Patterns among those who have scored 750+

Question

Click here for latest 2022 edition

I am going to start this thread by adding the latest data in it. We already have two old posts with the same subject one was posted in 2013 by bb and can be found here. Other was posted in 2015 and can be found here. This post is latest 2019 version. It will help members to assess the change in trend (if any) in use of GMAT Material by GMAT test takers. In this post I will use the data from 2017-2019 so we will be able to assess the change from last 4-5 years. I have also allocated a separate section for some of the outstanding stories having less than 750 but more than 700 score. At the end I have also posted the summary of material used by these test takers. Member will be able to know which material has been used the most. GMAT Club's legend souvik101990 and ChiranjeevSingh are also in this list.

How this post can help members?

Members can get inspired by these outstanding stories of hard work.
Can get an idea to use which material and how to use that material for effective learning.
Can learn different tips and tricks for GMAT Prep.
Can assess how the use of material has been changed (or not).

How this post can help members?

Members can get inspired by these outstanding stories of hard work. 
  Can get an idea to use which material and how to use that material for effective learning. 
  Can learn different tips and tricks for GMAT Prep. 
  Can assess how the use of material has been changed (or not).

Quant

Quant     User    GMAT    Material/Course Used       Shahmeer   760  OG + e-GMAT + GMAT Club Tests     kartikazad   750  GMAT Club     arthurychoi   760  Manhattan quant + Kaplan book     variantguy   750  OG+Manhattan Quant books+Kaplan book+GClub Math Book     Marger   780  OG + Manhattan Books     HelloNewman   760  OG + Manhattan Interact     Sobes4life   770  OG+ Target test prep     cmklaw   750  OG + E-GMAT Course     Avi2018   770  OG+ Magoosh + GMAT Club tests     eternaloptimist   780  Manhattan books+OG     andrewthefourth   750  OG, MGMAT guides     souvik101990   760  Manhattan Full online course, Veritas Online course, e-gmat course     crza   760  GMAT Club Math Book + OG     NTSpike   760  TTP, Manhattan Guides     sidsharma1989   760  e-GMAT, GMAT Club Tests     dhananjaya13   760  GMAT Club Tests+ e-GMAT Course     justalmost   790  Veritas prep Course     Samiya   780  OG + Jamboree Quant Classes     AlUnderwood   770  OG + Magoosh     tiffanana   750  OG + Manhattan prep Books     rohansdalal   750  Kaplan, e-GMAT, GMAT Club Test, OG     tightrope   790  OG and Manhattan Guides     ChiranjeevSingh   780  GMAT Clubs tests and GMAT Prep exam packs     0000000000   780  GMAT Club and MGMAT     gmat_India   760  GMAT Club Tests E-GMAT, OG     angshumangayan   760  GMAT Club Tests+ OG      chanange   760  GMAT Club Quants + OG + Manhattan Prep App     strawberrycupcake   770  GMAT Club Explanations + OG      OGinNYC   770  Kaplan Premier Bok + Kaplan CATs      salysalsal   750  Math Revolution All in one

Verbal

Verbal     User    GMAT    Sentence Correction    Critical reasoning    Reading Comprehension       Shahmeer   760  e-GMAT Course  e-GMAT Course  e-GMAT Course      kartikazad   750  GMAT Club  GMAT Club  GMAT Club     arthurychoi   760  Manhattan SC  PowerScore CR Bible       variantguy   750  Manhattan SC         Marger   780  Manhattan Books  Manhattan Books  Manhattan Books     HelloNewman   760  OG + Manhattan Interact         Sobes4life   770  OG + Veritas Orien  Veritas Orien  Veritas Orien     cmklaw   750  OG + E-GMAT Course + Manhattan SC         Avi2018   770  OG + GMAT Club Verbal Forum         eternaloptimist   780  OG + Manhattan Books         andrewthefourth   750  Manhattan SC  OG, mgmat guides        souvik101990   760  Manhattan SC  Manhattan Full online course, Veritas Online course, e-gmat course       crza   760  Manhattan SC  CR Bible   Manhattan RC     NTSpike   760  Manhattan SC  Manhattan CR  Manhattan RC      sidsharma1989   760  e-GMAT  e-GMAT  e-GMAT     dhananjaya13   760  e-GMAT Course  e-GMAT Course  e-GMAT Course     justalmost   790  Veritas prep Course  Veritas prep Course  Veritas prep Course     Samiya   780  E-GMAT SC         AlUnderwood   770  Magoosh SC  GMAT Club Verbal Forum Bible  GMAT Club Verbal Forum     tiffanana   750  Manhattan prep Books + Magoosh SC  Manhattan prep Books  Manhattan prep Books     rohansdalal   750  Manhattan SC  PowerScore CR       tightrope   790  OG and Manhattan Guides  OG and Manhattan Guides  OG and Manhattan Guides     ChiranjeevSingh   780           0000000000   780  Manhattan SC  PowerScore CR Bible       gmat_India   760  Manhattan SC+Aristotle SC  MGMAT       angshumangayan   760  e-GMAT Verbal Online  PowerScore CR Bible  e-GMAT     chanange   760  Manhattan Prep App         strawberrycupcake   770  Manhattan SC  GMAT Club Explanations       OGinNYC   770  Kaplan Premier Book  Kaplan Premier Book  Kaplan Premier Book     salysalsal   750  e-GMAT Verbal  e-GMAT Verbal  e-GMAT Verbal

Tests

Tests     User    GMAT    Tests       Shahmeer   760  GMAT Club Tests + Veritas + Princeton Review     kartikazad   750  GMAT Club Tests     arthurychoi   750  Veritas CATs+ GMAT Prep+GMAT Club Tests     variantguy   750  Veritas CATs+GMAT Prep     Marger   780  GMAT Prep + GMAT Club Tests     HelloNewman   760  MGMAT CATs     Sobes4life   770  GMAT Prep CATs     cmklaw   750  GMAT Prep+e-GMAT Scholaranium     Avi2018   770  GMAT Prep+GMATClub     eternaloptimist   780  GMAT Prep+ MGMAT CATs     andrewthefourth   750  MGMAT CATs + GMAT Prep CATs     souvik101990   760  GMAT Prep+ MGMAT CATs + GMAT Club tests     crza   760  GMAT Prep+ Veritas CATs     NTSpike   760  GMAT Prep+ MGMAT CATs     sidsharma1989   760  GMAT Club, 800Score test     dhananjaya13   760  e-GMAT Scholaranium + GMATClub Tests     justalmost   790  Veritas CATs, Kaplan CATs     Samiya   780  GMAT Prep     AlUnderwood   770  GMAT Prep     tiffanana   750  MGMAT     rohansdalal   750  GMAT Club Test, e-GMAT Scholaranium     tightrope   790  GMAT Prep, MGMAT CATs and GMAT Club Tests     ChiranjeevSingh   780  GMAT Clubs tests and GMAT Prep exam packs     0000000000   780  GMAT Prep+MGMAT Cats + GMAT Club Tests     gmat_India   760  GMAT Club Tests, GMAT Prep     angshumangayan   760  Veritas CATs + GMAT Club CATs     vgreene   750  GMAT Club Tests + GMAT Prep CATs     strawberrycupcake   770  All Free CATs     OGinNYC   770  Kaplan CATs      salysalsal   750  E-gmat Scholaranium

Now below is the list of outstanding stories with score having less than 750 but more than 700. Prominent names from GMAT Club  abhimahna  and  saswata4s  are also in this list.

Quant

Quant     User    GMAT    Material/Course Used       Sowmya Kora   740  OG + e-GMAT     vikeshv   740  OG + E-gmat Course     energy2pe   710  OG + GMAT Club     anand108   740  OG + GMAT Club     gautham0615   740  GMAT Official Guide     delmoneyy   710  OG + Gmat Ninja Youtube     lchoc   720  EmpowerGMAT     rahul_india   740  OG + E-GMAT Course     abhimahna   740  OG+ Magoosh + GMAT Club tests     saswata4s   730  OG + Magoosh + Manhattan Books

Verbal

Verbal     User    GMAT    Sentence Correction    Critical reasoning    Reading Comprehension       Sowmya Kora   740  e-GMAT Course  e-GMAT Course  e-GMAT Course      vikeshv   740  Manhattan SC  E-gmat Course  E-gmat Course     energy2pe   710  GMAT PrepNow Videos  -       anand108   740    Power Score CR Bible       gautham0615   740  e-GMAT Verbal Online  e-GMAT Verbal Online  e-GMAT Verbal Online     delmoneyy   710  OG + Manhattan SC  OG + Manhattan CR   OG + Manhattan RC     lchoc   720  EmpowerGMAT  EmpowerGMAT  EmpowerGMAT     rahul_india   740  OG + E-GMAT Course         abhimahna   740  OG+ Magoosh  Magoosh  Magoosh     saswata4s   730  OG + Manhattan SC  Power Score CR bible  Manhattan RC

Tests

Tests     User    GMAT    Tests       Sowmya Kora   740  GMAT Club Tests + e-GMAT Scholaranium     vikeshv   740  GMAT Prep + Manhattan CATs     energy2pe   710  Veritas CATs + GMAT Prep + Manhattan CATs     anand108   740  Manhattabn CATs     gautham0615   740  e-GMAT Scholaranium + GMAT Club Tests     delmoneyy   710  MGMAT CATs + GMAT Club Tests     lchoc   720  GMAC CATs     rahul_india   740  GMAT Club Tests + e-GMAT Scholaranium     abhimahna   740  GMAT Club Tests     saswata4s   730  Official CATs + Manhattan CATs + Kaplan CATs

Summary

Must have books for GMAT

GMAT Official Guide 2020 
 GMAT Official Guide Quantitative Review 2020 
 GMAT Official Guide Verbal Review 2020

Official books and Computer adaptive tests (CATs) are not ranked in this summary as they are must have material.

Top GMAT Books/Courses used by above test takers

Quant

Apart from Official GMAT guides and official CATs, overall 12 different books/courses were used by test takers and top 3 books/courses from those are following.

1.  GMAT Club (Test, Math book and explanations)
 2.  Manhattan Quant guides
 3.  e-GMAT Course

Verbal

For Sentence Correction (SC)

1.  Manhattan SC Guide
 2.  e-GMAT Course
 3.  Magoosh Course

For Critical Reasoning (CR)

1.  PowerScore CR Bible
 2.  e-GMAT Course
 3.  Manhattan CR Guide

For Reading Comprehension (RC)

1.  Manhattan RC Guide
 2.  e-GMAT Course 
 3.  GMAT Club RC Forum

Tests

Apart from Official CATs

1.  GMAT Club Tests
 2.  Manhattan CATs
 3.  Veritas prep CATs.

I hope this post will help members in some way.

KSBGC · Answer

SajjadAhmad ,

thnx a lot. u have done a great work. I hope aspirants will find this one really helpful.

azhrhasan · Answer

No doubt,  SajjadAhmad  has done a great work, but i see an inherent flaw in his approach. It assumes that gmatclub is the universe of the test takers.

IMO he needs to add more sources outside of gmatclub to be more accurate. Only considering gmatclub reviews favours the most reviewed even if they have the same success rate within them.

Again undoubtedly  SajjadAhmad  has done a superb work. I wish if someone could build on top of it.

MBACrystalBall · Answer

While your point is valid and well taken, here's another perspective.

Right now GMAT Club is the biggest GMAT site with the most active test takers. More importantly, users are willing to share details of their backgrounds, test scores, prep courses used, applications, results.

That makes it possible to gather and analyze the data and come up with projects and initiatives such as this one (kudos to  SajjadAhmad  for the painstaking effort!) that would be impractical on most other sites.

It would be very tough to collate samples from the bigger universe of data, right?

GMAC may have the superset of test takers. And while they come out with a lot of helpful reports (like the geographic trends), they don't gather the kind of information that's directly relevant to test takers like GC does.

Which is probably why reputed sites like Poets & Quants publish analytical articles based on data from GC.

Disclosure: My company is not into test prep.

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Good to read your sensible remarks and that all make sense, going beyond GMAT Club is almost impossible and if it is possible it doesn't make any sense. No one can guarantee that the data collected out side of GC is representative and authentic, we have verified reviews and this is the real place for GMATers and MBA candidates so even if someone writing Thesis on GMAT prep resources cannot ignore GMAT Club at all, GC is a place you must take seriously if you are talking about GMAT and MBA Program.

Aralechan · Answer

thanks a lot for creating this thread. Inspire to 750+ range also!

Putta1316 · Answer

So much of valuable information for those who are preparing for GMAT, this will give us of targeting mountain peaks. Thanks for creating and sharing this thread.

Posted from my mobile device

bb · Answer

This post is for you to glean from what others have done and compare it to your prep plans.

If you want personal advice, I would suggest getting more questions right.

Posted from my mobile device

bigge2win · Answer

Even though GC is the source to go to for data on scores and applicants, I would still say that the population set here is skewed towards the international demographic. Having gone to Ross and met students and alumni at other programs, not as many people contribute content and their stats on forums, particularly domestic US candidates.

bb · Answer

I can see why one would think that but the population is not skewed actually, the contributions are skewed.

bigge2win · Answer

Where is there data on the population set?

This is my thought process. GC forums can be viewed by anyone without a log-in, but contributions require a log-in. Hence, the population of people at GC are generally those who created a log in and contribute posts. I'm sure many people created a log-in to track posts and save things, so that's a subset of people who are an exception to my statement. (this is almost like a GMAT critical reasoning discussion, lol)

Like I said, my personal experience showed that GC wasn't as pervasive throughout the bschool world as I had expected. I was on here all the time back in 2015 and 2016 while I was applying, and I was quite surprised to hear from so many peers and classmates how they did not use these sites. And that subset of people was mostly not international students. GC is more insular than you think and that I originally thought.

Lazybum · Answer

for those that use OG as quant study, do you know how they use it? only doing questions, only doing the end questions, reading the book as well?

bb · Answer

There is nothing to read in the OG. The book is about as helpful as a user manual for the iPhone. Do you have to use the official guide for questions. For Quant it is not as critical.

Based on your questions, it sounds like you’re trying to find a shortcut and cut a corner. Really really really bad idea for quant. It’s all built on top of each other. Going after hard questions before understanding how to solve easy ones, is equivalent to challenging Mike Tyson to fight at the beginning of your practice.... 😎😉

Posted from my mobile device

Lazybum · Answer

thanks! good to know.

I'm just wondering which to use to put me over the 750 mark. I've got 710 already and i'm just trying to optimize time spent for the remaining 2 months for my next exam. I'll probably focus on the OG next along w the gmatclub tests. Do those have overlap?

indbos · Answer

Really liked that analogy!
What would you say is critical for quant then, if not OG?

aayushsl · Answer

I can not thank the e-gmat team enough. It seems that they have figured everything out with respect to GMAT. I liked the way they have structured their course, especially the Verbal part. I remember I got 660 in my first mock test (V28, Q50). Later, when I was introduced to e-gmat, it felt like someone was tutoring me and helping me in building building blocks of Verbal. Their course has helped me hone my skills and upgrade them significantly. In my last official test I got a score of 710 (V36, Q49) and a big reason for this improvement has been the e-gmat course.

During preparation, the concept application sections made sure that not only I understood the concept but also could apply them in real GMAT-like questions. Again, the way Payal breaks problems down, shows how to approach them and finally, selects the correct answer choice is super helpful. It is almost unreal from outside to believe that by only focusing on meaning, one can solve a lot of questions in GMAT. Scholaranium and Sigma-X Mocks are things which help you in figuring out your weak areas by detailing out every single insight using data.

I clearly remember one of the RC sessions organized by e-gmat during weekends. If you follow the steps to approach an RC problem as explained by e-gmat, your RC score is bound to increase. RC, from being one of the hardest topics at some point, is one of my favorite topics in the Verbal section today. Overall, I think the success one can have by preparing for GMAT the e-gmat way is very likely because the team uses proven methods to help you in the journey.

Hope this helps someone who is looking out for choosing their GMAT guide

JatinAgharaGmat · Answer

Thank you for the information. It is really helpful. GMAT Club test are really helpful for Quants.

fatsam0786 · Answer

Wow thanks, this is very helpful.
Reading these success stories is so motivating

bb · Answer

Hi  Sajjad1994  - do we want to update this topic with the 2021 and 2022 stories - perhaps start a new one? 
What do you think?

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Hi  bb

I am collecting raw data for this thread, I want to update it and post a new one around July 1st or 2nd so I can cover up data up to June 2022. What do you say?

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My Rewards

Quant
User	GMAT	Material/Course Used
Shahmeer	760	OG + e-GMAT + GMAT Club Tests
kartikazad	750	GMAT Club
arthurychoi	760	Manhattan quant + Kaplan book
variantguy	750	OG+Manhattan Quant books+Kaplan book+GClub Math Book
Marger	780	OG + Manhattan Books
HelloNewman	760	OG + Manhattan Interact
Sobes4life	770	OG+ Target test prep
cmklaw	750	OG + E-GMAT Course
Avi2018	770	OG+ Magoosh + GMAT Club tests
eternaloptimist	780	Manhattan books+OG
andrewthefourth	750	OG, MGMAT guides
souvik101990	760	Manhattan Full online course, Veritas Online course, e-gmat course
crza	760	GMAT Club Math Book + OG
NTSpike	760	TTP, Manhattan Guides
sidsharma1989	760	e-GMAT, GMAT Club Tests
dhananjaya13	760	GMAT Club Tests+ e-GMAT Course
justalmost	790	Veritas prep Course
Samiya	780	OG + Jamboree Quant Classes
AlUnderwood	770	OG + Magoosh
tiffanana	750	OG + Manhattan prep Books
rohansdalal	750	Kaplan, e-GMAT, GMAT Club Test, OG
tightrope	790	OG and Manhattan Guides
ChiranjeevSingh	780	GMAT Clubs tests and GMAT Prep exam packs
0000000000	780	GMAT Club and MGMAT
gmat_India	760	GMAT Club Tests E-GMAT, OG
angshumangayan	760	GMAT Club Tests+ OG
chanange	760	GMAT Club Quants + OG + Manhattan Prep App
strawberrycupcake	770	GMAT Club Explanations + OG
OGinNYC	770	Kaplan Premier Bok + Kaplan CATs
salysalsal	750	Math Revolution All in one