I feel somewhat hypocritical, as in my past statement I gave a lot of credit to the software, but I am going to make some adjustments to what I had said now that I have taken the test again.
My actual score did not improve even though based on the software and my confidence level going in I had expected at least a 50 point increase. Here are some things I noticed taking the test a second time. The software for the prep fits perfectly for the practice tests you take within the software, each question addresses a specific topic covered (especially verbal). As I do not know what I got wrong on the actual test, a lot of what I am saying is speculative. I am not sure that the software prepares you to do as well as it projects. I went in constantly scoring Q50 or above and V38-42, and when I took the exam I was comfortable and relaxed, yet I scored Q44 V32. I suggest that you take the verbal portion of the software with a grain of salt, I felt the questions on the actual test were far more difficult. For quant. I am not sure I may have guessed poorly on a couple, which would support the low score. Again I may just be a poor test taker and the Economist program may be great as it did raise my practice test scores.
Perhaps 3rd time is the charm... if anyone has any advice regarding the benefits and drawbacks of taking the test a 3rd time in 3 months please let me know. Scoring above a 700 would put me in an ideal range for applying to top 20 business schools. I do not know if I should just except my faith with a 620 and an average gpa.