I need some advice. I just graduated with a bachelor's degree and I'm looking at applying to graduate schools this fall (to start attending in Fall 2006). I have a pretty good GPA (around 3.75, higher if you discount my first two years as an undergrad) and good recommendations from a number of faculty members, so I think I can get into a decent grad school if I do well on my GREs.

For those who don't know, the GRE (Graduate Record Exam) is sort of to grad schools what the SAT is to getting into undergrad programs. I never took the SAT so I don't really have any experience studying for a big important standardized test.

I would like to know what advice anyone has who has been through the process. I took a practice exam you can download from the GRE Web site, which uses the same computer system the actual test is administered on. Without any preparation, I scored a 660 on the verbal section and a 600 on the math (just like the SAT the GRE scores are out of 800). According to the program, this puts me in the 93rd percentile in language and the 53rd percentile in math, so I clearly need help in the latter category. There's also an essay section, but since you can't have the computer grade it for you I've not spent much time thinking about it yet.

To get into a Top 10 school, I probably want a combined score of above 1350, which means I need to up my current score by about 100 points. I'm debating whether or not I should take one of those preparation courses. On the plus side, 18 or 20 hours of instructed preparation would probably help me a lot, especially on the math section. On the downside, those classes range from about $400 up to more than $1,000 which is a lot of money for me. The professors I've talked to seem mixed about whether or not it's worth the money.

I am confident I can up my verbal score 40 points or so on my own with just the aid of a book, but not so sure about math. I've had algebra, geometry and statistics in the past but was never particularly good at any of them. And though I'm a writer by trade, it would probably be nice to have trained humans score my practice essays before I take the test. But is it worth that kind of cash?

Does anyone have any experience with these classes? If you've not taken the GRE but have taken the SAT, I'd be interested in your experience as well -- the tests are quite similar.

Stephen