The Princeton Review

The Princeton Review asked me at least 3 times if I would update my review. It was originally a one star review, I have updated to 3. The organization was responsive to our concerns but still had a few hiccups along the way like re-​schueduling of classes and poor communication during inclement weather. The class was very helpful and will improve your score, the instructor was great.
My issues have to do with the management of the organization, the lack of organization and coordination. They need a much better way to communicate and if you are taking this during the winter, they will not cancel any classes. So if your son or daughter is taking the class use your best judgement on their safety rather than wait to hear from them because you won’t.

We used Princeton Review for both our kids and had great results. Easy to schedule, professional and the tutors we had for both SAT and ACT were fantastic. We were very happy with the results and the quality of the tutors we were assigned. Highly recommend the private tutoring option if you can afford it. Overall good experience.

Stay far, far away from this institution. It is MUCH more worth it to pay an extra $ 75 and go to Griffon Prep.
I was supposed to take a GRE prep course with them starting Nov 3^rd. October 21^st, they call me and tell me the class I signed up for (and paid $ 999 for already) was not going to be an option. And that for an extra $ 300 I could have a more private class, in Bethesda miles away from me. Umm… no way!
Luckily GRIFFON PREP took me in even though they had already started classes, and offered to spend private time with me so I could catch up– they didn’t have to do that, but they did, because decent people run the place unlike Princeton Review.
Not only did the refund come in 5 days after I asked for one, but they held $ 300 of it as deposit (they want me to send back the materials they sent me)!! Ridiculous! The fact that they hold you responsible for the materials they send you, regardless of enrollment is inconvenient and unprofessional. I complained and was refunded the full amount immediately.
Don’t waste your time with this pathetic excuse of an institution– they are total snakes in the grass. There are BETTER preparatory courses you can take with people who actually care about you and not the amount of money you’re giving them.

What a nightmare! The administrative office in DC is completely incompetent. If you are a senior student, run from this institution.
One week before the class started they changed the dates and days of the session. Since our child is a senior we specifically chose Sunday over
Saturday for test days since colleges schedule Open Houses on Saturday. She either has to skip school for college visits or test at home (the only other option was to test with a home group and they could not accommodate us). Home testing does not simulate testing conditions. Sound educational theory dictates that when conducting a practice test, you need to simulate the testing situation as accurately as possible for best results. Home practice does not count because there are too many distractions.
The decision to switch the DATES and times is based on a very small number of students in out 6 student class who forgot about SATs, forgot it was a major religious holiday, and oops now they don’t have a class for their kid. We all had to
switch without any warning or input from the rest of the group. This is offensive and to me was done for the money. Management said it was done to accomodate the largest number of students possible but this is not the case when a minority of students made the request.
Lastly, our location has changed 3 times in 2 weeks. We were locked out the first night. I am not sure, but my suspicions are that when the class schedule changes at the last minute, the venue cannot accommodate the change.
Princeton Review offered to refund my money or switch to the online class. Why was the person who initially requested the change not given this as their only option instead of changing the entire class?
They said that I would see great gains in her scores. That is a scam of every testing company. They give a super hard test the first night and an easy one the last night so that it appears your child has made great testing gains. Don’t be suckered in. This tactic is well documented.
Anyway, search for something better before committing to this company.

My daughter’s SAT and AP tutor (Peter U.) from Princeton Review was wonderful. He knows the tests and where students make their mistakes and drums them into his students so they can avoid the most common pitfalls. Overall, had a wonderful experience and will go back for future test preparations in a heartbeat, especially if you can get Peter …

I had a great experience with Princeton Review. I took the GMAT small instruction course and did 4 extra private tutoring sessions. The GMAT is a beast. I scored a 450 on my first practice test. However, with diligent practice, the materials, and the help of David, I scored a 710 after 3 months. I’m super stoked. Sidenote: It’s Dupont Circle and so parking can be a little bit difficult to navigate/​figure out your first couple of times.

Overall, I had a good experience at TPR in Dupont Circle. My actual quant and awa scores improved dramatically after taking the class.
Pros:
1. My teacher, Aubri O’Connor, was awesome! Having her as a teacher made spending 3 hours of my Saturdays and Sundays at GRE prep much more bearable. She provided a good mixture of reviewing content and providing useful, practical feedback on how to study (how much time, what materials to focus on, integrating studying into your everyday life, etc.).
2. The payment plan option is convenient.
3. The small group with just 4 students made it possible to receive a somewhat individualized experience. This set up allowed for some flexibility in what we covered in each class.
Con:
The major criticism would be the amount of materials – tons of «required» assignments, which seem impossible to complete, especially for a full-​time working person. This is one area where I would say a good teacher is essential. Also, I found the blank vocab cards useless. Writing out all of the definitions would take forever so I ordered other cards.

I took two GMAT sessions with the Princeton review — one was a class, the other was private tutoring. Summary upfront — the class was not the best, the private tutoring was extremely helpful.
On the class: the class consisted of only 3 people — me and two other girls. One girl grasped the material very easily, one girl had a really hard time with the material, and I was somewhere in the middle. The instructor treated us like this: he treated one girl like she needed no help and was awesome, one girl like she was an idiot, and me — somewhere in the middle. At several points, this treatment felt condescending and rude. I didn’t feel comfortable in class and I dreaded going.
I didn’t do that well on the GMAT my first go. I decided to try again, but this time, seek the help of a tutor, just to hone in on the specific things I was having trouble with. Luckily — when I talked to the Princeton Review and told them my experience with instructor #1, they said he had gotten bad reviews before and they gave me a discount on my private tutoring sessions. So I was really appreciative of their customer service.
I ended up doing private tutoring sessions with a tutor named Aubri — who was really wonderful. She was extremely patient and helpful, and showed me how to approach the test in better ways (not just skills, but also how to handle timing and stress). I eventually ended up doing much better. I would recommend the Princeton Review. My final experience was really positive and they have a ton of material on line to study with. My only piece of advice for someone trying to get into business school — take the GRE, not the GMAT. It’s an easier test; it’s a cheaper test; and 90% of business schools accept it.

So I signed up for a free proctored GMAT on Saturday, Sept 10, 2011 at 1pm. Received e-​mail confirmation including the proctors name — the whole shebang. I show up on Saturday and there is NO one in the building (which is locked with no instruction anyway). What a sham. I needed a practice GMAT score report to apply to a program — thanks for NOTHING Princeton Review!

First, I must admit that the quality of the MCAT material at the Princeton Review is solid. However, the DC office is so incompetent that it shadows the strength of the material and the instructors. Taking a class there is NOT worth it. If you can find a Princeton Review office somewhere else, I would say to give it a shot.
The instructors are really unhappy there. They are notified of their teaching schedules last minute, expected to deal with our payment stuff (which apparently, they weren’t trained to do), and they don’t get paid on time (or something about how their pay rate changes without anyone notifying them) … so that makes them really unenthusiastic about teaching us. It sucks.
When my classmates and I call the office about questions, they never know what they’re doing. This girl named Mitchelle has no clue and often gives us the wrong information. Sometimes we doubt the ability of the instructors because the office staff is so freaking incompetent. And Samara has a terrible attitude to the point where we don’t even call anymore. The worse thing is that they only give us one office number and sometimes they just hang up on us because they don’t know how to transfer a call.
And don’t even bother complaining. No one ever gets back to you and nothing changes. If you have 1.5K to spend it on a class, SPEND IT SOMEWHERE ELSE.