The Good

On-site courses in 41 states:

While Kaplan offers top-quality live online and on-demand course options, they really stand out for their extensive network of classroom locations, which are spread across 41 states and Washington, D.C. No other GRE prep company matches Kaplan in this area. Manhattan Review and The Princeton Review, the companies with the next biggest classroom networks, conduct courses in 29 and 25 states, respectively.

Unique tutored-course program:

Kaplan's one-on-one GRE tutoring program is specifically designed to supplement a standard on-site or live online GRE prep course. In fact, all three tutoring packages available to GRE students include full access to a Kaplan course as part of the standard cost. Choose a 15-, 25-, or 35-hour package with either online or in-person tutoring. Tutoring schedules and plans are flexible. For example, with the 25-hour tutoring package you could choose to schedule two hours of tutoring after each of your eight class meetings to help solidify your knowledge of the day's topics. The remaining nine hours of tutoring could then be used for review and practice between the end of your course and your test date.

Seven full-length practice tests with feedback included:

Most GRE prep courses include at least four practice GRE tests. Kaplan goes further than most companies in both the number of tests they offer and the diagnostic reporting they provide after each test. As a Kaplan student, you can take up to seven full-length practice tests to help you get used to the strains of a nearly four-hour examination. After completing each test, Kaplan provides you with a comprehensive Smart Report designed to break down your performance so you can more effectively target your weaknesses and build on your strengths. The Smart Report even tells you what areas of improvement have the most potential to improve your score so you can utilize your study time as productively as possible.

Substantial online quiz bank:

Kaplan offers a vast database of more than 5,000 GRE practice questions, the most of any company in the industry. Answering practice questions is a great way to build your question recognition abilities and to speed up your response times. Kaplan's quiz bank also enables you to filter the types of questions you have the most trouble answering in order to get focused practice in those areas. Although it's probably safe to say that most students won't come close to answering 5,000 practice questions during their test preparation, it's nice to know that you won't run out of practice opportunities up until your test date.

Standard satisfaction and performance guarantee:

Kaplan offers two solid guarantees to all their GRE students. First, if for any reason you are unsatisfied with your course or your resulting test score, you are entitled to retake the course for free, no questions asked. Note that if you enroll in the tutored-course program, you get to repeat the course for free if you choose, but you must pay a discounted rate for the tutoring if you want to repeat that portion of the program. Second, if you complete all requirements for a Kaplan GRE prep course and you don't increase your test score, you are entitled to a full refund of the course cost. You must have taken the GRE once before in order to set a baseline score for this guarantee.

The Bad

No flexible tutoring options:

If you're interested in only a few hours of tutoring, or even 10 or more hours, Kaplan does not offer an option for you. In order to get tutoring support as a Kaplan student, you must commit to a minimum of 15 hours of tutoring as part of Kaplan's tutored-course program. If you want to take Kaplan's on-demand course, you are not eligible for any tutoring program whatsoever. It's a little surprising that Kaplan doesn't offer a flexible tutoring option, especially since hourly programs are so common