The Best GMAT Prep Courses of 2021
Table of Contents
The GMAT is an essential exam if you want to further your education with an MBA or business degree. Your GMAT score will be reviewed alongside your application for school.
This score will be a reflection of your analytical skills, intelligence, and potential for studying at a higher level, so you need to study hard and prepare well.
GMAT Prep Course Reviews & Exclusive Discounts
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Ranking | #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5 | #6 |
Rating | ||||||
Standard Price | $249 | $500 - $1400 | $99 - $400 | $1000 - $2000 | $99 - $499 | $520 - $1000 |
Free Trial | 7 days | 14 days | 5 days | Free Resources Package |  | 7 days |
Guarantee | 50 points | 1+ points increase | | | 1+ points increase | 70 points |
Course Length | 1 year | 4 months | 4 months | 6 months | 1 - 6 months | 6 months |
Practice Questions | 1,300 questions | 61 drills | 1,200 questions | Interactive lessons with questions | 3,000 questions | 1,500 questions |
Practice Exams | 2 tests | 10 full length CAT | 4 CAT tests | 6 full length CAT | | 4 tests |
Delivery Options | Online | In Person, Online | Online | In Person, Online | Online | Online |
Videos | 340 video lessons | 27 hours live lessons | 50 interactive lessons | 27 hours live instruction | 800 videos | 24 video lessons |
Study Plan |  | | | | | |
Physical Resources | | | | | | |
Essay Feedback | | | | | | |
700 + Program | | | | | | |
Mobile App | |  | | | | |
Support Options | Email | Tutoring Available | Email | Tutoring | Email | Email |
Full Review | Princeton Review | Prep Scholar Review | Target Test Prep Review | |||
GET STARTED |
Below in this article, we’ve explained more about the GMAT and how it’s scored, to help you understand the GMAT test in more detail. It’s quite a complex exam and scoring system, and it’s important to understand each of the elements before you start studying. You’ll also need to reflect on your areas of strength and weakness, and focus on enhancing your score.
We’ve reviewed and brought you the best GMAT prep courses that are available for US study, and will help you to achieve your best GMAT score. These GMAT course prep programs have many elements, including practice questions, practice tests, live online video lessons, study plans, and many more resources. Make sure you choose the best GMAT prep course for you and your learning style to succeed in getting that place in business grad school!
1. Magoosh
Magoosh is our top choice as it’s one of the leading course providers for standardized tests. They offer a comprehensive package at a good price, so they’re often the first choice for students that need general support to increase their scores in the GMAT.
Self Study – Magoosh is the ultimate for self study and offers two packages at great prices. The Math and Integrated Reasoning package will help you to focus and develop in these two areas, which many students struggle with the most. The Premium package covers all areas of the GMAT and is a comprehensive offer that will help to boost your GMAT score by at least 50 points. If you’re not good at self study, then consider a different company with tutors available to help hold you to account.
Scores – Magoosh offers a good range of resources for the cost, and is best suited to those that don’t need to do in-depth GMAT prep. Magoosh courses are great if you’re scoring around 500 – 600 and want to boost this by 50 to 100 points. If you’re looking to get into the top percentile of scores and a top school, have a look below at our other recommendations.
Mobile App – Magoosh understands that students are always on the go and sometimes squeeze in studying around jobs, communities, education, and family. That’s why Magoosh offers its platform on mobile devices with a great user interface that allows you to do a practice question or watch a live online video on the go.
Feedback – When you’re studying online and completing practice questions, it can be hard to know if you’re on the right track. Magoosh makes this easy with online feedback and video explanations for every question, that helps you to understand where you might be going wrong. This is a great resource that will boost your GMAT score as you continue to learn and develop.
2. The Princeton Review
The Princeton Review was set up in 1981 by two college graduates that started out by helping students study for the SAT. Now it has grown into a world-renowned organization, supporting students with their learning across the education system. Although it’s not linked to The Princeton University, it certainly benefits from the prestige. The GMAT course is well stocked with learning videos and study materials to help you get your best score.
Course Packages – The Princeton Review offers several course packages to give you flexibility with your study and budget. These include a Self-Paced course, where you have access to the online materials and work to your own study plan. Next is the Fundamentals course, which has live tutor-led online lessons. Finally, there’s also the best GMAT 700+ course, which is for the top level of students wanting to push their score further into the top percentile.
Video Lessons – The Princeton Review offers both on-demand video lessons and live video lessons led by an expert instructor. This combination helps you to stick to scheduled lessons and learning, while also topping up your learning with the online videos. Private tutoring is also available from these experts at an additional cost.
Practice Tests – The Princeton Review has technology that matches the GMAT in its adaptability through the test. When you take the GMAT, the questions change in some sections, depending on your answers and ability. The Princeton Review has been able to simulate this experience and bring it to you through practice exams. They offer ten practice tests across the course, so you can try and try again.
Score Guarantee – The Princeton Review is sure that theirs is the best GMAT prep course to boost your score, as many students have done so before. They even offer a guarantee that you can retake the prep course if your score doesn’t increase. Most students increase their score by at least 100 points through this GMAT prep course.
3 . Kaplan
Kaplan is a premium brand that offers a high-class service, but it comes at a cost. Kaplan is a large corporation that helps over 2 million students every year across standardized tests, including the GMAT. They have a huge pool of resources that have helped hundreds of people to achieve great scores in the GMAT and many other exams.
Practice Questions and Exams – Kaplan GMAT have a huge range of practice questions – over 5000! This means you’ll always get new and fresh questions to challenge yourself and test your learning and skills. They also provide you with nine full-length practice exams online, which is considerably higher than most other courses.
Expert Teachers – With a wide pool of expert teachers from all backgrounds, you’ll be supported throughout your studying. Kaplan GMAT courses teach online on-demand video lessons to break down each section of the GMAT. The teachers are there to support you as tutors, too, and private tutoring at an additional cost.
Exam day Simulator – Kaplan GMAT organizes for you to complete a full test trial run at a GMAT test center, which helps to simulate the testing day and what it will be like. This is great if you have exam anxiety or haven’t taken a standardized test before, as you’ll understand what will happen on the day. Practice tests also help to boost motivation and scores!
Score Guarantee – Kaplan is a large company and offers one of the best GMAT prep courses, which is why they’re confident with their score guarantee. They know that you will score higher after completing the online course, or you can have your money back.
Price Packages – The only downside to GMAT prep courses from Kaplan is that they come at a cost. They are one of the more expensive packages available, coming in at around $600 for the online course. It’s a great course if you can afford it.
4. Prep Scholar
Prep Scholar is lead by those that have been working on Standardized exams for years and understand how to ace them. Prep Scholar’s GMAT prep courses are based around the idea that you identify your weaknesses and focus hard on these, which will bring up all your strengths.
GMAT Experts – Everyone at Prep Scholar that teaches or hosts online lessons has previously taken the GMAT and has scored in the top percentage, with a score of over 755. This is a huge opportunity to learn from people that have mastered the exam and are passing knowledge onto you.
Diagnostic Assessment – Unlike many other courses, when you start with Prep Scholar, you complete an online assessment that identifies your strengths and weaknesses. This helps to tailor the course to you and put your worst subject areas first with the most focus on them. It’s a tailor-made study plan that is made for you.
Customized Curriculum – Following your assessment, the curriculum then adapts to focus on areas that you need to work on most. It also takes into account your practice question responses and uses this to feedback on where you need to do further GMAT prep.
Practice Tests – Prep Scholar offers four computer adaptive practice tests, replicating the adaptive nature of the GMAT exam in the quantitative and verbal sections. This is much better than online static practice tests, as it gives you an experience of what the GMAT is actually like and if you’re ready to take it.
Price – Prep Scholar is good value for money. There’s a good range of practice questions on this GMAT prep course, as well as online lessons and resources. It’s one of the best GMAT prep courses available for low incomes.
5. Manhattan Prep
Manhattan Prep started in 2000 with the mission to provide excellent prep courses for students, using only the best and top percentile GMAT teachers. They have achieved this mission and have so far helped over 1 million students with their prep course.
Self Guided or Instructed – Manhattan Prep know that everyone learns differently, so they offer two ways of studying their GMAT course. You can either learn self-guided – you’ll have access to all the materials and resources and use the study plan to complete your prep. The instructed route includes online courses, boot camps, and private tutoring packages to help you study and hold you to account.
In Person – Manhattan Prep are one of the only companies to run in-person courses using their centers across the US. You can physically attend lessons from expert teachers. This will help boost your understanding, scores, and accountability. Many resources are also available online for you to access at any time, as well as live online sessions. Their most intensive course is the Bootcamp, which is delivered in person over three weeks.
Free Resources – Many students that are taking the GMAT want to have an understanding of the GMAT prep course that they’re signing up for, which is why Manhattan Prep offers a range of free resources. These include practice questions and practice exams, online lessons, and free in-person events. They also know that not everyone can afford the best GMAT prep course and may need to rely on free resources to help them study.
Mobile App – Manhattan Prep understands that as a student, you’re constantly on the go, which is why they’ve made sure that their ATLAS software works as an online mobile app too. This means you can study on the go, the train, bus, or at home, and fit your study into small time gaps. Not all GMAT prep courses offer an online mobile app, and this is something that makes Manhattan one of the best.
6 . Target Test Prep
Target Test Prep are proud of their GMAT student’s test scores and say that the average score of Test Prep Users is 720 points. This is a very respectable score and can get you into some of the top MBA programs. Target Test Prep focuses specifically on the Math Quantitive Section and does all tutoring explicitly on this section of the test. If you know that this is a weakness of yours, then Target Test Prep might be the best GMAT practice course for you!
Experts – Target Test Prep operates a small team with high standards. The team is made up of previous Math and Science teachers who have built up a wealth of teaching experience, empathy, and learning strategies to help students achieve higher scores in the quantitative section. They also offer private tutoring outside of the standard course.
Trail Period – Unlike many other companies, Target Test Prep offers five days of access to their resources for just $1 to students that are considering using the program. This gives you a taste of what the course resources are like and whether they’ll be right for you.
Practice Questions – To help you hone your skills, Target Test Prep has created over 3,000 practice questions and problems. This is a huge amount that many other courses do not offer, and so this course is brilliant for those wanting to improve on the Quantitive section.
Course Packages – There are three course packages available, each with a different price point to suit you. You can choose to have six months’ access, four months access, or a rolling monthly basis, depending on when you’re taking the GMAT.
Online Lessons – With over 500 individual lessons that cover all aspects of the Quantitive section, including strategies to answer the questions, your math skills will increase greatly! The online lessons taught by experts can be accessed at any time, fitting into your schedule and timescales.
7. examPAL
examPAL is built on experts in designing software to create a unique personalized study algorithm. They’re supported by expert tutors that have curated online lessons and online resources to help boost your GMAT score.
Personalized Study – When you start learning with examPAL, you take an assessment that helps to personalize your GMAT course, providing you with teaching methods, feedback, and questions to suit your thinking and learning type. Personalized learning is brilliant for students that struggle to build and stick to their own online study plan, and can really help to boost your GMAT score.
Question Techniques – examPAL know that the GMAT is not just testing knowledge; it also looks at the analytical skill and quick decision making. By using this GMAT course, you’ll develop an understanding of how to assess and solve questions quickly and make use of the small windows of time in the exams.
Experts Available – While the online courses are not matched or guided by a tutor, there are GMAT experts available to answer you questions 24/7. So if you’re stuck on a concept, or aren’t seeing an improvement your practice, you can contact them online for quick and helpful guidance.
Price Packages – examPAL come in at pretty pricey for an online course, but remember that this course is tailored to you and will help to boost your score without you even noticing. The Premium package is just under $600, and the Genius package is closer to $800, so it’s a fair investment in your future.
What is the GMAT?
The GMAT – Graduate Management Admission Test is a standardized test that assesses analytical thinking, writing reading skills, verbal and quantitative abilities. The GMAT is solely used to review candidates’ abilities and potential alongside the applications for MBA programs (Masters in Business Administration) at post-graduate schools.
The GMAT is an essential measure for applying to business school, and all applicants will be expected to complete the test and gain a score that is reflective of their abilities and potential.
The GMAT is also a CAT (Computer Adaptive Test), which means two key things; firstly, this means that the test is completed on a computer, and secondly, it means that the test questions adapt to your ability. In the Quantitive and Verbal sections, the exam course changes and provides different questions, depending on the answers you have given.
If in the first few questions you’ve not scored very highly, it will reflect this by showing questions at your ability level. If you have high scores in the first few questions, then the test will stretch you with more difficult questioning. This is a unique type of test that is not widely used, but in this instance, the technique helps to assess the ability of potential MBA students.
The Graduate Management Admission Council oversee the GMAT questions, schedule, and testing, and ensure that the test is meeting the standards required for students who would like to study at business school. They work with business schools to create a test that can be used for all students and schools, mostly in North America.
Should I complete GMAT prep?
Yes! If you’re going to take the GMAT and want to apply for business school, it’s essential that you study, prepare, and practice for this test. This is an opportunity to prove to your desired school that you are intelligent, capable, and have analytical skills.
They also use it to assess if you are ready for the pressure and dedication that studying at this level requires. Most people that take the exam have already been studying hard to get their degree, and completing an MBA is a great way to further your education.
When considering how to prepare for the GMAT, you need to make sure that you choose the best GMAT prep course available to have the best chance at succeeding and getting into the school of your dreams. We’ve reviewed several of the best GMAT prep courses in this article to help make this an easy decision.
You should start preparing for the GMAT around a year before your application deadline so that you have enough time to grasp how the test works and sharpen your analytical skills. You may just need a small amount of study if you got a high score in the SAT exam when applying for college.
What GMAT score should I aim for?
The GMAT is split into four sections which span across 3 hours and 30 minutes:
- Analytical Writing Assessment – 30 minutes – 1 task
- Integrated Reasoning – 30 minutes – 12 multiple choice questions
- Quantitative Math – 75 minutes – 37 multiple choice questions
- Verbal Reasoning – 75 minutes – 41 multiple choice questions
Each section has a separate scoring scale, and you’ll receive five scores in total:
- Analytical Writing Assessment score – 0-6 points
- Integrated Reasoning score – 1-8 points
- Quantitative Math score – 0-60 points
- Verbal Reasoning score 0-60 points
- A combined total score between 200 – 800 points
The Graduate Management Admission Council created the scoring system, which is complex and has many factors. Each of the four sections has a separate scoring bracket, and these are added to get your total score. However, the Quantitive and Verbal sections have a different method of scoring, depending on the difficulty of questions that you answer.
In total, you should be aiming for a score of 700 points or above to get into the top business schools. You also get given a percentile score to compare your score against others that have taken the GMAT before. This is as well as students that are attending your chosen school.
