Celebrating Success and appreciation

A diagnostic test is typically your first step towards assessing where you stand and the e-GMAT diagnostic aims to achieve just the same.  The e-GMAT CR diagnostic contains 13 questions spanning across major GMAT CR questions types.  Note that not all questions are of same difficulty level.  Some questions are more challenging than the others and correspondingly carry a higher weight than the others.

At the end of the diagnostic, you receive a score out of 100.

The World’s Best Online Course

e-GMAT celebrates a major milestone this week – 1000 kudos and 100 reviews on GMAT Club.

Now get the world’s best line course at an incredible price of $199 – a 65% discount over the list price. The course now includes 10 mock tests,  5,000 questions, all the instruction that you need for GMAT Verbal as well as Integrated Reasoning combined with the world’s best analytics. The best thing – the course comes with mocks and GMAT Club tests ($250 value). To make the deal even sweeter, we have also included 12- month Grockit subscription ($350 value) in the package.

Whether you are someone who is looking to jump start his/her preparation or someone who is looking to boost his/her score 10 days before the exam, this course will get you there with 50+ hours of effort. Check out our success stories for evidence of past success. Here are some key features of the course.

Competitive Comparison

Key Features:

Completely online, accessible from anywhere:
The e-GMAT courses are accessible from anywhere as long as you have internet connection with speed128Kbps or higher.

100+ hours of instruction covering all aspects of GMAT Verbal: Verbal Online + Grockit includes our Sentence Correction, Critical Reasoning, Reading Comprehension and Integrated Reasoning eLearning courses and 1 year of Grockit Premium membership including 5 full length mock exams.

Most updated course:

Heard about the new “meaning based question-types” on GMAT Sentence Correction? Well it was not new for e-GMAT customers. The e-GMAT course had 33 such questions in August 2010 itself since our course was based on OG 12 and not on an older incarnation. We continuously update our course based on the updates from GMAC so you can be rest assured that you study from most relevant material.

Proper practice makes you perfect. The course provides you ample practice on the entire GMAT curriculum. And these are “gmat like questions” that you can take any time as per your convenience.

Foundation concepts:
You need a solid foundation if you plan to attain new heights on GMAT. To help you master these key skills we have designed concepts such as Sentence Structure, Logical Structure of arguments, & Pre-thinking for assumptions.

Learn from full time instructors:
Helping you succeed on GMAT is all we do. So when you work with us, you can be rest assured that you will be working with someone who is dedicated to your success. How does this make a difference in your prep– ask our customers who have interacted with us and you will know.

Hassle free return policy:
We are a small company and we like to keep things simple. If you don’t like our course, let us know and we will refund the money to you, as long as you have attempted less than 33% of our course. We are reasonable people and don’t want your money if you don’t like our product.

More Successful in Helping Non-Natives Succeed

More non natives succeed using e-GMAT’s courses than do using courses from all other test prep companies combined

Testimonials

Sumeet Vatsav (730, V39): “E-GMAT is blessing. Loved it! They cleared my -Ing modifier dilemma and As vs Like curse. Please give standing ovation to Rajat, Payal and the E-gmat team!” Click here to view his debrief on GMATClub.

Mahesh: It’s not enough to know all the rules, you need to know how to apply the rules. That’s where e-GMAT shines. I would not have been able to get into the 700 club without e-GMAT. Thanks to BB, I registered for SC course on e-gmat. Excellent course. If only I had a time machine and I could go back 2 months in time, I would have joined e-gmat SC course on day 1 of my preparation.

Jai Chandra Reddy: The live classes on Prethinking were amazing. The process of thinking yourself is amazing. If you take any other course, or read the book, you will take twice the time.

Payal’s phone interview with Jai Chandra Reddy (GMATClub: icaniwill) GC Testimonial link: click here

Success Stories

e-gmat course has helped many acheive their dream score. Let us share a few success stories with you.

Vipul – VIPS0000 –

10 days to go- thanks to some really twisted questions posted without OAs by some members, my confidence was shaken and I looked for some more help in SC. Thanks to BB, I registered for SC course on e-gmat. Excellent course. If only I had a time machine and I could go back 2 months in time, I would have joined e-gmat SC course on day 1 of my preparation.

Pooja Jolie (GC: pjolie)

About e-gmat Verbal: At this time, I decided that I needed a prep course to boost my verbal. After considering Vertias, MGMAT and Kaplan, I decided on e-GMAT’s live course because of its focus on verbal. This course took my preparation to the next level.

SC course: The SC concepts that I learned through MGMAT were crystal clear after going through this course. Two other things helped me a lot on SC. Firstly the fact that the course is very heavy on application. There are these application files that don’t teach you anything but to apply what you have learned. Secondly, they have this OG solutions video course that is awesome. SC articles by Shraddha form egmat were really helpful too.

CR course: The CR course when combined with live sessions is really good too. It helped me weave through the logic of arguments and provided me an approach for most CR questions types. My accuracy just shot up. I would definitely recommend this course if you need help on verbal. This course played a major role in improving my verbal from 30 to 42.

Gurpreet Singh (GC: gurpreetsingh)

I joined E-gmat course and found it very useful. I saw improvement in verbal after e-gmat course. The live sessions of RAJAT on strategy and CR are awesome. Payal and Shraddha are no less than Stacy and Ron of MGMAT. No doubt no one knows more than these two experts of Mgmat, but sometimes I used to find their replies too technical to grasp. On the other hand – the lives sessions of Payal and Shraddha were awesome. Their articles and replies on the questions are fabulous. REALLY something that helps you to learn the concepts. I would highly recommend e-gmat for non natives, not only the course but also the replies and articles of its representatives.

Saurabh (GC:SOURH7WK)

I subscribed for e-gmat verbal live course and started once again my preparation for 4th attempt. After I subscribed to E-gmat course I realized my shortfalls in my verbal strategy. The course was very very helpful to bring up my V23 score to V40. And I would fully attribute my verbal success to e-gmat.

SC course: A ton of thanks to the ace teachers of e-gmat (Rajat, Payal & Shraddha) for putting up their efforts in this forum too. I got everything I needed to crack SC and RC (the RC strategy worked very well with me). Knowledge of sentence structure & attacking SC question by splitting the clauses was the key in improving on SC.

e-GMAT’s Verbal Live Prep, the world’s most comprehensive verbal course, helps non-natives excel on their GMAT Verbal. And through this email only, they are offering this course at ~ 60% discount, translating to $299 for the complete package. You also receive GMAT Club tests ($250 value) with the deal. However, you must sign up before November 10th to get this deal. Learn more.

This package includes:

• 250+ interactive, audio-visual lessons and quizzes that cover every aspect of GMAT Verbal
• 36 hours of live sessions
• 4000+ practice questions and solved problems to help you apply the concepts.
• 5 mock tests
• 4 point (out of 60) Verbal Score Improvement Guarantee
• and more

e-GMAT courses have helped many people improve their performance on GMAT Verbal. For instance, GMAT Club member Aprajita (760) was able to improve her verbal score to 43 in 30 days. Similarly, Sandy Prusty aced verbal after signing up for the e-GMAT course. You can read more reviews on our Verified Reviews Directory.

Finally, e-GMAT is very confident that you’ll love their course if you try it first – they offer a very generous free trial. Simply register and try the course for free!! Also make sure you attend their free strategy session on September 29 (register for a free trial to attend).

Buy now. Note – the offer expires on October 7th.

Good luck! Looking forward to hearing your success stories on GMAT Club.

But in certain other scenarios, it is incorrect. In this post, I will discuss these scenarios. Through this discussion, I will also explain the following question & answer:

Q: Can ‘due to’ and ‘because of’ be used interchangeably?
A: No. ‘due to’ is used to modify nouns only. ‘Because of’ is used to modify verbs. Thus, these two expressions cannot be used interchangeably.

What is “Due To” Used for?

RULE 1: The expression ‘due to’ can only be used to modify nouns. Thus, you cannot use this expression to present reason for an action in the clause.In sentence 1, use of ‘due to’ is incorrect because it is used to explain ‘why it is cold’. In other words, it is used to explain the reason behind the “verb” or “action” in the clause. This is not idiomatically correct.In sentence 2, use of ‘due to’ is correct because it is used to explain the reason behind ‘the cold wave’. In other words, it is used to explain the reason behind the “noun”. This is idiomatically correct.

RULE 2: ‘Due to’ is correct if the sentence makes sense when you replace ‘due to’ with ’caused by’. If, it does not, then use of ‘due to’ is not correct.
Here when ‘due to’ is replaced with ’caused by’, the sentence does not make sense. This check also proves that usage of ‘due to’ is incorrect.Here when ‘due to’ is replaced with ’caused by’, the sentence makes complete sense. This check proves that usage of ‘due to’ is correct.

What is “Because of” used for?

Rule 3: The expression ‘because of’ is used to modify entire clauses. Thus, you can use this expression to present reason for an action in the clause.

Sentence 1 above can be corrected by replacing ‘due to’ with ‘because of’. Now ‘because of’ modifies the clause presenting the reason why it is cold in Arizona.

What are correct and incorrect usages of ‘Due to’, ‘Caused by’,& ‘Because of”?

• The parent-teacher meeting was canceled due to heavy rains. – INCORRECT
  ‘Due to’ modifies the action in the preceding clause and hence is not used correctly.
• The parent-teacher meeting was canceled caused by heavy rains. – INCORRECT
  Note how when “due to” is replaced with “caused by”, the sentence no longer makes sense.
• The parent-teacher meeting was canceled because of heavy rains. – CORRECT
  ‘because of’ modifies the action in preceding clause, indicating why the meeting was canceled.
• The cancellation of parent-teacher meeting was due to heavy rains. – CORRECT
  ‘Due to’ modifies the noun – cancellation.
• The cancellation of parent-teacher meeting was caused by heavy rains.- CORRECT
  Note how when “due to” is replaced with “caused by”, the sentence makes complete sense.

How does GMAT test this concept?

In OG12, Question 6 tests the usage of “due to”. In the original sentence, ‘due to’ used incorrectly. Since ‘due to’ is used to modify nouns, the sentence nonsensically implies that repair was due to the moisture.

What are the Key Take-Away Messages?

1. Use ‘due to’ only to modify nouns.
2. Usage of ‘due to’ is correct, if the sentence makes sense when ‘due to’ is replaced with ’caused by’.
3. Use ‘because of’ to modify verbs.
4. ‘Due to’ & ‘because of’ are not interchangeable.

Official Sentences (Exercises)

Given this framework, let’s solve these official questions. But before we give the detailed solution from the standpoint of “due to”, “because of”, and “because”, we want you to take a stab at these. Give us your rationale for making your selection of the correct answer. Be sure to provide a detailed analysis at least for “due to” aspect of the question.

In late 1997, the chambers inside the pyramid of the Pharaoh Menkaure at Giza were closed to visitors for cleaning and repairing due to moisture exhaled by tourists, which raised its humidity to such levels so that salt from the stone was crystallizing and fungus was growing in the walls.

1. due to moisture exhaled by tourists, which raised its humidity to such levels so that salt from the stone was crystallizing
2. due to moisture that tourists had exhaled, thereby raising its humidity to such levels that salt from the stone would crystallize
3. because tourists were exhaling moisture, which had raised the humidity within then to levels such that salt from the stone would crystallize
4. because of moisture that was exhaled by tourists raising the humidity within them to levels so high as to make the salt from the stone crystallize
5. because moisture exhaled by tourists had raised the humidity within them to such levels that salt from the stone was crystallizing

It seems likely that a number of astronomical phenomena, such as the formation of planetary nebulas, may be caused by the interaction where two stars orbit each other at close range.

1. may be caused by the interaction where two stars orbit each other
2. may be caused by the interaction between two stars that each orbit the other
3. are because of the interaction between two stars that orbit each other
4. are caused by the interaction of two stars where each is orbiting the other
5. are caused by the interaction of two stars orbiting each other

To learn usage of other idioms covered in the e-GMAT SC course, click here.

• SC diagnostic: 15 questions with audio visual solutions
• RC diagnostic: 13 questions with 4 passages and audio visual solutions
• CR diagnostic: 13 questions with audio visual solutions.

The e-GMAT diagnostic tests have been attempted by over 10,000 students in the last 12 months.

How to compare your performance against that of your peers?

We will be publish comparative results such as the one presented below on October 1, 2012. This will allow you to establish where you stand. Also, make sure that you review the detailed solutions especially for questions that you did not answer correctly.  Do post questions in the adjoining forum posts if you have a doubt.

Feel free to explore the free trial?

At e-GMAT we allow you to have a taste before you take a plunge. Therefore, we provide a free trial that contains more than 150 problems. Feel free to explore the free trial. Make sure you do the free concept and application files for bold face questions. Also try the main point concepts in Reading Comprehension course and while you are at it, take our highly acclaimed Verb-ing modifier concept in Sentence Correction. View this video below if you need any help.

Regards,

Rajat Sadana

Welcome to the second GMAT strategy session. In the first session we will focus on refinement – how to customize your study plan in the last 30 days to attain maximum score improvements. The key questions answered in this session are the following:

1. How to define your study plan in the last 30 days:
• When to take mocks
• How to decide where(on which topics) to spend time
• When to take vacation.
2. How to evaluate your mocks to determine your strengths and weaknesses
3. Tactical strategies to maximize your mock scores
• Timing strategies
• When to skip question
• Which question to skip

In this concept we will introduce 2 new terms – Takt Time and Total Productive Time and show how you can use this to maximize your score from mocks.

Time and Date of the session: Aug 25, at 9.30 am Pacific Time (PST), 12:30 PM EST, 10:00 PM Indian Standard Time

How to join Session: Click here, select join as guest and enter your name.

Please note that attendance on first come first serve basis. We have a limited capacity meeting room so we recommend that you join at least 15 minutes in advance to reserve your spot.

See you in session.

Regards,

Rajat Sadana

As we transitioned from OG10 to OG13, it became increasingly difficult to solve questions by using shortcuts, pattern recognition, etc. and meaning became a critical mantra to solve Sentence Correction questions.  A particular variation that confounds students is the one in which there are more than one grammatically correct and logically sound answer choices.

Join us in this session – Meaning Change 1 – to learn how to tackle such questions. In this session, e-GMAT expert Payal Tandon will take a few official questions to demonstrate the strategies that GMAC uses to construct answer choices that may seem appealing because they are grammatically correct and convey a perfectly logical meaning.  But these are in fact incorrect because they tacitly change the intended meaning of the original sentence. She will then present how to use the e-GMAT 3-step process to solve these questions correctly.

Session date: June 16, 2012

Start time: 9:30 am PST/10:00 PM IST

How to enter: Click here to enter the meeting room. When prompted, select “enter as guest” and enter your name.

See you in session.

Rajat Sadana

I am very excited to announce that the launch of Reading Comprehension course on April 7th. With 40+ concept files, 40 passages and 200+ questions, the Reading Comprehension course is our most extensive effort till date.  In addition to engaging content, the course contains great visuals – we have taken audio visual learning to the next level in this effort.

Join us in an online webinar (details will be sent later) on April 7 at 7.00 am Pacific time/7.30 PM India time to celebrate the launch of the Reading Comprehension course. We will announce some exclusive discounts during the webinar. Read below what some of our Beta trial users have to say about the course:

How to join?

Click here to join the launch.Select “Enter as guest” and type in your name.  Please  note that we can only accommodate 100 participants in the session. Also note that the link will only become active 12 hrs before the session.

RC Beta trial testimonials

Santosh (GMAT 710, V38): The past two weeks have been tremendous.  I had issues with RC and SC most of the times. 2 weeks ago when e-gmat asked for volunteers for RC beta trial and would you believe your SC  concepts along with the full RC beta course helped in score a 38 in verbal as compared to 24 a year ago – a 14 point improvement in 2 weeks. I would thank you and your complete team who have put so much of effort into bringing up these materials which are really helpful for non-native test takers like me. Took his GMAT on March 26th .

Akshat Gupta:  Prior to taking the RC Beta trial, I had answered only 5/13 questions correctly. In my recent mock test, I answered 10/13 correctly.

Komal Shah: I loved the icons on the course. It made remembering the reading strategies, applying them a piece of cake.

Soma Das: Other courses only explain the concepts; your course teaches how to apply the concepts.

Vishal Bajpai: I can already see the improvement in my performance. I am much more confident in my approach.

Regards,

Rajat Sadana

As you may be aware, we are planning to launch our Reading Comprehension course on April 7.  We have prepared a Diagnostic for the same and would like to get your feedback on it.  This diagnostic is available free of charge in the e-GMAT Reading Comprehension course.

Note that the diagnostic contains 4 passages and 13 questions.  So please budget 25-30 minutes to complete it.  The diagnostic also contains detailed audio visual solutions.  We will also publish comparative performance information so that you can evaluate your score.  Please see the video below for help regarding how to access the free trial. The diagnostic is a part of the free trial.

I thank you for your input and effort in this endeavor.

Regards,

Rajat Sadana