The old adage “Practice makes perfect” holds true particularly for standardized tests. Tests like GRE need an ample amount of practice to crack them.
The good thing is that you do not have to spend megabucks to get the best GRE practice test. However, you must identify which tests are the most accurate representation of the real GRE test.
Unfortunately, many practice tests available on the internet are outdated and not of high-quality. Practicing them does more harm than good.
Before we start with the list of practice tests, let’s first look at a few things all great GRE practice tests share.
What makes Good GRE Practice Questions?
Since there are plenty of practice tests, you should check these few things listed below, before practicing them.
Identical Format to The Real GRE
GRE is a 3.5 hours long test that contains six sections. So before you sit down to take the real tests, you should get accustomed to the length and intensity of the real test.
A good practice test should mimic the actual GRE. This means they should have the same scoring system, allotted time, and the number of questions and sections.
A high-quality practice test helps you get used to the pattern of the test, which lets you focus on the question.
Good Quality Questions That Resemble The Actual GRE
Your free GRE practice questions should be as close as possible to the questions you will see on the real test. Everything should be the same - wording, structure, concepts, and difficulty level.
Generally speaking, It’s challenging to find high-quality questions.
That’s why official practices are best to use. They are written by the same people who write the real GRE questions. Hence, you can be certain of their quality.
In-depth Answer Explanation
As a test taker, you must understand why an answer is correct or incorrect. Remember, GRE is tricky. You can lose points if you are uncertain about your choices.
The best practice is to reflect on your mistakes and see what you are doing wrong. You need a good explanation for this purpose.
Accurate questions are no good if a strong explanation does not accompany them.
Hence, an effective GRE practice must include an explanation for every option to clear all your doubts.
Easy to Use Interface
GRE practice tests should be user-friendly. Do not practice tests with the clunky interface, as they take your time away.
The real GRE has a user-friendly interface. And high-quality practice tests should have the same interface as the real.
Free GRE Full-Length Practice Tests
Below are the free best practice tests for GRE aspirants. Our experts recommend these top 5. So you can practice them without worrying about the quality.
PowerPrepp II (2 Free Tests)
PowerPrepp tops our list of being one of the best GRE study materials. We consider these two tests best because they are official practice exams, which means they have been made by the same people who write the actual GRE.
Since they are official practice exams, they have the same format, duration, content, and difficulty level.
The only downside is that they do not have an answer explanation, but you should still use them for your prep.
Students who do not have enough time for practice should at least take these two tests.
To download PowerPrep II, click here.
ETS Paper-based Exams (2 Free Tests)
ETS, GRE test makers, has released two paper exams.
Though you will not get the same experience as the computer-based test, they are still a great resource. These tests also don’t have an answer explanation.
But, these two tests are very similar to the real GRE. In fact, they are official GRE tests used several years ago.
Manhattan Prep GRE Practice Tests (1 Free Test)
Manhattan Prep has the best unofficial practice test.
The practice questions mirror the format and questions of real GRE. On top of that, the tests also include the best answer explanation for free GREs.
They are a great resource for students who struggle to understand why their answer was wrong.
You will have to create a free account on Manhattan Prep to access the test.
Scholar Den Tests (1 Free Test)
Get another free online GRE practice test from Scholar Den. Our practice test closely resembles the real GRE.
As a bonus, there's a detailed explanation of answers.
Like Manhattan Prep, you must create a free account to access the mock tests.
Princeton Review Tests (1 Free Test)
Princeton Review does a good job of replicating the questions type and format you see on GRE. Above all, the computer interface is the same as the actual GRE.
You will make a free account to practice the Princeton Review test. Once you create the account, you can access the free practice test for the next 14 days.
Upon completion, you will get a diagnostic sheet showing your strengths and weaknesses along with good answer explanations.
Free GRE Practice Questions
In case you do not have sufficient time to practice full-length tests. Here are the top two free sample GRE questions to get you off on the right foot.
Kaplan Free GRE Practice Questions
Free practice questions from Kaplan.
Manhattan Review Free Practice Questions
Click here to get the list of Manhattan Review sample questions.
The Bottom Line
Practice tests are an important part of your GRE prep. Make sure you spend your time practicing the high-quality ones.
We recommend practicing all the tests mentioned if your schedule permits. Else, go for PowerPrepp or Kaplan free practice questions.
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