I first found out about Manhattan GMAT from a co-worker/friend of mine who had just gotten a full ride to Columbia Business School. She told me it was hands down the best course around, and that was all the proof I needed (the fact that she got a 730 helped too).

I actually took the course twice. the first time I was pretty swamped at work and didn't have time to keep up with the pretty demanding workload of the course (about 8-12 hours of work a week). Before I knew it 8 weeks had passed and the course was over. I didn't even bother to take any more practice tests because i knew I hadn't taken the course seriously. This course is great but you only get out of it, what you put in.

Fast forward a year later, and I hear that the GMAT is changing in June, so I take the plunge, sign up to take the course again and register to take the GMAT the last week in May (about a week after my final Manhattan GMAT class). This time around i buckled down, stopped going out on weekends, and kept up with the course curriculum. Needless to say, this dedication paid dividends! I ended up getting 10 points above my target score and got a 730 on the GMAT.

The course is great because of how thorough the materials are and how charismatic the teachers are. They take something that should be boring and mundane, and make it fairly enjoyable. The math section of their practice test is a little more difficult than the actual GMAT, and I think this is due to the difficulty level increasing much more quickly on the Manhattan GMAT exams then on the real GMAT. This could be considered a good thing though, because it forces you to really work on your time management, an essential skill for getting a good score on the GMAT.

Regardless, I definitely recommend Manhattan GMAT to anyone really looking to get a good score on the exam. Just remember that there are no tricks or shortcuts, the more you put into the course, the more you'll get out of it!

I went to Manhattan GMAT because I had taken the GMAT twice and scored 650 both times with good verbal (95%) but poor quant (50%). I had one last shot at the GMAT before the admission deadline.

For my first 650 I had done quite a lot of preparation but on the day I misjudged the quant timing so I was not hugely surprised when I got this score. However, the second time I took the test I had worked very hard to learn all the mathematical principles, do hundreds of OG practice questions and focus on my timing. I was very disheartened to get a score of 650 again.

I called up MGMAT who put me in touch with Sarah. We booked a session right away. In all, I had three sessions with Sarah, two face to face and one online, and we focussed solely on quant.

I talked her through my approach and immediately she identified that I should modify my study technique so that I placed much more emphasis on reviewing in detail every question which I practiced. Previously, I had only reviewed the questions which I answered incorrectly. I had also not really understood that a good review involves understanding the principles of each question and critically thinking 'how could they have made this question harder?', 'what have I learnt from this?'. After my first session with Sarah, I reviewed every question whether I had answered rightly or wrongly.

Between our lessons I noticed the difference immediately. My review process became more sophisticated and I began to 'see' how to rephrase questions very quickly and understand the potential traps that each question presented.

Sarah also showed me that certain concepts such as prime factorisation could be used across whole ranges of questions. This seemed to unlock a lot of questions which I had been unable to do previously in the 2 minute time limit per question.

One critical point that Sarah taught me was the importance of strategic guessing. I had done very little of this in my previous attempts because it felt so unnatural to approach a question knowing that you were going to have to strategically guess. This really unlocked the quant section for me. In each question after 45 seconds if I was not certain that I could get to the answer in time then I would put all my energy into making the most intelligent guess possible. At first, I felt very uncomfortable doing this but after a while it made a significant difference to my practice test scores.

The day of my final test came and I incorporated everything that Sarah had taught me as well as all the principles that I had learnt in my practice reviews. I had to guess quite a few of the questions in the test but unlike before I actively narrowed down the potential answer choices. The final few questions of the test were quite challenging so I felt cautiously optimistic that the section had gone well.

Then came the moment of truth and 740 appeared on the screen. All the work had paid off.

I wouldn't have been able to do this without sessions with Sarah. She never promised that I would get over 700 or sell me something that she couldn't deliver on. Instead she gave me lots of encouragement and was very patient when I had any difficulties. Although I still had to do lots of work she made sure that I did the right type of work which would actually benefit my score. I'd recommend personal tuition even for a few hours to anyone who feels stuck with the gmat like I did. Now on to the next stage!

I spent about 4 months using the MGMAT books and self study method prepping for the GMAT. I scored a 630. During just a few hours with Chris over the course of the last 4 months, I was able to improve my score to a 730. I whole heartedly believe that his tutoring made breaking 700 possible. He had an excellent knowledge of the material, worked well with me specifically, was easily accessible, and was an excellent teacher / communicator. Without him, I remain convinced that I would have been struggling to break 650 and subsequently fighting to get into a my target grad schools. Thanks Chris and MGMAT.

When I took the GMAT in 2006, I thought a single volume, all-in-one book was enough. And it was enough, at least to get a 710.

Fast forward to 2012. My previous score had expired, so I needed to retake the test. What I felt I lacked in my previous attempt was a focus on concepts, instead of just "tricks". Manhattan GMAT seemed to advertise more than any other prep program that it was "concept-focused". Not only was this true, but I think it had the perfect balance of concepts with strategies ("tricks") to make it the perfect prep program. Full disclosure: I consistently scored very high on the Verbal section, so I completely blew off studying the Verbal strategy guides and focused solely on the Quant section. I'm sure the Verbal was just as good, though. :)

I enrolled in a Manhattan GMAT course after my college recommended it. My instructor was extremely knowledgeable and made the three hour class very pleasant. The study guides Manhattan GMAT publishes were also very helpful.

One thing I would note is that it is very important to keep up with the homework between each class. I definitely would not have achieved a 740 without doing all the practice problems each week. Also, it is a good idea to give yourself a few weeks to study after you complete the course (I took 3 weeks) before you take the exam so you can really focus on areas you have trouble with.

I took the MGMAT 9 week class prep course and all the online classroom recordings are available to me as part of the package I purchased. They are great but not as great as in class instructors.

In my opinion, unless you really need tips and strategies, one can do just fine with MGMAT + OG books. I mean, MGMAT class really was all about forcing me to study 30-40 hrs every week on homework. Most of the stuff they went over in class was strategy and tips. If you think these in class prep classes are going to teach you everything, including fundamentals, you are mistaken.I found this hard fact after spending $1400 in the course.

So to elaborate on MGMAT - my personal opinions:

* What did I expect from MGMAT 9 week course and was I satisfied with the program?
I thought for $1400 or whatever they charged me, I expected the course to teach me EVERYTHING, including the fundamentals in both math and verbal. However, this wasn't the case. The 9 week course is more about teaching you strategy for GMAT and also to provide overview of each section. You are expected to do all the studying on your own based on their syllabus. BTW - the syllabus is so unrealistic. No way in hell I can work FT and get all the stuff done.

You also get those online classes ($900 or so) as part of the 9 week course. Those recordings are boring and not as effective as class lectures. However, learning the GMAT strategy alone can increase your score by 70 to 100 pts in my opinion. So if that's worth it for you, then take either the online course or in class course. Otherwise, just buy MGMAT books and study by yourself. that's what their syllubus makes you do anyway.

* What's the quality of the lecturer in classes?
My lecturer was top notch. She had Stanford UG and Harvard MBA. She knew what she was teaching and her lectures were vivid and fun most of the time.

I am currently enrolled in a Manhattan GMAT course (NYC), and I'm very pleased with it. The office is great, they treat their students very well, the technology is top-notch (new laptops with WiFi connections), and the teachers are _excellent_.

The workload is HEAVY, but of course you shouldn't spend all of that money to go and slack off. The homework is a very important part of the course, and they expect you to do it, no excuses.

I don't know if it is a fluke, but after two lessons my practice exam scores went up 40 points. We'll see...

Today is my last MGMAT class. Good course, and instructor Josh Braslow was excellent. He has 8 years of GMAT teaching experience and very well versed in all GMAT subject matter. He is also very good at keeping everyone in the class engaged. There are 9 class sessions, 9 online lab classes. One thing I liked was the ability to watch recorded sessions of any classes you miss. You also get a weekly 30 min session of free phone tutoring. The recordings are from the online class, and the material is pretty much the same. If anyone is considering the online class, I would also recommend it. I live an hour from the MGMAT center, and if I were to do it again, I would consider taking the online one.
I took a Princeton Review practice test last year and got a 550 without ever looking at a gmat question or having an idea of what was on the test. My first MGMAT score was 610. Second was 650, and third 680. I'm doing really bad on the quant. I got a 61%/96% on my last test. My test is scheduled 3 days from now. Wish me luck!
Anyone with questions about the course, instructor or books, please feel free to ask.

I highly recommend Manhattan GMAT on-line course. It is live and taught by the teachers who scored in the 99th percentile. In addition, MGMAT puts all of the instructors through a 100-hour training program, so they definitely come prepared for the course. I took the on-line course with MGMAT in winter, and I must say that I was very impressed with the quality of the material offered and the instructors (we had 2). The good thing about the on-line course is that you can take in while at home in your bed :) and you can ask questions live (they provide the headphones with microphone). The class is highly interactive, so you will not be bored at all.
I am not affiliated in any way with MGMAT. I'm just a big fan of their teaching model and the quality of the materials. If you are interested, I've dug out a free virtual preview class posting on their web-site. The event is happening tomorrow, so you can sign up for the preview of their on-line class today and see what their program is all about tomorrow :) .

I took the MGMAT virtual 9 week course, and it was pretty good. It is mainly to solidify your core skills needed to pass the exam. The extra material they give you is good. I was pleasantly surprised at how learning in the virtual world was just as effective as a classroom setting. I liked the fact that I could wake up Saturday morning, stay in my sleeping clothes, and lounge in front of my computer while I took the class. It is interactive where as you get a microphone and have messaging capabilities. The only thing that is not as good as the classroom would be the actual person-to-person contact. Of course that is better, but the virtual way was not bad at all.