How much will my score increase after a nonTPU GMAT class/course?
The answer to this question is so disappointing that no GMAT prep companies--and we're talking about the most well-known ones--will even answer the less specific version: "What is the average score increase of students who take your class?", publicly or privately.
The reason? On average, student scores only increase by about 20-30 points after a class! That is abysmal. You will see that result from self-study alone, and what it costs to take such a class would be better spent working with an amateur math and English tutors at $30-40 an hour for an additional 10-20 points.
Though the data* abounds, tutoring companies will cite lack of meaningful data, statistical insignificance, biased reporting, and a variety of other excuses for why they can't answer your question. Of course it depends on what the student puts into the course, but it says a lot if GMAT prep companies, with access to so much data, do not report or even analyze it. This is the Information Age! Students routinely come to me (even for online GMAT tutoring) after their GMAT class did not deliver and find that there is a real, measurable difference: 3-7 points per tutoring hour.
So why are GMAT prep class companies making so much? It's mainly because they cast a very wide net: Offer the cheapest GMAT prep option with some minimum quality standard (not the best, but at least it's familiar) to the most people, like Wal-Mart or McDonald's.
Another reason is that due to the large marketing budgets and efforts of the big companies, students believe that such classes are effective, and students don't know that there are much better options out there. Much of their positive reputation comes from confirmation bias: The students who studied well and would have seen most of their score increase anyway will write positive reviews, confusing the benefit of the class with the benefit from their own self-study, while students who don't see results are often too embarrassed to say anything about it publicly. The main benefit of a class is that it helps ensure students study, but if you already intend to study, the money you would spend on a class would be better invested in a private tutor.
*To clarify an important point, the most meaningful measure of the effectiveness of a class is to compare the official GMAT score obtained immediately before the class to the official GMAT obtained immediately after the class. We at Test Prep Unlimited take a data-driven approach. We continually compare the before-and-after scores of students to refine our curriculum and offer you the best results.
The reason? On average, student scores only increase by about 20-30 points after a class! That is abysmal. You will see that result from self-study alone, and what it costs to take such a class would be better spent working with an amateur math and English tutors at $30-40 an hour for an additional 10-20 points.
Though the data* abounds, tutoring companies will cite lack of meaningful data, statistical insignificance, biased reporting, and a variety of other excuses for why they can't answer your question. Of course it depends on what the student puts into the course, but it says a lot if GMAT prep companies, with access to so much data, do not report or even analyze it. This is the Information Age! Students routinely come to me (even for online GMAT tutoring) after their GMAT class did not deliver and find that there is a real, measurable difference: 3-7 points per tutoring hour.
So why are GMAT prep class companies making so much? It's mainly because they cast a very wide net: Offer the cheapest GMAT prep option with some minimum quality standard (not the best, but at least it's familiar) to the most people, like Wal-Mart or McDonald's.
Another reason is that due to the large marketing budgets and efforts of the big companies, students believe that such classes are effective, and students don't know that there are much better options out there. Much of their positive reputation comes from confirmation bias: The students who studied well and would have seen most of their score increase anyway will write positive reviews, confusing the benefit of the class with the benefit from their own self-study, while students who don't see results are often too embarrassed to say anything about it publicly. The main benefit of a class is that it helps ensure students study, but if you already intend to study, the money you would spend on a class would be better invested in a private tutor.
*To clarify an important point, the most meaningful measure of the effectiveness of a class is to compare the official GMAT score obtained immediately before the class to the official GMAT obtained immediately after the class. We at Test Prep Unlimited take a data-driven approach. We continually compare the before-and-after scores of students to refine our curriculum and offer you the best results.
