Boston to pursue her MD at Harvard Medical School.

Akhil

Akhil holds a BA and MA in Political Science from Yale University. He is currently pursuing his MS in Comparative Social Policy from the University of Oxford as a Marshall Scholar. Following his time in Oxford, he will begin studying for his JD at Yale Law School.

Preeti K.

Preeti holds a degree in Human Biology from Stanford University. She is now an MD/MBA candidate at the University of California, Los Angeles and is interested in pursuing internal medicine.

Chenguang

Upon graduation from Dartmouth, Chenguang received the James B. Reynolds scholarship to study for an MPhil at the University of Cambridge in Physiology, Development, and Neuroscience. She is now pursuing a PhD at Harvard in Biophysics.

Dom

Dom is a PhD Candidate in Political Science at Harvard University. Previously, he graduated from the University of Michigan with degrees in Political Science and Statistics.

Sabrina W.

Sabrina graduated from Harvard College with High Honors in Economics and a minor in Ethnicity, Migration, and Rights. She is currently pursuing an MBA at Harvard Business School and an MPP at Harvard Kennedy School. Sabrina is also experienced as a Management Consultant at both Bain & Company and the Boston Consulting Group.

Jinoh

Jinoh attended Columbia University, where he graduated with a Neuroscience and Behavior major with a 3.8 GPA and departmental honors. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Neurobiology at Harvard.

Elijah F.

Elijah studied homogeneous dynamics at Yale University, graduating in 2023 with a PhD in Mathematics. Previously, he earned his BA in Mathematics and Biology at Williams College, where he received the Witte Problem Solving Prize.

Michael Ki.

Michael is a PhD Candidate in Neuroscience and Genomics at Harvard University. His current focus is on developing cutting-edge research technologies for fellow scientists.

Tom S.

Tom earned master’s degrees in economics and statistics from the London School of Economics and the University of Oxford. Previously, he completed four undergraduate degrees in mathematics, economics, statistics, and philosophy at Indiana University.

Valentine

Valentine graduated from the University of Rochester with a BA in Economics. After a 2-year stint as a Peace Corps Volunteer, he is currently pursuing his PhD in Public Policy at Harvard University.

Beth G.

Beth earned her BA in Human Biology and MA in Education from Stanford University. She is now in the PhD program in Animal Biology at UC Davis, where she studies the proteins involved in sperm-egg fusion.

Corinne A.

Corinne is a student at Harvard Medical School in the Harvard-MIT MD-PhD program. Previously, she attended the Cleveland Institute of Music, from which she holds a degree in violin performance with minors in music history and chemistry in cooperation with Case Western Reserve University.

Shurik

Shurik holds a BA in Physics from the University of Rochester and is currently a PhD candidate in the Bioengineering Department at the University of Pennsylvania.

Ashvin

Ashvin earned his BA in Mathematics at Harvard, receiving early election to Phi Beta Kappa, graduating summa cum laude, and winning the David Mumford prize. He also holds a PhD in Mathematics from Princeton.

Julia M.

Julia holds a BA in Economics (summa cum laude) from Harvard College. She is currently pursuing an MSc in Statistical Science at Oxford University.

Adam T.

Adam holds a BA in Physics from Washington University in St. Louis (2013) and PhD in Physics from MIT (2024). He has worked as an engineer and data scientist.

Ava G.

Ava is a JD Candidate at Harvard Law School. She also holds an MSEd from the University of Miami and a BA in History and Spanish from the University of Notre Dame.Ava is a JD Candidate at Harvard Law School. She also holds an MSEd from the University of Miami and a BA in History and Spanish from the University of Notre Dame.

Marcus

Marcus holds a Master's in Liberal Studies from Columbia University. He previously graduated summa cum laude from the University of Minnesota with a BA in American Studies.

Meet everyone

Testimonials

“Tutoring with Harry was exactly what I was looking for — flexible and targeted. Harry patiently explained concepts in an intuitive way, and sessions were very productive. Harry made the most of the time discussing study strategies, material concepts, and practice problems. Overall, this was a great service, and I am very glad I didn't do one of those online courses that would've cost more and given me less personal attention.”

Shane WoolleyScore went from 320 to 330

“I am so glad I came across Cambridge Coaching for my GRE preparation last spring! Paul is not only an expert in every section of this exam, but he is also an incredible teacher. He preps and tailors each session to the specific needs of the individual. I am proud to say that a year later, I will be attending my number one graduate program of choice.”

GRE Student

“I appreciated having a personalized tutoring experience outside of the industry giants. I knew that I was getting high quality instruction because my tutor had taken the test himself very recently with excellent scores, and had already assisted multiple other students. Cambridge Coaching's tailored approach worked great with my pace of learning and testing schedule.”

AdamGRE

“Alex was amazing. He is obviously a brilliant mathematician, but besides that, what truly stuck out to me was his positivity and encouragement. His way of breaking down both specific problems and underlying concepts were always clear, and definitely helped me improve my GRE skills. Cambridge Coaching is such a professional organization and Alex was the best tutor I've worked with.”

PhenixGRE

Testimonials

“Tutoring with Harry was exactly what I was looking for — flexible and targeted. Harry patiently explained concepts in an intuitive way, and sessions were very productive. Harry made the most of the time discussing study strategies, material concepts, and practice problems. Overall, this was a great service, and I am very glad I didn't do one of those online courses that would've cost more and given me less personal attention.”

Shane WoolleyScore went from 320 to 330

“I am so glad I came across Cambridge Coaching for my GRE preparation last spring! Paul is not only an expert in every section of this exam, but he is also an incredible teacher. He preps and tailors each session to the specific needs of the individual. I am proud to say that a year later, I will be attending my number one graduate program of choice.”

GRE Student

“I appreciated having a personalized tutoring experience outside of the industry giants. I knew that I was getting high quality instruction because my tutor had taken the test himself very recently with excellent scores, and had already assisted multiple other students. Cambridge Coaching's tailored approach worked great with my pace of learning and testing schedule.”

AdamGRE

“Alex was amazing. He is obviously a brilliant mathematician, but besides that, what truly stuck out to me was his positivity and encouragement. His way of breaking down both specific problems and underlying concepts were always clear, and definitely helped me improve my GRE skills. Cambridge Coaching is such a professional organization and Alex was the best tutor I've worked with.”

PhenixGRE

“Colleen was an excellent tutor and helped me score considerably higher on the GRE in less than 2 months. I enjoyed working with her for her expertise both on the GRE and general graduate school knowledge. It felt like she was able to help me unpack what was important and what needed to be paid attention to in each question.”

MaritessGRE

“Andrew is organized, easy to talk to and has an excellent command of the subject matter. He is patient and is able to break down difficult problems so they are easy to understand. I would recommend him to anyone studying for the GRE.”

StephanieGRE

“Sean was an excellent tutor. He is knowledgeable, flexible, encouraging, and reliable. I used him to tutor for the GRE, and it worked out great!”

JackiGRE

“Weike was very professional, and very well prepared. She made sure I had enough materials to practice and study with, and held me accountable to studying and doing practice sections every week.”

JordanGRE

FAQs

  • What is the structure of the GRE?

    There are six sections on the GRE: the Writing section, two Verbal sections, two Quantitative sections, and one Experimental section (ungraded). 
  • How long is the GRE?

    The Writing section clocks in at 60 minutes, the Verbal sections are 30 minutes each, the Quantitative sections are 35 minutes each, and the ungraded Experimental section is 30-35 minutes long. Including breaks, the entire test will take you about 4 hours.
  • How is the GRE scored?

    Your GRE score is listed as three separate scores: one for Quantitative Reasoning, one for Verbal Reasoning, and one for Analytical Writing. The Quantitative Reasoning and Verbal Reasoning sections are scored on a scale from 130-170. The Analytical Writing section is scored on a scale from 0-6. You’ll receive your scores online up to two weeks after you take the GRE.
  • How many times can I take the GRE?

    You can take the GRE up to five times in a single year, with at least 21 days in between test dates. There are no limits for lifetime attempts of the GRE. Although different admissions committees will handle multiple GRE scores differently, all of your prior GRE scores will typically be seen by the adcomm. You will not be penalized for multiple retakes, however, and score increases over multiple attempts are typically considered a positive.
  • How long should I take to study for the GRE?

    It depends! There's no right or wrong answer, and everyone will need to study for a different length of time. There are a few factors that determine how long you should give yourself to study for this test. If you haven't taken a math course since high school, it's best to start preparing early for the quant section of the exam. And, if you're someone who isn't so fond of standardized tests, you might want to give yourself a few extra months to get used to the structure and pacing of the GRE. The best way to determine what's right for you is to take a diagnostic GRE as soon as possible to get a sense of where you're scoring (and compare that to your goal score and application deadlines). 
  • How do I register for the GRE?

    You can register to take the GRE through the official GRE website.
  • What costs are associated with the GRE?

    The GRE costs $205 to take.
  • What are the GRE Subject Tests?

    The GRE Subject Tests focus on specific academic areas and are designed to test your knowledge in those areas. The Subject Tests currently available are: biochemistry, cell and molecular biology; biology; chemistry; computer science; literature in English; mathematics; physics; and psychology. These tests are administered once in November, December, and April only, and have different fees associated with them.
  • Are GRE Subject Tests required?

    While subject tests are not required by most graduate programs, strong subject test results can demonstrate your expertise in a particular area relevant to the programs you are applying for, and help your application to stand out. (Be sure to consult the requirements for the specific programs you're interested in.)

Plans

We've created a structured yet flexible pricing plan that offers everything you need to succeed on test day. While the frequency and length of sessions are flexible, most students find one or two 90-minute sessions per week to be ideal.

Choose a Tutor Tier

Hourly Rate

1 Hour

All of our tutoring is available on an hourly basis. If you're not sure how much tutoring you'll need or when you plan to test, you can enroll in our "pay as you go" option.

$ 140

$ 180

$ 260

$ 340

First Time Package

4.5 Hours

The three session package is a good way to get a student's feet wet, evaluate the amount of tutoring they’ll ultimately need, and see if they feel comfortable with a tutor. Most students use this package to gauge their preliminary strengths and weaknesses so that the tutor can chart a longer term plan.

$ 630

$ 810

$ 1170

$ 1530

Comprehensive package

24 Hours 5% OFF

Our preferred approach to the GRE offers complete coverage of the exam: verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, and analytical writing. We also review general test strategy and time management extensively.

$ 3192 You save $168

$ 4104 You save $216

$ 5928 You save $312

$ 7752 You save $408

Planning Ahead Package

30 Hours 10% OFF

Because the GRE heavily rewards repetition, we offer this package to students who would prefer to space their preparation out over a longer duration and complete additional practice exams. Some students find this package useful if they need to spend more time preparing for particular sections of the test or getting acclimated to the pressures of standardized testing.

$ 3780 You save $420

$ 4860 You save $540

$ 7020 You save $780

$ 9180 You save $1020

Tutor Tiers

We have 4 tiers of coaches. The coach’s tier is based on the experience level of the coach with our team. All coaches begin working with Cambridge Coaching at the Standard tier.

  • Standard

    0-150 hours
    $140/hour

  • Senior

    150-200 hours
    $180/hour

  • Guru

    250-300 hours
    $260/hour

  • Master

    350+- hours
    $340/hour

Ready to get started?

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