GMAT Strategy

I'd say that prep courses can be effective. They are especially good for people who have busy schedules and could benefit from the coaching and accountability from these courses.

However, before going down that route, I would do a serious self inventory to determine whether you could do well through the self study route. Many of these courses can be $1000+, and if you think you have the discipline and strategy to study the GMAT on your own, then that may be the better option.

You're in good company too. There are many examples of successful self study in this community. Take a look at the 'I just Beat The GMAT' section as evidence.

Good luck and let us know what you choose!

A course is only as good as the tutors. There are Kaplan and PR folks here, so it might be best for them to respond to identify what their best selling points are. When I was looking for test prep, those were the only choices. Now there are others, smaller companies who are more streamlined, private tutors and GMAT-specific companies.

The benefit of a course is that they've all figured out the way that most people can improve their score. They offer methods, materials and curriculum that are one-size-fits-all. And they're around as long as they've been around, because the methods work for most people. To get the highest score on the GMAT (and others), however, you might need supplemental one-on-one tutoring. Not everyone needs it, but some do.

There are also online and self study programs which work well if a student is disciplined and organized.

One-on-one tutoring has the benefit of a more nuanced, focused study that addresses the student's strengths and weaknesses - - so you don't need to waste time with anything else...or anyone elses questions/issues. You tend to move through an individualized study program on your timeline and when it's convenient for you. It also tends to be more expensive per hour than group courses, however, students tend to need far less hours because the time is so potent. So they actually tend to be more economical, both in terms of time = money, AND the number of hours a student uses with private tutoring vs. those of a full course.