GMAT apps are an undeniably appealing way to study for the GMAT: they’re convenient, fun, and a great excuse to play with your phone. Good ones can be a great addition to your study plan, but they aren’t enough on their own.

This article is a complete guide to GMAT apps that will help you lean how to use GMAT apps effectively, rather than letting them become a time-wasting distraction. I’ll go over the qualities that make a GMAT app worth using, the seven best GMAT apps available, and the best ways to incorporate apps into your GMAT prep.

GMAT Apps: An Overview

You can use apps for almost anything, and GMAT prep is no exception. GMAT prep apps may include practice tests, additional practice questions, drills targeting particular skills, lessons, and other content to help you prepare for the exam and track your progress.

GMAT apps that you download to your tablet or phone can help you get ready for the test in an interactive and even fun way. They aren’t enough as a comprehensive source of GMAT prep, but they can be a great addition to your other practice materials. If you’re looking for an affordable, comprehensive online prep program, check out PrepScholar GMAT. The course includes access to over 1,000 practice questions and 30 lessons covering all the essential GMAT skills.

Why GMAT Apps Are Not Enough

GMAT apps can be a great resource, but they’re not enough for adequate GMAT prep or to achieve your target score. You’ll need to use more comprehensive GMAT study resources like practice tests and books if you want to improve.

Firstly, most apps aren’t catered to your particular weaknesses and strengths. A few apps track your progress, but not in in-depth ways.

Secondly, most of the GMAT apps don’t have enough realistic practice questions to be effective as your primary or only GMAT prep resource. Many of them only have a few, or the practice questions aren’t organized by question type, so it’s difficult to target specific skills or concepts.

Finally, GMAT apps don’t tend to include detailed answer explanations for practice questions, meaning you may not be able to pinpoint why you missed the questions and determine how to improve for the future.

What Makes a Good GMAT App?

Let’s take a look at the qualities that make a GMAT app effective for use as part of your overall prep.

#1: Realistic Practice Questions

If a GMAT app features practice questions, they should be similar in content, tone, difficulty, and length to those on the actual GMAT. The more realistic, the better the questions are for your GMAT prep.

#2: In-Depth Lessons and Content

If a GMAT prep app contains skill-building lessons, they should be detailed, breaking down each question type or necessary skill in depth. You should be able to come away from a lesson with an understanding of a topic you previously didn’t know much about.

#3: User-Friendly

Any GMAT prep app you choose to download should be easy to understand, use, and navigate. It should be clear how to find information you need, and easy to select answers on practice questions. Some apps are difficult to read due to issues with the text or visuals.

The Top 7 GMAT Apps

Let’s go over some of the best GMAT apps available for download. For each GMAT prep app, I’ll go over its cost, its content, and its advantages and disadvantages.

Manhattan Prep GMAT

The Manhattan Prep GMAT app has lots of quality, varied content, including 1,110 quantitative and verbal practice questions; 1,556 quantitative, vocab, idioms, and sentence correction drills and quizzes; strategies for each question type; general GMAT study tips; math and verbal glossaries; MBA tips; and a section that tracks your progress, including your average timing on each practice question.

You can try out the Manhattan Prep GMAT app for free for 24 hours. After that, if you want to upgrade to premium, it will cost you $29.99. Otherwise, you can stay at the ‘basic’ level, which contains fewer customization options and fewer practice questions.

The Manhattan Prep GMAT app is the most comprehensive one out there, with high quality practice questions and lots of drills in both basic and advanced quant (hard to find). The idiom and vocabulary drills are also helpful for non-native English speakers. Questions are divided by difficulty as well as skill type, so the app will help you hone in on your weaknesses effectively.

Ready4 GMAT (Prep 4 GMAT)

The basic version of Ready4 GMAT is free with an account, while the premium version (which includes over 1,000 practice questions, 500 flashcards, GMAT prep and vocab quizzes, and an in-depth prep course, including a full GMAT practice test) costs $19.99.

The free version has a great deal of content, though, including an assessment test with 10 practice GMAT questions and an in-app GMAT prep course, with lessons on each GMAT section, fundamental skills like grammar, quizzes, and drills on specific question types. The only downside is that you can’t access a lesson without completing the one before it.

Ready4 GMAT also has some unique features, such as a “school matcher” that lets you customize your list of prospective business schools according to your personal demographics, preferences, academic background, GMAT score, and goals. If you complete it, you can enter to win a $1,000 Ready4 scholarship to business school.

GMAT Math Flashcards and GMAT Idiom Flashcards (Magoosh)

Both of these helpful, targeted apps from Magoosh are free. They don’t contain full-length practice questions; instead, they allow you to test fundamental skills that will help you on the quant and verbal sections.

The GMAT Math Flashcards ask about basic math concepts or simple calculations (such as determining 20% of a given number in your head). They can help you practice estimation, which is important for the quant section since you won’t have access to a calculator. The set contains 19 algebra practice questions; 38 questions on fractions, ratios, and percents; 51 geometry questions; two sections of 33 and 32 questions, respectively on number properties; 24 statistics and probability questions; and six sets of miscellaneous practice, containing 36-37 questions each.

Each GMAT Idiom Flashcard contains two versions of a sentence with variations on an idiom; you select which one is correct. After you virtually ‘flip’ the card, you’ll see the correct answer and will be asked whether you were familiar with the correct idiom. The cards are divided into two basic and two advanced sections; they track your mastery and will test you on unfamiliar idioms as you continue to practice.

These are helpful flashcards on the go, or to target a particular math skill. The idiom list will be especially helpful for non-native English speakers. However, they don’t contain actual GMAT practice questions, so they won’t be enough for substantial GMAT prep.

GMAT Prep Course (Veritas Prep)

With a free GMAT On Demand trial account, you can access over 24 hours of instructional videos (a ‘self-guided course’) from Veritas Prep that take you through every section of the GMAT and every skill you’ll need to master. With your trial account, you can also access various online Veritas Prep practice materials, including a computer-adaptive GMAT practice test and GMAT practice questions, for seven days.

Veritas Prep lessons are high-quality and informative, with instructors guiding you through each GMAT question type and concept in detail. Each lesson (such as ‘arithmetic calculations,’ the first section of the arithmetic lesson) is around 20-30 minutes.

While you’ll need to purchase the full course to get permanent access to the Veritas Prep resources, you can use this app for an overview of the test and the skills you’ll need to learn, especially at the beginning of your prep process.

Economist GMAT Tutor

You’ll have to create an account to access a free trial Economist GMAT Tutor app, which includes one free tutor session, opportunities to ask questions of tutors trained by The Economist, and a simulated GMAT test, as well as lessons that delve into specific GMAT skills.

The biggest advantage of this app are the in-depth lessons. Each lesson breaks down the various aspects of a particular section or question type in more detail than the majority of app-based GMAT lessons. One disadvantage, besides the obvious drawback of most of the materials only being available for purchase, is that you’ll have to complete one lesson before moving on to the next. So if you’re looking to quickly target a specific skill, this isn’t the best app for your GMAT prep.

GMAT: Practice, Prep, Flashcards (Varsity Tutors)

The Varsity Tutors GMAT: Practice, Prep, Flashcards app is completely free. You can find flashcards organized by concept, diagnostic tests, and GMAT practice tests and quizzes.

The Varsity Tutors app’s primary strength is its organization. While many apps organize questions according to general categories, like ‘quant section’ or ‘advanced quant,’ Varsity Tutors’ concept categories are hyper-specific and usually include several subcategories. This means you can target your weaknesses much more effectively using Varsity Tutors than on many other apps.

The quant practice questions in the diagnostic tests are a little on the easy side, and the app itself can be a little confusing to navigate. Other than that, this is a comprehensive and effective app to switch up your method of GMAT prep.

GMAT Exam Prep (Pocket Prep, Inc.)

The GMAT Exam Prep app from Pocket Prep offers flashcards, practice questions, and personal statistics on your progress. You can also use the app to challenge other users in GMAT practice question duels.

The app’s benefits are its variety (flashcards on everything from analytical writing-specific vocabulary to advanced quant) and its ability to track your progress over time. The app schedules you for reviews of certain GMAT concepts and skills based on your weaknesses. The downsides? There are some distracting typos in questions and headings, and the ads can be annoying as well.

You can access this app free with an account or upgrade it for a fee. The Basic version (with no ads and offline study available) is $4.99, while the Premium version (which will store all the app’s data in the Cloud) is $9.99.

How to Use GMAT Apps

There are a few ways to use GMAT apps that will maximize their usefulness for your exam prep.

#1: To Focus On Your Weaknesses

The drills in GMAT prep apps can sometimes help you get an extra boost in particularly weak areas. Apps with short quizzes or mini-lessons centered around certain question types or foundational skills can be helpful as an extra resource for your trouble spots.

#2: To Add Practice Questions

Additional GMAT practice questions, especially free ones, are always a big plus during prep. As long as the questions in the apps you choose are realistic and high-quality, more practice is always better.

#3: On the Go

Since GMAT apps can be downloaded to a phone or tablet, they can be a great resource for extra practice while you’re out and about or if you only have a short time.

Also, it can be useful to study in a variety of ways. Prepping using a different form of technology can motivate you and allow you to engage with the material in a new way.

Wrap-Up: Using GMAT Apps

GMAT apps can be a great addition to your overall prep. They can help you switch it up and learn or practice using a new interface and in a new way.

While they’re not enough as a comprehensive source of practice, you should consider adding a GMAT prep app (or two!) to your study plan.

What’s Next?

Find additional practice questions in our extensive collection of GMAT sample questions.

In How to Prepare for the GMAT, you can find a more comprehensive guide to GMAT prep.

If you’re a non-native English speaker or looking to improve your verbal score, our guide to GMAT idioms will help you prepare for sentence correction and critical reasoning questions on the GMAT.

The post How the 7 Best GMAT Apps Can Improve Your Score appeared first on Online GMAT Prep Blog by PrepScholar.

With all of the options for GMAT prep, which ones are the most effective? Which GMAT study material will help you master the test and achieve your target score?

To help you prepare for this important exam, we’ve compiled all of the best GMAT study materials in one guide. You’ll find official and unofficial resources, prep books and online programs, free GMAT study materials and ones you can purchase.

Before diving into the full list, let’s go over what you should look for in the best GMAT study material.

What Makes for Excellent GMAT Study Material? 5 Features

There are a lot of GMAT prep resources out there, but not all of them are up to scratch. Not only should you stick to the highest quality materials, but you should also choose the ones that best match your learning style. For instance, you might prefer to self-study with books than to take a full prep course, or vice versa.

Whatever you choose, you should make sure your GMAT study materials include at least some of the following five components.

#1: Thorough Content Review

You don’t need to memorize a lot of facts and figures to do well on the GMAT, but you do need to have a certain amount of core knowledge. You must be able to interpret various types of graphs and to apply properties of geometry to solve problems, to give a couple of examples.

Many people taking the GMAT haven’t worked with the concepts it tests in years, maybe even since they left high school. If you haven’t calculated the area of a right triangle in a while, don’t worry – you’re not alone. To help you brush up on rusty skills, your study materials should go over all of the concepts that will come into play on GMAT problems.

#2: Effective Test-Taking Strategies

Doing well on the GMAT isn’t just about having great math, verbal, and reasoning skills. It’s also about being a strategic test-taker. You need to learn strategies to manage time and approach specific question types. The best study materials will offer various strategies to boost your performance.

You should try these strategies out as you study to figure out which ones work best for you. Even with a solid foundation in math concepts and verbal skills, you need to develop an effective approach to challenges like managing your time and knowing when to guess on a question.

#3: Realistic Practice Questions

As you review key concepts, you should drill skills into your memory by answering lots of practice questions. GMAT questions are tricky and challenging, and you need plenty of practice with them before the real test. 

The best GMAT study materials generally come from the test makers themselves, and you’ll see below that GMAC offers a good amount of free material, along with additional questions and tests available for purchase. Unfortunately, unofficial practice questions are less reliable: some prep companies rush to put out material and offer shoddy practice problems that don’t resemble real GMAT questions. Unrealistic practice questions aren’t going to help you on test day.

At the start of your prep, you should work with official practice questions, so that you can gain a clear sense of what GMAT questions look like. Once you’ve become familiar with the format, you’ll be able to spot and avoid low-quality imitators. Regardless, if you stick to the study resources on this list, you’ll ensure that you’re working with realistic practice questions.

#4: Computer-Adaptive Practice Tests

The Quantitative and Verbal sections of the GMAT are adaptive, meaning that the selection of questions changes as you go along to match your ability and get an accurate measure of your skills.

To gain practice with this adaptive format and get insight into your scoring level, you should use materials with realistic, computer-adaptive practice tests. They should also be timed in the same way as the GMAT and offer a testing experience as close as possible to the real thing.

#5: Clear Answer Explanations

Finally, your practice materials should give clear, thorough answer explanations that help you understand your mistakes. They should walk you through problems step by step so you know how to solve them and how to approach a similar question next time.

The least helpful study materials only give the answer and offer no explanation. Some are even filled with errors! Make sure that your study materials offer extensive answer explanations so you can learn from your mistakes.

You may not find that a single study material contains every single one of these components, but you should make sure that your materials, on the whole, include them. You might rely on one source for content review and another for practice tests and sample questions. Altogether, your materials should cover all of these important parts of effective GMAT prep.

Now let’s take a look at the best GMAT prep materials, starting with official materials that come directly from the test makers themselves.

Official GMAT Prep Materials From the Test Makers

There’s one free GMAT study material that should be part of everybody’s study plan. That’s the free GMATPrep software offered by the Graduate Management Admission Council, or GMAC.

Beyond this free software, GMAC also sells practice tests, sample questions, prep books, and online study tools. Let’s take a look at the official free GMAT study material, followed by the ones that you can purchase.

Free GMAT Prep Software

You can download GMAT Prep Software for free at MBA.com. This prep software includes two realistic, computer-adaptive, full-length practice tests, as well as 90 sample questions — 30 Quantitative, 45 Verbal, and 15 Integrated Reasoning.

The software also contains a guide explaining how to get ready for the GMAT, as well as a useful review of all of the algebra, geometry, and arithmetic concepts and word problem types that will appear on the Quantitative section.

The tests have thorough answer explanations, and they will give you an accurate sense of your scoring level, as they use the official GMAT scoring algorithm. You can actually take each test more than once, but you may see a few repeat questions after the first time.

The free GMAT Prep Software is a great way to start your GMAT prep, and it’s most useful for realistic practice tests and sample questions. It’s not as useful for a comprehensive review of content beyond the Quantitative section, nor will it tell you much about time management or other test-taking strategies.

Official GMAT Prep Books You Can Buy

GMAC offers three books for the GMAT. One is a comprehensive guide, while the other two are section-specific and help you prepare for the math and verbal sections. Read on to learn about the details of each book, along with the pros and cons of preparing for the GMAT from these books.

Note that all of the prices below come from the official GMAC site, but you should be able to find the books much cheaper on Amazon.

The Official Guide for GMAT Review, $45.95  

• 900 practice questions with answers and explanations
• Diagnostic practice test
• Six months’ access to 50 online Integrated Reasoning questions
• Comprehensive math review for the Quantitative section
• Grammar review for the Verbal section
• Chapter with details on Integrated Reasoning
• Study tips to help you get ready

The Official Guide for GMAT Quantitative Review, $19.95

• 300 math questions from past GMAT tests
• Questions organized in order of difficulty
• Access to an online question bank where you can create your own question sets
• Access to videos from test takers and GMAC staff who share tips on GMAT prep

The Official Guide for GMAT Verbal Review, $19.95

• 300 verbal questions from past GMAT tests
• Questions organized in order of difficulty
• Access to an online question bank where you can make your own question sets
• Access to videos from real test takers and GMAC staff with tips on GMAT prep

All three books together cost $85.85 on MBA.com, or you can order them for a total of $49.21 on Amazon.

Pros and Cons of Official GMAT Prep Books

Should you study for the GMAT from books and their accompanying online study tools? As with any study material, there are pros and cons to these books.

Pros

• Most realistic practice questions and practice tests available
• Diagnostic test will give the most accurate measure of your scoring level
• Excellent Integrated Reasoning practice questions accompany official study guide
• Comprehensive math and verbal review

Cons

• Not a ton of concept review apart from math and grammar rules
• Not useful for test taking strategies
• Only one additional practice test
• Books may not be as convenient as online resources, plus you’re solely responsible for sticking to your study plan and recording your progress.

The official GMAT prep books are excellent for practice questions and practice tests, and they offer great math and grammar review. For a more thorough content review and test-taking strategies, though, you’d benefit from supplementing these books with other materials.

Now that you have a sense of the official GMAT prep books, let’s take a look at the online study tools that GMAC offers.

Official Online Study Tools From GMAC

Each of the following study tools integrates with the free GMAT Prep Software. Basically, they add practice tests or practice questions to the software you already have.

We’ll break down each option, and then list out the packages that offer various combos of these resources.

GMAT Prep Exam Pack 1, $49.99

• 2 full-length computer adaptive practice tests with answer explanations
• 90 additional practice questions
• Enhanced score reporting. You’ll see your math and verbal results by question type, and your IR report will tell you about your time management. You’ll get enhanced score reports on both the exam pack practice tests and the free ones already on the GMAT Prep Software.

GMAT Prep Exam Pack 2, $49.99

• Two more full length computer adaptive practice tests with answers (no answer explanations)
• Enhanced score reporting as in Exam Pack 1 for included practice tests and the free tests that come with the GMAT Prep Software.

GMAT Prep Question Pack 1, $29.99

• 404 GMAT questions and answer explanations — 200 Quantitative, 180 Verbal, and 24 Integrated Reasoning
• Integrates with the GMAT Prep software, so you can create your own question sets and answer questions individually or as part of a full-length practice test

GMAT Focus Online Quantitative Diagnostic Tool, $29.99 – $79.99

• Can be purchased as individual exam or set of three exams
• Quantitative exam with a detailed, diagnostic score report and comprehensive answer explanations
• Can purchase the Focus exam more than once, but after the fourth time will start to see repeat questions

Integrated Reasoning Prep Tool, $19.99

• 48 Integrated Reasoning questions and answer explanations
• Create your own question sets by type or difficulty level
• Score your results and track your time management

GMAT Write, $29.99

• Writing tool for the AWA section
• Up to four practice essays scored in real time using the same automated essay-scoring engine used by the official GMAT exam
• You’ll get a score, suggestions for improvement, and detailed feedback on your analysis, supporting examples, essay structure, and use of language.

Combo Packs

The resources above are the main online study tools offered by GMAC, and all of them integrate with the free GMAT Prep Software. In addition to buying them individually, you can also purchase them in two combinations at a slightly reduced price. Below are the two combo packages from GMAC.

The Premium GMAT Study Collection, $405.77

• Includes the following books, online tools, and paper-based GMAT tests:
• The Official Guide for GMAT Review, 2017
• The Official Guide for GMAT Verbal Review, 2017
• The Official Guide for GMAT Quantitative Review, 2017
• GMATPrep Exam Pack 1
• GMATPrep Exam Pack 2
• GMATPrep Question Pack 1
• GMAT Paper Tests Set I, II, and III (9 past, paper-based GMAT exams with an answer sheet and instructions for calculating your score)
• GMAT Focus Online Quantitative Diagnostic Tool, set of 3
• IR Prep Tool

The On Demand GMAT Study Collection, $319.92

• GMAT Paper Tests I, II, and III
• GMAT Focus Online Quantitative Diagnostic Tool
• IR Prep Tool
• GMAT Prep Question Pack 1
• GMAT Prep Exam Pack I
• GMAT Prep Exam Pack 2
• Including both the paper-based and online practice tests, this package includes 13 complete GMAT exams and more than 1,100 practice questions

As you saw, both combos include GMAT paper tests, which you can download as a pdf separately for $29.99. You’ll get nine full-length tests, but all of them are paper-based, so they don’t offer a very realistic experience of the exam.

Given all of these options, how can you decide which, if any, are most useful to you?

Which Official GMAT Prep Materials Are Best for You?

At this point, you may be feeling overwhelmed by all of the options — and these are just the official GMAT study materials from GMAC! Given all of these choices, which one should you buy? Should you splurge on a combo? Should you stick to the free software and forget about the add-ons?

Everyone’s needs are a little different, but for most students I recommend the exam packs and question packs over any of the other online tools. These official practice tests and questions are the best ones out there, since they come from the test makers themselves. Plus, they get scored by the official GMAT scoring algorithm, so they’ll give you the most realistic assessment of your score.

Many people take a practice test every two to three weeks to measure their progress. If this practice is part of your study plan, then you should probably buy one or both of the exam packs. If the price is too steep, then you can find other free or inexpensive practice tests online, but they won’t be as realistic as these official ones.

The other study tools could be useful if you have a specific weakness you need to shore up, but most people should buy an exam pack and/or question pack and not worry about the rest. While official GMAT materials are excellent for practice tests and practice questions, they’re somewhat lacking in content review (the books prioritize math and grammar concepts) and won’t tell you much in the way of test-taking strategy.

Third-party prep materials and programs are more helpful for strategy and content review. Let’s take a look at the best unofficial GMAT study materials.

Best Unofficial GMAT Study Materials

Below you’ll find the best GMAT study materials produced by third-party test prep companies, not by the Graduate Management Admission Council. As we did above, let’s start with the best books and then look at the best online resources.

Best GMAT Prep Books

These books rise to the top for GMAT prep books, both because of their comprehensive review of content and their accompanying online components with practice tests and practice questions.

Read on to learn more about each book or set of books.

Manhattan Prep Strategy Guide Set, $133.64

Manhattan Prep offers a bundle of 10 GMAT guides full of strategy and content review. Along with the books, you’ll get access to six full-length, computer-adaptive practice tests and over 200 additional practice questions. The questions come with detailed answer explanations.

The Manhattan Prep books do an excellent job of teaching strategy and subject material, plus they have thorough question sets to help you drill skills and improve as a test taker. They are geared toward highly motivated students looking to score in top percentiles.

Each guide delves into a specific area or question type, like algebra, word problems, number properties, sentence corrections, and reading comprehension. You can buy the guides individually for between $15 and $20 each.

The main downside is the hefty cost of the books, plus the sheer amount of material means you’ll need to work hard to get through it all. Some students also feel that the Quantitative questions are more difficult than the actual GMAT, meaning that the questions are not as realistic as they could be.

Kaplan GMAT Premier, $25.86

Kaplan’s prep book is a popular one among students getting ready to take the GMAT. It offers extensive review for all sections of the test, plus five computer-adaptive tests online and an additional paper-based one in the book. Beyond the practice tests, you can answer 200 questions online, and those looking for an extra math challenge can try 40 advanced math questions with detailed answer explanations.

Unfortunately, because access to online tests and questions expires after a year, you should probably buy a new, rather than used, copy of the Kaplan book. You’ll also be able to watch video lessons recorded by Kaplan faculty.

The main downside of this book is that it lacks the specialization of books like the Manhattan Prep strategy guides. While its 600+ pages contain thorough review, they don’t break down each concept and question type in the same level of detail as a more specialized guide.That being said, Kaplan does offer math and verbal-specific workbooks for just about $13 apiece.

Some students also say that the Kaplan guide is not the best resource for breaking into the 700s. While it will improve your score, it’s not the best book for scoring in the very top percentiles.

PowerScore Verbal Guides, $24.99 each

PowerScore offers four guides for the Verbal section: the PowerScore Reading Comprehension Bible, the PowerScore Sentence Correction Bible, the PowerScore Critical Reasoning Bible, and the PowerScore GMAT Verbal Workbook. Each guide costs $24.99 on Powerscore.com, but you can purchase the three bibles all together for $69.99. (Unfortunately, PowerScore doesn’t yet offer guides for the Quantitative sections.)

These guides offer great, in-depth reviews and practice for those looking to improve their Verbal performance and boost their time management skills. They break down each question type, teaches specific strategies, and shows you how to avoid common pitfalls and errors. If you find yourself repeating the same mistakes in the Verbal section, then the PowerScore Verbal Trilogy could be an excellent resource for breaking through and making real improvement.

These guides are best for drilling skills, answering practice questions, and learning strategies. However, they don’t go over the fundamentals. You’ll need a solid foundation in Verbal concepts before studying from these books. 

Beyond paper books, prep companies also offer some helpful online resources. Below are the best unofficial online materials.

Best Online GMAT Study Materials

These are the best online GMAT practice resources. The free GMAT study materials aren’t always very reliable, but most of the options below include at least one free practice test, plus additional practice tests available for purchase. Some also offer online GMAT prep courses or other study materials.

Veritas Prep

Veritas Prep offers realistic, excellent GMAT practice tests, one for free and six additional for $48. The tests are computer-adaptive and look very similar to the real GMAT.

If you need accommodations, you can adjust time settings to get 50% or 100% extra time. At the end of the test, you’ll be able to review your performance and read over detailed answer explanations.

These practice tests are great for supplementing your other GMAT study materials and getting extra test-taking practice.

Manhattan Prep  

Manhattan Prep offers one free computer-adaptive practice test online and six more for $49. You can follow the typical time limits or set a time limit per question to give yourself an efficiency boost. The questions look like the real thing, but the visuals of the exam don’t match what you’ll see on test day.

These tests are a decent option for getting additional test taking practice and answering all the GMAT question types at various difficulty levels. Just remember that the actual GMAT will look different from the Manhattan Prep tests in terms of visuals and formatting.

Kaplan

Kaplan offers high-quality, computer adaptive practice tests that include every question type on the GMAT. Each question comes with both written and video answer explanations. You can take one practice test for free, buy four more for $149, or eight more for $199. The questions accurately resemble real GMAT questions, as do the visuals of the tests.

The main downside of Kaplan’s practice tests is the high price point. However, the price includes access to over 1,500 practice questions and the Kaplan GMAT prep app that lets you study from anywhere on your phone.

While practice tests, question banks, and prep books are your main options for GMAT study materials, you may also be interested in supplemental study tools, like apps and flashcards. Let’s look at a few supplemental GMAT study materials that can help you get ready for the test.

Supplemental GMAT Study Materials

There are some supplemental GMAT study materials that help you insert a little bit of prep into your daily routine. Check out the best apps and other supplemental GMAT study tools.

The Official Guide for GMAT Review 2015 Mobile App, $4.99

This app links with the GMAT Prep Software to track your progress, plus it includes 50 practice questions of all types. You can create question sets and answer them casually or under time limits.

The app also comes with a six-month subscription to the above-mentioned Integrated Reasoning tool. If you’re looking for extra GMAT practice through your phone, then the official app has the best practice questions.

Prep4GMAT, Free

This app has about 1,000 practice questions and 100 flash cards to help you get ready. A scoring tool tells you what you got right and wrong and whether or not you need to improve your speed.

This free tool is a useful way to insert a little extra prep into your day, but by no means should it be your only source of GMAT prep. Note that users have noticed a few spelling errors in the questions.

Magoosh GMAT Math Flashcards, Free

Anyone looking to brush up on math formulas and concepts may appreciate the Magoosh app, which contains 425 flashcards testing a range of GMAT math concepts. The app has an easy to use interface and is good for people who want extra math practice on the go.

While this app won’t give you thorough math lessons, it’s a good way to remind yourself of key math formulas while you’re on your lunch break or taking the subway to and from work.

GMAT Question of the Day, Free

GMAT Question of the Day is a great free study tool offered by a variety of GMAT prep companies. You can find them online or sign up for a daily email.

As the name indicates, GMAT Question of the Day is a study tool that simply gives you one GMAT question to answer every day. Some study tools actually provide two questions, one math and one quantitative.

These study tools don’t tend to include AWA or Integrated Reasoning, instead sticking to math and verbal (usually critical reasoning or sentence correction questions, not reading comprehension) problems.

The top Question of the Day tools come from Kaplan, Ready 4 GMAT, Beat the GMAT, Atlantic GMAT, and GMAT Club. You can read more about the pros and cons of each one in this full guide. (coming soon)

Again, these supplemental study tools are a good way to insert a little extra GMAT prep into your day, particularly those days when you don’t have time for more comprehensive study. They’re not sufficient as your only GMAT study materials, but they will help you learn, uncover weak spots, and stay engaged with the exam on a daily basis.

Once you’ve decided on and collected all your GMAT study materials, how can you use them in an effective way? Consider these five tips for designing your GMAT study plan.

How to Create Your GMAT Study Plan: 5 Key Tips

There’s no one-size-fits-all GMAT study plan, as the most effective study plans are customized to your unique profile as a test taker. You need to reflect on your strengths and weaknesses and put effort toward the areas where you can improve the most.

A person with excellent verbal skills will likely need to focus more on prepping for the Quantitative section, while someone who uses math and graphs in their daily life may want to hone in on Verbal prep. The step no one should skip is writing down a clear study plan with specific steps to meet their goals.

As you design your study plan, consider these five tips.

#1: Make Studying a Routine

It’s tough to make time for studying, especially if you’re simultaneously working a full-time job or juggling other professional and personal commitments. To meet your studying goals, try to make a routine of studying.

Rather than trying to squeeze in studying time at random, set aside a specific time on the same days each week. Then, stick to your plan! By turning studying into a routine, you’ll optimize your ability to develop skills while ensuring that you don’t fall short of your goals.

#2: Take a Diagnostic Practice Test

Before you get going with studying, you should set aside three and a half hours to take a GMAT practice test. Nothing will get you familiar with the exam like taking an entire practice test.

You’ll learn about the test and realize questions about it you didn’t know you had. Beyond familiarizing yourself with the test, you’ll get a sense of your initial scoring level.

Don’t have high expectations for this first test. Rather, you’re using it to identify your weaknesses and all of the areas where you can improve. Then, you can use your results to inform your plan going forward.

#3: Target Your Weak Areas

Don’t waste valuable study time going over and over question types and concepts that you already know. Instead, you’ll see the most progress if you focus your efforts on your weak areas.

Find out where you’re lacking and what confuses you, and work extensively there. By targeting your weak areas, you’ll see the biggest score improvements.

Your diagnostic practice test will help you identify these areas of confusion so that you can direct your attention toward them.

#4: Take a Practice Test Every Few Weeks

As mentioned earlier, many students take a practice test every few weeks to become better test takers and to gauge their progress. You can see whether your scores are getting better and reassess your strengths and weaknesses.

Doing well on the GMAT doesn’t have much to do with memorizing facts and figures. Instead, you need to be a skilled test taker. Taking practice tests will help you develop your test taking skills, as well as learn how to answer certain question types, practice managing your time, and try out different strategies.

#5: Don’t Be Afraid to Make Changes

While you should write out a specific study plan before you start, you shouldn’t be afraid to make changes to it. Consider the study plan a living document that you can revise as you go along.

If you find your progress has stalled, you should reflect on what you’ve been doing and what you need to alter. By taking practice tests as you go along, you can measure your improvement, or lack thereof, and use these reports to amend your approach.

In closing, let’s go over what you need to remember about the best GMAT prep materials and how to use them to get ready for this important exam.

Best GMAT Study Materials: Final Thoughts

Before you can start studying for the GMAT, you need to collect GMAT prep materials.

Official materials will always contain the best practice questions and offer the most accurate assessment of your scoring level, so everyone’s first step should be downloading the free GMATPrep Software from MBA.com. This excellent resource features two full-length practice tests, 90 practice questions, and a full math review. Because the software is made by the test makers, it has the most realistic practice questions, plus it uses the official scoring algorithm.

While official materials should definitely be a part of your GMAT arsenal, you may also supplement with unofficial books and practice tests. Third parties like Veritas Prep, Manhattan Prep, and Kaplan offer excellent resources. Beyond practice tests, they give thorough content review and test-taking strategies. But remember that as tempting as those free GMAT study materials you find online might be, you should make sure that they are really worth using, with practice questions of various difficulty levels, computer-adaptive practice tests, and a realistic experience of the test.

By taking time to study in the months leading up to your test date, you’ll be able to tackle all of the material and make significant progress toward your target GMAT scores.

What’s Next?

Did you know that you can find a lot of GMAT material online for free? Check out this full list of free GMAT practice tests available around the web.

Once you’ve collected your GMAT study materials, what do you do next? This guide has 23 key tips for preparing for the GMAT.

The GMAT is a scary test, but how hard is it, really? Check out this guide to learn just how difficult the GMAT is and how you can tackle the challenge.

The post GMAT Study Material: 20 Best Prep Resources to Raise Your Score appeared first on Online GMAT Prep Blog by PrepScholar.

Need to prepare for the GMAT on a budget? Look no further.

In this article, I’ve collected the eight best free GMAT prep resources available, as well as three great inexpensive practice materials if you have a bit of cash to spend. GMAT practice materials can get expensive fast, but with these resources, you won’t break the bank prepping for the exam.

8 Best Free GMAT Prep Resources

If you’ve started searching for GMAT prep materials, you already know that the best GMAT resources can get expensive, especially if you’re looking for high-quality practice questions and tests. Fortunately, there are a few free resources that you can use on their own or add to your GMAT study plan. Let’s go through eight of the best free GMAT test prep resources available.

#1: MBA.com

MBA.com is the official GMAT website, created by the Graduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC). It boasts a great deal of relevant, up-to-date information about the GMAT, as well as free practice materials.

What It Includes

The Official GMATPrep Software, available for free through an account at mba.com, is the most important resource on MBA.com (and in general, MBA.com is a source of many of the best GMAT resources available). The software includes a comprehensive GMAT quant review, customizable sets of practice questions, and two full-length computerized adaptive practice tests. You can use one of these practice tests as a diagnostic GMAT to gauge where you’re starting from and how much you need to progress before you take the official exam. Find out more about using the GMATPrep Software for a diagnostic test here.

MBA.com also offers a variety of free GMAT articles and other resources that will help you know what to expect on exam day, such as a list of recent analytical writing assessment topics on past GMATs that you can practice with, sample GMAT questions and accompanying answer explanations, and detailed explanations of each GMAT question type.

What It’s Missing

Most of the official GMAT practice materials and other resources available at MBA.com aren’t free. However, it’s certainly worth taking a look for the most up-to-date info on the exam, as well as downloading the essential Official GMATPrep Software, for which you can purchase extensions and updates.

#2: Beat the GMAT

Beat the GMAT is a social network that boasts an active forum and a variety of other free GMAT prep resources.

What It Includes

Beat the GMAT includes a variety of resources for potential GMAT test-takers, including a forum where you can trade tips and advice with other students, a variety of study plans that 700+ GMAT scorers used to excel on the exam, and a 60-day GMAT study plan that you can have delivered to you in newsletter form.

Additionally, you can sign up to have a free daily quant practice question and a free daily verbal practice question sent to you via email.

You can also download free Beat the GMAT mobile apps, including a set of 300 GMAT flashcards that will help you review verbal and quant concepts.

Another helpful free resource at Beat the GMAT is the GMAT error log, which you can download to help you track your progress as you take GMAT practice quizzes and tests.

What It’s Missing

Beat the GMAT isn’t a source of free GMAT practice questions in and of itself. It’s more of a general resource if you’re looking to connect with and hear from other test-takers who are exploring practice materials and who have done well on the exam.

#3: PrepScholar GMAT Blog

The PrepScholar blog is a free resource for all kinds of GMAT-related material, including study timelines, information about GMAT logistics and MBA admissions, breakdowns of every section of the GMAT, and strategies to help you do your best on test day.

What It Includes

Our GMAT articles cover every aspect of the GMAT, from prep to business school. PrepScholar articles can help you formulate a specific, tailored GMAT study plan and find the best resources to use to prepare, as well as to succeed on exam day. We also break down the logistics of the exam, from scheduling to costs. You can also use the PrepScholar blog to learn about all the components of a business school application and to research particular kinds of MBA programs.

What It’s Missing

While PrepScholar provides many lists of the best GMAT resources and reviews of GMAT practice materials, we don’t have practice questions available on the blog itself.

#4: Your Local Library

Many of us don’t think to use the local library as a resource anymore, but it can be valuable when you’re looking for free materials. Picking through the standardized test section for GMAT practice resources might help you out in your quest for affordable GMAT prep.

What It Includes

The free GMAT practice materials you’re likely to find at your local library are comprehensive prep books from test prep companies. You can use them to complete practice quizzes and tests and to learn more about the GMAT format and content.

Use our guide to the best GMAT prep books here to see what you might want to check out.

What It’s Missing

Your local library is only likely to have paper-based GMAT resources. Since there’s no paper version of the GMAT, it’s not likely to help you if you need to take computerized adaptive practice tests.

Also, the GMAT prep books at your local library might be out of date. Though the GMAT doesn’t change much from year to year, it’s always important to make sure that, for example, the prep books you check out include the integrated reasoning section, which was added to the GMAT in 2012.

#5: Manhattan Prep

Manhattan Prep is a comprehensive GMAT prep resource that offers several free materials for future test-takers, including a free full-length practice test.

What It Includes

Manhattan Prep offers a free full-length computerized adaptive practice test and an analysis of your strengths and weaknesses. This can be a great source of extra practice during one of your routine study sessions.

Other free GMAT prep materials offered by Manhattan Prep include five free samples of GMAT Interact (Manhattan Prep’s online on-demand GMAT prep course), tutorials that cover specific GMAT math and grammar concepts, a free downloadable mobile app with GMAT practice questions and drills, a GMAT blog and forum, and study tips and tricks for acing the exam.

What It’s Missing

Besides the practice test, most of the other free Manhattan Prep GMAT resources are samples so you’ll consider purchasing a full-length course, lesson, or prep book. So you should treat these materials as supplemental to your primary study rather than as your main prep resource.

#6: Veritas Prep Question Bank and Free Practice Test

Veritas Prep offers GMAT classes (live and online), practice tests, and practice quizzes and questions. A few of these, including a full-length practice test, are available for free.

What It Includes

The three primary free GMAT resources offered by Veritas Prep include a full-length adaptive GMAT with a detailed analysis of your score compared to other test-takers, video explanations of the questions in the GMAT Official Guide 2018, and the Veritas Prep Question Bank.

The Veritas Prep Question Bank includes hundreds of GMAT practice questions that you can organize into sets based on question type and difficulty. They’re not presented in adaptive format, but you will receive reports about your performance on each question as compared to other Veritas Prep users. You can also save quizzes you’ve completed to review the answer explanations of questions you missed.

What It’s Missing

If you want more Veritas Prep practice tests or more in-depth feedback about your progress, you’ll have to pay for them (check out the “inexpensive resources” section below for more info).

#7: GMAT Club

GMAT Club is best known for its active GMAT forum and user community, but it also offers a variety of other free GMAT prep resources.

What It Includes

The GMAT Club Forum has thousands of active users from all over the world. In the forum, you can discuss nitty-gritty details about the content and logistics of the exam, MBA admissions stats, prep materials, and the most up-to-date info on any changes to the GMAT.

GMAT Club also provides users with access to a variety of free GMAT tools and articles, from sample GMAT study plans and schedules to a downloadable GMAT timer that you can use at home with practice tests and hundreds of flashcards that feature GMAT-specific quant and verbal concepts.

What It’s Missing

If you want practice questions or full-length practice tests, you’ll have to purchase them from GMAT Club.

Also, many of the resources at GMAT Club (such as the flashcards) are community/user-generated, so they’re not always vetted by GMAT experts or official sources.

#8: Khan Academy

Khan Academy is a free educational resource that you can use to review fundamental verbal and quant concepts for the GMAT.

What It Includes

Khan Academy offers tutorials, via video lessons, in a variety of subjects. Each of these lessons is followed by a series of interactive exercises that will help you implement the skills you just learned or reviewed.

For the GMAT, you’ll want to use the math and grammar tutorials to help with the quant and verbal sections (for the latter, sentence correction questions in particular).

The best Khan Academy tutorials to use for the GMAT are arithmetic, geometry, trigonometry, algebra 1 and 2, and statistics and probability (for the quant section), as well as parts of speech, syntax, and usage and style (for the verbal section).

Find more in-depth information about how to use Khan Academy to prepare for the GMAT here.

What It’s Missing

Khan Academy doesn’t have any GMAT-specific practice materials, so it’s only helpful for a review of foundational skills. Also, its math review is much more comprehensive than its grammar review.

3 Best Inexpensive GMAT Resources

Looking for cheap GMAT prep? If you have a bit of money to spend on GMAT prep but are still on a tight budget, you might consider these three high-quality, inexpensive GMAT practice resources.

#1: Official GMAT Resources: Integrated Reasoning Prep Tool, GMAT Question Pack 1, GMAT Write, and GMAT Focus Online Quantitative Diagnostic Tool

Cost

GMAT Question Pack 1: $29.99

GMAT IR Prep Tool: $19.99

GMAT Write: $29.99

GMAT Focus Online Quantitative Diagnostic Tool: $29.99 (single-use)

What It Includes

GMAT Question Pack 1 includes 404 official GMAT practice questions (200 verbal, 200 quant, and 24 integrated reasoning). Once you’ve downloaded the Official GMATPrep Software, the practice questions in GMAT Question Pack 1 get added into and integrated with the practice questions on the free software. Your performance reports will also be integrated into the performance reports on the original software.

The GMAT IR Prep Tool, downloadable online, includes 48 integrated reasoning questions and detailed answer explanations of each one. For more on the IR Prep tool, click here.

GMAT Write helps students with the analytical writing assessment. The program includes two unique essay prompts written by GMAC and scores your essays automatically using the same essay-scoring engine that’s used on the real GMAT.

The GMAT Focus Online Quantitative Diagnostic Tool is web-based and allows you to take a single quantitative diagnostic sample test with 12 data sufficiency questions and 12 problem solving questions, followed by a detailed analysis of your performance in each area of the quant section and suggestions on what to work on, as well as in-depth answer explanations. The tool uses only real, retired GMAT quant questions and expires after a year.

What It’s Missing

The official practice tests authored by GMAC (outside of the two provided in the Official GMATPrep Software) are more expensive, so you’ll have to splurge a little if you’re looking for additional full-length tests.

#2: Veritas Prep Practice Tests

Veritas Prep is a high-quality GMAT practice resource, with practice tests and questions that are similar in content and format to the actual exam. Their seven practice tests are offered in an affordable bundle.

Cost

$47 for seven tests

What It Includes

This set of practice tests includes detailed progress reports so you can see how you’re doing and what you need to work on. With seven tests available for $49, each test only costs $7.

Also, you’ll never see the same question twice, and the Veritas Prep practice tests have been updated to allow you to select your own section order (a new change that was implemented in July of 2017; check out our explanation of the change here).

You can also take the practice tests at varying times, so if you struggle with pacing, you can start off slower and work up to moving more quickly.

What It’s Missing

The Veritas Prep practice tests are adaptive (as in, they provide the next question based on what you’re answering correctly and incorrectly, and adjust to your skill level as you go along), but they aren’t precisely in the computerized adaptive format that’s used on the real GMAT.

That means that while your scores on these practice tests will help you, they don’t use exactly the same algorithm as the real GMAT, and you’ll have to take your practice test scores with a grain of salt.

#3: Prep Books for Under $20: Kaplan’s GMAT Prep 2018 and Princeton Review’s Cracking the GMAT

Cost

Kaplan’s GMAT Prep 2018: $16.16 in paperback; $17.99 in Kindle

Princeton Review’s Cracking the GMAT: $18.06

What It Includes

Kaplan’s GMAT Prep 2018 includes one paper-based practice GMAT and one computerized adaptive test online, in addition to over 400 practice questions and step-by-step strategies for each section.

Princeton Review’s Cracking the GMAT provides content reviews for each GMAT section, strategies on how to tackle each GMAT question type, tips on how to avoid the most common GMAT errors, two computerized adaptive practice tests (to be taken online), and “practice bins” of verbal and quant drills and practice questions, accompanied by answer explanations.

What It’s Missing

One of the two practice tests in Kaplan’s GMAT Prep 2018 is paper-based, which won’t necessarily offer you a realistic idea of your potential score on the real GMAT. Also, while the step-by-step strategies for each question type are helpful, the practice questions are also mostly included in the book rather than online, which won’t help you get used to the visuals and the experience of the real exam.

Princeton Review’s Cracking the GMAT is focused heavily on strategy and “tips and tricks,” sometimes at the expense of fundamental concept reviews. Also, the practice questions provided are often a little easier than those on the actual GMAT.

What’s Next?

Now that you know about the best free GMAT resources, are you looking for the best GMAT prep books? Check out our reviews here.

When it comes to the GMAT, you want the best GMAT resources in order to ace the exam. We’ve gathered a list of the 20 best GMAT resources here.

Ready to strategize? These are the eight best ways to get a perfect GMAT score.

The post The 8 Best Free GMAT Prep Resources (and 3 Cheap Ones) appeared first on Online GMAT Prep Blog by PrepScholar.

If you’re preparing for the GMAT or getting ready to prepare for the GMAT, you’ve likely heard about GMATPrep, the software that’s one of the most essential tools for studying for the GMAT.

In this guide, I’ll give you an in-depth look at GMATPrep software and talk about exactly what makes it an important part of your GMAT preparation. I’ll also discuss the ways it can and can’t help you, so you can supplement your use of GMATPrep with other materials as needed. Finally, I’ll offer several tips for how to make the most of GMATPrep as you study.

What Is the GMATPrep Software?

GMATPrep software is a free, downloadable program that you can get from GMAC, the company that writes and administers the GMAT.

GMATPrep software uses the exact same technology as the GMAT. It’s a great way to prep because you’re seeing questions that cover the same content and have the same format as the questions you’ll see when you actually take the test.

GMATPrep comes with the following free features:

• 90 real, retired practice GMAT questions, answers, and explanations (30 quantitative, 45 verbal, 15 integrated reasoning)
• Two full-length practice tests with answers (no explanations are included)
• Scores for your GMAT Total, quantitative, verbal, and integrated reasoning practice
• Tools to make your own practice set
• A guide to the GMAT quant section

You can also purchase add-ons to supplement the free resources, such as additional question packs or full-length practice tests.

What Makes the GMATPrep Software Such a Good GMAT Prep Tool?

GMATPrep is one of the, if not the, best GMAT prep tools because it gives you a great idea of what taking the actual GMAT will be like.

First of all, GMATPrep features real, retired GMAT questions in its practice question sets and on its full-length practice tests. Practicing with these types of questions is one of the best things that you can do for your prep, because you’ll build your familiarity with the content and style of the questions on the actual GMAT. Retired GMAT questions do a better job of preparing you for the GMAT than questions written by third-party test prep companies because they’re an actual representation of what’s on the GMAT. GMATPrep takes your preparation one step further by presenting those real, retired questions in the exact same format as you’ll see on test day so you’re building your familiarity with style and content at the same time.

GMATPrep also offers the most realistic prediction of what your score will be on test day through its full-length practice tests. Because GMATPrep uses the same technology as the real GMAT, you’ll be scored using the same algorithm that you’ll encounter on test day. While third party test prep companies can approximate that algorithm, nothing will ever be as accurate as using the official GMAC algorithm.

How Can (and Can’t) GMATPrep Help Me?

So, we’ve established that GMATPrep is one of the best tools you can use to get ready for the GMAT. But GMATPrep is by no means perfect. In this section, I’ll talk more about the ways GMATPrep can and can’t help you get ready for the GMAT.

GMATPrep is a great tool for providing realistic practice and scoring. In fact, it’s the best tool you can use for realistic practice and scoring. As I mentioned in the previous section, GMATPrep’s real, retired GMAT questions are directly related to the content and style of the questions you’ll see on the real GMAT. So, if you’re looking for true-to-life practice, GMATPrep is the best tool you can use.

However, GMATPrep also has a lot of shortcomings. It’s much more of a practice tool than a teaching tool, meaning that while it has great practice questions, it really lacks in terms of its answer explanations and content review. In fact, GMATPrep doesn’t even have answer explanations for its full-length practice tests – just answer keys. You’ll need to supplement the answer keys with a more robust content review to truly learn the material.

Similarly, GMATPrep doesn’t offer any test-taking strategies or tips for solving different question types. There are lots of strategies you can use to eliminate answers or answer questions more effectively on the GMAT and it’s important that you learn those as you’re studying. You’ll need to use other resources besides GMATPrep to get that material.

Finally, GMATPrep simply doesn’t have a lot of practice question content beyond the two practice tests. Its free version only has 90 total questions, which you’ll easily burn through in just a few practice sessions. While the add-on purchases definitely help provide access to more content, they a) cost money and b) don’t actually include that much more content. If you’re studying for the GMAT over an extended period of time (e.g., over 50 hours) you’ll need more resources.

The Top 5 Tips for Using GMATPrep Software Effectively

Now that I’ve discussed the positive and negatives of GMATPrep, I’ll give you my top five tips for making the most out of the program.

#1: Simulate Test Day Conditions When You Take a GMATPrep Practice Test

It’s a good idea to take as many GMATPrep practice tests as you can – which basically means that you should definitely take the two free practice tests that come with the software and that, if you can afford it, you should purchase the upgrades to have access to all six full-length practice tests.

When you take a GMATPrep practice test, do your best to simulate test day conditions. That means taking the test in one sitting, without any hints or prompts on the screen, and with no interruptions. Taking a GMATPrep practice test in a realistic test day environment will help ensure that you’re prepared for test day and that you’re getting the most accurate practice score possible.

#2: Purchase the Add-Ons

If you can afford to purchase the add-ons, I’d definitely buy them. You can purchase an additional question pack with 404 GMAT questions for $29.99 and you can purchase two different exam packs that each contain two additional full-length practice tests for $49.99 each.

As a reminder, the GMATPrep add-ons give you access to additional practice tests and practice questions. Since GMATPrep offers such realistic practice questions, the more of them you can use, the better prepared you’ll be for test day.

Remember, however, that GMATPrep offers very little in the way of answer explanations or content review, which leads me to my next tip.

#3: Supplement With Other Resources

You’ll need to supplement GMATPrep with other resources to truly learn the content. You’ve got endless options for which resources to use, but your main options are:

1. Purchase another official resource from GMAC (like the GMAT Official Guide books)
2. Purchase a third party resource (such as a prep book from Kaplan or Manhattan Prep)
3. Use free online supplemental content (such as PrepScholar’s guides)
4. Enroll in a paid online or in-person course
5. Hire a tutor

While GMAC’s other official resources give you more access to real practice questions, they’re pretty skimpy when it comes to content review. You’ll need to really learn the content to improve your score, so you’re looking at options 2 – 5. Which option you select depends a lot on your strengths and weaknesses as a learner, budget, and time available.

If you do well learning from printed materials, check out our guide to the best GMAT books to read in-depth reviews of different GMAT prep books. If you do better with a teacher explaining concepts to you, consider enrolling in a prep course (either online or in-person) or hiring a tutor. It’s also entirely possible to study for the GMAT using free resources, such as by using PrepScholar’s in-depth GMAT guides.

#4: Review What You Got Wrong

GMATPrep offers basic answer explanations to practice questions, but doesn’t offer answer explanations for questions from its full-length practice tests. The practice question explanations go over how to get the correct answer to a particular question, but don’t discuss the underlying content concepts you’ll need to master other similar questions. For the questions that have answer explanations, make sure you’re reviewing those explanations to understand where you erred. For the questions that don’t have answer explanations, you’ve got a few options.

First, you can check out forums like Beat the GMAT or GMAT Club. Members of those forums often post about specific practice or test examples, either asking for help solving a question or offering an explanation for how to solve it. You can search through those forums for specific questions by typing in something like “gmatprep quant sample test 1 question 136” to see if anything pulls up. Searching for answer explanations on these forums, however, can be clunky and take a lot of time – but it’s often worth it if you can find your question.

You can also simply make note of the concepts you struggled on. For instance, if you got a question about triangles wrong on the quant section, make a note of it and make sure to study triangles when you use your supplemental resources to tackle the quant section.

#5: Space Out the Content You Use

Don’t run through all the content on GMATPrep in one sitting (which is easy to do — there’s not very much of it). Make sure that you space out the practice tests that you take over the duration of your test prep, so you’re getting an accurate update on your score improvements over time.

In Summary

GMATPrep is the best resource you can use in order to simulate test day conditions and test content and style.

Use GMATPrep for its access to real, retired GMAT questions, but know that you’ll likely have to supplement with other resources that do a better job of teaching content.

What’s Next?

Looking for other online GMAT prep options? Our guide to the best GMAT online prep takes you through all of the different options out there for online GMAT prep, both free and paid. Check out the guide to see how can you supplement the GMATPrep software.

If you’re interested in making a GMAT study plan, our in-depth guide to crafting your perfect GMAT study schedule offers four different options for GMAT study plans. You can choose the plan that best fits your time availability and ultimate score goals.

If you’re looking for a generalized overview of the GMAT quant section, our GMAT quant guide will give you a solid overview of the content of the GMAT quant section. You’ll learn the ten tips you need to know to be able to boost your quant score on test day.

The post 5 Top Tips for Using the GMATPrep Software appeared first on Online GMAT Prep Blog by PrepScholar.

In this guide, I’ll talk about why it’s important to prepare for the GMAT test online, what you should look for in online GMAT prep resources, and review the best online GMAT practice that you can use in your studying.

Why Should You Practice the GMAT Online?

There are dozens of options out there to help you prep for the GMAT, both in print and online. For many test-takers, using a paper test prep book is a traditional and time-tested way to prep for a standardized test. So why does it make sense to prep online for the GMAT, rather than with a book?

The GMAT is a computerized, adaptive test (CAT). Because you take the GMAT on a computer, it makes sense to do some, if not all, of your GMAT prep online.

GMAT prep software helps you by simulating test-taking conditions. You’ll familiarize yourself with how to answer questions on the computer, as well as with how to navigate through the test.

It always helps to simulate test day conditions as much as possible so that you’re comfortable and prepared when you go to take the exam. If you’ve only studied with a book, you may feel strange selecting answers on a computer or be unfamiliar with the basic functions of the GMAT program, such as where to click to get the next question or how to go back and review previous answers.

The most valuable online practice, then, is the official GMATPrep practice, which is the most realistic simulation of the actual GMAT.

What Should You Look for in Online GMAT Practice?

It’s important to make sure that you’re using the most effective and most accurate GMAT practice options possible, whether online or in print. It can be difficult to figure out what prep options to choose. Here’s what you should look for in your online GMAT practice.

#1: Same Question Format and Types as the Real GMAT

You want to make sure that your prep is following the same format as real GMAT questions. GMAT questions are written in a very specific style. Practicing that style will help you understand what the questions are asking and how to best answer them. Along those lines, your online practice should help you by providing answer explanations and test-taking strategies, which we’ll talk about soon.

#2: Assess the Same Content as the Real GMAT

Why waste your time studying something that won’t appear on the actual test? Any CATs that you take should cover only the content that’s on the GMAT. Likewise, the CATs should cover all of the content that’s on the GMAT, so you’re not missing out on practicing a particular skill.

#3: Same Length and Question Breakdown as the Real GMAT

Taking a practice full-length GMAT test online is a great way to build your stamina and confidence before exam day. A full-length practice test puts you into a similar situation as you will be in during the test. You’ll be able to practice your timing throughout the test. If your practice test is too long or too short, or has the incorrect number of questions, your pacing strategies will be off.

The Official GMAT Prep Software: GMATPrep

GMAC offers an official, free online GMAT prep software called GMATPrep. Using the GMATPrep software is a must for every test taker. Here’s an overview of it.

Features

• Two free, full-length practice tests with answers (note that detailed explanations of answers are not included) with the option to purchase up to four additional tests

• 90 free questions – 30 Quantitative, 45 Verbal, and 15 Integrated Reasoning – with answers and explanations.

• Tools to create your own practice question set based on the skills you’re studying, such as a question set that tests on sentence correction and algebra.

• GMAT Total, Verbal, Quantitative, and Integrated Reasoning scores for your practice tests.

• A comprehensive math review.

• A step-by-step guide to preparing for the GMAT exam.

Pros

• This is the most realistic GMAT prep software you can use. Because it’s made by GMAC, the questions in the GMAT prep software are actual, retired GMAT questions. You won’t get more accurate questions anywhere.

• The full-length practice tests are great simulations of the test day. Again, because they’re written by GMAC, the software really simulates exactly what the test will be like. You’ll get to familiarize yourself with the format and the functions of the program.

• It’s free! There’s nothing better than an awesome, totally free service.

• You can create your own practice question sets based on your strengths and weaknesses, so you can tailor your prep based on your needs.

• All practice questions come with explanations so that you can learn where you went wrong.

• The step-by-step guide helps you plan out your studying schedule, as well as makes sure that you’re timing your test appropriately. It also gives tips for registering for the exam and sending your scores to schools.

Cons

• The GMAT online test sets offered by GMATPrep don’t come with answer explanations. While the practice questions do have explanations, the tests don’t. You’ll be able to see what you got wrong, and the right answers, but you won’t be able to learn where you went wrong.

• While the software does offer a comprehensive math review, it doesn’t cover any of the other sections of the GMAT (verbal, integrated reasoning, AWA).

• Creating your own practice set is clunky. The software isn’t very intuitive when you’re trying to build your own practice set. While the feature is nice, it’s simply not very streamlined.

• There simply aren’t very many questions. Aside from the two full-length practice tests (which, again, don’t include explanations), you only get 90 free questions. You’ll definitely need to supplement these with other prep question sets, either online or in print.

The Best Unofficial GMAT Online Tests

As I mentioned before, taking a full-length practice GMAT online testis one of the best ways to simulate test day conditions and to build your confidence in pacing the exam. If you’ve exhausted the official online GMAT practice tests offered by GMATPrep, there are plenty of free resources out there for you to take the GMAT test online.

The following programs offer you the chance to take one unofficial, full-length GMAT test online. For each of them, you need to sign up for an account with the service.

Veritas Prep offers one free GMAT online test with explanations. If you’d like, you can purchase six more tests for $49. You can take the test with normal time, or you can add extra time. Veritas Prep is known for having accurate GMAT-style questions, which means that you’ll receive a realistic predictor of your actual GMAT score when you take their practice tests. Veritas Prep also offers in-depth answer explanations for all questions, so you can learn more about your strengths and weaknesses as a test-taker while assessing the questions you got right and wrong.

Kaplan offers two types of free GMAT online practice tests: self-proctored and instructor-proctored. For the self-proctored test, you’ll receive your scores and answer explanations to peruse at your leisure. For the instructor-proctored exam, you’ll get your scores, and then work with an instructor in real-time online to get answer explanations. Taking an instructor-proctored exam is a neat opportunity to get some one-on-one time with a solid GMAT instructor, who’ll be able to walk you through the nuances of your GMAT score report and offer advice about your GMAT study plan. The Kaplan test is generally fairly accurate, but does have some problems that are either a little different in format or a little off from GMAT core content.

Manhattan Prep offers free access to one full-length GMAT online test. Manhattan Prep is known for having rigorous and accurate GMAT questions, which means that taking a Manhattan Prep full-length GMAT test is a decent substitute for taking a real GMAT. However, this practice test doesn’t come with answer explanations. Instead, you’ll get access to their e-book, The GMAT Uncovered, which gives a bunch of information about the structure of the exam, its scoring, and topics covered.

Free Online GMAT Practice Resources

In addition to taking a GMAT test online, you can use a ton of different free, online resources to help your practice.

The Mini GMAT Quiz from MBA.Com

The Mini GMAT quiz gives you eight real, retired GMAT questions and answer explanations. These are different than the ones offered in the GMATPrep software, so it’s great to take them because they cover additional content and are super realistic as official exam questions. The Mini GMAT Quiz only tests on verbal and quantitative questions.

Magoosh GMAT Flashcards

Magoosh offers free online flashcards to help with quantitative problems or with idioms for the verbal section. You can download these flashcards online or as an app for iPhone or Android. They aren’t full-length GMAT questions, but rather drills that can help build your foundational knowledge.

Prep4GMAT App

Prep4GMAT is a free app that has over 1,000 verbal and quantitative questions and explanations, as well as hundreds of flashcards and practice tests. It’s great for traveling because you can download it on your phone. The app can be a bit buggy and some users report that it crashes frequently.

3 Tips for Effective Online GMAT Prep

Now that you know where to find the best study resources, how do you make your online GMAT prep as effective as possible?

#1: Make Your Environment Realistic

Make sure that you’re taking your full-length GMAT online test in one sitting, with minimal distractions, if possible. This builds your stamina and simulates test day. When you’re studying, you want to make sure you’re working in a quiet environment as well.

#2: Eliminate Distractions

Try to eliminate distractions while you study. Turn your cell phone to silent. If you’re like me and find yourself compulsively checking Facebook every five minutes, use a blocker like SelfControlApp to make sure you turn off access to social media during your studying.

#3: Use Quality Prep Tools

Use this guide to assess your prep tools. Are you using the best programs you can find? Take the official practice tests first, as these tests are the most realistic simulations of test day. If you’ve exhausted official resources, make sure the resources you’re using are well-regarded and accurate. Check out reviews on Amazon or on GMAT forums to see what other experts and users are saying about your resources.

What’s Next?

More of a print person than an online person? Don’t worry! There are plenty of print options to boost your GMAT prep. Check out our guide to the Best GMAT Books for 2017 for more information about different books you can use in your studying.

Looking to do a deep dive into a specific GMAT study tool? Manhattan Prep is a well-respected test prep company, with a suite of GMAT study resources. Learn more about Manhattan Prep’s Complete GMAT Strategy Guide in our in-depth guide.

As I mentioned, using real GMAT questions is one of the very best things you can do for your GMAT prep. But what’s the quality of the official GMAT print guides really like? In our guide to the Official GMAT Guide 2017, I analyze the strengths and weaknesses of GMAC’s official text.

The post How Online GMAT Prep Can Raise Your Score appeared first on Online GMAT Prep Blog by PrepScholar.

You may have heard of Khan Academy as a free resource offering standardized test prep. But can you use Khan Academy for GMAT prep? What can it help you with?

In this article, I’ll go over the different Khan Academy GMAT prep materials, how to use them, and what Khan Academy can and can’t do for your GMAT study plan.

What GMAT Prep Does Khan Academy Offer?

Khan Academy is a free resource offering exercises, lessons, and instructional videos that allow students to learn at their own pace. It includes lessons on dozens of topics, including the GMAT and other standardized tests.

For GMAT prep, Khan Academy offers hundreds of videos that take you through official, GMAC-authored practice quant questions, showing you how to successfully complete each kind of quant problem from start to finish.

In the Khan Academy GMAT videos, Khan Academy instructor Sal works through GMAT quant problems in real time. You can see the problems being completed on the screen as he goes along, which can help you if you’re getting stuck in practice problems.

The videos tackle 249 problem solving questions and 155 data sufficiency questions, so there’s a ton of material to work through. The quant problems in Khan Academy videos are from the 11th edition of the Official GMAC GMAT Review, published in 2005. You can buy this version online if you want to easily follow along with Sal.

Additionally, Khan Academy has hundreds of videos that aren’t explicitly aimed at the GMAT, but which will help you review or gain basic math and grammar skills that are fundamental to success on the exam. The math videos can help you with areas that are significant to the GMAT, such as algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and statistics and probability. The grammar videos, which target skills and concepts like parts of speech, syntax, and punctuation, can particularly help with sentence correction questions.

What Khan Academy GMAT Prep Can and Can’t Do

Khan Academy is free and definitely helpful, but it has its limitations. Let’s go over what Khan Academy can and can’t do for your GMAT prep.

CAN: Help You Understand What You’re Doing Correctly or Incorrectly on Quant Questions

On Khan Academy, you can follow along with quant questions being solved in real time. This means that you can figure out where your current strategies are falling short or where you’re getting stuck when you complete practice questions. For example, maybe you’re having to go through every possible answer choice in a certain question type and test it out, when you could have eliminated one or more of the answer choices immediately.

CAN: Help You Review Math and Grammar Skills

The GMAT tests many basic math and verbal skills that you might not have fully mastered or may need to review. Khan Academy can help you review these concepts or even learn them for the first time. However, you’ll need to know exactly what you want to study, since there aren’t specific lessons dedicated to GMAT content.

CAN’T: Help You Succeed in Analytical Writing, Verbal, or Integrated Reasoning

Khan Academy GMAT prep doesn’t target any sections besides quant, so it’s not enough for a comprehensive GMAT study plan. It also doesn’t offer any resources or other information about the exam, so it can’t help you in other areas (with the exception of possibly building grammar skills through the general English videos).

CAN’T: Offer Specific Test-Taking Strategies 

As of yet, Khan Academy doesn’t offer any guidance on GMAT strategies. Though you can begin to learn quant strategies by watching Sal work through specific problems, there aren’t any official GMAT lessons offered by Khan Academy. For an overview or in-depth breakdowns of question types, you’ll have to look elsewhere.

Top Tips for Khan Academy GMAT Prep

There are several ways to make your Khan Academy GMAT prep most effective. Let’s go through a few tips for using Khan Academy to prepare for the exam.

Try Out Some Quant Questions First

Practice completing at least a few quant practice questions before you begin watching the Khan Academy GMAT videos.

Then take a look at your notes as Sal takes you through his train of thought on each problem. Where are you missing the mark, particularly on questions you’re getting wrong? Where are your strategies already on point? You don’t have to directly adopt every strategy Sal uses, but the comparison can give you some insight into where you can improve.

Use the Math and Grammar Skills Videos to Strengthen Your Weakest Areas

Target your weakest areas when choosing instructional videos. For example, if you’re a non-native English speaker or you struggle with the verbal section, particularly sentence correction questions, a grammar review could be in order.

As you prepare for the GMAT, you will notice your blind spots in question types and knowledge areas. Khan Academy, which allows you to pick and choose what you review and when, is a good way to hone in on those weaknesses.

Choose the Most GMAT-Relevant Topics for Review

The most GMAT-relevant Khan Academy math videos for the quant section are in the algebra, trigonometry, statistics and probability, and geometry subsections.In addition, because you won’t have a calculator on the GMAT quant section, several Khan Academy videos can help you learn to estimate and calculate in your head.

These are the most useful videos to start with:

• Arithmetic
• Fractions
• Trigonometry
• Algebra
• Geometry

Other Free GMAT Prep Resources

Khan Academy isn’t the only free GMAT resource out there. There are a few others where you can find quality GMAT prep at no cost. You can find free practice tests at our article on the best free GMAT practice tests.

MBA.com

MBA.com offers a ton of official GMAT prep materials, all authored by GMAC. Some of these materials, including the GMAT Prep Software (which contains practice questions, two full-length simulated computer-adaptive GMATs, a quant review, and test-taking strategies), are free. The official materials offer a good starting place to discern your weaknesses and strengths before moving on to other resources.

800Score.com

800Score.com offers a free computerized-adaptive sample GMAT. However, its most helpful resources (particularly if used in conjunction with other resources that target the quant and verbal sections) are its five free timed analytical writing assessments. After you complete each 30-minute essay, you will receive a breakdown of the question and sample student essays by email.

GMAT Club

GMAT Club began as a forum where prospective MBA students and GMAT test-takers could chat about study strategies, changes to the exam, and business school.

Now, it also has plenty of free practice questions, including advanced quant problems. In addition, you can find threads addressing strategies for completing specific practice problems and completing certain question types correctly.

What’s Next?

For more free GMAT prep resources, check out our guides to the best GMAT apps and best online GMAT practice.

Our complete GMAT study guide will help you construct a comprehensive prep plan for the exam.

The post Khan Academy GMAT Prep: 3 Tips for How It Can Help You appeared first on Online GMAT Prep Blog by PrepScholar.