If you are taking the GMAT in preparation for your MBA, it’s worth taking a course to make sure you are doing your best. Target Test Prep (or TTP) may be small and new compared to the more venerable test prep brands, but its GMAT prep courses are highly regarded—and one may work for you!
Unlike some of the pioneer brands in the test prep industry, Target is fairly new. It was founded in 2008. It’s also quite small, with about 8 employees and $4.4 million a year in revenues. Some of the more famous brands, in comparison, employ thousands of tutors.
What we will cover?
Target GMAT
- 5 days free trial for $1. Price varies from $149-$499.
- The subscription lasts for 1 year. 110 points improvement guarantee.
- Online self-paced classes. No live class option. Personalized study plans.
- Custom test creation. Video explanation and text solutions.
- 47 learning modules covering all concepts for GMAT.
Yet Target has earned a well-deserved reputation for showing great GMAT expertise, and it excels in clarifying difficult concepts for its students. Many users appreciate how Target regularly addresses their individual needs, which is why a lot of these users recommend TTP to their friends.
It does help that the vast majority of TTP GMAT clients (84%) report achieving a GMAT score of at least 700. In fact, the overall average score for Target clients is 720, with an average score of 48 for the Quant. The average GMAT score for these Target students is actually 157 points higher than the average score of all the GMAT test-takers from all over the world.
Still, the question remains: Is Target right for your GMAT preparation?
Target GMAT Prep Course Highlights
Target actually offers a single prep course, though they do offer tutoring services as well. The different plans only change the length of the time period you have to access the features in the plan.
What you must remember is that Target only focuses on the Quant portion of the GMAT. If this is the area that you need to “target” (so to speak), then it’s great.
Features
- Guaranteed to increase your score
- At least 500 individual lessons
- At least 3,000 realistic GMAT practice problems
- At least 800 HD GMAT Videos
- OnTarget™ Learning Analytics
- Custom GMAT practice engine
- Live Support
Plans
- GMAT Flexible Preparation. $149 per month, but only $99 per month due to the available discount when we visited the TTP site.
- GMAT Dedicated Study. This is for 4 months of access, which you pay for up-front. Normally it costs $449, but only it only costs $299 with the discount. The per month cost is $74.75.
- GMAT Maximum Learning. This is for 6 months of access. The discounted price is $399. That boils down to $66.50 a month.
PROs
With Target GMAT Prep, you enjoy the following advantages:
Access to Everything
With other brands, the amount you pay increases the quantity of the resources available for your review. If you pay more, maybe you get more practice questions. You may enjoy live classes or more advanced features that aren’t available in the cheaper courses.
With Target, even the cheapest option gives you access to everything that TTP has to offer. So, you can pay less than a hundred bucks and you get all the questions and lessons that other clients get with a more expensive course. You’ll just to have to stay on top of your studies so that you are able to access it all before your time runs out.
3,000 Practice Questions
With other GMAT test prep brands, you may also find 3,000 practice questions with their prep courses. With Target, all of these practice questions are on the Quant section. With others, these practice questions are spread out for all the GMAT areas. That means you get considerably fewer questions for the Quant section.
Don’t forget that each question also comes with either a text or video explanation of the answer. You don’t just find out whether you got it right. If you got it wrong, it shows you how you can get it right the next time.
You also get more than 800 video lessons here. Many of the practice questions will also link to the video lesson that covers the question, so you can review the material.
Pick How Many Months of Access
The standard access period for GMAT prep courses in the industry is 6 months. But you’re not limited to that period of time with Target.
If you’re only planning to use the Target GMAT course for 2 months, you don’t have to pay for 6 months of access at all. You can just pay for 2 months of access, which costs you $198. Because 6 months of access will cost you $399, you save $201.
There’s a Point Increase Guarantee for the Quant Section
Whenever you take a test prep course, you generally take a risk of spending all that time and effort for no gain. But without a point-increase guarantee, you also risk losing your money.
At least with Target, you don’t risk losing your money if it doesn’t work. It also attests to the effectiveness of the test prep course. Target is in the business to make a profit, and there’s no profit if their GMAT prep course doesn’t work for you.
You just need to take the prep course seriously. You will need to cover everything in the course. Only then will the guarantee take effect.
Terrific Instructor Quality
The CEO and founder of Target himself, Scott Woodbury-Stewart, started out as a teacher of physics, chemistry, math, and biology. Then he began offering GMAT tutoring to students all over the world. He’s the guy who wrote more than 3,000 GMAT Quant practice questions, and almost 2,000 pages of content.
The lessons offered, along with the realistic practice questions, display Target’s superior expertise with the Quant section of the GMAT. The lessons offer clear explanations that clarify even the most complicated subjects.
The high quality of the video lessons can be quite a relief, especially when compared to the video lessons with other brands. In fact, the video lessons here are among the main reasons why some GMAT test-takers do well with Target even if they did badly with the other GMAT test prep brands.
Live Support
If you’re having some trouble, you can ask for help. You won’t have to rely only on email, but instead you receive live support from these excellent instructors. The live chatline is available 24/7.
Helpful and Convenient Features
With Target, you have some online space for your notes, which you can save and consult again in the future. You can also bookmark certain areas, such as the questions you found too challenging, or the chapters and modules that you will want to recheck later on.
You Can Create Your Own Practice Tests
You can select questions only from certain modules, if you want. You’re also able to handpick the questions according to their difficulty level. Your practice test can include the questions you answered incorrectly before, or you can go with a practice test with all new questions.
Excellent Analytics
The analytic reports on your performance and progress give you clear details about your strong points and your weak areas. You can then get a more accurate picture regarding your standing compared to the other GMAT test-takers, and you can take steps to improve your current shortcomings.
CONs
There are some rather obvious shortcomings with the Target GMAT prep course, however:
It Only Focuses on the Quant
This is perhaps the most notable drawback to the Target GMAT prep course. There’s no option for a comprehensive prep course. It’s only about the math and nothing else. If you want to make sure you’re prepared for all aspects of the GMAT, then Target isn’t for you.
You Still Have to Pay for the Trial Run
Granted, you only pay a single dollar for 5 days of access. But other brands offer entirely free access to their prep course for 7 days.
Where are the Live Classes?
This is the another feature that’s notably missing with the Target GMAT prep course. Plenty of students like having this feature available, because it’s a familiar format. After all, many of these students excel in the standard classroom setting in school.
With a classroom, there’s more engagement and participation. You can discuss matters and ask questions regarding particular points. For some people, these aspects clarify concepts that video lessons can’t.
There’s No Adaptive Test
The GMAT is a computer-adaptive test, meaning that it sets the next question just a bit harder if you get the previous question right. Get it wrong, and the next question is a bit easier. Of course, the harder questions are worth more points.
Plenty of other brands offer the adaptive technology for their practice tests to mimic the GMAT. But you don’t get that kind of technology with Target.
Tutoring Options Are Expensive
Sure, you can get some tutoring with Target. But each session costs $300, and that’s a lot of money. Most of the other GMAT test prep brands offer tutoring sessions for much less. Often, their prices are nearer to $200 than $300. Some tutoring sessions even cost less than $200 an hour.
Additional Info
- Target is developing its GMAT verbal course now. However, this particular course is in its earliest stages. It’s still in “pre-beta”, which means it’s hardly ready for real full-time use.
- Tutoring services are available, but they cost cost $300 per session. These are also-non-refundable and not part of the point-increase guarantee.
Who Should Buy it?
Here are some statements that most Target GMAT prep course clients can say about themselves:
I only need help with the Quant section.
The Quant section is the only area of the GMAT that their prep course covers.
However, that Quant coverage is intense. Consider that you have these thousands of practice questions and hundreds of video lessons for the course, and they’re all on the Quant section!
I don’t need live online classes.
That probably means you have a rather busy schedule, and so you can’t really fit in fixed online classes into the free time you have left for GMAT preparation.
The beauty of just having practice problems and video lessons is that you can start and stop at any time you want. It is entirely self-paced. You can go with a more relaxed GMAT prep schedule by reserving 6 months of access, or you can study more intensively for a shorter access period.
I don’t want to risk (or waste) my money.
There’s a guarantee here that your Quant score will increase, which means you get your money back if that point increase doesn’t happen.
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Conclusion
Do you need help with the Quant section of the GMAT? That’s the key question here. If that’s the only area of the GMAT where you want to focus, then there’s probably no better option for you than Target.
Target focuses all its features on the Quant, and you get a lot of features. The quantity is immense, with more than 3,000 practice questions and at least 800 video lessons. Some brands offer that much, but for all the sections of the GMAT.
Try Target to boost your GMAT Quant preparation. It’s especially great if you have fewer than 6 months to get ready. If that’s the case, you really save money, and you still enjoy the point increase guarantee. You can get the best price here.
