A great guide for Verbal!

Before signing up for eGMAT, I tried studying for 2 weeks from a book I borrowed from a buddy. Although the book did give me a preview of the types of questions, I wasn't able to grasp the techniques mentioned and apply them. The lack of interactivity and structured feedback got to me. So, I looked for learning modules as an alternative. eGMAT was recommended to me by a friend of mine who was already an eGMAT user and had high praise for it.

The eGMAT course is very well structured and organised. I used eGMAT primarily to master SC and CR. The theory, explanation and techniques are well put forth in their numerous modules. The visual explanations complement the audio content well and help one retain what they have learned. eGMAT lays emphasis on techniques such as meaning based approach and pre-thinking assumptions which greatly help with solving SC and CR questions, respectively. The modules can be a bit tiresome but it's important to stay focused and punctually work through them to get your fundamentals right. The application files and concept practice files/quizzes embedded within the modules do a great job of summarising and reinforcing the concepts to be mastered. The RC files are useful to identify the types of questions and what the corresponding answer may look like. I did not use eGMAT to prepare for Quant or IR, so I can't comment on those sections.

The Scholaranium platform makes practice ever so convenient. While the customisability, insights and usability are all great, the quality of the content and feedback takes the cake. The questions seemed to cover good ground in terms of the concepts taught. And more importantly, the detailed explanations for the questions are based on the same framework that one would have adopted from the modules. This makes it easy to absorb the feedback. The questions can sometimes be a bit lengthy but practicing solving such questions only helps you with your timing.

The eGMAT subscription also came with 5 Sigma X mock tests. I used some of these tests primarily to assess my verbal ability and to get my timing right. As expected, a detailed analysis and feedback of your performance is available to you if you choose to do a post mortem. The mocks give you a fair (or maybe a slightly conservative) assessment of where you stand with regards to your verbal goal. However, I felt that the quant tested in the Sigma X mocks was a level higher than the quant tested in OG mocks.

Couple of areas where I think eGMAT could improve:
- Sometimes application becomes hard with time pressure. Even with a lot of practice. It would be much more useful to students if the module highlighted how to apply the taught concepts in a time crunch.
- The navigation through the online modules could be improved so students can scroll through and revise more easily.
- Summary slides could be better organised so students can use them as a base for taking notes.