Manhattan GMAT Interact vs Veritas Prep On Demand

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I am about to begin studying for the GMAT and have decided to use either MGMAT Interact or Veritas On Demand. There are many reviews about Veritas OD but none regarding the overall MGMAT Interact course (however, I believe there were some reviews for MGMAT Interact IR).

I will obviously need to study both verbal and quant but will need more help tacking the quant section of the GMAT. If anybody has any advice or feedback regarding the differences and/or advantages of the above two online courses it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

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Peter

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by [email protected] » Thu Jan 22, 2015 4:21 pm
Hi Peter,

Before investing in any GMAT resource, it's important to define your goals and plans. It might be that there's a better option than either of the two that you're considering. Since it sounds like you're just starting out, I'd like to know a bit more about your plans:

1) What is your goal score?
2) When are you planning to apply to Business School?
3) Have you thought about what Schools you're planning to apply to?
4) How much time do you think you'll be able to commit to your studies in an average week?

To help you set a general schedule, most Test Takers spend 3 months (or more) studying for the GMAT; during that time, it's quite common to spend 10-15 hours per week (or more) on the process.

It's important to establish a baseline score early on in the study process. You can download 2 free practice CAT tests (and some practice materials) from www.mba.com. A FULL CAT takes about 4 hours to complete, so make sure that you've set aside enough time to do so in one sitting. Those initial results will help us to figure out what you really need to work on. Once you have those scores, you should report back here.

Most GMAT companies offer some type of free resources (practice problems, Trial Accounts, videos, etc.) so that you can "test out" a product before you buy it. In that way, you can get a better sense of how a GMAT product meshes with your sensibilities. You should take advantage of all of the free options, then choose the one that best matches your personality, timeline and budget.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
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by focusedonthegmat » Fri Jan 23, 2015 9:10 am
Hi Rich,

Yes, you are correct in that I am just starting out. This most likely doesn't make a difference but I am deciding between an MBA or an MS in Accounting. But to answer your questions:

1. I am going for a 670 or higher (obviously)
2. I plan to apply this year so that I will begin in the summer/fall of 2016
3. Still in the process of figuring out the schools to apply for, but if I do go for an MS in Accounting, I would like to go to Baruch's Zicklin School of Business as it has a good program and reputation for placing people and is in the city where I currently reside and am from (equals much lower tuition)
4. I do have a busy work schedule and the hours do change depending on the deal/project I am working on. I am looking at being able to commit to 10-15 hours per week.

I plan to take between 3-6 months to study for the exam (I know that is a large range, but I believe I will need more than 3 months to study).

Lastly, I have downloaded free trials of both programs and it seems that I like the instructors/teaching style more in the MGMAT Interact but will give each a bit more time. I hope I answered your questions sufficiently and thanks for the advice.

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Peter

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by [email protected] » Fri Jan 23, 2015 10:46 am
Hi focusedonthegmat,

You've given yourself plenty of time to study, which is a smart choice. However you choose to begin, you'll come to find that adjustments will have to be made to your overall plan at some point. As you get deeper into the material and tactics, there will be areas in which you quickly become comfortable with everything and other areas in which you'll get "stuck." When that happens, you'll need to the extra time to continue practicing and you might even need to invest in different practice materials.

Remember that studying for the GMAT is a big task....made up of lots of tiny, manageable pieces. You should plan to post back in these Forums any time you get stuck or want an Expert's point-of-view on a question.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
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by focusedonthegmat » Fri Jan 23, 2015 12:36 pm
Hi Rich,

Great, thank you for all of the advice!

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Peter

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by David@VeritasPrep » Fri Jan 23, 2015 1:23 pm
Peter -

As you said the reviews for Veritas on Demand are great. But you want to see for yourself so you should definitely take advantage of the opportunity for a free trial to see what works for you.

You can try Veritas on Demand for free at the link: https://www.veritasprep.com/gmat/gmat-on ... ree-trial/
Veritas Prep | GMAT Instructor

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by focusedonthegmat » Fri Jan 23, 2015 1:50 pm
Hi David,

I definitely agree and will be trying both MGMAT and Veritas this weekend to decide. Thanks!

Best,
Peter

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by BestGMATEliza » Mon Jan 26, 2015 3:31 am
Hey Peter,

I believe there aren't any reviews for MGMAT Interact, because it is a fairly new course. I think it is definitely a good idea to try them out before you decide. In the mean time here are some key differences. MGMAT does not have a score guarantee, but Veritas will let you take another Veritas course of equal or lesser value. MGMAT comes with 6 practice test and Veritas comes with 12. The on demand course from MGMAT is interactive while the one from Veritas is not.

good luck with the decision!
Eliza Chute
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by focusedonthegmat » Mon Jan 26, 2015 8:07 am
Eliza,

Those are definitely important factors to keep in mind. Thanks!

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Peter

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by ceilidh.erickson » Sat Jan 30, 2016 1:38 pm
Hi Peter,

Hopefully you've already aced the GMAT! For anyone else still deciding which course to choose, though, I thought I'd clear up a few misconceptions and provide a little bit more information.

1) Manhattan Prep GMAT Interact was relatively new when this thread was posted (and BGPC doesn't seem to have updated their review), but other reviews since then have been overwhelmingly positive:
4.5/5 from GMATclub: https://gmatclub.com/reviews/manhattan-p ... -345345610
9/10 on BTG: https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2014/02/ ... -reasoning

Unlike other products out there, GMAT Interact is not simply video tutorials. It's fully interactive content, allowing you to answer questions and get personalized responses through the platform. Our students really love it!

You can find more information here: https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/prep/on-demand/

2) At Manhattan Prep, we know that the largest determinant of a student's score is the work that he or she puts in -- that's largely why we don't offer a score guarantee. We do everything we can to ensure that students hit their targets, including 2 free one-on-one sessions with an instructor after taking the course. Our students may retake the course at a substantial discount. And all course students have full, on-demand, and free access to Interact during their live course and for almost a year after their live course ends.

3) Manhattan Prep's pool of practice-exam questions is large enough that you can take 6 fully adaptive tests without seeing a repeat question. After you have taken 6, you can reset the pool of questions and take additional exams, though you may see a handful of questions that you've seen before. That effectively means you can take many more than 6 practice tests with us, but in practice, we think that 6 is sufficient for most people to prepare, if they've studied carefully.

If anyone would like more information about our products or services, please reach out to me directly or to our very friendly Student Services team at [email protected].

And good luck in your studies!
Ceilidh Erickson
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education