Achievable GRE Review
Achievable is one of the newest entrants to the GRE prep space. They offer a unique teaching style backed by quantitative psychological research, along with algorithms personalized to each students’ needs. The course is delivered in a sleek, modern platform at a competitive price with an industry-leading score increase guarantee. But, how does Achievable compare to the older, more established course providers? Continue reading to find out whether Achievable is the best GRE prep course for you.
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Achievable GRE Review Outline
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Which Students Are Best Fit for the Achievable GRE Prep Course?
The Achievable GRE prep course is best fit for those on a tight budget who want an easy-to-use, on-demand course that provides a highly structured format with cross-device syncing for on the go studying.
Achievable GRE Prep Course Overview
The course is built around the motto: work smarter, not harder. Achievable demonstrates the work smarter mantra in several ways:
- The course utilizes a spaced repetition algorithm, which helps students consolidate and retain their studies. This algorithm adapts to students over time and personalizes their study schedules accordingly.
- Achievable gives primacy to GRE concepts and question types that appear most frequently on the exam. Of course, that doesn’t mean they neglect the less important or uncommon topics. Rather, they provide greater emphasis and instructional resources to those subjects with higher importance on the exam.
- The course is designed to cultivate behavioral habits in its students so that they may score at their full potential on the GRE. For example, vocabulary is interspersed throughout the course in semantic clusters to ensure students maintain the repeated practice necessary to score highly. Vocab accounts for around 50% of the Verbal Reasoning section and Achievable will help students learn around 2,500 new words.
Unlike most online GRE prep courses, Achievable does not make use of video instruction. Instead, they have an online course manual (textbook), which reads in an authoritative yet conversational tone. The course book is broken up into 89 digestible sections (some multi-part), and the lessons are designed for students to absorb them in brief, under 10-minute sessions (perfect for the commute, studying while waiting in line, etc.).
Achievable’s review course lessons are meant to be followed in a linear fashion from beginning to end. This is because topics are ordered from most important to least within each section, so that students spend more time practicing, perfecting, and retaining their knowledge on the material most likely to show up on exam day. Additionally, the course begins with the Quantitative Reasoning section and includes vocabulary clusters throughout so that students have time to learn new vocabulary words before learning how to apply that vocabulary to GRE Verbal Reasoning question styles.
Achievable designed their prep course to focus students on three core components to succeed: consolidation, rehearsal, and practice. Consolidation (aka memorization) is critical for the GRE and most exemplified by the heavy weighting on very challenging vocabulary. The course facilitates this process naturally for you with its spaced repetition algorithm. Rehearsal allows you to internalize relevant GRE content and strategies through idealized exercises, which Achievable incorporates in their bite-sized lessons. Lastly, practice takes students’ learnings from competency to mastery. Achievable’s algorithms are able to create an infinite number of GRE Quantitative Reasoning practice questions to ensure students have generalized their knowledge to any potential iteration of the GRE’s core concepts.
Personally, I didn’t mind the lack of video-based instruction. The digital textbook largely reads in a casual manner while still conveying its author’s expertise. While the course asks for a certain amount of buy-in from students due to its unique and exceptionally structured format, I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I felt pretty confident after reading the introduction, as the author makes a very compelling case for the chosen instructional methods. Additionally, studies exist to support the significant results gained by Achievable’s students, and a 7-point score guarantee program is offered.
Achievable GRE Review Pros and Cons
Achievable GRE Course Pros
Full Year of Access: While a small number of students may only need 2 months to study for and achieve their target score on the GRE, it’s nice to have a prep course option with a full year of access for the rest of us. Plans change and unexpected events happen, so it’s generally a good idea to have some built-in flexibility with your prep timing. As there is meaningful variability in the GRE’s assessment of your knowledge, it’s best to give yourself time to take the exam multiple times to make sure you are able to obtain your best score possible. Achievable’s 12 months of course access will provide you with that flexibility and assurance.
Infinite Quantitative Reasoning Practice: The GRE’s Quantitative Reasoning section is relatively unforgiving, and you need to get a lot of questions right to get a high score. Practicing a large number of questions is critical for success, and Achievable provides a templated algorithm able to construct a randomized and unlimited number of questions from their finely-tuned database of GRE concepts and figures. This is great because you’ll always have the option to practice with new questions rather than risk confusing mastery with familiarity from previously worked problems.
Adaptive Algorithm Personalized to Your Needs: Although some other courses offer personalized algorithms, Achievable is the only provider that also includes an algorithm to optimize your GRE prep timing in order to maximize your recall of concepts learned and keep them fresh come exam day. Achievable provides every student with a personalized study schedule that matches their personal memory needs profile. This is especially important, and beneficial, for learning the vast number of new vocabulary words needed to master the Verbal Reasoning section.
Budget-Friendly with Score Guarantee: Achievable offers exceptional value and maintains one of the most competitive price points among courses in the budget-friendly category. Additionally, they offer one of the highest minimum score increase guarantees among all providers.
Modern Platform Calibrated to the Latest GRE: Achievable offers instruction and practice problems tailored to the latest iteration of the GRE with the most up-to-date strategies and methods. Achievable’s creators closely monitor trends in the distribution of GRE question types over time and update the course accordingly so you know you’ll be properly allocating time to the most important and relevant topics. With respect to delivery, the online platform is modern and optimized for on-the-go use with mobile devices.
Achievable GRE Course Cons
Single Course Option: Achievable’s sole offering is an online, self-paced course with no option for live courses centered around private tutors. So, if you are looking to interact with classmates or receive instruction from a live tutor, you may need to consider other options. However, if you prefer a digital, self-paced option for your busy schedule, consider giving Achievable a try.
Limited Instructional Delivery Options: If you require video-based instruction, you may need to look elsewhere. Achievable’s course is delivered strictly through text with no videos at this time. Of course, this isn’t a negative per se as reading is one of the best ways to absorb information. Even if you’re not a bookworm, the text is easily absorbed and presented effectively in brief segments (unlike your standard college textbook).
Achievable GRE Prep Course Pricing
Final Verdict: Is Achievable the Best GRE Prep Course for You?
Achievable is the new face among GRE prep course offerings. However, they are an ideal option for those looking for a highly-structured course that delivers maximum efficiency and takes the guesswork out of how best to prepare. Achievable’s algorithms adapt to students’ individual preparation needs and carefully manage the timing and presentation of review topics to ensure optimal recall for exam day. So, if you are looking for an innovative, optimized approach to GRE study with a modern platform at an affordable price, Achievable just may be the best GRE prep course for you.
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