Manhattan Prep GMAT Course Reviews

To say I know what you're all going through is an understatement. Try this: I went to acting conservatory for undergrad and held low-level administrative jobs that required almost no quantitative skills whatsoever. I literally had not taken a math class in over 10 years, and when I did, I was a C student. With this background, I was very intimidated to broach data sufficiency and rate problems. Proud and poor, I resented having to invest in a prep course, but had I not, I honestly can say I would've given up on the MBA.

Enter Ryan McGorman's Manhattan Prep GMAT course. This guy gets it. He's the smart & trenchant older brother you never had, and displayed a real knack for phrasing material in a way that was conducive to my difficult learning style. He doesn't just deeply understand the material, but has a skill I rarely see in teachers: the ability to simultaneously package lessons as both useful and expansive. In other words, I never felt like I was "just" learning test-taking technique for concepts I didn't get, nor did I feel I was finally grasping a concept in a way I could never spit back in 2 minutes on the GMAT. I was learning both sides of the spectrum, slowly but surely. Ryan's got that balance down pat. He was born to teach the GMAT.

Practice Test: 570
Actual Test: 710

Read More

Before taking the Manhattan Prep online course, I believed that I was disciplined enough to take the self-study route. Though I diligently studied through the OG, Manhattan Prep Study Guides, and the GMATClub resources, I felt that I hadn't actually learned anything. This culminated in scoring a 550 on the GMAT after a year's worth of study.

I chose to pay for a prep course to help focus my studies and also decided that an online course would be best. The online course provided me with flexibility, since I travel frequently, and also allowed me to pick a highly rated instructor, and after doing some research, I chose to enroll in Jamie Nelson's online class.

I would highly recommend taking an online course with Jamie Nelson. Not only did she translate the study guides into layman's terms, she provided tips and tricks that she had accumulated over her time spent teaching the GMAT. Jamie's "Jamieisms" provided shortcuts to common quant and verbal questions, helping me to save on precious time.

More importantly than her teaching ability, Jamie was always available outside of class hours to help. I was weak in specific topics within the quant section, so I would reach out to Jamie for advice; she was ready to forward drill sheets and class notes from her other classes so that I could bolster my learning.

I believe that the online prep course provided me a stable foundation to build my understanding of the GMAT. I began with a 550 on a Manhattan Prep GMAT and ended with a 700 on the official GMAT. To everyone reading this post, I can't recommend the course more. I wish everyone luck in their journey!

Read More

I had already been working with a tutor before meeting with Ryan, and decided to make a switch after making very little improvement and receiving a less than desirable first score. I can say quite positively that I would not have received the 720 without Ryan. All GMAT tutors know the material and can explain it, but that is not what made the difference for me. Ryan was able to pin-point my weaknesses in quant almost immediately, and was able to explain critical concepts in a palatable way. Most importantly, he did not allow me to stay in my comfort zone. He did not just explain a concept and ensure that I could repeat it back to him, but insisted that I be able to explain the reasons why it made sense. Even though it was sometimes painful, he made sure I learned these critical concepts forward and backward. I would (and have) recommend Ryan to anyone who needs an extra push and personal attention. I am extremely grateful for Ryan's help and could not speak highly enough of his talent as a tutor.

Read More

This course is everything you need to accomplish your GMAT goals. I would say the only thing that is tough is getting through a three hour online class in one sitting. If you see this as being a potential problem for you, don't panic - do these two things and you should be good: (1) pick a good time slot during the week that you will be able to consistently make and a time that you won't generally be extremely tired during (also, don't overthink this, you'll be fine if you are internally committed) and (2) pick a great teacher like Jamie that will make the three hour class as exciting as it is informative. Manhattan Prep actually allows you to test out teachers (the first session is free) which is great because it's is very important to like your teacher - nine 3-hour sessions lay ahead of you (but again, don't overthink it). Would I recommend this course, absolutely. The course material is great and does a good job of steering you toward what you need to focus on.

Read More

Having already some tutoring experience with another big prep company I am able to distinguish a good tutor from a bad tutor. I have taken about 6 hours with my tutor in the other prep company and it has not brought me much, I guess my quant score improved by 2 or 3. This was because the tutor was focused on trying to teach me things I already knew and did not make much effort to find out where the problem is.

On the other hand, working with Ryan is more or less like going to see a doctor. He will try to get into your shoes and find everything that is wrong. In four hours of tutoring he has not taught me once any concept I could just learn in a guide, instead, he pointed out each and every problem I had and helped me to find a tailored solution. Some of the techniques prep companies teach to students do not all work for everyone, but Ryan knows it and helped me to build my own strategies.

But much more than helping me to build strategies, he has helped me to get into the mindset that gets people to score over 700 on the GMAT. He has initiated his so-called “epiphany”, and a week after I hit a 700 Q50V34 (before we started the tutoring I scored 610 Q45V28). Now I am able to look at more or less any GMAT question, see the traps and avoid them.

Also, Ryan is not someone here just to collect money, you can really feel that he takes pleasure in teaching. He is aware that tutoring is not cheap at all and will tell you to do the things where you do not need him on your own so that you can spend time with him on things that matter.

The return on investment was huge, I very strongly recommend Ryan!

Read More

This review is for Mark Sullivan and the Manhattan Prep Advanced Course.

I started studying for the GMAT in October 2017 and used a variety self-study resources. I made my first GMAT attempt in February 2018 and scored a 700 (Q43/V42). I was slightly disappointed because my goal score was 720. But I figured I was close, so I hit the books again focusing solely on quant for another few months, and took the test again in May 2018. I scored a 680 (Q44/V39). I was incredibly frustrated and I was losing faith in myself. This is when I decided to call Manhattan Prep, looking for a private tutor.

While on the phone, they informed me of Mark Sullivan's Advanced Course, so I decided to give it a try. This was the best decision I could have made. I would highly recommend this course for anyone who needs help getting from the high 600's to the low/mid 700's.

Mark's approach was a complete game-changer for me. Quant problems had always really intimidated me, but after studying with Mark I felt like I could dismantle any problem. He taught me to focus on recognition of what the problem was testing, rather than just banging content into my head over and over again. In addition, I was already strong in Verbal, but Mark was able to help me develop consistency and speed better than ever before by teaching a rules-based approach that supplemented my ear.

I was calm and confident going into my third GMAT attempt, and I came out with a 730 (Q47,V44)!!!

After 10 months, 14 practice tests, and two real tests, my third and final GMAT attempt was a success thanks to Mark.

Read More

I took the 9 week GMAT course with Reed Arnold at Manhattan Prep's Chelsea location. I highly recommend the course and highly recommend Reed specifically! I improved by over 100 points and got accepted into both of the schools I applied for. The course is great if you are busy and working because they essentially lay out the study plan for you and force you to dedicate to it. Before I took the course, I found myself too busy to be efficient in my studying. The course also comes with the Official Guide (the OG) which is great and a must have for studying. I frankly did not use the foundation books or the other smaller study books the course provides you with. I know most of the class did, however. I was on a fast track and taking the test one week after the course ended though so I cut to the chase and just used the OG and the practice tests. The homework from the course is great as well, they select questions from the OG for you to do - keeps you on track. Reed was my instructor and I think he really made the difference. He's very energetic and surprisingly funny. This is wildly helpful when you haven't studied in years and need to be forced to pay attention. Highly recommend!

Read More

Paul was the best GMAT instructor I could have asked for. The class met every Wednesday night from 7 to 10pm. Though the classes were long, Paul had a way of adding humor to each class to keep us engaged and interested. My friends were taking GMAT classes through different companies at the same time I was doing Manhattan Prep, and they were instructed to take practice exams multiple times per week. Manhattan Prep used a different approach, assigning work to do at home in approx 1 hr increments per night, so that learning was a steady process and we didn't get burnt out. Paul taught us different ways to identify and approach different types of questions, as well as overall test taking strategies. I would recommend taking this class with Paul to anyone who asked.

Read More

I used Manhattan GMAT and Reed Arnold for my GMAT prep. The course was great and really prepared me. But I still was having trouble breaking the 700 barrier, which I felt was necessary for me to get into the schools I was most interested in.
To get over this obstacle, I set up 4 2-hour sessions with Reed and it was worth every penny. Reed was extremely attentive and immediately found small weaknesses in how I approached different problems. Additionally, he taught me different techniques and changed how I reviewed my work. He listened to specific issues and designed a program to fit my needs and strengthen my weaknesses. He made himself very available and even moved around his personal schedule to accommodate me during test week. I have already recommended Reed to colleagues and friends.

Read More

Through this class, I was able to hold myself to a schedule, follow a comprehensive learning curriculum, and gain tips on how to specifically ace the GMAT test format / CAT.

Materials - By going through the 10+ MP booklets and online videos, I was able to learn everything covered on the GMAT from the true basics to more challenging problem types. They offered a systematic way to identify and solve every type of problem so there was no mystery.


Teacher - Mark was great - he taught with succinctness / clarity and created a very comfortable classroom experience where every student felt compelled to ask any type of question and participate. You can truly tell he is a master of every part of the GMAT.

Classroom setting - I definitely gained more through self-studying afterwards than in class. The classes had people from all different backgrounds so we spent a lot of time covering really basic problems. However, the classes did help reiterate and cement some learnings.

Resources - Online portal was great, especially the Navigator tool that offered more detailed solutions to every single Official GMAT problem guide. The problem list was also good to target specific areas.

In the end I improved by 150 points and got above 700!

Read More