GMAT Study Plan: The Online Study Route
Online education and GMAT Courses in particular have gone a long way in the last few years. Today you can get a full course with many tests and thousands of questions for less than $150. That's less than what you would pay for a set of books. This option is different from the traditional Course or the self-study Book approach and we feel finally deserves a discussion of its own.
Improvement: 50-150 points depending on the starting point
Concept: Cheaper and faster than books or if traditional study approaches do not work for you
Recommended for:
- Retakers - many providers offer money back guarantee (make sure you read their explanation)
- GMAT Novices
- Verbal Challenged
Other Study Plans
Advantages of the Low Cost Online Self Study Courses
- Breadth and Depth - of then they are able to incorporate more study elements/pieces than a book would
- "Instructor-lead" approach
- Can be taken anywhere
- Many come with free access to the GMAT Club tests (great value!)
- Cost can be often more effective than a set of books (esp if shipping is expensive)
- Updated content and ability to ask questions/receive support - many courses offer a certain level of support
Weaknesses of the Low Cost Online Self Study Courses:
- No paper - if you are used to textbooks, this may not be for you
- Illusion of progress: watching videos may be an easy way to study but you need to think/analyze/process, not just watch videos
- Distractions - you can usually isolate yourself with a book but having a computer with FB, Youtube, etc in front of you, may not be easy to focus on the lessons
- There is usually support but it is not the same as having an instructor walk you through each lesson
Step 1: Evaluate if the online study approach is for you. Many of the providers such as
e-GMAT,
Magoosh, and
Math Revolution offer free evaluations of their full products.
Target Test Prep and EMPOWERgmat offer free trials of the full product for 3 or 5 days:
https://gmatclub.com/forum/free-trials-196374.html. Some of the older folks like me have a bit of a harder time not having a book in front of us since that's how we have been trained to study. However, if you take a look at the
reviews of the online courses, there are many folks who find them effective (over 3,000 reviews).
Step 2: Figure out what low cost course/option you like the best. There are many flavors and features:
- Score guarantee (e-GMAT, Economist, Magoosh, Math Revolution)
- Intensive (Target Test Prep and EMPOWERgmat)
- Self-study (Economist, Magoosh, Target Test Prep, EMPOWERgmat, Math Revolution) vs. Instructor lead options (some of the e-GMAT's courses are instructor-lead)
- Offers Free evaluations (Math Revolution, Economist and Magoosh)
- Quant (Math Revolution and Magoosh) - you can purchase only the quant or the verbal portion of the course
- Verbal (Economist, e-GMAT, Magoosh, Target Test Prep, EMPOWERgmat) -you can purchase only the quant or the verbal portion of the course
- Full length CATs (Economist has 4, Magoosh has 2)
Step 3: Figure out if there are other materials you need. You probably have a use for the
OG at the least. Some other suggestions may include:
Have you taken a course?
Share your experience with others using GMAT Club Reviews
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