My experience with EMPOWERgmat

After graduating from college in the Spring of 2018, I knew that I wanted to get a master's degree from a top 20 business school. For that, taking the GMAT was a must. I purchased the official guide, read some basics about the test, and decided to take a practice test to see where I was and to try to structure a study plan accordingly. I scored 520 on my first practice test. I spent the following month practicing with questions from the official guide and took another practice test. This time I got a 610, which gave me very high hopes, given that I had improved by 90 points in just one month.

At that point, I kept solving problems from the official guide and also supplemented my studies with some YouTube videos and other online content. I took a 3rd practice test and got a 580, which was a little discouraging. Long story short, I kept studying with the OG and with some free online material for 3 months and took 3 practice tests during that time. While I felt that I had learned a lot, that knowledge wasn't translating into a higher score: I was stuck at 590-610.

One day I decided to look into GMAT prep courses and read reviews on the different forums. Most of the courses I was seeing were very expensive and I knew I just couldn’t afford to spend several thousand dollars on my prep at the moment. I stumbled upon EMPOWERgmat and was impressed with what I read about it. I used the 1-hour trial and emailed Rich, asking for advice on which plan was the most appropriate for me.

I bought the course and went through it in about 3 months. I took my first official GMAT and got a 670. I studied for an extra month and retook the test, getting a 690 (Q46 V38). Even though that score was a little under the 700 mark, I decided to keep it.

What makes this course great? Its practical approach. Instead of focusing on hard-to-explain, complicated ideas and methods, this course focuses on teaching you the easiest and most efficient way to get questions right. On the quantitative side, Rich shows you how to approach and solve problems in practical ways that keep the math simple, maximize your time, and limit your room for error. On the verbal side, Max shows you how to tackle the 3 types of verbal questions in the easiest way possible, again, without having to memorize any complex grammar rules or ideas. Also, you can always contact Rich for advice and trust that he will reply the same day with personalized insights. Overall, this course will teach you everything you need to crush the GMAT.

Once you buy the course, take what Rich and Max teach you to heart. Look to apply all the tactics and strategies, especially Triaging. Some of these ideas you will learn might seem weird and you will be tempted to avoid them. However, you should make it a point to use them every time an opportunity arises. In the end, you will see great results.