The GMAT can be a very intimidating test for many candidates. It’s full of daunting math and verbal problems, and its AWA section can be a huge stumbling block for non-native speakers, with its insistence on a freeform 30-minute essay rendering many students petrified. But the truth is that it’s the Verbal section that should be a larger cause for concern to most students. While the AWA is quite often disregarded by many business schools and post-grad courses, the Verbal section is, along with Quant, always important. This is especially true for non-native speakers, who may lack the ability to intuitively grasp a lot of the finer points included in Verbal problems. If you struggle with the Verbal section, using the best GMAT verbal prep resources and courses is key to success.
This article is intended to act as a guide to the various resources that you can find online for the Verbal section of the GMAT specifically. We’ll take a look at each one in detail, outline the pros and cons, and break down how much you can expect to pay for the course/resource.
Table of Contents
The 6 Best GMAT Verbal Prep Courses
In this section, you can find a brief outline of each GMAT verbal prep course, and what makes it one of the best. For a more detailed look at each course, please refer to its individual section later on.
- Best value for money: Magoosh Premium
- Best for private tutoring in Verbal: Manhattan Prep GMAT Private Tutoring
- Best for non-native students: e-GMAT Online 360
- Best self-paced course for Verbal: Target Test Prep Flexible Prep
- Most affordable on a budget: Experts’ Global “Must-Have” GMAT Review
- Best course specializing in Verbal: GMATWhiz Verbal Tutor Prep Review
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Best Value For Money: Magoosh Premium
Magoosh are often touted as one of the most affordable GMAT course options around, and this reputation is more than warranted. Magoosh may lack some of the fancier options offered by GMAT titans like Manhattan Prep, but they are a solid option for their asking price, which gives them the top spot in this list of the best prep courses for the GMAT verbal section.
One of Magoosh’s strongest selling points is the length of time that users can access their materials. If you opt for premium, you’ll gain access to their courses for a staggering 12 months. Compare this with most other courses, which typically give you 2-4 months’ access for similar prices to Magoosh’s 12-month package.
Magoosh actually offer a slightly cheaper package than the Premium one, but this is generally worth skipping. For one, it’s only $30 dollars cheaper – but more importantly, it does not include Verbal. If you’re looking to focus on Verbal, then, you’ll want to go for the Premium option.
Magoosh doesn’t have dedicate mentors like some of the other courses on offer do, but they have a dedicated and knowledgeable team on hand who will reply to emails within a working day. These emails will be extremely detailed and will meticulously and effectively respond to whatever query or problem you have, ensuring that you walk away with a fuller understanding of whatever concept you were struggling with.
As mentioned, Magoosh doesn’t offer quite as much in the way of materials as some of their competitors – but for the price, you get more than enough. With over 1300 practice questions and more than 340 video lessons, you can rest easy knowing that you have everything you need to tackle the GMAT in general (and Verbal in particular). Magoosh also guarantees a 70-point bump in your starting score, so you know that your money isn’t going to waste.
The year-long material access also goes a long way for peace of mind if you’re operating on a budget. You can simply pay the one-off fee and make use of the materials on hand for as long as is necessary before test day. This ensures that you can visit and revisit any concepts or areas of the GMAT that might be causing you issues, building your confidence and your knowledge of problem areas.
If there’s one downside to be said about Magoosh’s Premium plan, is that it’s not quite as in-depth as those offered by some competitors. If it’s a Verbal score that goes up into the 40s that you’d like, then you may be better off paying a little more elsewhere.
What We Like
- Unmatched material access duration
- Cheap
- Solid material bank
- Good customer support
What We Don’t Like
- Few practice tests
- Not suitable for advanced candidates
Pricing
- 12-month access: $249
- 12-month access plus MBA admission support: $298
Best For Private Tutoring: Manhattan Prep GMAT Private Tutoring
Though certainly one of the more expensive options you’ll come across, Manhattan Prep’s private tutoring for the GMAT is hands down one of the best options when it comes to Verbal prep courses. The fact that you’ll receive personalized attention throughout by some of the best teachers in the business all but guarantees that you’ll ace the Verbal section – and, indeed, all sections.
Manhattan Prep admit that they have no ‘silver bullet’ or ‘magic formula’, and that the strength of their private tutoring courses comes from a strong tripartite foundation: a laser focus on the GMAT, the best approach to learning, and the best tutors.
And it’s really Manhattan Prep’s tutors that set them apart from the competition. All of the GMAT tutors employed by Manhattan Prep have scored in the 99th percentile, making them some of the most knowledgeable people in the world about every aspect of the test. With these kinds of hands on the tiller, you can rest assured that you’ll be hitting your target score on test day.
In addition to your diagnostic session and 121 classes with your expert tutor, you can expect a whole slew of supplementary materials that will assist you not only with Verbal, but with Quant and AWA too. Bundled with your private tuition are 6 full mock tests, interactive video lessons, a 7-hour workshop on the foundations of math, a GMAT Strategy Guide collection, an advanced Quant eBook, full access to the Manhattan Prep app, a GMAT Navigator Practice Tracker, the Official Guide for GMAT Review, and a test simulation booklet.
Manhattan Prep’s private tutoring is, in a nutshell, quite simply without peer. If you’ve got the cash and the inclination, there is simply no other way to reach your target score in a short period of time that’s quite as effective as this one.
What We Like
- The best personalized attention in the GMAT tutoring game bar none
- Excellent materials
- The most effective way to hit your target score quickly
What We Don’t Like
- Expensive
Pricing
- 10-hour package: $2450
- 20-hour package: $4600
- 30-hour package: $6750
Best For Non-Native Students: e-GMAT Online 360
Earning almost nothing but unanimous praise, the e-GMAT Online 360 course is a huge hit among non-native students in particular. And as we pointed out earlier, it’s the Verbal section that non-native students should be focusing on as much as possible.
Online 360 has more than 200 hours of video instruction, more than 4500 practice questions, an AI-driven personalized study plan, live support 24/7, and weekly onboarding sessions to make sure you’re making the most of all of the resources.
And although the course has 5 full mock tests, it also has the ability to take mock tests in certain sections only (such as the Verbal section), making sure that you can laser-focus on the areas in which you feel you need the most help. There is even a custom quiz engine that you can use to make your own tailored quiz.
Purchasing this course also grants access to GMAT Club quizzes, including 9 dedicated Verbal quizzes – perfect for those struggling with this tricky area. The course’s Scholaranium quizzing tool can help to really fine-tune areas in which you’re weak, and if you’re looking to focus on Verbal questions, the Scholaranium is perfect to ensure you’re ready for this tricky part of the GMAT.
Online 360 has pioneered several strategies for dealing with each type of question that will come up in the Verbal section, and you can expect deep dives into sentence correction, reading comprehension and critical reasoning questions. Pre-assessment and post-assessment quizzes for each type of question also help you to fully understand where you’re going wrong and what you can do to fix it.
Finally, the course’s Last Mile Push feature is invaluable if you’ve hit a wall and are unable to push onto the score you need. By consulting with e-GMAT Online 360’s experts, you can receive a hyper-personalized plan that will carry you over the finishing line. This makes the e-GMAT Online 360 one of the best prep courses for the GMAT verbal section.
What We Like
- The best course by far for non-native speakers
- Excellent in-depth explanations and analysis of the Verbal section
- In-built AI helps to focus on the most important areas (and skip the least important ones)
- Personal mentor to analyze results, give advice, and provide feedback
What We Don’t Like
- Nothing!
Pricing
- $199 for 2 months
- $299 for 4 months
- $399 for 6 months
Best Self-Paced Course For Verbal: Target Test Prep Flexible Prep
This popular course, developed and marketed by Target Test Prep, is perfect not only for its Verbal content, but also for Quant. The course focuses entirely on these two sections and sports a whole wealth of content, ensuring that you’ll be ready to ace the test by the time you walk into the exam room.
With an exhaustive question bank comprising more than 3000 Quant questions and more than 1000 Verbal ones, the Flexible Prep course ensures that all students come away with a much stronger understanding of both sections than they previously had.
The course also has an extensive video library with detailed explanations of both the Verbal and Quant sections – more than 400 for the former, and more than 800 for the latter. It also features adaptive technology to make sure that all questions are pitched at the right level for you, and live support means that you’ll never be left to figure things out on your own if you really cannot wrap your head around a concept.
All of this is accompanied by a guarantee of a 110-point score increase guarantee – one of the most generous on the market. If you’re looking for one of the best GMAT Verbal courses money can buy, look no further.
What We Like
- Good selection of practice tests
- Expansive question bank
- Great live chat feature
What We Don’t Like
- Website navigation could be a little more straightforward
Pricing
- $149/month
- $449 for 4 months
- $499 for 6 months
Most Affordable On A Budget: Experts’ Global “Must-Have” GMAT Review
Experts’ Global GMAT course, which is available on iOS, Android and desktop, is touted by its creators as the world’s most ‘complete’ GMAT course – at the world’s most affordable fee.
The “Must-Have” GMAT Review course is certainly very affordable, and it offers quite a competitive package for what you pay. You’ll gain access to more than 200 “GMAT shots”, which are short videos explaining various concepts concisely and effectively. There are a further 10 full-length videos that do deep-dives on the various GMAT sections and outline strategies for acing them.
The course also has robust diagnostic and analytic systems in order to make sure that you’re on the right track. In addition, there are a whopping 15 full-length mock tests – accompanied by in-depth video explanations – that will ensure that you’re fully prepped for the real GMAT.
When it comes to the best GMAT Verbal prep courses, it’s hard to overlook the Must-Have GMAT Review. The course offers an astonishing 12 eBooks dedicated to sentence correction – a type of question that comprises around 60% of Verbal questions. These eBooks, coupled with the rest of the Must-Have’s rigorous examination of the rest of the section (and the test in general), will ensure that you’re firing on all cylinders come test day.
What We Like
- Mock tests that strongly resemble the real thing
- Exhaustive sentence correction explanations and analysis
- Great video explanations
What We Don’t Like
- Not suitable for beginners
Pricing
- 2 months’ access: $125
- 4 months’ access: $199
- 6 months’ access: $249
- 9 months’ access: $325
- 12 months’ access: $375
Best Course Specializing In Verbal: GMATWhiz Verbal Tutor Prep Review
GMATWhiz was founded by experts in the GMAT, and combines this knowledge and expertise with machine-learning-driven algorithms to ensure that their students are getting the most out of their courses.
GMATWhiz’s course operates with a tripartite foundation in mind: guided learning, AI-powered analytics tools, and app-based interactive content. With these three combined, they’re able to ensure that all of their students are exposed to GMAT knowledge (and in the case of this course, Verbal knowledge specifically) in such a way that it sticks.
Their approach to Verbal, in particular, is revelatory for many students. With a detailed and logical breakdown of each type of question you’ll come across in Verbal, many students (particularly non-natives) have gone from mediocre scores in the 15-20 range, to the high 30s. By focusing on such winning strategies as deduction, the process of elimination, and general approaches to problem-solving, GMATWhiz cuts through the chaff and ensures that their students use their time logically and efficiently.
How do GMATWHiz accomplish this? Not only will you have a dedicated mentor, but they have an astonishing wealth of material for you to draw upon. With more than 100 HD videos, over 4000 practice questions (across Verbal and Quant) a forum to field any questions you have, 10 full practice tests and more than 90 booster concept files, there’s more than enough to make sure you’re ready to tackle the GMAT itself when test day rolls around.
All of this is drawn together by the powerful AI tools that GMATWhiz employs. With these tools, you can rest assured that you’ll be heading in the right direction. AI-assisted improvement modules make sure that you’re focusing on the areas that need the most focus, and your score reports will also be AI-generated, and will include a full assessment of your ability in different areas and what to work on to best improve them.
All in all, GMATWhiz has put together a compelling and powerful package that makes for one of the best GMAT prep courses for Verbal.
What We Like
- Personalized mentorship
- Great AI-drive tools and modules
- Exhaustive material bank
- Excellent for focusing on Verbal
What We Don’t Like
- Not much in the way of post-course support
Pricing
- 2 months’ access: $149
- 4 months’ access: $249
- 6 months’ access: $299
Conclusion
We hope that by focusing on the best GMAT verbal prep courses and resources over the course of this article, we’ve given you plenty of food for thought. Whether you’re operating on a budget and need to keep things economical, or money is no object and you need the biggest, fastest boost to your Verbal score that money can buy, there are plenty of options out there on the market. By taking a little time out and researching your options, you can make sure that you’ve chosen the best possible course for you and your Verbal needs. And once you’ve made that choice and purchased that course, it’s simply a matter of knuckling down and getting ready for the big day.