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Joined: Jun 21, 2020
Posts: 2
Kudos: 0
Verified GMAT Classic score:
750 Q47 V46 (Online)
When I started studying for the GMAT I simply started by doing loose questions on the official GMAT website. I realized I had a lot of work to do on quant and just needed practice for verbal. I looked at a few different websites and Magoosh offered a nice free trial, so I started that and saw some of the available video lessons and I realized that was exactly what I needed: concise videos that explain all the math theory in a very clear way that is extremely specific to the GMAT. I watched all their math video lessons. During my first week I took an official practice test and scored Q39 V38 (640) and I improved up to scoring Q49 in my fifth week. Took the official exam the Monday after (so in my 6th week) and scored Q47. Magoosh was essential for me because it taught me how to simply and quickly solve basically everything on the test, aside from the most difficult questions which you always gotta figure out yourself.
The only way I studied for verbal was by looking at video explanations under the questions that I got wrong. These are very well made because they teach you patterns to look for, so you become quicker and more accurate in verbal too just by looking at video explanations. Magoosh is very worth it. I have not used other services, so I do not know how it compares, but Magoosh is great.
Decided in mid May to schedule for the online GMAT on 6/15, and mapped out that I’d have thirty days to get the job done.
Studied about 3 hours a day on average throughout the month. Used TTP after a free trial, (you don’t need to read reviews here, just try it for yourself and see if the structure works for you) and grinded out the math there. Had one of those free consultation calls with them telling them my plan and my target score (750) but it was mostly them cautioning a rushed process.
For TTP Math I quickly realized there is just too much material to cover and I didn’t have the time, so my process became: read chapter end to end, take one hard test, move on to the next. Skipped all the review tests, just focused on getting all the content learned. This took me ~18 days.
Decided to do Verbal on TTP as well, as I had less than two weeks left at that point and didn’t want to switch formats. Felt like the Verbal chapters were pretty solid but very, very difficult. Skipped all the verbal tests as I didn’t have time and the verbal chapters are deceivingly long and full of good practice. I did take one hard test (assumptions, ch.1) and got a 10% lmao. It’s really hard, maybe counterproductively so. This took a week total.
Overall, thought TTP was an amazing resource for targeted intense study schedule like mine, especially for getting all the math content down. The verbal is in beta, but even so is still helpful. Would use additional resources to supplement verbal though.
When I first started GMAT prep I was recommended TTP but did not focus the amount of time that they ask for. I still managed to get a 44 in Quant without taking full advantage of TTP. However, I have plateau since no longer using TTP and I have tried everything else - personal tutor and Manhattan Prep. Ultimately, I decided to come back to TTP because their method WORKS! Everyone I know who has used TTP has seen an increase in their Quant score. If you are serious about your GMAT score - look no further. They also recently released their Verbal section so if it's as good as their Quant (which I can imagine it is), you will be GMAT ready in no time!
Absolute MUST if you, like me, are not great at standardized math testing. My first practice test I scored a 43 I believe, and it required iterations of fundamentals. TTP delivers by providing a schedule and forcing you to master certain concepts before moving into the next. I know too many who jump around in the OG book convinced that they understand the material, only to have learned about that specific question type rather than the fundamentals. I would highly recommend to anyone who is looking to score in the 47- 51 range for math. Very good value for the content it provides, especially the weekly webinars.
TLDR: TTP has the best preparation course for the Quant section. I highly recommend you sign up for the 6 month package if you are not already scoring near your desired score. If you're near your score, or you want test it out, then I would suggest you try the monthly plan.
I have a full-time job, so I signed up for TTP's "Dedicated Study" package as I knew I would require a lot of study time. I was unaware of how far behind I was in Quant until taking their Diagnostic Test (take this before deciding on which package is best for you). Studying 2 hours every morning before work and still did not finish up their course before the 4-month window. But, it is definitely worth the time.
TTP does not teach you one method for solving a problem and expect you to apply it moving forward. Rather, you are given a large assortment within that topic and are tested on every possible way the exam may test this topic. Sometimes it will feel overdone, but it is well worth the time for the confidence and knowledge it builds.
If you are a more advanced individual in Quant, this may appear to be tedious at times. I would recommend that you choose TTP's "Accelerated Study Plan". Use the "Custom Test" functions to study Hard question types. I use this for weekly reviews on sections I've already completed, it helps you understand what fundamentals you may be missing. Then, you can brush up on those topics.
Overall, I think TTP is the best Quant service in the market. There are options for those that need a more targeted study and options for those that need to start with the fundamentals. The only people I would not recommend TTP for is anyone that wants strategies for the "best guess" or want a quick improvement on their score without the time/effort. If you're willing to put in the time, this is the best course for you.
Scores and Debrief
OG Practice Test 1: 640 (I forget my split but remember quant was 43). I took this sometime in November 2019. I rushed through a few questions in verbal and just wasn't used to sitting in front of my laptop for two hours. I also took this with a pen and paper since things were normal-ish back then. I clearly remember thinking that the quant questions weren't incredibly hard but I was just really out of touch with a lot of the concepts tested.
I got some extra time in April and thought of sitting down and studying for the exam seriously. After browsing the subreddit I bought TTP and two additional exams from GMAC. I concentrated almost solely on the chapters I was weak at (number prop, geometry, sets, etc) and didn't really touch the rest. It's not the best way to go about prep but I was confident in my other areas. As others on the subreddit have said, I found TTP to be incredibly comprehensive and convenient to work through.
OG Practice Test 1 (again; reset it): 750 - I decided to reset the exams and while I think the 750 might have been a bit inflated, I honestly didn't remember any of the previous questions. I got a 50 on the Q with 3 questions wrong. I felt pretty confident so I analyzed my mistakes and wrote another exam in a couple of days. I also strangely didn't find time an issue even with the whiteboard.
OG Practice Test 2: 760 Q49 with 3 wrong. I again felt pretty confident. I made a few mistakes in sentence correction and so went through some of the TTP SC sections since they were released during this time period too. I scheduled my Online GMAT and gave myself a week to write the other two practice tests and then give the exam.
OG Practice Test 3 and 4: 760 both times. I took both of these the week of my Online GMAT. At this point, I was averaging 1-3 mistakes on quant and had some issues with SC and RC. Luckily CR was solid. I could've put some effort studying for the verbal but I was happy with the score I was averaging and just wanted to get over with the test. I took the tests around the same time of day I planned on writing my official GMAT and in similar testing conditions.
GMAT Online: 730. Q49, V41 Some parts of the horror stories I read came true on test day for me. My exam crashed thrice and I lost a decent chunk of time in quant. I also rushed through the first 8-10 questions and definitely got at least 3-4 of them wrong. Considering my really bad start in quant, I expected a lower score. My verbal was okay, however, I again had the exam crash here. Also, there was one RC passage I particularly struggled with. Overall, I expected a 690-710 on the exam so I was glad I did better than that. I'm going to probably register for another shot at the Online GMAT when possible and try to push my score up a bit more.
Finally, I'd suggest taking practice exams in testing conditions and keeping a cool head in quant. Rushing through the first few questions if you think you're behind a bit on time only ends up being counterproductive. Additionally, I'd suggest going through the TTP SC chapters if possible. Their quant material is fantastic like everyone suggests but I found that any questions that directly tested the chapters I'd studied on TTP felt much easier than others.
I'm happy to answer any questions - good luck everyone!
After having my first online GMAT revoked (and an agonising 3 week wait for retest eligibility) and rescheduling again when the physical whiteboard option was granted, happy to announce that I scored a 720 (Quant 49, Verbal 38; IR 7).
Official GMAT Practice 1 & 2 scores: 710 (Q47, V40) 730 (Q48, V41)
I am a native English speaker from Singapore. Until recent education reforms (after my time), the education system I was brought up in is known for being very test-oriented and that background has helped me retain most of the quant fundamentals despite it being ~11 years since I was in high school. But I needed a refresher and to have questions to grind with.
TTP, of course, comes highly recommended from Reddit for quant preparation. Kudos to them for a great interface that helps provide analytics on focus areas to make studying more efficient.
I used TTP for 3 weeks total (1 week trial and 2 weeks paid) before my test. With that short timeframe (and off a base of Q47-48), I was really trying to make sure I sustain that score range by not making silly mistakes and eliminating flukes. I didn’t use the TTP study plan as recommended but instead decided to go through only the chapter tests, beginning with the Easy, followed by Medium tests, and visiting the content only if I found I needed them.
I find Quant to be something you have to practise at consistently to hone your sharpness so TTP’s large question set base was very helpful to my preparation.
I neglected Verbal preparation (I was confident of a V40 at least) so that was a small mistake on my part that pulled down the overall score. Still, a 720 first attempt is something I’m reasonably happy with!
TTP is essential for those that need to learn or heavily refresh standardized testing quant basics. I improved from a GMAT 40Q to a 49Q using the course. The course outlines a detailed study plan and forces you to learn the concepts by constantly drilling problems in chapter tests. The course provides a very clean interface that worked extremely well with my learning methods. One thing that the course does well is that it also teaches you strategy and how to avoid common trap answers, something I have not seen as well detailed in other prep material.
At the time of this writing, the Verbal is in the Beta stage but it has an extremely similar approach to the Quant and definitely helped improve my SC scores.
I recognized early on in my review process that Quant was where I would need to focus the majority of my studying. While I was decent at math and work in a quantitative field, I was unfamiliar with many of the concepts, having never had learned them or forgotten them since high school.
Based on the advice of a friend, I subscribed to TTP’s monthly plan, and intensively worked through TTP from February 2020 to May 2020, studying around 2 hours per day on average. I’m going to be honest; it got tough at times. Some modules, especially those where I was less familiar with the content took a lot out of me. Topics like probability and number properties sometimes required my working through the module more than once before I could fully understand the information enough to perform above 60% on hard tests. Eventually though, I began to master the concepts and was able to perform well on hard quizzes.
Where TTP gets you results is that it forces you to sit down and work through a long list of tasks. In the process, you get a ton of repetition on each topic. This is where I felt OG questions were lacking. When I previously had looked at OG resources, I felt that going through just a few problems related to each topic did nothing to actually give me the amount of practice I actually needed, so I didn’t really learn anything. On the other hand, TTP gives you a substantial amount of practice such that retaining information is not difficult. The interface is also very nice. In presenting to you a list of tasks to get through, it motivates you to complete modules and quizzes such that you can check them off the task-list.
Overall I’d highly recommend TTP. It single-handedly got me up to a score I desired, for which I’m immensely grateful.
For my first attempt, I used Manhattan’s books (mainly verbal) for the theory part and Original Guide for practicing questions. I wrote several mocks in two months of preparation and my score ranged from 650 to 700. I wrote my GMAT and was deeply shocked to get a 600 Q47, V25.
I could clearly see verbal was my weak link. I checked reviews of different study materials on gmatclub and decided to go for e-gmat.
I started with SC, the concept files were detailed and focused from the basics. I found the e-gmat’s 3-step process to be very useful for me, in terms of improving my timing and accuracy. Earlier, I used to hover over question stem and answer options multiple times, taking close to 2 minutes to answer a question. Now, I was able to do a sentence correction question in under 1 and a half minutes. Those precious minutes I saved on SC questions, I was able to dedicate to RC section and improve my accuracy.
CR – the section has detailed concepts on identifying Premise, Conclusion, etc. It is a must-do, leaves no scope for confusion while attempting questions. I was able to improve my performance from the 45th percentile to the 94th percentile.
Overall, the course turned out to be very useful to me. I highly recommend it to someone who is facing challenges with the basics.