520 to 690 (44Q, 41V, 6 IR, 6.0 AWA) after working with Elaine Loh

I sometimes feel intimidated when I see other reviews for others that are scoring 750+. I hope to score 700+ on my retake in a few weeks, but I am very happy with the score that I received. I am not a brilliant student, nor am I naturally gifted with numbers, I just worked as hard as I could with the Manhattan Prep program. I want to be clear, without Manhattan Prep, and specifically Elaine Loh, there is NO WAY that I would have scored as well as I did.

As the title states, I first scored a 520 on a practice test in December 2018 with a different GMAT test prep company. I used that particular program consistently from October-December of 2018, and I was crushed that I could only score a 520. At that point, I decided that I needed to get serious, and I started the Manhattan Prep instructor led course.

I was skeptical that using a Manhattan Prep instructor led course could really help since I had been working so hard with the other GMAT program. I was completely wrong. The Manhattan Prep materials are simply the best that you can get. I’ve used some different materials from other prep courses, and they were pretty good. However, the Manhattan Prep strategy guides are clearly better than the competition. The online content, including the GMAT Navigator, is phenomenal and certainly worth the money spent. The strategy guides are comprehensive, easy to read, and effective. The course syllabus provided the exact type of structure that I needed to prepare for the GMAT.

However, I think the real difference was the course led by Elaine Loh. I can’t say enough good things about the actual course. When I was taking the class, I had confidence knowing that who I was working with actually scored in the 99th percentile. Elaine was fun, charismatic, and most importantly, she was genuine in wanting to help us score as high as possible. She really took the time to make sure that we understood the material. She taught the class in such a way that I could actually recall specific moments while I was taking the GMAT. I know it sounds weird, but I was actually singing our “peanut butter” words song under my breath while doing the verbal section. My wife laughs at me when I randomly say “when in doubt, get the pronoun out!” And lastly, I specifically recall Elaine telling us to “WORK IT OUT” when doing data sufficiency questions.

Elaine not only taught us the appropriate content, but also the strategy behind the questions---I think this is the real difference between high scores and mediocre scores. She taught us different ways to approach questions, and made sure we understood WHY we worked problems the way that we did. Knowing content will only take you so far with the GMAT. After completing the course and actually taking the test, I’m convinced that anyone can score above a 650 with the right preparation.

In closing, I want to thank Elaine Loh and the Manhattan Prep team for helping me to score as well as I did. This sounds dramatic, and maybe it is, but her course really helped me get closer to my dreams. For 3 long months, I had serious doubts about whether I could make it in business school. I could only see myself working in sales for the rest of my career. However, with Elaine’s help and Manhattan Prep, I can not only say that I WILL go to business school, but I also have a good chance of going to legitimate top business school. Thank you Elaine!