Magoosh Quant and Verbal practice questions are good enough, in number and in quality as well. 1 thing, which magoosh can develop a lot is the way its Verbal program is structured. It is quite confusing in the manner and there is no continuity. They need to restructure their program. I finished the entire verbal program, but then I started reading Manhattan strategy guides on SC & CR, and then I came to understand that why everyone advises to read these books first. There are videos on different topics, but they are not aligned at all. Although, whatever they're lacking in the terms of videos, they do cover it up in the number of questions, and explanations of the answers to those questions. I would recommend to use Magoosh only for their practice questions pool. But now again, I have not tried any of the other GMAT Practice course, so I cant say whether the question pool with Magoosh is better than those of the others.

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I was especially facing difficulties in understanding Verbal section of the GMAT exam. I appeared for GMAT in the middle of 2021 and scored 640. With a Quant score of 50 and a Verbal score of 26, my GMAT score dream appeared slipping out of my hands. One of my friends who was already preparing from e-GMAT suggested me to try the platform.
Although I had intended to seek help only in Verbal section, e-GMAT's Quant concept modules and practice sections were a major help as well.
eGMAT's three step approach- understanding the question from the meaning perspective, finding possible errors based on the concerts learned in the tutorials and assessing all the wrong options- came in handy for my Verbal score improvement.
I could not only understand the nuisances of typical grammar being asked in the GMAT exam, but also apply them in the stimulated mock tests. (You can see how I applied the parallelism of not only, but also right here. ;) ). I could improve my score in Verbal from a below average 26 to a good 41 with the help of e-GMAT.
They have started a wonderful approach for those students who are good in Quant- the PACE or Personalized, Adaptive Course Engine- that saves a lot of time in preparing for Quant portion.

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I started with eGMAT during early January, prior to that I had a very little idea about the preparation and course structure of GMAT.
eGMAT not only helped me understood the course structure and concepts, they tought concepts in a very simple way that was very easy to learn.
They don't focus on shortcuts for a question rather they help you approach a question with all conceptual understanding which helps a lot as it enables to solve any type of question.
Their video based learning is such that in 3 months time I was ready to take the GMAT and score 700.

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Hi Everyone,
I want to post my experience of the long and tedious GMAT journey, the mistakes I made and what worked for me that might work for you as well. I will keep it very short and focus on the key points in the journey.
This one is for the ones who have to go through re-attempts to get to their target score. Here goes.
First attempt:
I started preparing for the GMAT in December 2020. And took the GMAT online in July-2021. The result: 640 (V29, Q48). I did some self-prep from Manhattan Guides, Veritas prep videos, and other sources.

Second Attempt:
I signed up with a well-known prep company and attempted the in-person GMAT on Dec-21. The result: 640 (V32, Q47). Clearly, Verbal was the issue.

Third Attempt:
I did some online research and finally decided to go with GMAT Whiz after talking to Piyush. During the call, Piyush and I went through my ESR from the previous attempt and he walked me through the common challenges faced by candidates with a score such as mine. I signed up for the GMAT Whiz Verbal Tutor prep course and started working with Sunita for my Verbal prep in Jan-22. Over the course of the next 3 months, we worked hard to re-wire my GMAT brain and bring me on the right track. The tool and techniques taught during the course coupled with the standardized approach and an adaptive platform were the game-changer. I finally took my 3rd attempt in Apr-22 and scored 710 (V40, Q46). Disclosure: I barely studied for Quant because of my hectic schedule, but I was pretty happy with the Verbal score. (I scored V40 and V41 on official GMAT mock tests).

So what worked for me on the 3rd attempt?
1. The standardized approach to learning, which is a key focus of the GMAT Whiz course. It not only teaches you the right approach but also hard wires you to follow the approach during the time pressure situation of the test.
2. The mentorship. I cannot emphasize enough the contribution of an expert, who does so much to set you in the right direction. I found Sunita’s approach to be very effective and efficient.
In conclusion,
To anyone reading this review and hoping to achieve a great GMAT score, I would recommend going with GMAT Whiz. Self-prep can only take you so far if you are not familiar with the material tested on the GMAT. Working with an expert will be much more efficient and I do not think that any other course offers such great value when it comes to 1-on-1 tutoring.

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The course developed by e - gmat is very useful. It covers all topics in detail in verbal as well as quant. The dashboard and test analysis is also very insightful.
For verbal, it is probably the best online course out there.
The only issue I faced was relatively low number of practice questions and mock tests available with the course. Would appretiate if more verbal practice questions and atleast 10 mocks are provided along with the course.
The counselling service provided by e - gmat is also very insightful. They help you in your preparation and provide daily targets to prepare you for the d-day.

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I started my GMAT prep with TTP, not having used any study material before it. I had given an official practice exam and scored a 700 on it, so my starting point was pretty high, but TTP really helped my sharpen my basics a lot. I am still in college so my quant was mostly up to date, but TTP warned me of all the Quant traps and the ways to avoid them, while honing my skills in topics I had not studied for a long time. The question-bank is huge; it is more than ample for anyone to attain perfection over any sub-topic.

While TTP’s Quant is praised very highly, I am surprised its Verbal section doesn’t get the praise I think it deserves. The Sentence Correction component was a real game-changer for me because SC was probably my weakest area. Granted that you still have to practice a lot of OG questions to really get accustomed to the real Verbal questions, but the basics are what matter the most and TTP is the best at sharpening them. I used the course for just about 2 months (although admittedly I gave a lot of time daily) and then revised, practiced OG questions and gave practice exams for the next 3-4 weeks. That was all I needed to reach my target score.

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After quite a bit of research and several trials of other options, I decided to use Target Test Prep for my Quant prep. It did not disappoint. The structure provided a great path to follow but allowed me the flexibility I needed to focus in on topics I needed to review. The analytics and tracking are phenomenal and allow you to hone in in your weakest area. The free trial is a great way to see if it is right for you. Don't be discouraged by the lengthy first section (properties of numbers) - that baseline is important and subsequent chapters are much shorter.
While I only used Target test Prep for the quant review, I imagine that their verbal offerings are similarly effective. I would highly recommend target test prep.

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My entire strategy depended on TTP and honestly, I couldn't have progressed as rapidly without it. Assessing my progress without the analytical dashboard would have been a chore. The ability to create custom practice tests made it very easy for me to try my weaknesses and focus on what mattered. The quantity and quality of the exercises and solutions are simply outstanding.

Furthermore, the TTP team was extremely responsive to all my questions and supportive throughout the process.

Do yourself a favor and give it a try, you won't regret it.

Prep strategy:
My prep strategy was primarily practice based for Quant and Verbal. The only readings I did were the solutions to the exercises I failed. I didn't really go through any courses other than that.

There are two reasons why I didn't follow the time/stress-tested track laid out by TTP:

Lack of time

Optimizing Efficiency: TTP's waterfall approach, while great for most people, didn't quite resonate with me. I felt like I had a relatively good foundation, both quantitatively and verbally, and I needed a firm adjustment more than a complete overhaul.

The OG practice tests were used sparingly throughout my preparation to assess my overall level of preparation. I systematically reviewed all the mistakes I made on OG using GMAT Club.

After my first official test, I had attempted all of my mock exams and felt that there was too much redundancy for the retake score to have any substance. So I focused on the ttp during the 3 weeks between my first and second.

Quant prep:
My approach with the quant was fairly simple:

(1) Do custom practice test (31 hard/medium questions all chapters) with timer.

(2) Review mistakes

(3) Evaluate weakest chapters (analytical dashboard)

(4) Do 30 hard/medium questions on weakest chapters - no timer, focus on getting it right.

(5) Review mistakes

(6) Return to (1)

To help me assess my progress more quickly, I created a spreadsheet to which I fed my analytics to and which gave me an instant view of my weaknesses. I calculate a score that uses accuracy, quantity, time, and relative importance of chapters to determine my relative readiness for each chapter. Since the score is relative, my weakest chapters are constantly changing.



r/GMAT - My GMAT experience: 610 (V36/Q38) to 760 (Q49/V45) in 70 days with a full-time job and as a non-native speaker.
Progress Assessment Spreadsheet

So, each day I can open my sheet and choose the 3 weakest chapters I need to improve upon. When I'm done for the day, I update my sheet and get a new group of weak points to work on the next day.

From time to time, I take a diagnostic practice test to assess my overall preparedness.

My reasoning was that if I was able to score +85% on the TTP custom practice tests, I should be ready for the real thing.

Over time, my average accuracy on the TTP diagnostic test went from 60% to 90% and my relatively weak points were quite strong.

I attempted a total of about 1200 exercises, which was not even 50% of all TTP’s exercices.

Verbal prep:
With the exception of two outliers (cold and first official), I always scored decently on Verbal (+40). Oddly enough, I barely prepared for it (~20h including OG practice).

I think the main reason is my reading habit. I love to read. A lot of nonfiction books, non-contemporary novels, or undergraduate textbooks and research papers. I also actively annotate most of the books I read.

For anyone who struggles with verbal, I suggest choosing challenging books and actively reading them 2-3 hours a night before falling asleep.

Critical reasoning and reading comprehension problems were a non-issue and most errors were due to fatigue or lack of concentration.

At first, solving sentence corrections was mostly based on intuition and that worked well. But due to the lack of a clear solving process, my results varied from test to test. After my first official test, I focused on the hard and medium TTP questions and I thoroughly reviewed the solution. I think this probably saved me on the second official test.

Most of the verbal studying took place after my first official test.

I attempted 360 out of the 573 questions on TTP.

IR & AW prep:
For IR, no prep other than the OG practice test. If you are good with CR, RC and ok with quant, IR should be a breeze.

For AWA, I read this. Practiced once or twice (~2hrs total). I probably could have gotten a better score with better time management.

Exam day:
Official 1 (660): Quant —> Verbal —> IR —> AWA

I hadn't slept at all in two days and had averaged two to three hours of sleep the week before. Insomnia is a recurring theme in my life for personal reasons.

I had booked for 10:30am and since it was clear I wasn't going to sleep, I decided to go for a run at 6am and then take a cold bath to get some energy. After a quick breakfast and some much needed coffee, I sat down in front of my computer to write.

The proctor was very thorough in checking everything and after 20 minutes I was able to start the exam.

As soon as the quant started, it was pretty obvious to me that I had made a mistake writing the exam. My pattern recognition skills were failing and I had a terrible headache that completely obliterated my time management skills.

The verbal section was worse in nearly every way. I had to reread sentences several times to get the gist of them. Which, as you can imagine, did wonders for my timing (/s). I had to guess for the last 10 questions, which might explain my lacklustre result.

By the end of the verbal exam, I was pretty much convinced I was going to have to retake, so the IR and AWA were more about trying to stay awake than anything else.

Official 2 (760): Verbal —> Quant —> IR —> AWA

This time, things were less hectic. I managed to sleep well all week leading up to the test and got a good three hours of sleep the night prior ( which, given my prev experience, I was very thrilled about).

I also decided to start with the verbal to avoid the attention fatigue of my first exam.

The verbal was more difficult than expected and I remember a series of RC questions that I really struggled with and had to mostly guess (which had never happened before).

The Quant was a breeze. Focusing on the hard and medium TTP questions paid off. Most of the questions seemed accessible. The hard questions were easier than the harder TTP questions. The easy questions were a great confidence boost.

My score on IR & AWA ended up being relatively low but I’m cool with it.

Post exam:
I was placed on administrative review, which I expected considering my score increase.

Overall, I wasn't really worried because I think AR is now standard practice for 700+ scores. I received the official score on April 13, which was 3 weeks after taking.

Ending note:
The GMAT is fairly deterministic and I think 700+ is attainable for most. I had a good baseline both in quant and verbal, but overall, I think the 150 increase is largely achievable with the right methodology and progress assessment.

FOCUS: Most of the mistakes I made towards the end were due to lack of focus. Meditation and sleep (when my brain allows it) helped a lot.

PRACTICE: fail repeatedly until you can succeed consistently. Practice as much as you can and focus on solving difficult problems, no matter how long it takes.

For me, TTP and OG practice are a no-brainer.

Best of luck!

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i purchased the e-gmat online focused course right after my first official gmat mock test. I was expecting for something like 680-690 but ended up in a 620. AFter purchasing the e-gmat, i could actually see what mistakes i was making and what i was missing during my self prep. E-gmat has improved my verbal so much. Also , its quant part, i would say, is so underrated. The content is the so good that it actually enable you to tackle the quant part of the Gmat exam easily.
The only drawback i've seen its student support system, which i felt like is a bit lagging or not taking seriously

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My GMAT journey started almost a year ago. I self-studied using Target Test Prep and exhausted almost all Official Guide materials and all the 6 practice tests. On all my practice tests, I scored between 720-780. In my first GMAT attempt at the test center, I scored a 660 (Q:49, V:31), which was a huge disappointment considering my practice test scores. I decided to re-take a month later, and was disappointed again with an even lower score of 640 (Q:49, V:23).

Given my decent Quant score, I knew I needed to focus more on my Verbal skills and decided to reach out to Charles, who I discovered through his famous Youtube videos and GMATClub posts. After sharing my history and practice test scores, he suggested the variance in my performance might be driven by test anxiety. While he couldn't guarantee a timeline for improvement, he recommended I work with Dana Stepleton to fine-tune my process to manage my test anxiety.

I cannot say enough positive things about my experience working with Dana (especially if you have test anxiety!). She's patient, empathetic, honest, and she knew how exactly to address my concerns in a productive manner as it related to test anxiety. More specifically, in order to address the anxiety, we trained on harder LSAT material, and cranked up the pressure by setting time constraints on practice sets to simulate a pressured test environment as best as possible. She also coached me through my thought process, especially when I started to feel the anxiety creep up on me, and trained me on strategies to refocus my attention on the problem at hand.

Lastly, the level of professionalism and commitment at GMATNinja is commendable - from my very first email to my post-exam debrief outside of our tutoring sessions, Dana and Charles have been incredibly responsive and invested in helping me get to my goal score.

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