GMAT Prep Courses vs. Unaided Self-Study

If you need to prepare for the GMAT, you have to prepare yourself for something else first - namely, wading through all the misinformation, disinformation and urban myths about what constitutes "good learning." You will doubtless hear about various "guaranteed" systems (high priced ones, of course) as well as different combinations of on-site classes, books, software and "e-learning."

Slow down a minute, though, and consider the country's 40-year-old battle against faltering school systems. Hundreds of billions of dollars have been poured into the public schools, paying for the latest teaching styles, new computers, plasma monitors, Internet connections and other items. Still, the tide has not turned. Why? It comes down to something very simple that helps make sense of it all. As researchers have shown consistently through the years (e.g., Schwittman, 1982), "student motivation [is] the single most important predictor" of scholastic and career success.

Of course it is! Once students have decided to excel, all they need is the right support in the right setting, and they will do whatever it takes to get the grades. If you are motivated to do well on the GMAT, then with the right help, you will. Better yet, it doesn't have to cost you a thousand dollars, make you drive somewhere two nights a week or on your days off, listen to boring instructors or any such thing. You really can be in control of your own GMAT destiny.

Motivation and the right help
Once you have the first component, motivation, the research shows that there are several other important factors. "Set and setting" are crucial, too, meaning that students need to be comfortable with the way material is presented. This means getting used to CAT (Computer Adaptive Testing) exams. If you haven't taken one before, you won't be used to the setting when you show up for the GMAT. Some costly prep courses are almost entirely book- or Web-based, with little time spent in getting this essential exposure.

Taking simulated tests with GMAT software provides this important "set and setting" experience and contributes to performance improvements. Simulated tests help you get comfortable with the look, feel and interactive nature of the CAT interface. Historically, unprepared students have reported being confused by switching back and forth between the computer screen and their scratch pads, so this activity needs to be programmed through repetition, not something you can do with a book, video or tape. You will also have sufficient time - thankfully, not on test day - to determine the proper pace for completing the GMAT, and you will be able to work on this over time to get it right.

Stay motivated!
There are prep companies that have very good marketing and advertising programs. They can make very compelling cases for their GMAT prep classes, seminars, Web episodes, books and what-have-you. On the other side are the Do-It-Yourselfers who claim you can prep for the GMAT with free materials available online, and pay nothing. They are both adamant, and both can't be right - but both can be wrong, and in this case they are.

You already know that your motivation and determination are the key ingredients. Does it take some other things to complete a winning GMAT test recipe? Well, certainly it does. Do you have to pay for those things? For some of them, of course - between $15 and $50 for practice tests so you can master the set and setting, and get first-hand experience with the kinds of questions you will face on test day. Do you need to pay for camaraderie, peer support and that vaunted "live classroom setting"? Nope.

Some companies say you need to be in a class of your peers to hear different perspectives on new or difficult concepts (particularly in math). All right, that's true. So, you're motivated enough to study hard for the GMAT, but not motivated enough to put up a posting on Craigslist or your community bulletin board to form your own study group? Other firms actually imply that you need a set class schedule like theirs to keep you on track and disciplined. Does that sound like what a motivated person, a winner, really needs? Aren't these the very things that motivated - read, "destined to succeed" - students do on their own, all the time?

Bottom line reasons
Some study courses cost almost a thousand dollars - or even more if you buy every study guide, book and audiotape available. This will not get you any secret formula that will guarantee success. Even if your class instructors scored high on the GMAT, they may not score high on the "good teacher" scale, and ineffective teachers can be as bad for your preparation as no teachers at all. If you have to travel more than a few miles to the class location, you will incur travel costs above and beyond the course fee, too.

Yes, you need some peer interaction. So start or join a study group. You may wish to add some additional materials. Search the Web or talk to a good librarian. In other words, for any shortcoming of self-study with software, real or perceived, there is a low- or no-cost answer that requires the same thing that academic and test-taking success does: motivation. If you've got that, you're going to do fine. That's what the research says, and it's proved true every day by people just like you.