Use these 5 test prep apps to ace your exams and achieve your dream score

Daunted by huge entrance prep books? Or just can't afford them? Whatever may be your reason, these apps are here to save the day.

Preparing for entrance exams like GMAT, GRE, CAT, banks, the Railway Recruitment Board (RRB), and the civil services can be stressful. But finding the right study tools and resources can be even more frustrating at times.

Thankfully, the App Store today is filled with options that help you not just save time wasted in travelling to prep classes, but also money that is usually spent on preparation books.

Today, there are already some established players like unicorn BYJU’s and learning platform Unacademy. As of March 2018, it was reported that BYJU’s, funded by Tencent and Sequoia among many investors, had raised funding of $244 million. On the other hand, Unacademy raised Series B funding of $11.5 million in September 2017; it had raised $4.5 million in January the same year.

With the edutech space becoming more innovative and in sync with user needs in recent times, we list five other test preparation applications where you can get help, clarify doubts, practise mock tests, find detailed solutions, and create efficient study plans for upcoming examinations.

1. Oliveboard

Founded in 2012 by ex-Inmobi employees Abhishek Patil and Satish Kumar, Oliveboard provides video and textual lessons, mock tests, notes and much more for MBA, government and banking exams, and GMAT, CAT, GRE and CMAT. The app’s features include extensive test series with solutions, customised study planners, and live group study sessions in the form of games. It also has remedial practice sessions for weaker areas, a daily GK news section, and up-to-date content by toppers and experts. With over one million downloads, Oliveboard has content available in English as well as Hindi.

2. Cracku

With three 99.9+ CAT percentiles, the Cracku team, consisting of IIT-IIM alumni Maruti Konduri, Srikanth Lingamneni and Sayali Kale, wants to be a one-stop shop for CAT. Cracku gamifies learning with a ‘Live Leader Board’ across the country that lets you compete with friends and assess your relative performance. The app focuses on other postgraduate exams such as Banking SSC and GATE as well, and has a database of over one lakh questions with detailed solutions and tips. Its free content includes reasoning puzzles and quizzes, doubt-solving by experts, and previous years’ solved papers with in-depth solutions.

3. Studycopter

Prepare for IBPS, SSC, RRB, GMAT, and much more with Studycopter, and receive 24x7 help from private tutors on tricky concepts and difficult questions. This app analyses your strengths and weaknesses, compares them with peers, and constructs a study plan for you. Studycopter also has realistic adaptive tests and speed tests with detailed explanations and score analysis to hone your timing and skills. It tracks questions skipped or answered incorrectly and prepares a list of questions and concepts to review close to test day. It has signups from Americas, Europe and India and has mentorship from graduates of top business schools like Chicago, INSEAD and Stanford.

4. Handa Ka Funda

With the aim of providing an affordable online coaching solution, Ravi Handa, a Computer Science IIT-Kharagpur graduate, started Handa Ka Funda. Focused on MBA and banking entrance exams, the app has courseware in the form of presentations, videos, documents, past papers and formulas for GMAT, CAT, XAT, GRE and more. It also has live classes that can be accessed anywhere and clarify doubts in real time. The app has a feature that notifies you about upcoming live classes, assignments, and tests.

5. PREXAM

A study partner and self-evaluation tool, PREXAM was founded by Payal Doshi in 2012. It has different apps for the preparation of each exam, like CAT, IAS prelims, SSC and CA-CPT. It also uses different techniques for tackling different exams. While the focus for CAT is expert tips and tricks, the focus for CA-CPT is section-wise score maximisation. The apps have 5,000+ questions for every exam type and even have error correction tests for incorrect answers. It does not have the typical fixed tests but offers test questions that are randomly selected based on criteria inputted, such as chapter, marks, and difficulty.