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My GMAT journey began in May 2019 and, like the majority of students of the GMAT, started with the purchase of the Official Guide, a ‘thorough' review of Quant section of the material and then a dive straight into the Official practice questions. It is worth mentioning that I am a classically trained linguist and have a solid grasp of grammar and reading comprehension so my ability to score highly in the verbal section of the exam was not in question at this early stage. To provide some context as to my revision schedule, I work in banking and have fairly long hours so my studying midweek consisted of an hour and a half before work (5.00-6.30am) and then two hours after work (9.00-11.00pm), with a solid six hours on both Saturday and Sunday.
I was confident that I understood the theory behind all of the maths being tested and my review of the Official Guide material reassuringly felt like a reminder of concepts I had grasped well at school at school at age 16. When it came to tackling the practice questions, however, including the added element of time pressure, my accuracy was hovering around 50% with only marginal gains as a few weeks went by. I am also fairly confident that any improvement I was making was largely a reflection of question recognition and getting to grips with the question types. After a month of aimlessly trawling through the Official Guide question bank in the hope that the sheer quantity of material and hours spent at the computer would somehow translate to an absorption of knowledge, I realised that my study required more focus and I perhaps did not have the deep understanding of the material that I had convinced myself I had.
At this point, I did my research on GMAT Club to read reviews of other peoples’ experiences with revising for the GMAT and was reassured to find that I was not alone in finding myself at a loss as to why the information simply was not ‘going in’ and the hours spent revising were not being converted into any improvement. The name that kept popping up again and again as being the most comprehensive review of the Quant material was Target Test Prep. I tried the demo for $1 and was immediately struck by how slick and user-friendly the interface was (which is not to be underestimated having tried some of its clunky competitors).
I purchased my first full month midway through June and set to work on making my way through the course. Everything about the course resonated with me, especially the strategy guide that goes into great depth about the importance of active learning, rather than hoping to assimilate information from watching Youtube tutorials and practising endless questions. These certainly have a place in learning, and I learnt a great deal from watching hundreds of Youtube videos, but these should be used to supplement rather than replace the note taking and methodical study required to score highly on the GMAT. I found that the odd Youtube tutorial from GMAT Club or a TTP webinar helped to break up the monotony of pure theory-based learning and I cannot overstate the importance of enjoying the learning process for the GMAT. The TTP course certainly helps in this regard and I was thoroughly enjoying the satisfaction of passing from one topic to the next. There were points when I felt that the end of chapter tests ‘dragged’ a bit and in all honesty there were points where I passed over certain module tests to get to the next chapter to feel like I was making progress. In hindsight, the repetition of material is what makes TTP so relentlessly effective as a learning tool and in order to get the most out of the course, as Scott often says, you need to understand everything so well that recognising what each question is asking becomes habitual and instinctive.
After a month and a half or so of studying the course, I found myself becoming too lax on timing and focused on accuracy to the detriment of speed. While the former is more important in the early stages, I had started pausing questions that I did not fully understand and had started to lose the discipline of timing. I also took this approach on my first couple of GMAT Prep CATs, giving myself the false confidence that it was more important to understand how to do each question correctly rather than simulate accurate test taking conditions (the strategy section of TTP has some quality material on how to approach practice tests - I was too stubborn to take full heed of this to begin with!). I was scoring very highly in the Official practice tests (730+) and had convinced myself that I was ready to tackle the real thing. I booked a test for the end of September, after a two week holiday, during which I revised about 2 hours per day to ‘maintain’ my ability, and had not touched the TTP in the month prior to the exam. I didn’t feel like I needed the course anymore and I had got everything out it. I was wrong.
Going into the exam, I was expecting a score of 720+, which is the required average of some of the schools to which I was intending to apply. Despite doing lots of research of the test centre and what to expect, I was incredibly nervous going into the exam and was feeling a significant amount of pressure having spent a solid four months revising in earnest. The real test felt significantly harder than the practice tests and I was feeling the time pressure more than any of my ‘practice’ tests. I was so afraid of running out of time that I found myself bailing on questions too early when a further 20-30 seconds of investment in each question would have enabled me to tackle questions which I really knew should have been getting right. I knew as I was taking the test that it was not going well and was shellshocked to see a score of 650 pop up on my screen at the end. I collected my paper as I left the exam centre to see a Quant score of 45 and a verbal score of 34 - both were incredibly disappointing and unexpected. (Q45, V34, I6, AWA 6)
Fortunately I had booked a second test well in advance to anticipate the upcoming application deadlines so only had to wait 2 weeks before re-attempting. My concern, which was totally valid, was how on earth I was going to improve my score so significantly to over 700+ in such a short period of time. Furthermore, in my mind I had completed the TTP course, finished all of the GMAT Prep practice tests and watched every YouTube video under the sun. I was at a loss as to where to start and became incredible despondent. Nevertheless I sucked it up and now divided my study 50% between verbal and quant because clearly my verbal needed more work that I had arrogantly led myself to believe. On the quant side, I revisited my notes and went straight back into the Official practice tests because it is easier to keep practising questions rather than assess and address your weaknesses. These two weeks were intensive but unfocused and I was confident that my second attempt would benefit from less exam anxiety, given that I knew what to expect, and attributed my poor first result to nerves.
I took my second exam midway through October and, despite being less nervous, scored a 670 (Q44, V39, I5, AWA 6). The exam felt equally difficult to the first and I was again at a loss as to why the additional 50+ hours of work had only translated to an improvement of 20 points. Not only that but despite my verbal score increasing, my quant score had regressed! At this point, I knew something had to change because I couldn’t keep expecting that the same approach to revising would somehow produce a vastly different result, especially given that again I only had a further three weeks until the third test that I had booked in anticipation of a repeat of last time.
I decided to revisit the TTP course to address my weaknesses and contacted Jeff Miller from TTP to discuss a short term study plan to optimise my revision over the three week period. He sent me a very well-thought out study plan (simple but focusing on quality over quantity) and we discussed the possibility of one-to-one tuition. After a week of independent study, I got in touch with Jeff to update on my progress and we booked in a private 1 hour Webex session to start with. We established that I understood the vast majority of the concepts tested very well, it was now a matter of arming me with the confidence to tackle questions under time pressure that I knew I was capable of answering. There was nothing drastic or magic about Jeff’s teaching, or TTP course for that matter, in the same way that there is no secret formula to scoring highly on the GMAT. I was introspective about what I didn’t know as well I should and we addressed each and every one of those topics. In total, I had about 8 hours with Jeff and we covered all of the areas with which I had previously struggled. After each session with him, I continued to practice the concepts we went through and found additional practice questions on GMAT Club to hone these skills. I actually revised less between second and third exam than I had between the first and second and yet something had clicked and I went into the third exam far more confident of my abilities. My mindset was now one of ‘there is no way I can come out of this exam centre without score above 700’.
I took my third test on 1 November and scored a 720 (Q49, V40, I7, AWA 6). I cannot explain the relief as the score flashed up on the screen and my first reaction was to tell Jeff. Despite not having spent a great deal of time studying with him, I felt that he was now an important part of my journey to achieving that score. Without the foundation that the months poured into the TTP had built, I would not have been able to achieve my score improvements between exams. I cannot recommend the TTP course highly enough and I believe that if I had followed the course to the letter and taken my first test shortly after completing the course, I would not have found myself having to take the test three times to achieve the score I did. Furthermore, I genuinely believe that the 8 hours I spent with Jeff took my GMAT study to another level, if not in terms of ability then certainly in terms of confidence and approach to the test. While the virtual nature of the TTP course is incredibly convenient and well thought out, there is something to be said good old fashioned live teaching.
TTP is, in my opinion, the best quant course out there. It does a great job of laying down the fundamentals in a very easy way to understand. After I completed the course (target: 47-51), I was able to bring my score from 640 (Q39 V39) to 710 (Q48 V39) in a little over 2 months.
What I liked most about the course was the clear study plan that you had to follow. After every chapter you have to do chapter tests in order from easy to hard, and you only move on when you get a certain percentage correct on the question banks. This way, I never moved on from a chapter without fully grasping it like I did with previous material from other sources. I also really enjoyed all the little tricks to tackle difficult problems. For example, I was really struggling with combinatorics, but TTP helped to really visualize the situation (e.g. mentally deduct the people you NEED to choose from the group, 7 CHOOSE 3, etc.)
TTP got me the score i wanted on quant after a disappointing experience with another course.
TTP covers everything you need without any tricks or shortcuts. It also has review quizzes at the beginning of every capter, so you don't forget what you've studied before.
TTP is a structured program that has various modules by chapter topics. After each chapter, you have to take several test in three formats, easy medium and hard. I strongly suggest to complete all the course before taking the GMAT, it will ensure an excellent quant score.
To complete 100% of the course be sure to have 2-4 months before taking the GMAT
The Target Test Prep (TTP) platform and team were a god send. With TTP I increased from Q46 to Q49!! Before I started with TTP, I spent a year studying with Manhattan Prep taking an online course and two (2) additional in-person 10-week courses, and I did not see any progress. My Q46 score was not moving no matter how many Manhattan Prep courses I took. Then in March’19 I was introduced to TTP from other MLT fellows who told me it would transform my Quant. I followed the TTP syllabus EXACTLY how they set it up, and did not cut corners. Many times I wanted to skip ahead, but Jeff and the rest of the TTP team reminded me to “trust the platform and process”. With TTP all you have to do is put in the work and follow the syllabus and there is no reason anyone can’t achieve a +47Q. I highly recommend TTP to anyone who wants to study for the GMAT and improve their Quant. My only regret is that I did not start with TTP sooner, because I could have saved myself a lot of time and money.
After a disappointing performance on my GMAT in late-2018, I spent a lot - I mean A LOT - of time researching different quant-focused prep services. I had gotten a "fine" quant score, but knew I should be scoring in the 50-51 range given my background and target schools, and was worried that most quant services out there were focused on people trying to go from "average" to "good" - I was looking to go from "good" to "great".
I found TTP, talked to Scott, did a trial, and found it was exactly what I needed. The system allows you to pick what your target score is and it customizes the practice questions and correctness thresholds to your goal. I loved how many questions there were at varying levels of difficulty, allowing me to blow through the "easy" and "medium" questions for practice, then hit the "hard" ones for review. I also thought the tracking interface was easy to use and really helped me identify what else I needed to review further.
More than anything, I think the style of questions really allows you to hone your pattern recognition and "strategy application". On the real test, I felt automatic when I saw a question that resembled one from TTP, which saved me time and stress.
Others have said it, and I'd agree, you really don't need more than TTP to get all the content you need to knock out a killer score on the real exam. Thanks again to Scott and TTP!
So I was given this thought by my peers to enhance my skills to better my profile in my career. I was lured to appear in GMAT after talking to some close friends. And that's how goes my story...
I am a working professional working for the Government. I hold my bachelors in Medicine from University of Delhi,India. What I am trying to get at is that Quant was not a natural thing to me. I started my journey by making an acount on mba.com and sitting for the Official Mock. The idea was to know my baseline. It was not a surprise to have a low score. For the record, it was 620 which had a Q47.
With this, I started my preparation looking for a modest improvement only (I would have been happy to improve my score by 60 points. Yeah, wasn't very motivated). Anyhow, I had this Godly mentor, Abhinav who aced this exam sometime ago. He was my only source of help, courtesy the remoteness of the place where I worked. Abhinav prepped the entire study plan for me. For Quant, he described Target Test Prep by the same words which form the headline for this review i.e. One Stop Shop. So, I buy my subscription immediately and off I go.
First things first, the platform. The interface has been created in such an amazing way which is extremely thoughtful. It is very interactive without risking you getting lost. You have the hang of things and never lose focus from what you are suppose to do. The course was very systematic and perfectly indexed. The screen space was optimally utilised by giving various buttons to switch lessons, chapters, videos etc.
I was given an advice in the very beginning and I would recommend the same here: "DO NOT SKIP OR FASTEN THE VIDEOS BECAUSE WHAT YOU ARE BEING TAUGHT IS TOO OBVIOUS." It was a valuable talisman that paid dividends later. I would try to keep my focus throughout the lesson text and videos, solve the practice problem, check my answers and make notes. It was a convenient experience to form basics and build on the understanding of concepts brick by brick.
There is a downloadable sheet with various formulae and basic concepts that is available to retrieve as soon as you log in. Do make use of that. Again, nothing out of the box is to be found. But, those nuances are very important to be held on tips of your fingers for time bound problem solving.
After completing my Chapter wise theory, I came to the large question bank that Target Test Prep offers. I started from the Easy section and went on from Chapter to Chapter and to Medium and Hard. Here, I would like to share that I did not try to bombard myself with questions and tests everyday. I tried to make the test taking sessions effective by taking care that I don't get exhausted and lost. I would attempt a decent number of them and would go back to check the answers of those that I got incorrect. Also, I went back to see the answers of those questions that I bookmarked while I attempted them and those that were not generally answered correctly by test takers (40% and lower).
Here came the important aspect of error log, as suggested by my guardian angel, Abhinav. I realised that I was answering certain questions incorrectly because of an inbuilt pattern of thinking. Error log helped me slowly realise the loopholes in my analysis and processing of the problems.
Slowly, I touched all the Chapters and all the difficulty levels available.
I gave my first attempt on 28th August, 2019. I scored a total of 700 with Q48. I shared my score with mentor and made some plans to fine-tune my prep. This is where I began using Custom Tests feature on TTP. I would focus on Chapters that I was not comfortable with and slowly increased the difficulty level. Again, I would solve a limited number of questions trying to keep track of why I go wrong, when I go wrong. The original plan was to give my next attempt after a month but because of a reason not completely known to me, I registered for GMAT for a date 16 days after my earlier attempt. LOL!!!!
The score I got this time is 760 with Q51. It was a pleasant surprise. I tried to remain calm while taking the exam and adhere to the timeline in a priorly decided manner. I skipped a handful of questions that were taking too much of time. So yes, luck plays its own role.
Finally, this review would not be complete without mentioning Jeff. What do I say about him? We exchanged mails whenever I was on a sticky wicket about anything. His response was very prompt and supportive. I would like to share this small incident. My subscription expired while I still had a handful of tests remaining. I dropped a mail requesting him for help. Without any counter question , he immediately shared the coupon code to access the platform at a significantly low price.
So dear Target Test Prep, please continue the good work. Through this review, I formally express my gratitude for being such a support in this journey of mine.
To the readers, unfortunately I write this review without adequate ease and time, making the sequence not so apt. May be I cover other aspects of my prep in near future. I believe in giving others what I got from someone else. Please feel free to contact me on Facebook if you think I can be of any help. I have a pretty unique full name, Rohit Singh Malan. Should not be a problem to find me there.
Adios!!!! Stay hungry, stay foolish...
It is probably the most comprehensive source for all thing GMAT quant. You do TTP properly, sticking to the accuracy they tell you for each difficulty , you will have GMAT quant underneath your shoe.
Jeff and Scott were always available if i had any issue. I think the push from basics to hard question on every topic make you by default atleast a 47Q scoring machine.
One thing i dont like about TTP is that it is expensive. I mean for one section i am spending 300 bucks for 4 months. It really hurt my pocket as the exchange ratio does not work in my favour at all
I had a fairly strong verbal after a few months of studying for the GMAT, but I kept on getting tripped up with Quant. I relied a lot on guess and check rather than understanding the concepts. TTP was by far the best Quant tool I came across (and I tried a few). It also has a great question bank, which I strongly suggest people drilling after going through each chapter.
In addition Scott is very responsive to any questions or concerns you have. I completely flopped on a GMAT attempt (psyched myself out during the test) and emailed Scott for suggestions. He demonstrated his willingness to help when he responded to my email.
My only suggestion for test takers using TTP is to supplement your studies with an OG question bank. The TTP question bank is very good; however, the font and visual appearance of their questions is different than what you'll see on test day. I believe getting familiar with the visual appearance of the GMAT questions can play a psychological role on test day. But TTP does a great job instilling the Quant concepts and answering any questions you have.
The TTP program is exactly what you need to get the quant score you are aiming for. Like many before me, I took a quant/verbal course to get up to speed on the GMAT and then self-studied for a couple months before taking an official test. Unfortunately, my score was not competitive, especially on quant (45). I thought all I needed to do was more OG problems, so I went through them again and also bought the supplemental quant guide and worked those problems. Three months later, after countless problem sets / late nights / review sessions / some tutoring / etc etc, I got the same quant score (45).
Discouraged but not ready to give up, I searched through the GMAT Club forums hoping to find tips / advice / success stories in which someone was facing a similar situation but made a change and saw a breakthrough in their score. Several stories I came across mentioned TTP, their comprehensive quant program and how the program actually led to real gains in their quant scores. I gambled and decided to give it a shot - it's the best decision I made and I only wish I had found it earlier in my studies.
The program is thorough and requires dedication - I cannot emphasize this enough. It breaks down all the key areas of quant into individual modules which include a text book portion with example problems to learn the topic and, when you are ready, multiple easy / medium / hard chapter quizzes (each quiz ranges from 10 - 15 problems). The quiz problems are very close to actual GMAT problems, so you are getting a ton of repetition and building up confidence that you actually understand how to tackle a topic, no matter how it is presented. Answer explanations are also provided for each question, so if you got one wrong, you will learn how to better approach the question and if you got it right, you may find that there is a more efficient / easier way to solve the problem.
To illustrate the benefit of this, lets say you struggle with roots/exponents and only use the OG to practice - you have a limited number of problems to pick from (10-20?) and you only see problems presented in a few of the numerous ways the GMAT could actually test you. For TTP, they have at least 150 root/exponent problems to work on presented in all different ways that you could realistically see on the actual test. This applies to all the quant topics - number properties, word problems, statistics, overlapping sets, geometry, etc. If you decide to give TTP a shot, I would encourage you to follow the program as outlined (the course really does build on itself) and give yourself ~3 months to complete it (hour or so after work and a couple hours on the weekend). By the end of the program, you will be amazed by your performance and you can get the score you are aiming for. After 2.5 months and cutting the program a bit short, I was pleasantly surprised to get a Q50 on my latest GMAT - a score I never thought as realistic for me but one I owe to all the time spent on the TTP program.
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I started my GMAT journey in February 2018; I had no idea of the long road I had ahead. Indeed, as an attorney-at-law, I had not studied math since high school (i.e. for more than 10 years).
After two months of studying with the Manhattanprep books, I took my first official practice test and scored a dismal 560, with Q32. I was devastated and did not know what to do to improve my score.
This is when a friend of mine recommended me to use Target Test Prep; this course is extremely thorough in teaching you the basic math skills to acquire, and then the advanced skills in order to score high in quant.
This platform requires dedication, but is extremely efficient; after approximately 4 months of serious studying and a few private sessions with Scott (who is again highly recommended for his teaching methods), I took another official practice test and scored Q46. I then switched to verbal studying in order to obtain the last push to 700 in my official GMAT.
I am now admitted to the INSEAD MBA program. I would not have been able to achieve this result without Target Test Prep and the help of Scott.
This is a no brainer: for anyone coming from a non-traditional MBA background who lacks math skills, Target Test Prep is the way to go. Forget about the other companies.