Adaptive, Personalized Learning Technology

Why do I need a Personalized Study Plan?
Every student has a different set of strengths and weaknesses. What works well for you may not work for everyone else, and what works for many students may not help you at all. Unfortunately, most GRE prep programs are created with a "teach to the middle" attitude. This means that the instructed approach to the test is geared towards helping the average student, but in fact, this approach fails students in two ways: High-scoring students inevitably end up wasting a tremendous amount of time sitting through lectures that they don't need, while low-scoring students sometimes end up with no improvements whatsoever due to a lack of understanding of the prerequisite material. And students who may not have a perfectly uniform skill distribution suffer from both of these issues.

Barron's GRE course attempts to solve this age-old problem. By utilizing a completely personalized study plan, you can avoid the pitfalls that plague the "one-size-fits-all" model that most test prep companies have been using for decades and get the most out of your efforts. Your study plan is based on your unique skill profile, your available time, and your objectives, and it is as unique as you are. If every student is different, then why do all other companies treat you the same?

In addition to your personalized study plan, our course engine continually monitors your progress to make sure your prep is on the right track. Every time you complete an exercise, homework assignment, or practice test, Our adaptive algorithm re-evaluates your skill profile to make the most up-to-date recommendations available to you. Barron's will not only help you learn about those topics you aren't familiar with, it will also provide adequate review and improvement exercises for topics in which you currently demonstrate proficiency. And if you miss some lessons, it instantly re-calibrates your study plan to keep you up to speed.

What do you mean by "Adaptive Learning Technology"?
The study plan we offer is for you and you alone. Our adaptive technology uses patent pending algorithms to create a personalized study plan based precisely on your unique set of skills, available time, and goals. In addition, the exercises and quizzes are also adaptive, which means the practice questions you encounter during your exercises and quizzes are based on your skill profile as well. As your performance improves in a given topic, the level of difficulty of your homework follows, making sure you are prepared for even the most demanding GRE questions come test day.

What is the diagnostic test?
The diagnostic test, as the name implies, is a tool Barron's uses to measure your skills in each area. The diagnostic is composed of questions that are similar in format to a real GRE, but you may work on only one question at a time. This is because the diagnostic test is adaptive; the next question that you are assigned is dependent on your performance on the previous questions. If you manage to solve easy questions correctly, the adaptive engine will progressively give you more difficult questions until the point of failure. In addition, since you can work on only one question at a time, we can capture the exact time you take to answer each and every question.

The diagnostic test allows us to build a complete skill profile for you. Based on its results, Barron's will analyze your strengths and weaknesses to design and implement a personalized study plan just for you.

Why doesn't the diagnostic test resemble the real GRE?
The diagnostic test is engineered in a specific format to make sure we are able to provide you with the very best recommendations possible. Unfortunately, the standard GRE format isn't quite as informative as it could be, so we have slightly modified it to deliver more accurate and useful information. Completely realistic practice tests are an important part of your prep as well.

Why do you want to know how many hours I can devote to my GRE prep?
We use this information to accurately design your personalized study plan, assigning specific concepts, strategies, and lessons based on the amount of time that you have available every week. Knowing how much time you plan to study, and when you plan to take the test is an important part of creating a unique course plan that works well for you.

How many tests are available? How many tests are available for free?
The Barron's Premium GRE course contains 4 full-length GRE tests and 1 diagnostic test; the free version of the course offers only the diagnostic test.

Do I need to register to take the free GRE practice test?
Registration is required to take the free practice test. However, if you wish to examine a detailed performance report or take any full length practice tests, registration is required. Registration is a very simple step and does not take more than a few seconds. Besides your e-mail address, we do not ask for any personal information or credit card.

How do you compute the scaled scores?
We compute scaled scores based on a sampling of actual scores of students taking our tests. We sample test scores carefully to ensure that the scaled scores from our tests come as close as possible to  those of the actual test.

How are the essays graded?
The essays are graded by experienced GRE professionals, all of whom must pass rigorous certification standards to grade essays as closely as possible to the methods used by actual GRE essay graders.

How many times can I take a test?
You can take the full-length tests only once. If you stop taking a test during its administration, you may return to it at a later time. Barron's will restart your clock when you rejoin the test.

Registration and User Information

Do I need to register to take the free trial?
Registration is required to take the free trial. However, registration is a very simple step and does not take more than a few seconds. Besides your e-mail, we do not ask for any personal information or credit card.

Do I need a credit card to register?
Nope. The free trial is 100% free.

I don't remember my User ID. What should I do?
Your User ID is the email address that you used at the time of registration. If you do not remember your email address, please write to us using the Contact Us link available on our website. Please include your name and telephone number so that we can expedite your request.

I forgot my password. What should I do?
Please follow the "forgot password" link on our home page. We will send you a link with instructions to reset your password.

When does my account expire?
Your account will continue to exist. However, if you are subscribed to a premium course, your access to premium content will automatically stop 180 days from the payment date.

Technical Requirements

What kind of computer do I need to use Barron's?
Any computer (laptop or desktop) that can connect to the internet using a web browser can be used to view our course content and prepare for the GRE. We support Internet Explorer (Version 8.x and above) and Mozilla Firefox (Version 3.5x and above).

What kind of browser should I use for Barron's?
We support Internet Explorer (Version 8.x and above) and Mozilla Firefox (Version 3.5x and above). Our course and website also appear to function well in Chrome, Safari and Opera, but they have not been extensively tested under those conditions.

What kind of internet connection is required?
We recommend a broadband internet connection for the best learning experience. Our content makes extensive use of streaming videos, and to view these videos without interruption, we require a minimum bandwidth of 512 Kbps. Broadband connections typically utilize bandwidth above this threshold.

I am concerned about Spam. Do you share my email address with others?
We do not share any user data with anyone. This policy will never change. However, periodically we will send out informational emails for your course including your progress report and test report. If you wish to opt out of such emails, you can follow the instructions at the bottom of the email.

Do I have to login from the same computer each time?
No. You can login from any computer, anywhere, at anytime.