Preparing for the GMAT obviously goes without saying. But many are understandably apprehensive about paying $1000+ for an in-person course on top of $250 per GMAT session, etc. I certainly was one of those people. But think of it this way: a bump in your GMAT score, which is probably inevitable with a good course/instructor, can mean the difference between so many things: a safety school vs. a dream school; paying sticker vs. receiving a scholarship; confidence going into the app season vs. apprehension about candidacy; etc. So the money should easily be rationalized given the huge importance of your GMAT score.

But which to take?? I spent a lot of time researching programs and it was clear that Manhattan GMAT had an edge, first and foremost because of its superior print materials. Not to say that other programs don't put out good stuff -- they do -- but MGMAT really seemed to have an edge. Full disclosure, I previously had taken an LSAT course with Angela, so I was confident in her ability to teach. So I chose MGMAT and was extremely pleased. Certainly you could use the MGMAT print materials alone, but augmenting those w/ a strict lesson plan and interactive weekly classes meant the difference between an active/engaged and a passive/solitary style of preparation. I am biased, obviously, but I really believe the former is worth its weight in gold, and MGMAT is the way to go.

My first MGMAT CAT was Q37/V32/580. Five months later my first official GMAT score was Q43/V42/700. After my MGMAT post-test assessment, I made some study adjustments, retook the test a month later and reached Q49/V45/760 - a 180 point improvement. I’m done….

The main reason that I reached 760 was that I studied like my life depended on it. But kudos to MGMAT for their excellent program. The instructors were uniformly sharp and engaged, and MGMAT’s tools gave me the resources I needed to leverage my effort into actual results. OG Archer in particular was an indispensible tool – allowing me to pinpoint strengths, weaknesses and timing flaws. Looking back, I cant imagine studying for the GMAT without MGMAT’s OG Archer.

Throughout, MGMAT seemed as an engaged partner in the process. During both the live online sessions and the consults, it seemed that each instructor took the success of their students as a matter of personal pride. The individual consults I had from two instructors weren’t generalized advice – they were specific to my own weaknesses and how to address them.

My study plan was about 5 months. After getting a wake up call on my initial CAT, I read through the quant basics, all the quant study guides twice and did each problem set twice, 1 month apart. I did almost all of the self study per the syllabus and tried to be engaged for the online sessions.

I didn’t spend much time on verbal because it was my stronger area. Yet my score improved there as well, because I was learning from MGMAT how to take the test.

Once the class I was complete I ratcheted up to a steady diet of 50-100 practice questions per day – either MGMAT or GMAT Club. As additional supplements, I used the Advanced Quant guide, which I purchased. The techniques were interesting, but I used it primarily to gain additional exposure to difficult concepts and for drilling. I also watched numerous additional videos available from MGMAT – I wanted to be completely immersed in the quant so that any problem appeared as if it were something I had done before. Judging from my initial GMAT quant score – which was well below where I was practicing - I think this burnt me out a bit, frankly.

I think that one area of my study that definitely helped was targeted subject-matter drills. Each time I used the OG Archer, I would go to GMATClub and drill on my weak area. Using the search function I could quickly find 5-10 questions that targeted my weakness and grow.

So if there is one area I would suggest additional resources for MGMAT it would be more “drilling” options for particular areas. My practice CATS were in the low-mid 700’s going into the exam, but I think my breakthrough (from 700 to 760) on my second real GMAT was following the advice of my MGMAT post-assessment instructor Emily and eliminating my mistakes on easier questions.

Instead of studying 10 hours per day for my second exam, I took one week off to clear my head, and just did daily 1 hour drills on easy questions until I could run off 20 in a row with no dumb errors. No more advanced quant whatsoever before my retake.

Thinking about the 760 score and how my prep got me there, I think the MGMAT sections and homework moved my score from 560 to the 680-700 range, MGMAT’s advanced quant and additional GMAT Club study (thanks Bunuel!) got me to the point where I had confidence about a 700 level score, and my MGMAT post-assessment session helped me focus on eliminating the dumb mistakes and got me to 760.

So without hesitation I’d recommend MGMAT to anyone prepping for the GMAT. If you use MGMAT as your study partner I think you will be rewarded with an all-around solid program run by terrific people who are engaged in your success.

Good luck to all.

I took the 9-week course a couple of months ago with Keith Blume, who is a fantastic instructor. The class sessions provided helpful, structured exposure to material that I hadn't seen in years, enabling me to then study effectively and efficiently on my own. The most important part of preparing for the GMAT is the effort you put into studying on your own time, and I found that the MGMAT classes were indispensable to my ability to study well for the GMAT.

In addition to the actual class sessions, MGMAT also provides a number of excellent study materials such as strategy guides and online resources. One of the online resources that I found to be especially useful is a platform into which you can enter your timed answers to Official Guide problems to track your progress. The platform then generates statistics that pinpoint the subject areas and question types you need to focus on most in terms of both accuracy and timing.

I'm very satisfied with the experience I had with Manhattan GMAT and I would recommend the course to anyone who's serious about improving his or her GMAT score. Even if you're already scoring well, MGMAT can help you do better - I took the actual GMAT last week and scored a 790 (51Q, 51V).

Overall I would strongly recommend purchasing the MGMAT 9 Session Course. It was well worth the money. I actually did the online course because I travel for work and the platform was great. I did not feel like anything was lost not phsyically being in class. What the MGMAT does so well is teach you HOW to study and also guide you and guage your progress as you go.

They provide in class sessions that go over problems and teach important principles in both quant and verbal. The sentence correction work was extremely useful. The guide they give details exactly what problems you should be working on each week and is really helpful to keep you following a path and not becoming inconsistent with studying. This is vital.

Whenever I had questions or concerns my instructors answered them promptly and even helped with a post-9 class session study road map to keep me in my study habits up until test day.

In total:
Overall: 750
Quant: 48
Verbal: 44

Took the course with Avi as my instructor. He is extremely knowledgeable and genuinely interested and excited in the material he teaches. His enthusiasm is contagious and he makes the material seem much more interesting than it is. He makes sure that you understand the basics and change the way you think when you see certain questions, which allows you to solve the question quickly. He is always available before or after class for some extra help if needed. I would highly recommend taking the course with him. I will be taking the GMAT in the near future, so I cannot comment on score improvement at this time.

The best thing I did in preparing for the GMAT was to take the Manhattan GMAT 9 week prep course. The curriculum was outstanding and paced all of the material well. The strategies and tactics outlined by the study guides, class exercises and instructor were extremely helpful.

Jonathan Schneider was my instructor. Jonathan was not only knowledgeable about all of the topics but also taught them in such a way that made the concepts and theories easy to grasp. When a certain concept was not clicking for a student, Jonathan was able to creatively present the material in a different way to ensure the student grasped the concept. Jonathan was also extremely personable and approachable. Furthermore, Jonathan's teaching style is such that he not only is able to teach the material well, but teaches his students how to best continue to study after the completion of the course. In my opinion, it is that skill that will ultimately determine a student's success on the GMAT. I could not have scored my goal score without Jonathan's instruction. I would highly recommend him as an instructor!

Take the class! You won't regret it.

When I signed up for the Manhattan 9-class prep course, I had little to no experience or clue what to expect. On my first practice test I took through their website, I pulled a 650 overall. The instructor, Liz Moliski, was absolutely as helpful as could be in thoroughly explaining every topic we went over in the classroom, as well as very easy to reach and helpful outside of class. I missed two classes and she was great in communicating to me what make up work I could be doing outside of the classroom to help keep up with the workload pace.

I pulled a final score of 720 overall, so a 70 point or 11% improvement. I would highly recommend this class for anyone really looking to hone their skills and have the advance familiarity with the test format and types of questions you'll run into come exam day. My score improved drastically through my experience with Manhattan, and I can't thank them enough for the help!

I found the Manhattan GMAT resources to be extremely useful throughout the study process. Their syllabus, combined with MGMAT handing you all of the resources you needed, made the potentially overwhelming process of studying feel more manageable.

I didn't love the class, though. My instructor was Marcus and though he was clearly smart and and a decent teacher, I found his jokes to be distracting and take up too much time. It sometimes seemed as though he was jumping all over the place in terms of content. It was probably the most useful in terms of familiarizing me with the content.

In the end, I found studying on my own to be the most useful. Taking practice tests and going over exam questions taught me a lot more than the class or other studying. My first practice test was a 630, and my actual GMAT was a 730 (68% quant, 99% verbal).

I took the in-class 9 week session with Manhattan GMAT Toronto with Avi as my instructor. It was a great course that covered all the foundations to prepare for the GMAT. Avi was great at explaining concepts and really encouraging class discussions. He also was able to explain multiple ways of solving a problem. The concepts/tricks taught in class really help to prepare for the GMAT. I found the course material robust and there is an endless supply of resources for self study.

Overall I would recommend both Avi & Manhattan GMAT in preparing to face the GMAT. Anyone considering taking the GMAT no matter your skill level should consider taking this course.

Manhattan GMAT was recommended to me by friends who have gone to the top business schools in the country. Everyone pushed me to get a 700-720+ on the GMAT as a baseline score and told me to enroll in this class. They were absolutely right.

It's impressive how different prep programs can be - I've taken Kaplan and Princeton in the past but Manhattan GMAT is well-designed and well-executed. The course increased my practice exam scores +120 points and got me above the baselines suggested above. Great experience and great value for a process that can otherwise be very unpleasant (I don't know of anyone who loved prepping for and taking the GMAT). Thanks Manhattan GMAT! I would recommend this to anyone I know that is looking to prep.