Veritas? E-GMAT? GMAT Pill?Choosing a course... please help!

Question

Hello everyone
I am retaking my GMAT in this November. My last score was 650/79% (V29/53% & Q49/85%) (a more detailed debrief pls find here: 640-650-third-attempt-target-700-need-advice-156355.html). As my target is 700+, think a "50+points guaranteed or money back" course would be the best option.

These days I have spent a lot of hours on reading course reviews. Since my verbal is much weaker than my Quant, I would like to target to fix my verbal. I have the following conclusion after reading the course reviews:

Eliminated
Kaplan - seems good for Quant (and the books are great for Quant), not suitable for my case
Manhattan - like the academic approach, and I used and love the SC guide. but they don't teach tips and tricks and don't give a 50+points or money back guarantee. also, I am specially weak with RC but seems Manhattan's strength is SC and Quant
Knewton - a lot of bad reviews, don't want to risk
Princeton - not many reviews, don't know how to judge. but i had a glance at one of their books, doesn't click with me
Magoosh - haven't heard much about it...

not sure... struggling! Please Help!
e-GMAT - a lot of good review, specially designed for non-natives and stresses on Verbal. But i took their free trial online live class, not specially impressive
GMAT Pill - a lot of good review, also designed for non-natives and focuses on verbal. And after register for free account, there are already a lot of resources available, i feel this company is better prepared. But to be honestly stingy, why not just use the free resources? The money-back condition needs me to log in 22 days in the month before my test and I must spend at least one hour in it. Since my test is far I would really prefer to do the course now and spend the last 2 months study by myself. This condition really turns me down. Also, I don't want to spend much time on Quant, but their "money-back" package has all 6 pills which means I am forced to take the classes on Quant?
Veritas - longest history among these 3. seems trustworthy. and it doesn't mandate me to take all classes. However, the above 2 have more focus on Verbal and they are for non-natives like me, while Veritas doesn't say so.

I am debating with myself for which course to take!! Please help!! i would appreciate if the company representatives can help answer some questions I have above. thanks!!!!

Thank you in advance!!

fozzzy · Answer

It really depends no what your style of study is if you feel one course helps you better go for it, asking for others opinions won't help.... Everyone's style of study is different.

Its like saying a person who likes to study from books has to choose an on-line course for his preparation. Would this strategy work for him?

abk · Answer

I took Veritas Prep... I'm not quite sold on the live session classes, to be honest. The books were okay, but I'm retaking the GMAT and I haven't even touched them at all.

I self-studied mainly with them and MGMAT books, but I'm a non-native speaker so my perspective is different.

bb · Answer

If you want to try the Veritas Course, you can download their mobile app - they offer the lessons for free in the in-app section. They used to charge $50 per lesson or something like this.

Another recommendation I would have is for you to look into who is offering a free trial (I think Magoosh and eGMAT do). not sure yet about Veritas or GMAT Pill.

Finally, look at the money back policies with each provider and see what they are and what are your chances to get money back should your score not improve - some are very generous and others are less so.

GMATPill · Answer

Navylam, The free resources we provide are fantastic. However, simply doing questions may not get you to where you need to be. Perhaps more important is the 'speed learning' techniques we teach in our course. These are the techniques that empower you to break through the upper end of your GMAT score range. You won't get these techniques and the hundreds of video explanations that demonstrate how to apply them without membership. So while you may have free access to the Practice Pill Platform, you won't have access to the good stuff that will actually help you improve. For example, with this video: https://www.gmatpill.com/sentencecorrect ... -lo-mo.mp4 You might not learn anything by simply doing the question. Only by watching the video and understanding the approach will you be better able to handle other similar types of questions. AND improve on speed. We generally don't provide multiple levels of guarantee because it potentially confuses users of our site. But given your high Q score, we can potentially work something out with your verbal in terms of the guarantee. Please message support@gmatpill.com. Hope that helps, GMATPill

brianlange77 · Answer

Hey -- good question and glad you are doing the research. I won't tell you that any particular service is the best (although I do have a preference there!!). The best thing to do, IMHO, is to try to sample out each class, and see which approach/teachers/methodology fits best with your style.

Quick challenge for you -- If you have really specific needs you are looking to address... have you considered tutoring instead of the full class?

Thanks!

-Brian

Quick challenge for you -- If you have really specific needs you are looking to address... have you considered tutoring instead of the full class?

Thanks!

-Brian

navylam · Answer

Hi Brian,
I am specially weak in RC for that I am slow-reader. but heard many people say that one strategy is to be really good at SC and CR so as to give more time to do RC, so I am actually considering to take class for Verbal in general. Not sure about tutoring, that sounds expensive? Any money-back guarantee?

Thanks!

navylam · Answer

Thank you Fozzzy for so actively responding to my posts, really appreciate your help. i just want to get more perspectives and more importantly to involve actually the prep- institutes for more clarity

Thank you i also agree your perspective

navylam · Answer

bb, i am so surprised that the founder of this site writes to respond my post! i actually quite admire you spotted the unmet need for GMAT test takers and started such a great platform for us!

Back to the topic, thank you so much for the tips on veritas, will definitely try it out!

navylam · Answer

Hi GMAT Pill representative, thank you so much for answering to my post, this is my main purpose to start this thread.
to be very direct, what are the unique selling points of your classes over E-GMAT or Veritas? I want to discuss this here because it is also useful for other test-takers to know.

About the money-back policy I will PM you. thanks!

GMATPill · Answer

Hi navylam, Our approach is designed for busy working professionals with limited time to study. These are working professionals who do not have time to understand the meaning of what a SUBJUNCTIVE CLAUSE is or a what a PARTICIPIAL PHRASE is. So fundamentally, our approach to the test differs greatly. Others tend to put "labels" on certain phrases - we focus more on thought process. In the spirit of Nike's "Just Do It" slogan - we just do GMAT questions and show you how we are thinking. We don't overanalyze or put fancy labels anywhere. We just do it. For those with limited time to study - this is important. So that's how we are different from a fundamental/philosophical perspective. We've also outlined how we are different on this page: https://gmatclub.com/blog/courses/gmat-pill-discount/ To summarize: 1) We are the ONLY GMAT Prep Course Taught by a Team of Stanford Graduates 2) No Other Prep Company Has Been Featured on…Businessweek, Bloomberg, Breaking Into Wall Street, and Harvard Business School 3) No Other Prep Company Offers Lifetime Membership, 50 pt Guarantee… …AND a Complete Mobile Solution On iPhone/Android/iPad 4) No Other Prep Company Has Helped a (Non-Native) Student (Kang: 760) Get OFF the Waitlist …AND Score a $50,000 MBA Tuition Scholarship 5) ]No other Prep Company Hires ITS OWN STUDENTS - including one (James: 770) who earned a $93k Full-Tuition Scholarship to London Business School 6) No other Prep Company Has Free Full-Length Practice Test - complete with performance and time analytics - as well as discussion links for each question: 7) No other Prep Company Has a free Online OG Tracker - Open for Discussion 8) No other Prep Company Has This: https://www.gmatpill.com/gmatclub/images/Slide6.PNG

clockwork13 · Answer

Hi this is Leo here. Just want to share my experience and hope it is helpful. Like you, I did poorly in my first attempt, scoring 680. Determined to improve, I sign up for GMAT Pills and scored 730 after one month of preparation. I am currently admitted into London Business School and will be starting two weeks later.

From my experience, GMAT Pills is designed for busy professional. Although I was a student, I have to take CFA Level 1, run a student club I have founded, handle school work and manage a small side business during the GMAT period. I feel that the method is simple and straight forward. The course only focus on the things that matter and leave the other irrelevant craps out, which was good to me as all I wanted was a good score within the limited amount of time. With the mobile apps, I was able to learn when I was on the road, gyming or waiting for lessons.

I am unsure if GMAT Pills is the best resource you can use (because I have not tried all of them) but it works perfectly well for me. I hope that my experience may aid you in making your decision. Feel free to message me if you have any questions.

Cheers,
Leo

brianlange77 · Answer

That sounds more like a wishful outcome than a strategy! It's like saying, I am not good at managing money, but I've heard if I can understand options trading and the commodities market, that might make things okay! :-)

Everything has a cost -- just make sure you are paying for what you really need!!!

PrincessZ · Answer

I have been using the Empower Gmat course for 2 months now. I find it helpful and the explanations are great.

But, I do not see anyone talking about in forums here? How well known is the course and their teachings?

Thanks!

brianlange77 · Answer

I can't comment on that source -- but I may suggest posting it as its own topic if you truly want people to be able to respond to your inquiry. It will get 'buried' here.
Thanks.
Brian

labixiaoxin · Answer

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brianlange77 · Answer

Good point!

Veritas? E-GMAT? GMAT Pill?Choosing a course... please help!

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