28,459Leland Reviews

Wonderful intro session for the GMAT/GRE test. Good energy and very open.

Extremely helpful and introduced me to new techniques and approaches to understand the test and perform better!

I first took the GRE about a year ago and scored around 300. I had practiced a lot, esp. through GregMat but did not score well and did not know how to improve or what I was doing wrong. I took the GRE again a few months later and got a 312, which was better but still far from the 320+ score I wanted. I did a ton of research; Googling, reading through Reddit posts and all other sources I could find, and was fortunate enough to find Saad. I reached out to him on his ig, and that’s really when things started to change for me. Before him, I had worked with another tutor who was honestly very rude and told me I was “bad” at TC and should consider taking the GMAT rather than GRE. That destroyed my confidence. Saad was the complete opposite - patient, calm, and very good at explaining concepts. He never made me feel stupid, and I think that encouragement made a huge difference and was also the main reason why I managed to perform later. He is really just the sweetest and one of the most caring people I have ever met, and I am very happy to call him a friend today 🥰 How I studied: For Quant, I initially used GregMat but that didn’t explain concepts deeply enough. I’m someone who needs to really understand the concept, not just memorize a trick, so that was not working. Then I tried GMAT Quant through TTP for a while, which actually helped a lot because the questions are harder and force you to learn the concepts properly. I do think it is very good but it is also so so cumbersome and for someone who is slow at studying it takes up more time than what you typically have to give (but I would still recommend it for Quant!) And for verbal I do think GregMat was quite a good source, because they teach you super good strategies for esp. TC & SE e.g., the pairing strategy. When I then also started taking tutoring sessions with Saad, we focused on Quant for the first few months, just practicing together, reviewing concepts, working on timing, and figuring out my weak spots. His recommendation to use Magoosh videos was helpful, and I also benefitted from doing more challenging questions from Target Test Prep (GMAT) so the GRE then felt easier. I also took Saad’s mocks to get a bit of the feeling on what level I am. For Verbal, I realized too late in my earlier attempts that I had completely underestimated RC. This time, we focused heavily on it. I practiced words and RC from the Big Book, and adopted the approach Saad taught me, e.g., to mainly eliminate wrong answers instead of trying to immediately pick the “right” one. For vocabulary, I used a mix of GregMat, Magoosh, and Saad’s own list. In total, I learned around 1,000–1,200 words, which I think is the right range. More than that is probably unnecessary. I would also recommend taking all the official mocks, and Saad’s ig mocks so that you are able to test your level and get as real to true GRE questions as possible. My score / Study schedule The ”first” attempt with Saad where I scored 325 (163V, 162Q, 5.0 AWA) happened after I took a few weeks off from work and studied basically 10–12 hours a day. I didn’t split my daily focus on both Quant and Verbal, but I focused on one for a few weeks at a time, which worked better for me, with the exception for the ”SE/words” that I tried to do daily. For the second attempt, where I scored 327 (164Q, 163V, 5.0 AWA), I barely had time to study because of work, but I think everything was still fresh in my mind from the previous attempt. I was also fortunate with the exam difficulty that day. Test day Across my exams, Quant difficulty varied a lot. The first time, I struggled to finish, even though in practice I usually had time left. Some topics that came up frequently were statistics, work-rate problems and coordinate geometry. Because exam slots in Helsinki were limited, I ended up taking the test at home, which was very smooth. What helped the most: • Saad’s guidance, both technically and in terms of confidence • ⁠Deep understanding of quant concepts • ⁠Practicing RC extensively and learning the tricks there are, it is a huge part of the test • ⁠Learning vocabulary consistently not just new words, but repeating old ones • ⁠Using harder Quant (like GMAT) to make GRE Quant feel manageable • ⁠Mock tests at the right moments; one in the beginning of your prep to understand your level, reviewing your weak points and then a few more throughout your studying • ⁠Consistency and patience, especially in the beginning when everything feels slow To conclude, I improved from ~300 to 327 over time (saad will post that scorecard too), and a huge part of that was finally having the right and tremendously talented teacher Saad is, and the right mindset and confidence that Saad had given me. The journey was long, and at times very discouraging, esp. when you feel you felt you had practiced but were not improving your score. My work hours were super tough because I work at McKinsey & Company as an associate for the last three years and have already received admits (as we speak) at MIT and Wharton for MBA and I’m waitlisted for Columbia. I am eternally grateful to Saad for all the help he has given me, nothing would have been possible without him! Thank you my 🇵🇰 friend ❤️

I first took the GRE about a year ago and scored around 300. I had practiced a lot, esp. through GregMat but did not score well and did not know how to improve or what I was doing wrong. I took the GRE again a few months later and got a 312, which was better but still far from the 320+ score I wanted. I did a ton of research; Googling, reading through Reddit posts and all other sources I could find, and was fortunate enough to find Saad. I reached out to him on his ig, and that’s really when things started to change for me. Before him, I had worked with another tutor who was honestly very rude and told me I was “bad” at TC and should consider taking the GMAT rather than GRE. That destroyed my confidence. Saad was the complete opposite - patient, calm, and very good at explaining concepts. He never made me feel stupid, and I think that encouragement made a huge difference and was also the main reason why I managed to perform later. He is really just the sweetest and one of the most caring people I have ever met, and I am very happy to call him a friend today 🥰 How I studied: For Quant, I initially used GregMat but that didn’t explain concepts deeply enough. I’m someone who needs to really understand the concept, not just memorize a trick, so that was not working. Then I tried GMAT Quant through TTP for a while, which actually helped a lot because the questions are harder and force you to learn the concepts properly. I do think it is very good but it is also so so cumbersome and for someone who is slow at studying it takes up more time than what you typically have to give (but I would still recommend it for Quant!) And for verbal I do think GregMat was quite a good source, because they teach you super good strategies for esp. TC & SE e.g., the pairing strategy. When I then also started taking tutoring sessions with Saad, we focused on Quant for the first few months, just practicing together, reviewing concepts, working on timing, and figuring out my weak spots. His recommendation to use Magoosh videos was helpful, and I also benefitted from doing more challenging questions from Target Test Prep (GMAT) so the GRE then felt easier. I also took Saad’s mocks to get a bit of the feeling on what level I am. For Verbal, I realized too late in my earlier attempts that I had completely underestimated RC. This time, we focused heavily on it. I practiced words and RC from the Big Book, and adopted the approach Saad taught me, e.g., to mainly eliminate wrong answers instead of trying to immediately pick the “right” one. For vocabulary, I used a mix of GregMat, Magoosh, and Saad’s own list. In total, I learned around 1,000–1,200 words, which I think is the right range. More than that is probably unnecessary. I would also recommend taking all the official mocks, and Saad’s ig mocks so that you are able to test your level and get as real to true GRE questions as possible. My score / Study schedule The ”first” attempt with Saad where I scored 325 (163V, 162Q, 5.0 AWA) happened after I took a few weeks off from work and studied basically 10–12 hours a day. I didn’t split my daily focus on both Quant and Verbal, but I focused on one for a few weeks at a time, which worked better for me, with the exception for the ”SE/words” that I tried to do daily. For the second attempt, where I scored 327 (164Q, 163V, 5.0 AWA), I barely had time to study because of work, but I think everything was still fresh in my mind from the previous attempt. I was also fortunate with the exam difficulty that day. Test day Across my exams, Quant difficulty varied a lot. The first time, I struggled to finish, even though in practice I usually had time left. Some topics that came up frequently were statistics, work-rate problems and coordinate geometry. Because exam slots in Helsinki were limited, I ended up taking the test at home, which was very smooth. What helped the most: • Saad’s guidance, both technically and in terms of confidence • ⁠Deep understanding of quant concepts • ⁠Practicing RC extensively and learning the tricks there are, it is a huge part of the test • ⁠Learning vocabulary consistently not just new words, but repeating old ones • ⁠Using harder Quant (like GMAT) to make GRE Quant feel manageable • ⁠Mock tests at the right moments; one in the beginning of your prep to understand your level, reviewing your weak points and then a few more throughout your studying • ⁠Consistency and patience, especially in the beginning when everything feels slow To conclude, I improved from ~300 to 327 over time (saad will post that scorecard too), and a huge part of that was finally having the right and tremendously talented teacher Saad is, and the right mindset and confidence that Saad had given me. The journey was long, and at times very discouraging, esp. when you feel you felt you had practiced but were not improving your score. My work hours were super tough because I work at McKinsey & Company as an associate for the last three years and have already received admits (as we speak) at MIT and Wharton for MBA and I’m waitlisted for Columbia. I am eternally grateful to Saad for all the help he has given me, nothing would have been possible without him! Thank you my 🇵🇰

I actually started my MBA application prep with GMAT in April 2025. I followed GMATNinja's YouTube channel and practiced all their verbal and quant series from their playlists. Charles has been a phenomenal help. Seeing my struggles with long and dense RC passages, I decided to start practicing from LSAT official materials (practiced about 30 past LSAT verbal sets). Initially, I was horrible at it but with time and refinement and some help from Charles et. al. from GMATNinja, I finally started to get better at both RC and Critical Reasoning. 2 months into my prep, as I was looking to break through an initial plateau in my quant practice scores, I was seeking help from my GmatClub moderator buddies (I hosted a couple of MBA events fro GmatClub got to know a few awesome and helpful people there). Simultaneously, I was also in a limbo to switch back to GRE as I had prepped for and taken the GRE in the past for my graduate studies a couple of years ago and had scored a 314 back then (which was enough for my master's degree right after my bachelor's) and was kind of used to the GRE structure compared to GMAT. Through one GMATclub moderator I found Saad and contacted him for 1:1 sessions GRE sessions. Keep in mind though, knowing Saad now, my suggestion to you all preparing for GRE and seeking GRE coaching with Saad, you got to show your seriousness with your ambitions and rigour when reaching out to him. Saad has a tremendously huge following and gets hundreds if not thousands such requests weekly for GRE coaching. He has no other choice than to select the ones who have the serious itch to break through their plateau. In the meantime, I had also started using Magoosh for quant (I had also used Magoosh the first time I took GRE a couple of years ago). Their quant has been a very useful resource to recap and refine the aspects of GRE math I have been out of touch for years since I have been a working professional for a while now. Although Saad also suggested me to continue to follow Magoosh for quant, his recommendations for verbal was different. He advised me to use only official ETS practice sets from the good old Big Book. Since big book sets are limited, I also opted for GregMat's verbal questions. I found Greg's live session recordings to be very useful, especially for the verbal sections (for those live sessions, he also sticks to official ETS questions only from big book or PPs). In the meantime, as I was working on my vocab through Greg's vocab mountain, Saad provided me with his 341 list. I am usually decent at vocab, but Saad's and Greg's vocab combo were extremely useful and comprehensive enough to be comfortable during the judgement day. Bottom line: My prep resources were Magoosh's Quant practice sets, daily vocab practice, Big Book, and a few sets from Manhattan 5lb quant sections. As I was practicing, I was in constant touch with Saad where he provided his tailored feedback on what I was doing wrong, what reasoning led me to get a question wrong, what learning to take away, tips on stopping myself from overthinking, so on and so forth. These tips and tricks have been fundamentally crucial in helping me break my several plateaus. P.S. In my 1:1 with Saad, we spent most of our time going over my homework mistakes using an error log book and refining strategies either to avoid repeating the same mistakes or to save time wherever necessary. We would go over each and every mock test (void of the fact whether it was from Magoosh or Greg or Saad mocks on Insta or Big Book set) results in excruciating details. This is a crucial point if you want to improve both your efficiency and timing. For the last couple of weeks, my go to practice sets were Saad's mocks tests (available on Instagram) , the official GRE practice sets from the recent books and the PP sets. I had also created an excel program for practicing vocab, where I had integrated both Saad's 341 word list on ig, Greg's vocab mountain, and Big book's vocab and then added tersed sentences with relevant meanings (yes, meanings; GRE loves to test on multiple meanings of the same word). I'd highly recommend you create an excel program or on handwritten notebooks or whatever floats your boat to practice vocab and keep practicing vocab, if you really want to get better at vocab. The trick to do well with vocab is always linked to how well and how quickly you can recall meanings and put that in context. Practice vocab daily and keep revising. Can't emphasize enough how important this is. A lot of people have asked me how much effort and time did I put in for GRE prep - to that I say: To be honest, I never measured. I frankly didn't have the time to. Just like most of you, I have a demanding job + family responsibilities + friend's + other surprises that life threw at me. All I did was every chance I got I tried to prepare. Some days, I was studying for 6+ hours and on some I barely studied for 1-2 hours. But daily consistency was crucial. However, I am human, so, I did miss a couple of days of prep here and there but consistency in both practicing/prepping daily and at specific hours (ideally) helped me get to my goal. All in all, I started in April 2025, attempted for the first time in August and then the last time in September 2025. Finally, in my first attempt, I didn't even prepare for AWA. Of course, I did horribly and scored a 3.5. For my next attempt, I prepared for AWA thoroughly using ETS's own official essay pool and created my own framework using predominantly Greg's AWA videos, and also Saad's AWA suggestions. On my first attempt, I was way too overwhelmed (didn't sleep much for the last week), and kept thinking about whether the question I was solving was a hard question or medium or easy level question. Not a good idea to do that. When I saw the 308 score flash, I was not only disappointed but also disheartened a bit. Thought to myself, perhaps, I can't break through my plateau and this is my limit. But then my wife jolted me with the reality and reminded me of my mock scores (I did score 325+ during my practice tests, so, deep down I knew I could do better. Just needed to restrategize again). I went back to the drawing board. But didn't push to do more new mocks and rather fix what I did wrong last time. So, before my second attempt, I made sure to mediate, sleep well, exercise, and tried to not overthink during the exam. Moreover, I chose to consciously skip questions this time when I got a bit stuck. I marked and moved on and then came back when I was ready again. These standardized tests are not just a test of your quant and verbal prowess, they test your organization skills, they indirectly test whether you are calm under pressure or not, snd how well you do in thinking/reasoning on your feet. Not that I didn't know all this in my first attempt. It's just that I had to experience it and get used to that environment again to be better next time. So, if you are preparing for GRE or GMAT or LSAT, go take an official GRE once to get used to the environment and pressure. You are likely to do better when you are kind of used to that pressure. Every test taker is different and I guess every test is different. Not everything I did will or should resonate with you all. However, feel free to use whatever part fits your bill from my story and hang in there. You will get through this and if not, it's not the end of the world. I am applying to HBS MBA and GSB MBA (is at interview stage) and I work as an analyst for Tesla.

I scored 320 (164 V, 156Q and 4.0 AWA) Let's start with Quant first. For Quant, I went through all the Magoosh videos which gave me a clear idea what topics are covered in this exam and how to go about things. But to be honest, it just gives you a snapshot, the actual GRE Quant is way more intense than this. Afterward, I subscribed to Magoosh and went through its practice questions one by one. To be honest, they were just laying down a basic foundation and preparing me for the real game. Some questions were way easier and some were very tough which you wouldn't normally see on the actual exam. The real exam is not about complex wording or method, it's more about the tricky logic and subtle details that we usually overlook while solving quant questions. The test takers are actually analyzing your analytical and logical skills. Anyway, moving further, I attempted Data Interpretation questions from the GRE big book (Q21-Q25) of all the exams given there. I did number and integer properties from Manhattan 5LB. I would say until now it was just a foundational work. The real game changers were Saad's mocks tests and Insta stories that are so close and relevant to the real GRE. They give you a real picture of how you are supposed to encounter quant questions in the actual exam. The more I practiced them, the more I found my level was upgrading. For me, it wasn't a success overnight. To improve my score, I had to practice again and again, more and more, every single day. I would say the more you practice, the more your brain starts getting tuned in that way. With continuous practice, my brain got wired in a way that without even realizing I started doing things on my own for example if in a question, the word "number" is written, I would assume everything in it, fraction, decimal, integer, positive, negative. I would notice subtle things automatically, whether the word "regular" is written with a polygon or not. Small things which make a huge difference because noticing such nuances would stop you from making mistakes. But this kind of excellence only comes with intense hard work, practice, persistence, patience and dedication. I also took a quick look at ETS official guides but they were fairly easy. For Verbal, I first learnt all Magoosh GRE vocab common plus basic. Then I did Saad's complete list of 341 vocab. This list was mind-blowing because this is so valuable that it prepares you for the real GRE. You would get to see many words in the actual GRE. I took 5 attempts in over a year. Every time, I found many words in the real GRE exam which were included in Saad's list available on his ig. Learning these words by heart lays a solid foundation which not only helps you doing TC and SE but also RC. So, I would highly recommend doing that list and then keep revising unless you achieve your dream score because I kept revising them a whole year and now they are on my finger tips and I don't even have to think for a second to recall their meanings. They have become a part of my forever vocabulary now. Learning vocabulary by heart makes the task a lot easier. I did RC practice from a big book GRE. It's really helpful. But I would say, even having a command on RC doesn't come overnight. I remember initially it was so hard for me to even make notes or keep subtle things in mind. After reading the passage, I used to forget what had been said. Saad advised me to make notes but I was not efficient in making precise and meaningful notes timely. I also got Gregg's subscription and went through all his TC, SE and RCs videos. I must say that they were really helpful in enhancing my knowledge of how to go about things. I followed his tricks and suggestions religiously yet when I started practicing I noticed, I can't actually follow each and everything, some things just naturally go with the flow. But he says some phenomenal things that would actually help you tremendously such as breaking long TCs into parts, focusing on contrast or not contrast, noticing negative or positive connotations in sentences, pondering over little things in RCs for example. Is the question asked about passage or author or if about a particular highlighted line then you just need to read one or two sentences before and after that highlighted sentence. The answer is hidden there. The question which is often asked in RCs is what the passage is all about. For that you need to focus on the first word mainly, whether there is a contradiction, assumption, in support of a hypothesis or what. This would eliminate most of the options. As I said earlier that I wasn't comfortable making notes. In a limited time, I find it extremely overwhelming to write anything. But what happened is that during my preparation, last year in December, my elbow got dislocated and I underwent 3 hours of surgery. My arm was immobilized for 3 months and unfortunately it was my right arm so I couldn't write. I could not do quant so the only option I had was doing verbal. So, I started doing it very intensely and dedicatedly since I had such ample time. I started making mental notes which means while reading RC, the things that were important, I used to read them twice and tried to retain the information in my memory. After reading the passage, I would solve questions one by one and read only those sentences where that thing is talked about which is asked in the question. This saved my time and I started doing really well at RCs. I practiced TC and SE from the GRE big book and I would definitely say, it's a very good resource. At the end of the day, GRE is all about practice and honing your analytical and logical skills and gradually you would start seeing improvement in yourself. On test day, the biggest challenge which I faced was controlling my nerves and calming down myself. My heart used to start pounding and I would start getting panic attacks as if I would not attempt my exam correctly and lose all marks. Yet, somehow I would get over it and start attempting. Till my 4th and 5th attempt, my practice was so good that despite all these nervousness issues, I kept attempting the exam effortlessly. I would say, practice makes a man perfect. I had terrible verbal scores in my first three attempts but once I got a grip on it, it just got better and better. Last time, I scored 161 and this time, 164. So, I don't find it very difficult now. But, quant is getting way tougher now. In my first three attempts, it was somewhat easier but this time, it was so difficult that it just blew my mind away. So, be prepared, it's going to give you a tough time. Time management is also one of the biggest challenges of the GRE exam. For that, Saad's strategy is the best. First do, TC and SE then RC Q10, 11 and 12 and then Q4 and Q5. The same goes with the second session. For Quant, I just attempt as the question comes. But, I would say if you can't solve any question, don't waste your time on that, just move on and once you complete your section, in the end come back to it and try to solve it. Confidence is key. Even if you make mistakes or don't know the answers, just keep moving with confidence. What has to happen, will happen so panicking or losing control over yourself will only make you forget things which you know and lose marks. Now comes Saad, the guru, the magician, the saviour, the master mind. He is the only one in this whole wide world who could get you through this most difficult and intense journey. I can't think of doing this exam without him. From getting to know him to following him on Instagram to taking his in person 3 days workshop, to taking his one to one class to following his every suggestion to watching his every video and using his every resource available on social media. For this GRE journey and my success, the credit goes to Saad. He actually knows the depth of this test and only he knows what resources are useful and what are a total waste of time. He knows where to invest your energy and time and where not. He knows only which strategies are fruitful and which are not. I can swear by him. Moreover, Saad's strategies were particularly designed for me and everyone shouldn’t blindly follow my strategy because Saad had a lot of data of mine to work with. He might have seen something in you and recommended it accordingly, so others shouldn’t just blindly follow it - discuss it with Saad if you ever get a response from him. If someone doesn’t do their homework or doesn’t prove that they’ve worked hard - for example, by going through his Instagram posts, reading all the important ones including success stories and 341 analyses; they shouldn’t expect a reply from him. He receives a huge number of messages every day and he is smart enough to filter out the serious students so make sure the first message and form you fill shows that you’ve made a lot of effort. Also, I would advise everybody to solve Saad’s mocks on Instagram and the questions he uploads on his stories (switch on notifications of every post/story of his) and even if you’re busy just take a screenshot and randomly answer the question so you have those questions those are super helpful. My biggest takeaway is that practice. The more you practice, the more you improve in this exam automatically. This success did not happen overnight. It's hard earned after relentlessly working, studying and putting effort each and every day. I went through many breakdowns and huge tragedies yet one thing I did was, I Didn't Give up!! And credit goes to Saad as well, who supported me through thick and thin. Every time I doubted myself, he reassured me and claimed this over and over that he knew I would get a 320. I would highly advise you all to make an error log of both verbal and quant. This improves your score drastically. Practice your error log again and again and know where you are making mistakes and why. Is it a silly mistake or a result of a weak concept. The test centre was terrible. It was Aus Pak situated in a run-down area having outdated laptops. My online calculator stopped working and I had to attempt my complete exam without a calculator. Just imagine! This affected my score otherwise I would have easily crossed 160 in quant. I was very well-prepared. It affected the second section of my verbal too because I could not get myself out of the horrible experience of attempting quant's first section. Therefore, my Quant score does not reflect my true potential, I have already scored higher in Quant than this in my previous exams. So, I might retake the exam. For AWA, I will be honest, I didn't make any effort. Just followed strategies which Saad shared with us in our in person class and sticking by them only. In the end, I would thank Saad from the bottom of my heart. I am forever grateful to you. You are my guardian angel who came out of nowhere, led me by finger and helped me achieve this massive score which I could not have thought of in my wildest dreams. This score means a lot to me because I achieved this despite being a mom of two, having an injured arm and facing several other challenges. Thank you Saad, you will always be remembered through my prayers.

The final score that I was able to achieve is 324, with the breakdown as: 157V, 167Q For verbal, I started with learning vocabulary from the Magoosh App (common words and basic words), and then I started a bit of practice from Gregmat, along with vocabulary from Saad Amer List on ig. From Gregmat, I was mostly doing vocabulary questions (sentence equivalence and text completion). For reading comprehension, I mostly practiced from the Big Book For quant, I started with the Magoosh guide for Math (just to cover the extent of the syllabus and learn a few tricks); then I did ETS math review (again to cover the topics and get some basic practice - I did all the exercises and the tests there) After that, I went on to practice Math from Gregmat; first, I did the flashcard quizzes, then the basic review, and then the practice exercises. For this, I would say that Gregmat is generally not a very good resource to practice questions (they are usually very confusing and the hard ones are probably a lot more harder than the ones you get in the real GRE). However, I would say that flashcards are a really big help, specially with tricks for concepts. I would definitely recommend learning those flashcard concepts, and then if there's time, also try doing the practice exercises with each flashcard topic. Then, I also tried doing Math from Big Book, which I would say was a waste of time since they were too easy compared to the real GRE. Maybe the easy questions on the Big Book are the same as the easy questions on the actual test, but then again there's no point in putting in so many hours just for that Then I mainly did the 589 Magoosh quant practice questions, which was probably the best practice for Quant and closest to the real exam I initially attempted Magoosh mock, Manhattan Mock, ETS review test, and target prep. I would say that those mocks are not at all close to what one experiences in the real GRE; Magoosh diagnostic test mock was probably the closest to the real exam, but the other ones weren’t good, and I would recommend to not do them - maybe just a diagnostic mock with Magoosh is fine just to get an idea for where you stand right in the start, but not otherwise The actual mocks that are helpful are the Powerprep ones, and also Saad Amer’s mocks (honestly, the closest they can get to the real GRE) However, doing mocks is not enough at all; one can only learn and improve if one properly review their mistakes and then try to improve on them. Keeping an error log to yourself (and also labelling it properly in terms of what types of mistakes one is making) is crucial; this not only enhance your overall paper attempt, but also with very very specific things you need to focus on. For example, one thing I learnt was how I would usually make silly mistakes in quant the harder question for the data interpretations - even though the answer was actually quiet easy to figure out, this was one thing I was consistently making a silly mistake on, so in the real test, I was extra careful with this question. Another important aspect to note is that Powerprep exams (while also probably the best external sources for mock) are NOT at all exact representations of the real GRE exam; the english is at times pretty close (however, I would argue that the vocabulary gap, and the hard passage can get exponentially harder), but Quant is not an accurate representation at all. And within Quant, the harder quant part is definitely nowhere close to the Powerprep; I do not remember any question that actually had me think and challenge in the Powerprep, but in the real GRE exam there were at least three in which I couldn't solve at first attempt and actually had to go back again to solve them. So, within your preps, within your mocks, always go with this expectation and buffer that the real GRE quant will be tougher than the Powerpreps FOR SURE On the test day, I think Verbal came a lot harder than I expected it; the passages that came were really confusing, as well as some vocabulary that I was not aware of. That made me lose a lot of confidence at the start, and probably affected my performance subsequently as well For Quant, it was hard, but mostly within my expectations. There were a few challenging questions in the second part, but mostly with Quant, once you do have a strong grip of concepts, its really about time management. I had to rush through a couple of questions in the end, which probably led to the few mistakes I made; hence, the key here is to always time your practice tests, and otherwise as well. The technique for solving Quant backwards (like Saad suggests) actually works wonders; it easily brought me from never being able to finish section 2 on time to either getting it done on time or only rushing through one last question One very crucial thing I would recommend is to keep your nerves calm during the exam; I was actually a bit overwhelmed and started to panic after my first verbal session because of words I did not know, but I told myself that I was doing this right, just to fuel confidence and make sure my remaining sessions did not get messed up. This is VERY VERY important because had I started panicking in my first verbal session (which I was, quite frankly, actually messing up as well), I would've missed out on my quant score as well. So even if some questions are very hard, skip them at the start. Tell yourself you can figure this out, and you have figured this out. You do not need any self-reflection during an actual exam like you need during your mocks, so just feed into your confidence in whatever way you can I think one of the key challenges I faced was with vocabulary; even though I had learnt about a 1000+ words, a lot of the words that came were words I was looking at for the very first time. The 341 vocab definitely helped a lot; which is why is hindsight, I think I should have first completed the entire 341 vocab (since I didnt complete it entirely), and then move on to Magoosh. A lot of words in 341 vocab are also in Magoosh so there is overlap, but I believe 341 vocab words are more relevant, honestly. But I do thing vocabulary was a challenge that I faced which hindered my performance in verbal significantly. Honestly, every resource, from the videos to the stories and posts, are a HUGE help. I was following Saad and preparing for more than a month along those lines, and the guidance Saad had given on Youtube; essentially, I was following his method long before I even had a chance to talk to him or connect with him. This really helped me take on directions at first, and really understand what specific thing I need help with in my preparation. Apart from that, all the tips that Saad gives (with the very small details about paper as well as to the overall strategy) really helped a lot I think the stories and the highlights of the raw experiences on instragram of other people really helps; it humanizes this exam for you and breaks down the process that feels very intimidating and overwhelming at the start. Other than that, keep on engaging with the stories and any questions that Saad posts on his stories - those are very close to the real exam, and some with entirely the same concept. Also, it's good to know overall go through the information on the page (going through all the highlights really helps as it gives you a holistic overview) Overall, Saad is really an expert, and knows the exam inside out (in the most literal sense of it). Every advice that he has (from YouTube to his instragram page to talking to him personally) really worked out for me; if you follow him to the end, and try implementing his strategies, it definitely helps you loads, in every aspect. My total preparation time for this was 2.5 months; I was also working alongside this so i would usually do 2-3 hours per day on weekdays, and 4-5 hours on weekends. Sometimes my schedule would fall off, and there were days I put in more hours and days I put in fewer hours, but this was generally the schedule that I followed In terms of balancing the prep, I took both Quant and verbal simultaneously; on some days, I was feeling more towards practicing and in my math mode, so id practice more quant questions and fewer verbal questions. On some days of course it would be the opposite. One thing I would recommend is to be consistent; even if on some days you are not feeling like studying a lot, just give 20-30 mins to this. This actually helps you build a routine, and trains your mind to know that this is something you cannot skip. Once you take a break for a day, the next break you take will be longer, and eventually that leads you to be more inconsistent with you practice Another important aspect in terms of logistics to preparation is to always revise your verbal; in hindsight this was one that I probably shouldve done better, but while you learn new words, always revise the previous ones as a lot of them are very close and confusing words, which is done by ETS deliberately. So even on days when you do not feel like practicing english, at least be consistent with you vocabulary. If you cant learn new words, at least revise your previous ones. Even a quick short look helps. There are a few things I would actually want to give as an overall advice to anybody on this journey, specially those who are starting to prepare. First, know that getting done with the GRE as well as possible is the best thing ever, since this is always the biggest hurdle and roadblock to one’s applications - once this is out of the way, you can easily focus on other things for your applications and plan accordingly. Secondly, you are bound to get confused and overwhelmed naturally with this exam - there are tons and tons of resources for this exam, and the most fundamental problem i think everyone faces is that “where to start from”. I went through this as well, jumping from resource to resource in the start, and always being confused and hesitant on whether I was doing the right thing, or on whether it was the most efficient approach. My recommendation is that you should just start and see where the process takes you, and then eventually optimize it; this is because everybody has their own journey and their own learning process, it would be very hard for you to simply replicate the learning process of another person - you always have to take advice and help from others, but then at one point its just too much advice that it becomes noise. Please be aware of that, and instead of looking for the most perfect resource in the start, just begin your preparation. Take a couple of weeks, or even a month with a few resources, and youd eventually get some idea of how the exam is supposed to be, how it is structured, and where you are lacking. Once you have done this, then you should get specific advice from experts or try making your process more efficient and optimized. This is exactly what I did; first I gauged what waters I was in, what specific problems and challenges I am facing, and then went to Saad for advice. This way Saad was also able to help me in a better way since he knew exactly what I was struggling with and what I should be doing. I am currently an analyst in the consulting industry.

I scored a 320 (160V 160Q) — improving my verbal score by almost 10 points in just 3 weeks with Saad’s coaching. For context, I intensely studied for ~2 months prior to my first test — learning 1.2K words with Vince Vocab, taking the GregMat 2-month course, and reading the Economist / Scientific Journal. I was able to get a 163Q, but bombed and got a 151V. With three weeks to prepare, I was referred to Saad’s — where I learned the most important lesson: prioritize quality over quantity and go slower to go faster. I currently work as a senior consultant at the Bridgespan Group. Tactically, I: 1. Made an error log and reviewed what I got wrong, diagnosed what in my thought process and approach was not effective, and re-wired my mind / re-designed my approach 2. ⁠Read slower for RC and took notes in the form of an annotated mental map of the passages. This helped me to comprehend the info and have a map to go back to guide me to the evidence I needed to validate (or invalidate) an answer 3. ⁠Prioritized elimination strategy over anything else. The test is deceiving and it’s cognitively easier to disprove rather than validate 4. ⁠Did a crap ton of mock practice problems/tests from Instagram under timed conditions to build my muscles of pattern recognition and making decisions quickly and not looking back. Overall, I recommend going slower to go faster and prioritizing quality over quantity. Also, consider getting coaching from Saad :) Not only is it nice to have the added reassurance of an expert in your corner, but he has an ability to inspire and effectively coach you to identify strategies that work best with your way of thinking.

I hope you’re doing great. It’s high time I shared my GRE journey — and without a doubt, you made it possible. To everyone reading this: the GRE has become much tougher now. The usual old resources just don’t cut it anymore. My final score was 321 (165 Quant, 156 Verbal, 4.0 AWA). Studying and discipline weren’t an issue for me — the real challenge was: a) Which resources to use, and b) How to use those resources effectively. My husband recommended Saad’s page to me (he was Saad’s batch mate at LUMS - class of 2018), and I found it incredibly helpful. I went through his YouTube videos on resources like Manhattan 5 lb and the GRE Big Book. Below, I’ve detailed all the resources I used and how I used them. For Quant , I built concepts using Manhattan’s 6 Quant guides and Magoosh videos. Both offered different strategies, and I learned from both. But since the GRE has become more advanced now, I also studied the extra topics highlighted on Saad’s Instagram — things like parabolas, concentric circles, box plots, and slope (make sure you interact with his questions on stories - he keeps an eye on those students who regularly answer questions and are working hard and he will randomly message you out of the blue) if he thinks he can improve your score. Once my concepts were solid, I practiced in this order: 1) Manhattan 5 lb questions and ETS Quant guides 2) GRE Big Book Data Interpretation and tough Quant questions 3) Magoosh Quant questions shared by Saad 4) the Quant Qs on Saad’s Instagram — these were the real game changer. Their difficulty matched the actual GRE, and some of those exact concepts appeared on test day. For realistic GRE simulation, I used PowerPrep 3 exams and most importantly, Saad’s mock exams on Instagram — they truly reflected the real GRE level For Verbal,* I used GregMat to understand Sentence Equivalence, Text Completion, and RC strategies. For vocabulary, I used Magoosh GRE flashcards, all the word lists Saad provided (some of which appeared verbatim in my test), and 1000 words by Talha Omer (Brightlink Prep). Magoosh helped build a foundation, but Saad’s word lists made the real difference. I practiced Verbal from the GRE Big Book and ETS Verbal guides, applying all the strategies I’d learned. For AWA, I followed only Saad’s guidance on Instagram — nothing else — and still scored a 4.0. For mocks, I attempted 3 PowerPrep exams, ETS free mocks, and Saad’s mock tests on Instagram. Let me be honest — Saad’s mocks were a 100% match to the real GRE. The ETS ones felt easier and outdated. If you want to truly assess yourself, use Saad’s mocks. I stayed in touch with Saad throughout the prep process, and he kept guiding me at every step. Even after finishing content, I struggled with time management — especially in Quant. Saad gave me a strategy: “Solve the initial and final questions first. Skip the middle ones and return later.” I started using this approach a week before test day — and it worked like magic. It helped me stay calm and manage time wisely during the exam. Another key tip from Saad: Maintain an error log to identify repeated mistakes. He even reviewed mine and gave feedback. He also advised me to time every practice session — which helped immensely with stamina and pacing. Since I had some free time initially, I studied 2–3 hours daily, 5 days a week, and prepped over 5–6 months. But this wasn’t easy. I gave my GRE while going through a rough pregnancy, in and out of emergency rooms, all while doing a demanding consulting job. I even had to reschedule my exam. And shortly after that, I became a mom. That’s why I got delayed in sharing this — life got busy with motherhood. So if you’re reading this and your job (I currently work at PWC as a manager)is tough or your life is full — just know that if you’re focused and consistent, you can pull it off. My advice to new test-takers: don’t rely too much on ETS material — ETS Quant is about 50% easier than the real GRE. Practice each question like it's the real exam, understand every concept deeply, and track your errors. On test day, I was calm because I had practiced with real difficulty in mind. I used every break to walk around and snack to stay refreshed. I’m incredibly grateful to Saad for all his insights and constant support. I truly could not have done it without him.