with all of the education and test prep apps in the app stores, it can be hard to know what works and what’s worthless. so we do a deep dive to help make sure your precious study time is well spent. this week we turn our attention to prep4gmat.
prep4gmat is a mobile-first test prep app that is designed to get you studying for the gmat on the bus, train, elevator, or wherever you happen to have free time. it’s created by a small team coming out of mit who’s hoping to bring test prep to where the people are. read on to find out more!
usability: b-
the prep4gmat app works well when it works. unfortunately, the first few times i tried to access it, it crashed. restarted, re-downloaded, and still nothing. i had to wait for the app to update in the store to access it, and i lost my data. hopefully the problem is fixed, but if you’re trying to cram for a last minute test then this frustration might be a big issue. however, once it started working, it worked well.
design: b
prep4gmat is pretty and intuitive. however, there are a couple of nuisances in the app that prevent it from getting an a. first, there appears to be some system by which you can unlock more practice questions. but after looking at the app for quite a while, i couldn’t figure out how. i ran into a few situations where the app presented a box for “practice questions” that was greyed out and unavailable, but i couldn’t figure out how to make it available. second, you can’t move on from one module until you’ve finished the previous one — but if you can’t access the questions, you can’t pass the module! i’m sure there are workarounds, but they aren’t obvious and intuitive.
effectiveness: a-
prep4gmat’s tutorials are written. if you like to read to learn, this is very effective. if you don’t, there aren’t really other options. the practice questions are well written and approximate what you’ll actually see on the gmat, which is tough to do well. prep4gmat can provide you with reasonably good instruction for the gmat, although it’s mobile-only format and text-dependent instruction does mean that it doesn’t cover some things as in depth as some students might need.
addictiveness: a-
prep4gmat asks some initial questions and gives a quick diagnostic exam to students. after this, they give a “personalized” gmat prep roadmap, and send push notifications to remind you to study. it’s not candy crush, but it doesn’t need to be! it’s reasonably good at getting you back in the app to continue studying.
ad distraction: a
prep4gmat is a free app with no ads. they monetize by connecting students with local tutors who can provide additional gmat support for various hourly / package fees. this monetization model is not distracting and rarely gets in the way of the app.
motivation: a
because prep4gmat gives you a clear roadmap to success on the gmat, it’s easy to see where you are in relation to your goals. it updates its score estimates based on your recent performance, and even gives you a percent complete estimate at the top. this helps you focus on why you’re studying, which is very motivating.
support: a-
prep4gmat offers some traditional help; you can submit errors and bugs within the app very easily. it also offers some non-traditional help by connecting you with tutors if you want additional support. if you have an academic question about the content and don’t want to pay for a tutor, though, you’re out of luck.
overall gpa: 3.5
overall grade: a-
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