eGMAT Verbal Live Prep

I was comfortable about taking GMAT with my own preparation since I had always scored better on standardized tests in the past. My previous scores on GRE (90+ percentile on Verbal), and higher scores on TOEFL and IELTS had made me complicit that I would score well on GMAT Verbal too.

However, I was in for an unpleasant shock. After doing what I considered enough preparation for Verbal, I managed to score paltry 640 (Q46, V33) in my first GMAT.

Although dismayed at the outcome, I convinced myself that I was rusty after being out of school for more than a decade. So I decided to give it another shot with lot more preparation than before. Again, I was adamant not to enroll in any external prep course, although I decided to add more practice and mock tests in my preparation- this time especially for Verbal section. I had noticed I struggled with Combitronics and CR in my prep as well as in real test. Hence I also purchased Manhatten Advanced Quant Book and Critical Reasoning Bible (David Killoran) after reading few great reviews.

After taking enough time (6 more months at self paced studying), I took GMAT a second time. This time I fared only marginally better (Q48,V35) totaling to 670. There was no doubt in my mind now - if I wanted to break into 700s, I needed a drastic change in the manner in which I was approaching questions. My Verbal section score essentially remained flat despite special efforts on my part. I had seen promos of eGMAT and therefore decided to give it a try – as a last resort of sorts.

Few things struck me immediately about eGMAT Verbal Live Prep:-

(1) The presentation format (audio+video) accounted for a much immersed and enjoyable learning experience. The organization of the course is also excellent – starting with basic building blocks in each of the 3 Verbal sections – SC, CR and RC, and then providing enough practice to master the approach and building finer skills.

(2) The 6 Live sessions on weekends are a great way to cement the approach to solve problems and identify mistakes in your approach as you dissect a problem from every possible angle – working along with the instructor and rest of the class. Many times I thought I had the assumptions identified correctly in CR problem, only to find out 2 minutes later that I was not probing with the right questions to begin with. I would give credit to eGMAT instructors Shraddha (for SC) and Payal (for CR) as they make the topics appear easy and interesting.

(3) Lastly, I want to give kudos to eGMAT for their 2 Strategy sessions. I ordered an Enhanced Score report of my last GMAT after hearing about it in the session and it allowed me to identify and scrutinize problem areas in far more granular detail than before. The other information shared in those sessions (on computer adaptive questions and scoring algorithm) are good too. Scholaranium platform is of particular help since it allows you to practice timing and analyze patterns in your practice.

My mock test scores have been V38+ after going thru the course – at times crossing V40. Encouraged by this fact, I am daring to attempt GMAT again in a month’s time. I know eGMAT guarantees 4 point improvement, however, based on the quality of course material and the very reasonable cost, I think it is a wise investment in any case – especially if you have tried improving on your own and are struck at a particular score.