It's been a long GMAT journey, but I just scored a 770 Q51 V42 and it has all been worth it. Hopefully you can learn from my mistakes and get there faster. First note, I've been in your exact shoes before, looking at wildly high scores and GMAT posts, thinking: "there's seriously no way I'll get to that level". But it comes, you'll find your way.

My prep started 16 months ago right as I finished undergrad. I had 2-3 months before my job started and no money, so I decided to study for the GMAT. I used the MGMAT books and the online course over those months. Here's my scores:

GMAT Prep 1: 590 Q37 V35 (April 17 2019)
GMAT Prep 2: 690 Q46 V39 (After GMAT Course)
GMAT Prep 3: 710 Q47 V41 (1 week before first test)
GMAT #1: 690 Q47 V38 (June 29 2019)
GMAT Prep 3: 680 Q46 V38
GMAT #2: 700 Q44 V41 (July 27 2019)

I was burnt out and started my first post-grad job.

**** 10 month break ****

I started to get serious about prepping again once I decided I wanted to apply to business school this year. I knew I needed a high score to because I am a white male engineer with only a couple years of work experience. My friend referred me to Target Test Prep, and I didn't look back.

TTP is great. I did everything they told me to do, even though I had achieved a Q47 before, I wanted to build a solid foundation and that was exactly what TTP Quant did. Since TTP hadn't built out it's verbal offering yet, I supplemented with e-GMAT for verbal, although I only used it for sentence correction and I would advise MGMAT verbal or just OG Verbal questions, especially for native speakers.

After completing the TTP course, things didn't go exactly as planned.
Here's my scores:

GMAT Prep 5: 740 Q49 V41
GMAT Prep 6: 730 Q49 V40
GMAT #3: 710 Q47 V41 (August 4th 2020)

At this point, I was frustrated. I didn't know what to do. I purchased the enhanced score report, and sent it to Scott at TTP and Jeff at TTP. I had emailed them both before, and they had gotten back to me with advice and been very helpful. This time, Jeff gave me a phone call and we discussed the exam and what we thought went wrong. No other company will do this unless you hire a private tutor. Jeff talked me through a plan, then sent me a detailed 7 day prep plan that included a mix of TTP and OG questions. Then, 10 days after GMAT #3:

GMAT #4: 770 Q51 V42 (August 14th 2020, online)

How did I make that jump? Well, according to my ESR I was scoring 99th percentile and 96th percentile on DS and SC respectively, the two most difficult parts of the test for students (typically). I had focused so much of my prep on that, I ignored the rest. I spent those 7 days doing questions from all sorts of difficulty ranges and really perfecting the process.

Biggest takeaway: Drill OG questions, all the OG questions, especially the medium level questions if you are trying to get a 720+ score, because perfection on those questions will give you the opportunity to answer the hard questions. Keep working, it just takes time and a well-balanced study plan. I am certainly not a genius (I got B's and C's in calculus in college).

Another tip: TTP provides a strategy chapter that you read throughout the course. Take notes on it and follow it, go back to it, review it, and take it seriously. The GMAT is more than just questions, it takes a mindset and an attitude but you will get there. I had post-it notes with 770 written on it in my apartment and on my computer, having that mindset helps when things get tough.

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The course was outlined very nicely and provided as easy way to improve on the areas I needed to. The Sigma mock tests were very realistic and the same level as the real GMAT. Dhananjay was my mentor and helped me focus on the areas I needed to focus on and would call me every week to set up a customized plan and make sure I was executing it, he was a big part of why I scored high on the GMAT and was able to improve. I was struggling on both quant and Verbal but more on Verbal and the course provides really good advanced questions that allowed me to get used to what I would see on exam day. I was hesitant at first about the Quant course but I ended up doing it and have no regrets. It helped me especially in the advanced topics section where the guidance from the course helped me achieve a top score. Overall, the e-GMAT course is worth it if you are looking for a score above 700 and have a lot to improve, Dhananjay was fantastic in responding quickly and guiding me to focus on my weak areas.

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Target Test Prep is by far the best resource I encountered for building up GMAT test skills and knowledge from the ground up. I first began preparing for the GMAT by checking out some Kaplan guide books from prior years from my local library. After slogging my way through some practice problems without increasing my accuracy I switched to using the Manhattan GMAT app on my cell phone. Again I was lacking the rudimentary knowledge in how I was supposed to attack GMAT problems.

I made the decision to reset and purchased the TTP Maximum Learning subscription in January. I ended up having to renew for two additional months using the Flexible month to month plan, just because being busy working a full time job I hadn't been able to complete the course.

I scored a 660 on my first official GMAT only being about 30% done with the TTP course. I scheduled another attempt a month out and redoubled my efforts to finish the course. I was able to do so and scored a 700 just 29 days later.

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Overall, I thought that the Magoosh Premium product was very helpful in my preparation process. Their videos outlining the specific topics covered on the test were done at the exact right level of detail and the example problems were helpful in showing the different ways that a particular topic can be covered. The Magoosh math question bank had a lot of very good questions. I thought the verbal question bank also contained a lot of helpful questions, though I wished there were more reading comprehension and critical reasoning questions in the bank. That said, I think for the price charged, Magoosh was the single best product (that I came across) for both learning the concepts tested and practicing the topics through the question bank. I also utilized one of the Magoosh study schedules and thought that it was incredibly well-thought out and the key to my 750 score. I highly recommend the Magoosh product.

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I came across e-gmat course on one of the gmatclub's forum. I was struggling with SC early-on and wasn't sure of a reliable source. I tried the free version of the e-gmat SC course and found it to be extremely effective. Not only were the concepts laid down clearly but they were subsequently strengthened through practice / application files. My initial plan was to only complete SC theory from the e-gmat's video course. But I was so impressed with the comprehensiveness of the content that I also completed the RC and CR course provided by them. Infact, I also ended up buying their quant course and sigma-x mocks, each of which played a significant part in my preparation.

Additionally, e-gmat strategy team's support for the students enrolled in their course is exceptional. It has been rarely the case that a query sent from me has taken more than a day to get resolved. I would specifically like to mention one of their strategy team's member Dhananjay (DJ) , who I came across when I asked for a review from e-gmat's team for one of my sigma-x mocks. I distinctly remember the detailed video-analysis that he provided for my first mock attempt. I was surprised by how close it was to my own assessment of the test. The fact that that my preparation issues include both ability and time management became clear to me only when he used the sigma-x mock's ESR to explain me where I was spending more time. Additionally, my attitude of not letting go the harder questions was hurting me big time in the mocks. I was aware of this issue already but I guess hearing it out loud from someone makes all the difference.

Lastly, I would like to point out that my last week interactions with the team, especially with DJ went a long way in giving me a clear direction on the way forward. Contrary to the popular opinion that one should only revise the concepts and not burn yourself out in the last, I was advised to give some gmatclub mocks to fill in the gaps still existing in my timing strategy. This went a long way in making my actual GMAT experience extremely smooth and unnerving.

Cannot thank e-gmat team enough for the support. I am planning to give the GMAT exam again in future to increase my score further and would mostly choose the e-gmat course again.

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Summary:

If you can afford the program, do it. Target Test Prep is hands-down the reason I was able to score a 740 with a Q50.

Review:

My GMAT experience started in 2017. I was considering grad school and used self-study to take the GMAT, employing the typical resources such as the OG guides and Manhattan Prep guides. Score: 650 - Q46 / V34

I took a few years to work on my career and round out my profile. The GMAT loomed over my head until 2020 when I decided to give it another shot. Utilizing the same self-study techniques, the information I learned from my previous attempt came back relatively quickly, but after completing an initial practice test, I was disappointed to see an overall score of 640. My quant had dropped from a 46 to a 42. I knew I had to find a new way to study.

I consulted a colleague who pointed me to Target Test Prep. I was a little hesitant, but I knew I needed to shake things up. So, I signed up for the free trial. Within the first week, I was learning techniques that I had never seen before. Specifically, on rate / work problems, overlapping sets, and my nemesis at the time, combinations and permutations. I decided then to commit to the full course.

One thing you should know, is that the course requires a decent amount of time to thoroughly complete. In my case, I studied approximately 1 - 2 hours per night on most weeknights, and then 4 - 6 hours per day on the weekends. At that rate it took me approximately 2 – 3 months to finish. But I have to say, at no point did it feel that long. Target Test Prep does a fantastic job of structuring the course to keep it interesting and to keep you motivated to dive into the next subject. Every study session has opportunities to accomplish something and this, in my mind, was key to keeping me motivated.

At the end of the course, you are instructed to take the official GMAT practice exams. I committed to all 6 exams and immediately saw success. My tests ranged from 680 – 750 and my quant held steady at Q48. I improved my quant by 6 points!

Test Experience:

Test 1: 700 – Q45 / V40

I finally broke the 700 barrier! A huge accomplishment. The Q45 was a little disappointing, but I noticed the questions were particularly difficult. So, I scheduled another exam.

Test 2: 710 – Q48 / V39

Q48. Finally, back to where I expected it to be. Still, I was disappointed that I had not performed my best on both subjects on the same test. I knew I was capable of a higher verbal score, so I scheduled another exam.

Test 3: 740 – Q50 / V40

Q50 and V40. I still can’t believe it. I remember during the quant section that I saw questions whose strategy was specifically called out in my TTP studies. Seriously, I finished multiple questions within SECONDS because of the TTP strategies.

Conclusion:

Using Target Test Prep, I was able to increase my GMAT score from a 650 to a 740, obtaining a quant score of 50. 50!!!! I firmly believe that Target Test Prep had a major influence on my success. I cannot recommend it enough, and now that they are adding verbal practice, it is likely going to be the only test prep guide you will need.

One final thought, if you can, take the test multiple times. I noticed a high degree of variability in the questions that were asked. Don’t get discouraged. Put in the time, believe in yourself, and you’ll be successful.

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Great course. Especially if you want to achieve a very high score. in my case I needed to improve a bit to get to 550 minimum so the exercises were a bit too difficult at times but their brought great insight and prepared me to think quickly and understand the underlying assumptions on the exercises. Also, the staff was very quick to answer all of my questions and most of the times I was able to find my answer in the forums.
The verbal part is very detailed as well, although I personally felt I spent too much time watching the first units. I would recommend to first start doing the exercises and see what is your performance, because even though there are some very specific tricky things (e.g. subjunctive) you would probably gain more progress by focusing on sentence correction.

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I took the e-GMAT Verbal Online after my first GMAT attempt (Got a 680 with Q49 V33)

Pros:

The SC course is definitely hands-down one of the best courses in the market currently. It's extremely beneficial for people with conceptual gaps. I increased my accuracy in SC from ~60% to ~80% with the help of this course.

I personally feel the RC is pretty good too. I was struggling with RC and none of the 'shortcuts' or 'techniques' I found online helped me with this. The e-GMAT's RC module with its 'predicting the flow of the passage' and 'involving yourself in the passage' really made sense and helped me a lot!

Cons:

The number of questions for practice is very low. Considering other good courses such as Expert's Global (comparing solely based on the number of questions/ quizzes), the number of questions and quizzes for practice in e-GMAT scholaranium is very low.

I gave my GMAT again and now have a 720 with Q50 V37 (might give it another shot). The increase in the verbal score is majorly because of my increase in accuracy in SC. BIG TIME!

Cheers! All the best!

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I think E-Gmat is a very good value for your money service. I took the GMAT Prep mock test to get an idea of where I was before starting preparation and scored a 720. I purchased the Egmat course because I was targeting a score of 760. I think their sentence correction course is really good. In my case I think it improved my verbal score by 01-02 points but that is because I was already at a good level. I took the GMAT test and scored a 730. My sigma mock scores were as follows:
1) 700 (Before starting preparation)
2) 700 (After completing sentence correction section)
3) 750 (one week after mock 2- in this week i practiced in the scholaranium)
4) 760 (one week after mock 3- continued scholaranium practice)
5) 760
GMAT Prep 2- 760

Afterwards I didn't prepare for 06 months and it was only last week that I started preparing again but this time around I focused more on the official problems and practiced my weak areas from the previous ESR and scored a 760 with 05 days of preparation.

In conclusion Egmat is a good course but if you want an elite score you need to focus on the official guide more. Egmat's sentence correction is very good but limited in terms of difficult problem types. Their RC is good and I think their Critical Reasoning is the weakest part of the three, albeit still good.
I gave it 05 stars because it is very cheap.
One thing that I didn't like was that I tried to talk to Mr.Rajat or Payal but I couldn't until after I had taken the test. Eventually I figured it out myself on how to score higher in the retest.

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From 640 to 770 in 3 months.

Huge thanks to the Magoosh team for providing an excellent learning experience! Having ADHD makes revision a real struggle but I found that Magoosh's fun, engaging and easy-to-follow lessons enabled me to stay focused and motivated.

As well, the content is brilliant, covering everything you need to know, nothing more and nothing less. That being said, there are many questions labelled 'very hard' which will, if anything, over prepare you for the exam and help you to get a great score!

I would heavily recommend Magoosh to everyone looking for a fun way to practice for the GMAT. Also please do reach out to me for advice on any aspect of the exam, whether it be which resources to use or even general strategy tips - always happy to help!

Matt

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