FREE Trial with Benzinga Pro happening right now!
The Graduate Management Admission Test, also known as the GMAT, is a major component of your application to an MBA or other business management program. Benzinga selected several course options for mastering the material before you take the test.
Best Gmat Prep Courses:
- Magoosh GMAT Prep
- Target Test Prep
- Barron's GMAT
- Empower GMAT
- How I Got 700 on the GMAT
What to Look for in a GMAT Prep Course?
Not all GMAT prep courses are built the same. We’ve synthesized the best of the best to come up with a series of compelling reasons to choose a given course. These include:
Resources
One of the most crucial aspects of a GMAT prep course is the availability of resources to help you get ready for this exam in a thorough, accessible way. Critical resources include strategies to attack GMAT questions as well as proven procedures that take students step by step through the process of recognizing and addressing the questions.
What’s more, the strongest GMAT prep tests also offer ways to practice through a series of real GMAT questions as well as specific and detailed study manuals. The deeper and more varied the resources provided by your GMAT prep course, the better the likelihood that you’ll do well on the test.
Flexibility
The best GMAT prep courses will give you a free repeat within a certain amount of time if you are not satisfied with your exam results. That way, you don’t need to go elsewhere and pay more money for the resources you were hoping to get from the course. In addition, if you find yourself needing more time and support in particular areas of the exam or you would like to prepare during a longer timeframe, the flexibility offered by this free-repeat policy is invaluable. It’s the commitment that a GMAT prep company makes to its clientele: it stands by its results and it shows.
Course Length
According to a Graduate Management Admission Council survey, students who put in an average of 121 hours of exam preparation hit scores of 700 or higher. Compare that to students who put in an average of 107 hours of exam preparation and consequently scored between 600 and 690 on the test and you’ll quickly see the advantage of a lengthier course.
Do longer courses cost more money? Yes, typically. Are they worth it? Yes, almost certainly. That’s because they’re simply more comprehensive, diving more deeply into fundamental topics and covering a wider range of materials. You may spend more money upfront, but the value you receive is worth it. What’s more, you may be able to get an up-front discount or other promotion as a new student.
Our Top Picks
We’ve collected a list of top GMAT prep courses using online research and recommendations. Read on to learn more.
Best Overall GMAT Prep Courses
Here are our top picks for GMAT prep courses. We’ve broken these down in order of category: best overall and best budget-friendly courses.
Magoosh GMAT Prep
- Who it's for: Anywhere from beginners to advanced students
- Price: $219 to $799
Whether you’re looking at 1-month or 3-month course of study, are a beginning student or a seasoned one, or are subject-focused on either math or verbal, Magoosh has a plan for you. Its study schedules and plans break down as follows:
- 1-month daily study
- 1-month weekly study
- 3-month beginner daily study
- 3-month math-focused daily study
- 3-month verbal-focused daily study
- 3-month daily advanced study
- 6-monthly weekly study
Magoosh provides a score guarantee for its subscribers — if the program doesn’t improve your score by 50 points or more, you’ll get a full refund. A phone app makes studying even easier.
Target Test Prep
- Who it's for: Those looking to concentrate on specific areas of weakness or improve their score (or both!)
- Price: $99 to $399
Target Test Prep offers a guarantee to increase your score and with 500-plus individual lessons, it’s capable of doing just that. Students have access to more than 3,000 realistic GMAT practice problems in addition to more than 800 HD GMAT videos and a custom GMAT practice engine. If you’re not yet ready to sign up, you can try unlimited access for 5 days for just $1. There’s no automatic billing, so you won’t be charged past your trial time unless you wish to sign up for a 4-month, 6-month, or month-to-month plan.
Best Cheap GMAT Courses
Money is usually if not always a consideration — you want to get the most bang for your buck when it comes to taking a GMAT prep course. We’ve gathered a list of the highest-value, lowest-cost courses available today.
Barron’s GMAT
- Who it's for: Students who are seeking good value in their GMAT prep courses.
- Price: $24.29
If you’re looking for solid information at an easy-to-swallow price, you won’t get better than Barron’s. Written by 2 leading North American GMAT experts and instructors, this manual is renowned for its breadth of strategies as well as the depth of its content. After familiarizing yourself with the Barron’s manual, you’ll be able to tackle the test with proper expectations, knowing you have the right strategies and step-by-step paths to answer each question not only correctly, but efficiently. The manual was created by Bobby Umar, MBA, and Carl S. Pyrdum III, and their expertise is reflected in the quality of content you’ll receive when you purchase this course.
Empower GMAT
- Who it's for: Math, verbal or both — anyone who is looking to take the GMAT will benefit
- Price: $99
Empower GMAT is a force to be reckoned with 100% streaming on-demand lessons and a 100-point score improvement guarantee. Empower alumni have been admitted to all 25 of the top 25 MBA programs in the country and you can choose from 6 separate study plans. Six practice tests are included in your program, offering a real-world litmus test for your progress over time. All GMAT prep questions are actual retired official questions; the highly structured video lessons follow every question in the course with an expert breakdown. Consider it your virtual tutor training you to take on the GMAT content with confidence in order to raise your score and get you into the perfect graduate program.
Udemy: How I Got 700 on the GMAT
- Who it's for: GMAT students seeking a stronger strategy to crush the test.
- Price: $10.99
Working to hit your desired GMAT score and not getting the results you want? If you think you’re wasting your efforts and studying too hard for too little, this is the course for you. You’ll get smart, efficient solutions through this extremely practice-oriented course. You’ll get on-demand video, access on mobile and television, full lifetime access and a certificate of completion. Live help is also on hand from experts waiting to field your questions and concerns. Moreover, you’ll get suggestions for free prep resources and ideas on how to get the most out of them.
Choose the Best GMAT Prep Course
When you’re trying to decide on the best GMAT prep course to meet your individual needs, it helps to first understand what you’re looking for in getting an advanced business degree. A few questions to ask yourself:
- What are my strengths?
- What are my weaknesses?
- How do I like to study?
- What are the areas I’d like to focus on?
- Are there any other things I want to get from a test-prep course?
Once you’ve figured these things out, it will be far easier to continue on your way to choosing the right course for your needs. A few other questions you might ask yourself:
- What is my budget?
- How much time do I have to study?
- How lengthy a course am I seeking?
- What resources do I want available to me?
There are several factors that can help determine the right course for you. These include:
- Learning style: Are you more of a group learner or does one-on-one instruction appeal more strongly to you? Do you like in-person learning or are you more comfortable with online lessons? Is it more powerful for you to do exercises and drills or to read detailed explanations of answers to questions? These questions are all individual — no two people need exactly the same thing.
- Budget: This is a huge determinant of the course you will take. Remember that many courses are several hundreds of dollars. This is an investment, but of course, you have to have the money to begin with. However, consider value rather than simply budgetary needs. You don’t just want to get the cheapest course. You want to get the most for your money.
- Time: What’s your schedule look like? How much time do you have to devote to GMAT study? Be realistic — if you can only study once a week, that will determine the courses in which you are interested.
Good luck studying and best of luck on the test!
Southern New Hampshire University Online
SNHU Online Offers:
- Flexible schedules
- Affordable tuition
- Online tutoring
- Access to electronic research materials
- Specialized academic advising
- Supportive online community