I had my first GMAT exam in June 2020 and scored 460. My motivation and confidence were just gone. I studied without any structure and jumped from one thing to another. Therefore, I needed to find my perfect tutor. After researching online who to choose, I ended up with GMATNinja! (Spoiler alert: best decision ever)

I worked with Alex Cotton (who is quite new to the GMATNinja fam, but I was convinced he’s great after 5 minutes with him). We had weekly sessions and I always received homework to do on my own. Alex helped me to find my motivation and confidence! He has a really positive and fun way to teach, and he always had a good joke in his pocket. The special thing about GMATNinja is probably the approach to solve your Verbal and Quant questions. They’ll give you a guidance to use and to practice, which will make your life much easier. Although, it felt weird to not review my wrong questions (because all those internet websites said to review every single mistake), it was perfect. Alex always reviewed my homework a day before our next session, he gave me honest feedback of my improvements (or sometimes non-improvements), and we went through some questions together.

After all, I got a 610 *yayyyy* in my final GMAT and I got into my desired Master’s program *double yayyyy*!

I feel like having a tutor is not only about what he/she teaches you, but also about that you have somebody watch out for you, check your responses, and guide you!

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Dave and his team are excellent. Prior to starting with GMAT Ninja, I was scoring between a 6 and 21 in the verbal section of the GMAT. I was desperate to do better after having invested five months of study time and having participated in a live GMAT course. I decided to reach out to the GMAT Ninja team. I got myself on a wait list and I am so glad I did!

After a couple of months, I was taken off the wait list and began working with Dave. He did an excellent job at pinpointing my weaknesses and assigning homework to specifically address the areas of improvement. He was incredibly patient and diligent throughout the process, providing me with new approaches on how to think of a question and how to improve speed.

Within roughly 2 months, I sat for the GMAT and my verbal score was at a 40!

I highly recommend Dave and his team as they truly care about the success of their clients and will be always be honest!

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MAN! Where to begin.. My GMAT journey took about 8 months from my first practice test. Initially, I struggled getting over the mental hump to really commit to studying for this test, which meant hanging up distractions for a bit. I took my first 'cold' GMAT in late October, 2020, and after scoring in the high 500's, I knew I needed outside help if I was going to get into my top schools. The first thing I did was go to my local Barnes and Noble store and picked up the latest GMAT Official Guide hoping I could get away with drilling practice questions over and over again. I did this for a while, an hour or two a day for a few weeks before I took my second Practice GMAT and scored LOWER! My quant scores were high, but my verbal scores fell, and I felt that is where I needed the most help. Feeling defeated, I ended up asking my peers of their methods, and that is when I started looking into Manhattan Prep. I would like to preface that my quant scores were strong, and I could manage a lot of 700+ level questions, but in contrast, my verbal needed a lot of work. What I was searching for was something that could sharpen my quant skills and possibly accelerate my timing, but most importantly, I needed a foundation for verbal.

I ended up enrolling in the 9-session Manhattan Prep course with Mr. Vollmer in November, and I got exactly that. The classes were fun, the classmates were engaging, and Mr. Vollmer made the whole experience really great. I was able to ask all the questions I wanted and I learned a lot from my classmates asking questions as well. I was very detailed in my note taking, and I concluded the course feeling very good about the foundation I had in verbal.

Immediately after the conclusion of the course, I took my first real Official GMAT Online. I do not recommend the online version, as my computer crashed while they were trying to send the test over and I ended up taking it 2 hours after my scheduled time and doing horribly. I took this hit as a growing experience because I knew that the computer issues were a huge reason for my poor mindset going into it. Obviously, this was probably an anomaly, and I am sure this is typically a great way to take the test; I just had some bad luck.

I studied a few more weeks, and took the test in person, I ended up scoring in the low 600's, and this was my lowest point in this whole process. I had put in the time, I have taken the course, and I studied for weeks after the conclusion of the course only to score far less than what I expected of myself and what my practice tests suggested I could get to.

"Just one more time" is what I told myself. I studied relentlessly for an extra couple months, doing well over 1,000 practice questions between GMAT Practices tests, tests and questions provided by Manhattan Prep, and the Wiley site that you get access too if you have the Official GMAT Guide. FINALLY in the last week of April, I took my last test. I ended up scoring in the high 600's which was where I needed to be to get into my first choice program at UofM Ross. It was with a lot of perseverance, a killer application/essays, an excellent recommendation, and a GMAT score that fell within the school's range, I was able to be admitted.

In conclusion, I would not have scored as high as I did if it wasn't for Manhattan Prep and Mr. Vollmer helping me get the basics down for verbal. I would highly recommend them. What worked best for me is knowing what my strengths and weaknesses are before enrolling, and really focusing on where I needed help. Mr. Vollmer got me there and I am beyond thankful for the opportunity to pursue a Masters Degree at Ross, and I couldn't have done it without his engaging lessons!

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GMATNinja was the sole reason I was able to achieve the GMAT score I needed. Prior to GMATNinja, I had spent hours and hours using an online GMAT course with little improvement and lots of frustration. Upon starting GMATNinja with Mike, I was put at ease and knew I made the right decision.

Rather than using a one-size-fits-all approach, Mike created a tailored approach for my learning and took the stress out of studying for me. He created custom homework sets that suited my weaknesses so I didn't have to worry or think about what I needed to practice everyday. During our weekly sessions, we would discuss my errors. Rather than asking me to completely change my strategy to questions, Mike would enhance my approach to questions by breaking down my thought processes. This led to significant organic improvement on my part. On certain questions that I especially struggled with in both quant and verbal, Mike taught me smart frameworks I could implement allowing me to confidently answer.

A few weeks into starting with GMATNinja, my GMAT prep became so efficient because of Mike's approach that I was doing more problems sets in less time while experiencing great improvement in my score. I made strides in the verbal section, which had been my biggest weakness. Even in the quant section, Mike was able to help me identify some changes I could make that resulted in me getting a few more points.

I recommend GMATNinja and Mike to anyone who wants to improve their score (no matter their starting point) in a stress-free manner. My only regret is that I wish I would've found them sooner!

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I took the e-GMAT course in June 2021 after I had taken an attempt in early June. I had prepared a fair bit and did well on the mocks however the main exam made me realise some fundamental gaps.

I lacked a process to solve the questions and also lacked section specific guidance to improve on my ability. e-gmat and Dhananjay came in and helped me improve my ability a fair bit. I improved from a 38 to a 40 in verbal within 10 days of starting work with egmat.

What I love about e-gmat:
Fantastic portal that gives you excellent insight. You do not waste time analysing, you only learn, cement and perform

The exercises are built methodically after completing each section I could see an improvement in my ability.

The personalized support that the team offers. They peer through your performance and give you sectionwise analysis on what to focus on. DJ offered me his personal number. I continuously kept in touch and troubled him for doubts. This is super helpful for a scattered person like me.

The sigma X mocks are fantastic

The methodologies that e-gmat have pioneered - pre-thinking, meaning based SC and critical reading skills. (I was able to get 98th and 91st percentile in SC and CR respectively)

I think e-gmat is the best solution out there for retakers. I am now working with the team to get a better score than what i have landed. I am sure I should be able to achieve it with their help and guidance. I keep wishing I had started the prep with e-gmat many months ago!

Above all, e-gmat does not judge or make you feel uncomfortable. They are matter of fact and mission driven towards helping us achieve our goal.

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I thought I could get a good GMAT quant score just by brushing up on my maths concepts. Easy right? Not at all. The GMAT quant section is a different beast, and I was not prepared for it. I realised I had gaping holes in some of my concepts. After wasting a couple of months studying from a few popular books, I finally signed up for TTP. I had seen glowing reviews, but did not imagine the course to be this thorough.

Each module first explains the concepts, and then drills them into your head with the sectional tests. I did all the modules and all the sectional, and review tests in order. It definitely took me some time, but do keep in mind the course is front loaded i.e. the first few modules take longer to complete. I spend 250+ hours on the platform and solved over 3500 problems. The fact that the platform is so well designed and thought-out also helps.

When I started taking Practice Tests, I felt great. No question type felt unfamiliar, and that was true even for the actual GMAT. I used the practice tests to better my timing strategy - which was also something the TTP team covered during the initial strategy call they offer.

The verbal module is also great, and very very extensive. I personally did not complete the whole thing, but if you have the time, I highly recommend it.

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I started my GMAT journey last March, when COVID shut everything down. I figured it'd be a great time to shut myself in and prepare for a few months. When I started studying, I took a diagnostic test from the GMAT Official Guide, and I remember stopping something like 15 questions in because I was guessing on every single question. I didn't remember any math at all from my high school days, and I didn't study math in college either. I never got my diagnostic score because I was so bad at it I couldn't even finish the exam.

I tried the Target Test Prep trial version and found it very accessible and well constructed. After the trial ran out, I bought a subscription and started studying for 1-2 hours a day every day. I only used it for Quant, and over the past year, I re-learned everything I had forgotten about math over the past decade. I found TTP to be extremely helpful. The video explanations and problem solutions were easy to understand, the pacing of the course was perfect for me while I worked a full time job, and the lessons were constantly updated to be more comprehensive. I took the GMAT last month and scored a 50V / 48Q / 770 total, and I wouldn't have been able to do it without TTP. I don't know what my original score would have been since I quit the diagnostic halfway through, but I imagine I improved by a margin of at least 150 points, if not over 200. Strongly recommend for anyone struggling with math like I was!

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When I started off with my GMAT preparation, I was under the impression that I would not need a structured program to get 700+. Afterall, how difficult could high school math and elementary verbal reasoning be? Right? WRONG!

GMAT, across both quant and verbal sections is a test of one's logical thinking prowess and mental stamina. A structured preparation is a must and I realized this the hard way in my initial endeavor.

It was then that I reached out to eGMAT and was told about the LMP (last mile push) program which is aimed at providing the right course content along with highly personalized 1-to-1 coaching. I was glad to get assigned DJ (Dhananjay) my mentor who promptly put me on a study plan comprised of the right combination of video lessons and practice on Scholaranium.

Since I had already got a head start in my preparation before subscribing to eGMAT, DJ advised me to go through specific lessons in Verbal while focusing on practicing questions under time pressure. However, I was so enamored by eGMAT's brilliantly crafted verbal section that I ended up completing the entire course - every single video lesson and practice question.

eGMAT's structured approach to cracking CR is extremely helpful in hitting a high accuracy in difficult 700+ level questions. And their SC methodologies are almost guaranteed to enable 90%+ accuracy on even the most convoluted and tricky questions. One just needs to trust in the process and remain patient while the course builds up the ability to take on even the most difficult questions head on.

Since I was focusing mainly on improving my verbal performance, I did not go through the entire quant course. However, the sections that I did go through were very comprehensive while retaining the trademark eGMAT structured approach. Their frameworks are gold standard across topics - the meaning based approach in SC and the pre-thinking mandate in CR being a couple of top-of-mind examples.

Scholaranium 2.0 is a massive upgrade and an extremely useful tool and throws trenchant insights into one's strengths and weaknesses. In terms of making one cognizant about areas of improvement, it is just about as subtle as a sledgehammer! With the level of granularity of inputs it provides on sectional ability and the pointers for improvement it assists with, it is the best "digital coach" that I have come across to build test readiness.

And talking about coaches, I cannot thank DJ enough for all the support and multitudinous insightful recommendations he shared with me throughout my preparation. He was very prompt in responding to my queries and gave sharp weekly action plans for me to execute. With a fortnight to go for my test, he helped me with a hyper-specific, completely personalized plan basis the insights that Scholaranium 2.0 had thrown. This helped me focus on areas of improvement at a time sticking to a sagaciously chosen study schedule mattered the most.

In my first attempt, I got 720 (Q48, V41). I could have done better in quant and will go for a retest. In verbal, I was consistently in the 35-38 zone in prior mocks and the 40+ score in the actual test was thanks to the rigor I was exposed to in the well rounded eGMAT course and ofcourse to DJ's inputs.

All in all, try as I may but I find it hard to critique eGMAT's offerings. It is a rock solid, profoundly well-thought through, robustly crafted, comprehensive course for GMAT preparation and test readiness. In my opinion, easily the best course out there. I would highly recommend it.

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I loved working with Dana.

I wanted to break the 700 point barrier and managed to do so thanks for Dana's methodical way of tackling my weaknesses.

Having tried my luck with two other tutors, I especially enjoyed Dana's commitment to understanding my weaknesses before offering solutions to my GMAT difficulties. At the end of the day, the sessions were very focused and I don't think I would have been able to break that barrier without that focus.

I will also say that I benefit from great mental support from Dana and the rest of the team. I ended up taking the GRE and they were able to guide me through the process and coach me on that front too.

I am now very happy at Chicago Booth!

Thank you again

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Loved the Target Test Prep service - it allowed me to work on my own time and really grind on the Quant. It can seem a bit minimalist, but I really enjoyed how simple the lessons were and TTP was always on hand in case I had any additional questions. The videos were also very insightful and really focused on understanding the concepts rather then gaming the test. I also liked the feeling of incremental growth as TTP employed a tracker that indicated where you were on your progress. Would definitely recommend to those starting out or are unsure about your time commitment as it is very flexible!

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