I was totally disappointed with the Knewton "On Demand" Course for the following reasons

1) They don't have any fixed time frame to respond to your verbal/quant queries, as a result of this there are questions that go unanswered. I found it easier and quicker to get a response to my queries on the forums.

2) The instructors who respond to your queries seem to have an attitude. i.e they don't entertain the 'What if' scenarios. For example, I had a query regarding one of the Sentence Correction questions; I wanted to know whether writing the sentence in another way would be ok; these guys don't entertain such kind of queries, because according to them there are many ways to write a sentence. On the one hand, they may be correct, on the other hand, they don't understand that they could actually be helping the customer answer his/her specific query.

3) They claim to have 3800+ questions. This is bullshit. I wrote them an email and I received a reply saying that the questions span the 13 sessions including the 6 CAT's. I decided to actually count the questions. To my surprise, I counted 1606 questions. If you include the 6 CAT's, it comes to 2074. They have a pre-assignment test that you take before watching the videos, for some of the sections such as, Quant, SC, you will see non-gmat format questions, I counted these questions as well to give them the benefit of doubt, nevertheless, the number I got is no where close to their supposed number of questions.

4) I really doubt the adaptive nature of the course that I took. I couldn't tell how I was being challenged by the adaptive nature of their questions.

5) I came across their program on this website, so I directly went to their site to apply for the course; it was only later that I realized that had I clicked on the link advertised on this site, I could have gotten another $50 discount. I wrote them an email about this, but I was refused the additional discount. In my opinion they were being a bit cheap about this.

6) The CATs cannot be reset by the customer. Also, if you don't complete the test within the time limit, the questions you miss are not displayed when you review the test.

Feeling inadequate, I had to spend money on other test prep company products. I was wondering whether I could sue them for lying about point #3, unfortunately, I don't live in the USA.

Needless to say, I was terribly disappointed and the entire experience was unpleasant. I would NOT recommend Knewton to anyone. Please thoroughly research every company's product before investing your money, is my advise

P.S. I would have written this review even if I "cracked" the GMAT

Teachers were definitely enthusiastic about material and often made the material itself more lively offering personal analogies to help prevent us students from the classic "eyes-glazed over" learning.
Material did review concepts and then practical applications of concepts. CAT exams provided also were at a comparable level to the difficulty of problems encountered in the GMAT. I would however recommend Knewton follow more closely the layout and structure of the GMAT exams to visually better prepare the candidates for the exam. Also, providing an estimated per-question timer would have been really useful to
determine how well on track we were relative to each question and the entire exam itself.

Finally, the CAT's themselves should have allowed multiple attempts instead of locking after 6. This was a major hindrance for me when trying to mimic the conditions for completing a question within the constraints of the time limit.

Comparing Knewton to Manhattan GMAT, I found MGMAT more useful for it's CAT's because MGMAT Quant section of CAT's were definitely tougher and mainly because I could attempt them multiple times to exhaust the question bank. Also, the tips provided in Knewton for CR and RC were extremely helpful compared to MGMAT, or PowerScore's CR Bible which I had also purchased. PowerScore's Bible actually was the worst due to being quite outdated. MGMAT's Strategy Guides books were actually a bit more thorough for SC than Knewton as well.

However, for the price, Knewton definitely was effective in helping me bring my scores up the 50 points they had guaranteed. I had on their CAT's an estimated 660 before I went to MGMAT to help further increase the score.

The lectures were incredibly helpful to get through the material necessary to be ready for the GMAT. Additionally, the course includes helpful strategies and tips that really helped me master some of the more difficult questions and provided me good methods for guessing when I couldn't get any farther on a question.

Knewton has plenty of practice materials available and their adaptive learning system was excellent at pointing out areas that I needed to place some additional focus on learning or reviewing. I didn't even get through all of their practice materials by test day because there was such a vast amount of practice problems and tests available. I did notice that the scores I received on Knewton practice tests and practice problem sets were significantly lower than my final score on the GMAT. I think this is because they focus on the more challenging problems. I found this quite helpful once I took the GMAT practice tests from the GMAC and saw that my score was quite higher. It did have me concerned for a while that I was going to do horribly on the exam, so I would recommend taking both GMAC practice tests to get a better judge of your realistic score range.

I found the Knewton GMAT Test Prep Course to be the perfect solution for someone like me that works many hours in both my corporate and motherhood roles. I enjoyed the flexibility of being able to log on to the site and watch courses and complete assignments as my schedule permitted. This course helped me to get back up to speed on topics that I had not seen in the 15 years since I left school. I would highly recommend the Knewton GMAT prep course.

My favorite part of Knewton is the simple and organized syllabus. At a glance I can see how far I've come, what's in front of me for the next few days, and everything else I need to complete to qualify for the 50-point guarantee. They don't just advertise the 50-point guarantee and then hope you forget about it, instead they let you know that if you get a green check mark on top of each lesson, you're good to go.

Pros about the course:
Taking online practice problems is more helpful than doing problems out of a book. Plus, I have instant feedback on how well I did, as opposed to flipping pages to check out explanations. The videos are good, I enjoyed the team that did the verbal review better than the team that did the quant review. They were all equally knowledgeable, but the verbal pair flowed through the lesson better as a team. Good at explaining how to do the problems, instead of focusing on guessing strategies (as others). All of this plus a great 50-point money back guarantee.

Cons:
Some of the answer explanations were still a little vague. Some of the tougher math problems that require you to know how to unlock a complex prompt into something more simple, they would explain that you need to approach the prompt in that certain way, but sometimes I wish they would go a level deeper about how to recognize in general the entry points into some of these tougher prompts.

OK everybody listen up: This is an awesome GMAT course. I have never taken online classes before. However, I have taken classes at college with boring teachers. This class has the coolest dudes as teachers, you get so much material to print off and review it in case you don't have access to the internet. You have a question? They answer is super quickly. I am going to take the GMAT in January and I am very excited what the score is going to look like. If I suck, my fault. Knewton really doesn't leave any questions open. And, just for your information: I was a total fail in maths, didn't even dare to take a mock test to start off with to find out my level. I gained confidence and knowledge. Knewton, you rock!

The online instant classes are great. You can go at your own pace and at the same time try to follow the schedule they have. I never took a live class because I thought it was sometimes either too fast or too slow. The "On Demand" allowed me to pause the video and do whatever I want.

Problems are explained in a very detailed way.

Instructors are great. They even try to make the class funny even though its a prerecorded video. 3 out of the 4 teachers are great. the only negative comment goes to Jen Rugani. She speaks way too fast and without taking some time to actually breathe. Then she stops and makes a weird noise just to catch her breath. Its very distracting and hard to follow when she is speaking. Everyone else is great.

As far as online prep goes, I would give knewton a solid 4 out of 5. I liked how structured the course was, it kept me on task as I neared my testing date. I also did prep with Manhattan Gmat, I thought Knewton and Manhattan were about the same, Manhattan might have covered some more difficult topics on a more consistent basis. I paid under 400 dollars and got access to Knewton and Magoosh (very helpful)

I thought the practice tests on Knewton were good, however, my scores were all over the place, I was a bit concerned when I scored a 630 on my last practice test. I did however go up 70 points on the real thing to get a 690.

The instructors on Knewton are pretty good. You kind of get tired of seeing the same people over and over again, however, you sadly gain a sense of connection with the instructors by the end of the course. I would recommend Knewton to a friend. The 50 point guarantee works and the people at the site are pretty responsive to any questions. Plus its pretty cheap.

Now on to applications :)

I took my first GMAT with very little study time. Needless to say, I was not prepared and got hit pretty hard with a 540. After feeling sorry for myself I decided to spend some money on a prep course and what attracted me the most was Knewton's 50 point increase or money back deal. I was in a time crunch as I only had a month to prep before taking it again. I dedicated a lot of time and effort and it truly paid off with a 620. While it's not a 700 it is a big increase in only 30 days. Knewton was great and I loved the way the lessons are planned out. The teachers make the material fun to learn (yes there can be some humor in the hell known as data sufficiency) and I looked forward to my lessons each day. My only regret is that I didn't start the prep sooner, I'm sure I would have done a lot better if I had dedicated a few months to the Knewton course.

I am working full-time, and thus I took the 'on-demand' Knewton course.
My preparation study with Knewton took around 80 days and it has been fruitful.
I managed to get 50 points improvement from the diagnostic test and 90 points extra compared to my first GMAT.
I still feel that I can do better on the verbal section, but since I have limited time to prepare, I think this is good enough for me.

Actual first GMAT test (before taking Knewton course): Q44 V22 550

Knewton tests:
Diagnostic GMAT Q44 V27 590
Practice GMAT #1 Q39 V26 540
Practice GMAT #2 Q39 V31 570
Practice GMAT #3 Q38 V31 570
Practice GMAT #4 Q37 V29 540
Practice GMAT #5 Q43 V32 620

Actual second GMAT test (after taking Knewton course): Q48 V29 640

The course itself is very good with flexible timing. Additionally, the teachers are fun and the pricing is competitive. I would recommend this course to anyone want to prepare for GMAT.

Thanks Knewton.

I was hesitant about whether or not to purchase this course. However, after getting a 540 on my GMAT the first time, I realized that the way I studied had to change. Purchasing this course allowed me to increase my GMAT score by 100 points, in only 3 months time. I cannot emphasize enough how much this course helped me. If you are on the edge about this course, my advice is do not even think about it; go ahead and do it. Before the course I consistently scored in the mid 500s on all of my practice tests. By the end of the course I was getting 600-620 and on test day I did the best I ever have on any test and received a 640.

The teachers are genuinely interested in student learning and communicate ideas in a very effective way. They make sure ambiguous topics are crystal clear before moving on. I purchased the $399 offer, which includes on demand videos. To me, this was enough. I was able to watch the videos whenever I pleased and everything was so organized on the site that the 13 chapters that I went through honestly felt like it took like 3 weeks and not 3 months. In addition, the amount of QUALITY study information on Knewton is incredible and priceless. The teachers convey difficult topics as simple ideas with tricks and tips that can be used to solve different types of questions.

Taking the GMAT after completing this course gave me an incredible amount of confidence that I can not even put into words. I went into the test feeling like there is no way that I could do poorly since I basically knew everything that was going to be tested and consequently there would be no surprises.

I cannot emphasize enough how much this course helps! A 100 point increase in my score seemed like an impossible feat to me before purchasing this course, but after it I almost feel that I could go even higher if I took it again.

Thank you very much to all the Knewton teachers. I owe my 100 point increase to you!

I took the live Knewton GMAT course, which included live workshops each night but lessons were pre-recorded. Overall experience was great! They guarantee a 50 point increase, but I increased 130 points in just 6 weeks. Highly recommend, even just the cheaper option would be great!

Knewton on demand curriculum offers a great program for those with busy schedules who want to study on their own time. Took the GMAT twice last year (650, 660) and knew I needed to focus solely on quant. As a result, I needed a course where I could focus on high value sections and topics without wasting time going through the motions on others. With Knewton, you still need to do the work yourself but the program offers all the benefits of a live classroom experience, great teachers that drill the important points, and a large amount of proprietary content. Practice tests also served as a good measure of progress and were quite realistic in my experience. Recently retook the exam after completing the full Knewton on demand course and improved my total score by a full 50 points (710) and 11% points (Q score up by 9 raw points). Big ups to the Knewton team for putting together a great program!

I used the Knewton online course to prepare for the GMAT. When I took my first diagnostic test, I scored a 580 (42V / 29Q). I had never seen or studied for the test before so I went in with no real way to attack the test and certainly didn't remember alot of what I learned in high school math. After getting the 42V on the first test, I felt confident that I could do well on the Verbal but was really worried about the Quantitative section. During the self-directed course, I spent the majority of the time really focusing on math review. I used the verbal to stay fressh and learn strategies. The math section really helped me learn all the tricks to problem solving on the GMAT. Throughout the course, I continued to take practice exams and saw my Q scores continue to improve and may V scores remain strong. By the time I was ready to take the GMAT, I was consistently getting over 700 on the exam. I took the GMAT and received a 730 (42V / 47Q). I thought Knewton was outstanding. They were a major reason I was able to jump 150 points.

I am no GMAT guru, actually on the contrary, I am quite a bad test taker. I originally scored a sad 410 before taking the online prep course with KNEWTON. Afterwards, all the sessions, the core homework and the practice exams made the whole difference with me.After 9 weeks I was able to improve my score 90 points to 500 which served for my purposes. I would greatly recommend this prep course, especially the math sessions with jess and rich. Those guys are the real gurus.

Thank you Knewton for a wonderful assistance and for an unforgettable experience. Knewton IS the best out there.

I actually had been studied for a long time & really did not get self motivated.I heard about Knewton from BTG & took the course.Though,my score did not really improve that much but I am surely very satisfied with the course curriculum and the teachers at Knewton.I always have a terrible test day performance.I would like to thank Dave Ingber,Jess Nepom & Jane Rugani for their huge help,you guys rock.While listing to on demand videos I felt I am in live class as the environment created by the teachers was so nice.Though I do believe, Knewton has to make the Quant part a bit tougher,particularly the initial homework assignments and videos.But in verbal they did a nice job.In my case,verbal is my weakest point & Knewton took my skills to a very high level,from 20 to 33.I strongly recommend Knewton course for anyone who wants to reach the high scoring ground of GMAT.
Good luck.
Roy.

I suck at math, really bad. In fact, when I first took the GMAT I scored in the 14 percentile. I took this course to brush up on my math because it has been 4+ years since I last took a math class.

Knewton did exactly what it said it would I raised my score by 70 points in about 4 months. The teachers were excellent. They really did make class fun. After an 8 hour day of work, it takes a lot to keep me up until 10 learning about math and English. They managed to do it. Adam was my favorite as he was really good and breaking things down to the core. Bridgette was also excellent, and would explain the math problems in detail. The interactive course is awesome. Every time I asked a question, I got an answer right away. They will help explain things to make sure everyone in the class is on the same track. I wish my undergrad college classes were set up in a similar fashion.

I only have 2 issues with Knewton, First, you have to take both Verbal and Quant classes. You also have to do all the homework for both, and it is a lot of homework. I scored in the 70th percentile for verbal and I was not concerned focusing on my verbal skills. I wish I didn?t have to waste so much time with verbal questions and I could have spent more of that time on quant. Second, I think that Knewton is really excellent for people wanting to get really high GMAT scores. Many times, the math was way beyond my knowledge level and I must say I wish they took a bit more time to focus on the basics, even if it was a course that was optional at the beginning of the program.

To sum it up: I would recommend it to a friend and I would take the course again if I could do it all over. They did what they said they would do. Period. That?s makes me one happy camper :) Thanks Knewton!!

Knewton's courses cover a very comprehensive content, arming you with the necessary knowledge to tackle all types of questions and scenarios that show up on the GMAT. The Knewton team is in itself very solid - Jose Ferreira, Knewton's CEO, is a Harvard MBA alumnus who advocates the use of technology in teaching. The teachers are all excellent and very qualified (not to mention motivating). Lastly, Knewton's CATs are also designed by ex GMAT test designers, so you don't have to worry too much about interpreting the scores on your practice tests.

Some cons:

1)the on-demand course has only a 4-month long period of access, and to get the higher score jumps it is often necessary to spend a bit longer than that preparing (especially if you are not very familiar with the GMAT).

2)Though homework and extra-homework assignments will be available to take as many times as you want, it is easy to exhaust the questions fairly quickly.

Knewton provided excellent instructors, numerous teaching methods, and excellent advice about how to Beat the GMAT. The curriculum was well organized and easy to follow. The homework, additional practice problems, and practice GMATs were very helpful in preparing to retake the GMAT. The strategies that Knewton provided were very applicable and my preparation with Knewton took all of my stress away on test day. Knewton was worth every penny!

My experience with Knewton was second to none. To be quite honest, I was initially hesitant on signing up for a GMAT review course. I have had previous negative experiences with SAT review courses on my way to college (they didn't raise my score by much), so signing up for Knewton's Complete GMAT Prep was a big move for me. I do not regret that decision one bit.

I gave my first GMAT in January 2011. After just studying a couple of weeks through the Official GMAT Guide, I received an overall score of 530. This experience was horrid for me, but I realized that I put it upon myself. Doing a limited amount of past GMAT questions in a book just wasn't enough.

Feeling extremely unsatisfied, I decided to study for the GMAT after graduation in May 2011 so that I could start b-school in Spring 2012. I constantly studied for roughly 3 months strictly through Knewton (around 30 hours per week). My score shot up 110 points to a 640 (Q47, V31)! This obviously wouldn't have been possible without my determination to beat the gmat. Knewton allowed me to work at my own pace and focus on the areas that I was having trouble with. It also allowed me to master the concepts that I already knew, which was a very important time-saving skill during the practice and actual GMATs. Although my score didn't represent my best verbal performance, I'm definitely not complaining. A score of 640 was just what I needed for my b-school applications. I can't thank Knewton enough. Thank You again!