GRE Math Prep Course: The A–Z on GRE Math Topic by Topic vs Magoosh GMAT Prep

The course is a tightly-organised library of 240 worked GRE quant solutions across ~13 hours, taught topic by topic from the absolute basics up through harder material like probability. Reviewers consistently praise the clear, step-by-step breakdowns and the memorable mnemonic devices (the "Beyonce Rule" is the one people quote back). The recurring content caveat is that it is purely solution walkthroughs — there are no embedded original practice questions, so the "content" is teaching, not testing.

Olu Sanya is the strongest part of the package. A Morehouse/Georgia Tech Applied Physics and Electrical Engineering graduate with 14+ years of test-prep experience, he is repeatedly described as engaging, patient and good at making a nervous student feel math is learnable. His stated philosophy — "it's not difficult, you just don't know it yet" — shows up in the teaching, and the free 1-hour Skype session he offers is a rare personal touch at this price.

List price is around $70 but the course is almost always on sale in the $10-20 band with lifetime access, plus a free formula-sheet PDF and a bonus Skype session — genuinely cheap versus Magoosh, Manhattan or Target Test Prep. The honest deduction is that you are required to buy Barron's 6 GRE Practice Tests separately to actually use the videos, so the true out-of-pocket cost is higher than the headline, and independent reviewers note Barron's is not the best-regarded practice source.

The weakest dimension by a wide margin and the one every critical source agrees on. The course contains no independent practice questions, no quizzes and no full-length tests — it is built entirely around explaining problems from an external Barron's book you must purchase yourself. BrightLink Prep is blunt that "there are no practice exercises crucial to forming a solid understanding," and points out Barron's is a questionable choice versus official ETS material.

Learners credit the method with building confidence and giving them concrete strategies for question types they previously froze on, and the topic-by-topic mastery approach maps well onto how GRE quant is structured. But because the course supplies no practice and no full-length mocks, score movement depends entirely on the learner doing the external Barron's (and ideally official ETS) practice on top — the videos teach the how, not the timed reps.

Magoosh GMAT Prep covers all three GMAT Focus Edition sections — Quantitative, Verbal, and Data Insights — across 340+ short on-demand video lessons, and the curriculum was rebuilt after the Focus Edition replaced the classic GMAT on February 1, 2024. The Quant content is the standout: GMAT Club reviewers (Aabhash777, BelronMajes, GMATking94) repeatedly praise it for teaching from the basics and deriving formulas "from root level" rather than asking students to memorise. The consistent content weakness is Verbal, which multiple reviewers call "old," in need of "refurbishment," and structurally confusing with no continuity. Data Insights coverage exists but several students wanted more practice volume there given how central DI now is to the Focus Edition. The slideshow-with-voiceover format is instructionally sound but, as Test Prep Insight notes, "lacks production value."

The lessons are anchored by long-time Magoosh GMAT expert Mike McGarry, whose Quant explanations are described as crisp, well-organised, and conceptually grounded. Reviewers on GMAT Club call the videos "clear, concise" and "easy to consume," and students specifically credit the instruction with teaching strategic shortcuts they would not have found alone ("their lessons were phenomenal and they greatly helped me figure out strategic shortcuts"). The format is voiceover-over-slides with no instructor on screen, which several reviewers find effective but visually flat compared to Manhattan Prep or TTP. The Verbal teaching draws the most criticism: GMATking94 said the "Verbal course seems very old and needs refurbishment," a recurring theme that pulls the instructor score below the Quant-only ceiling it would otherwise reach.

Value is Magoosh's single strongest dimension and the near-universal reason reviewers recommend it. Premium GMAT access runs roughly $199 for 6 months or $249 for 12 months — about one-third the price of Kaplan (~$1,000) and Princeton Review (~$800), and a fraction of premium platforms like TTP or e-GMAT. Payment plans start around $54. GMAT Club reviewers repeatedly use the exact phrase "bang for buck," and Test Prep Insight rated the course 9.1/10 calling it "the best bang for your buck in GMAT prep." A 12-month access window, a 4.5-rated mobile app, a free 7-day trial (30+ lessons, 30 questions), and a tiered score guarantee all reinforce that a low price does not signal a thin product. For budget-conscious or first-attempt test-takers, the value case is hard to beat.

The course includes 1,300+ practice questions, each paired with both a text and a video explanation — a genuinely distinctive feature, since most prep companies do not film an explanation for every single problem. A custom practice tool lets students build targeted quizzes by topic and difficulty. The limitations are real and frequently cited. There are only 2 full-length practice tests, and they are generated from the same question pool as the drills, so heavy users hit repeated questions (reviewer whatsarc flagged "repetitive practice questions"). Several students wanted "more questions in quant," more Data Insights items, and additional mocks. Some also found the Verbal questions diverge from real GMAT difficulty (BelronMajes: "Verbal questions differ significantly from actual test"). It is enough to learn on, but most reviewers pair it with the Official Guide and free official mocks.

Magoosh's own review page documents seven student entries with gains of +100 to +250 points, landing final scores of 700–730, with quotes like "over the last few months, Magoosh improved my score from 490 to 710." The company advertises an average improvement of roughly 90 points and backs a tiered guarantee: up to a 70-point increase for baseline scores below 630, 50 points for 640–690, and 10 points for 700+, or your money back. GMAT Club reviewers report concrete gains of +40 to +140 points and final scores from the high-500s (Focus scale) up to 760 (11Karan, +50). The caveat is honest: the strongest gains cluster around Quant, and a minority flagged the in-product score predictor as inaccurate, so the headline averages should be read as outcomes for committed self-studiers, not guarantees for everyone.