Manhattan GMAT Washington, DC Review

I ended up taking the Manhattan GMAT course twice -- the first time online and second time in person with Pedro in DC. When I originally signed up, I was okay with the fact that Manhattan wasn't one of the companies that reimbursed you if your score went up. After all, they're not the ones taking the test and the books are probably more important than the work.

The online course was alright, but not my preferred method of instruction. One of the teachers (Stacy Koprince) was really good and the other was just alright, but I wasn't as serious about the GMAT I needed to be and I'm not sure how much the online course helped. The problem-based course format got me some practice but I didn't leave lessons feeling like I learned strategies for problems I hadn't seen before. They demonstrated how to answer the questions in front of us, but there was little discussion of how to translate that to new problems in the times required by the GMAT.

My score stayed even with my diagnostic of 640 (.

The in-person course was a different experience. I really liked Pedro who was engaging and sarcastic, which fits with my learning style. He was excellent at answering questions from the class and there was more discussion about the mindset for tackling new problems in the time allotted by the GMAT. Just as importantly, the talent level of the class was high and I learned from them as well! The class was still problem-focused, but more engaging and helpful overall.

In the end, I got a 710 (40Q, 47V) with 5.5 on AWA and 7/8 on IR.