Target Test Prep was very helpful in helping me achieve my GMAT score goals. Although I started out at a relatively high score, I performed less well and very inconsistently on my following practice exams because I didn't have a consistent way to approach many of the quantitative problems, and found myself getting better or worse scores based purely on luck. Also, I was also struggling to meet the timing requirements because I was not approaching the problems in the most efficient manner. I realized that simply doing practice problems from the official guide and the official practice tests was not actually teaching me any concepts or methods to solve problems. TTP does a great job of doing this. The course is super organized, covers every major concept you need, and makes the information digestible. It was very helpful with quant!

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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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TTP is well worth the time and money, and you absolutely should put the time in. It's extremely thorough, and the repetition burns skills into your brain. I actually used the GRE TTP program for 90% of my studying thinking that I couldn't get a good GMAT score. Someone recommended I take a GMAT practice test just to see, and after 3 months and many, many hours of TTP I scored 770 on the practice test. The material for GRE/GMAT quant is the same -- just the style of questioning is different -- and I think it shows how strong the course material is that I was able to do well on GMAT quant which is typically regarded as more difficult. I did purchase TTP GMAT flexible prep after doing well on the practice test and used that for the final ~3 weeks of studying. I really enjoyed the strategy aspect of the course; they include sections to encourage you to keep going and there are articles about how to have the best mindset to score well. I ended up looking forward to the actual exam because TTP gave me confidence.

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I can safely say, if it wasn't for the TTP program, I would not have achieved my desired GMAT score. The quant section is ver holistic and teaches you how to be ready for any type of question regardless of difficulty. The verbal section that was being rolled out as I studied was a great way for me to learn and reinforce concepts as I studied for my re-take. The strategy readings helped put you at ease and prepare efficiently for the exam. As a result, I was able to improve my GMAT score from a 700 to a 730, which helped me get admitted to a program for the Fall of 2022. Thanks to Scott and the entire TTP Team for the product you put out there!

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I was a subscriber to TTP's flexible plan for 2 months preceding my GMAT exam. I chose the flexible plan because I was confident that I could finish the course in max 3 months, and the flexible plan would have been the cheapest option.

While I had not tried many prep providers before TTP, of the ones that I did try, TTP had the best user interface (you will see this comment being repeated in many other reviews). You could go navigate to anywhere in the website in 2-3 clicks of your mouse. The simplicity certainly helped keep the focus on the content, instead of learning how to move around within the website.

The next best thing would certainly be the way the content is framed. You will not find a ton of questions inside the websites. Instead, you will find a sufficient number of questions which would help you get to a 730+ score. This is very helpful for someone who is pressed for time. The TTP course is quite comprehensive, hence, not throwing a 1000 questions into the program definitely helps you cover all topics, and gain a sufficient level of mastery over them. And don't worry about the Verbal portion being a new addition. I would never have guessed it by myself (and personally, it was more useful to me than the quant portion)

All in all, I would definitely recommend anyone to go for TTP. I was employed full time while began my prep with them, and ended up with a 750 score in my 1st attempt.

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Target Test Prep provides very detailed content and exercises for GMAT preparation. The study sections go to a great length to explain all content from both verbal and quant sections.

All material is very well elaborated. Each content segment is followed by specific questions related to that content. This way, all concepts are tested immediately after being presented and it reinforces the learning with practice.

After each section, a more complete test is provided and helps preparation for the official exam. A plan is also provided, guiding what was tested and what remains to be evaluated.

There is also detailed information on which categories of questions are your strongest and weakest points.

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The first time I wrote the GMAT, I scored a 700. While I did well on verbal (V42), I was well below my target score of 50 on Quant (I scored Q43). I didn't know what to do since I had exhausted all of the OG Quant practice questions and even though I was able to answer those questions well, my abilities weren't being reflected on the actual exam. I knew I needed to invest in a course that would break down the different types of quant questions and teach the theoretical concepts so that I could effectively answer higher-level quant questions. This is where TTP came in.

I came across some reviews for TTP on gmatclub and thought I'd sign up for the 5-day trial. The trial allowed me to access the entire course and see that it was broken down into sections for the different questions types. I was able to determine which exact sections I was weak in and use the practice tests and lessons to improve my skills. I subscribed to TTP's flexible plan and completed all of the quant lessons and practice tests in a few months. It took me a while to get through the course since I was travelling and working, but I think you could probably complete the quant portion in a month depending on your starting skill level and availability.

I saw an immediate improvement in my quant skills after completing TTP. I was consistently scoring a Q50 or Q51 on the official GMAT practice exams (from mba.com) and knew I was ready for the actual exam. I scored a Q50 on my actual GMAT exam and finished the quant section with 5 minutes to spare! This was a huge improvement since I wasn't even able to finish the quant section that first time I wrote the GMAT.

I wouldn't have been able to score in the 99th percentile without TTP. I love how the course breaks down the different concepts into sections and offers questions of differing difficulty levels so that you're able to assess how well you're doing. TTP is the gold standard for GMAT courses and I couldn't recommend it enough!

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I took a mock after about a month of on and off official guide practice- I got a 660 (Q43 V38). My quant fundamentals were weak since I had not done math in about 10 years.

I went through the trial versions of a few service providers. Target Test Prep seemed super intimidating at first, and I almost didn't subscribe to it. However, when I started to use it, I fell in love with the structure, the explanations and the interface. The 5 day trial with full access really allows you to take full benefit. They have an accelerated study plan versus a fullly structured one. I did the former.

For somebody with almost zero quant background, TTP was a life saver. There is an underlying 'do not panic' vibe through the entire course. The highlights, the notes and the search for keyword features were incredible. I could find problems that I needed more practice with so easily, as well as search for sub-lessons readily. The verbal section is also equally good! All of the concepts are there and the examples are very very good. I did not use any other material to prep (other than the Manhattan tests after my first official attempt, since I had exhausted my official tests).

I chose the flexible plan due to paucity of time- I really stretched myself thin in the two months and I went slightly off the course recommended path. I took my first official GMAT on November 26 and got a 640. I panicked and reached out to Scott. He said that I just need to do the fundamentals again and I'd be good. I realized as I did that and took a few Manhattan prep tests, that TTP had given me super strong fundamentals, and I just needed to calm my nerves. I decided to take it again on December 18, and I was set. My concepts were so clear that I managed a 760 (Q48 V47) even with a fever.

For anybody willing to invest some time to get better at the GMAT, I will wholly recommend TTP! It's affordable, easy to use and makes you feel as if you've got it under control.

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