My GRE experience:
Score: 326(V-156, Q-170) AWA 3.5
Mock test scores range:
Manhattan 320-326
Kaplan 312-325
Powerprep 1: 322(Q-167, V-155)
Powerprep 2: 322(Q-169, V-153)
Prepared for around 4 months with intense preparation for the past one month.
Resources:
ETS Official Guide(The best prep book out there)
Manhattan RC, TC & SE, 5 lb
Magoosh(This was particularly helpful. More on that later.)
I started with the Nova 400 word list on www.memrise.com Quite a few of these words appeared on the test. Also, I went through the Manhattan 1000, but they were not as frequent as Nova's 400.
For Verbal, I went through the strategies mentioned in Manhattan TC & SE and RC book. They were useful. Manhattan contains a few obscure words here and there. But what worked for me was Magoosh video lessons and their explanations to practice problems. I found a huge similarity in the type of questions asked in real GRE Verbal and Magoosh questions, especially RCs. Also, reading vocab in context is necessary and if you read a lot of novels or are a heavy Quora user, that would help. If you plan to give your GRE next year, my suggestion would be to start reading from a screen instead of books. Buy e-books instead of conventional ones.
For Quant, I didn't prepare a lot. I just went through a few topics which were unfamiliar such as SD. If you want to practice, 5 lb book is the best. It contains questions of various difficulty levels.
For essays, I went through the tips mentioned in Manhattan guide and wrote 2-3 essays and got it graded. You can get your essays graded on www.testbig.com but I doubt their effectiveness. Another useful trick of getting your essays graded is registering for Princeton tests. Even if you don't take the tests, just write the essays and get them graded, the tips given would certainly help.
One major advice, stay calm on the final day, reach an hour early and you'll end up scoring well. My GRE score was my best test score and that's what matters.
So, yes Magoosh was particularly helpful for Verbal but when complemented with practice from other sources as well.
There's a way to get Magoosh GRE 6 month plan for 89$ instead of regular 149$ which I've explained here: How to get Magoosh GRE 6 month plan for 89$ instead of 149$…
Any questions are welcome...
