Manhattan Prep GMAT Course Reviews

OVERALL: I recommend this class if you know what you need to work on and are looking for a group setting and if you're trying to get to high 600s-low 700s. If you're trying to get to high 700s, I would recommend a private tutor instead (once you are consistently getting high 600s), because you will not be hitting those less-frequently-tested subjects during this class.

RESULTS: I was getting about 630 on my practice exams (I was using Manhattan Prep practice exams which are notoriously harder than the actual exam). My first real exam I got a 710 and then I hired a private tutor from Manhattan Prep. I took the exam again and got a 720, but on my third time got a 750.

PREPARATION: I had done very minimal preparation work before signing up for this class. I had done a few online quizzes and quickly realized that I wasn't just going to be able to wing the GMAT exam. I signed up for this class and really committed to it - I went to every lesson and did all the homework, etc.

RESOURCES: The Manhattan Prep portal is very easy and straightforward to use. You can set up and take infinite quizzes online and even specify them to subjects you want to test. There's a page where you can analyze the problems you got wrong as well. They give you all the Manhattan Prep books which I found very useful for preparing for the exam - many forums recommend these books, but they are included when you sign up for a class. They also give you a GMAT scratch sheet (and special pen) which is VERY helpful for when you take the actual exam and they teach you how to set up your scratch work most efficiently (time is so crucial on the exam!). They also gave us a copy of mbaMission's Complete Start-to-Finish MBA guide which I found helpful for applying to school, particularly when I was trying to figure it all out.

COURSE SET UP: The class meets once a week for three hours, with a break around half time. We spent about half the time on quant and then half the time on verbal. We did not really spend any time on the writing section and limited time on IR. You have a significant amount of homework (this is where you work on IR). You will get as much from the class as you put into it, so you do really need to do the homework.

INSTRUCTOR: My instructor was very knowledgable and helpful. He made class fun as well - a three hour class can be rough especially after a full work day, but he made it enjoyable.

CLASSES: As this is a group setting, we obviously don't have time to go off on tangents to whatever any particular student's weakness is. However, I think we covered a lot of the basics - enough that you should be able to get a good score.

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I took my first diagnostic test back in Nov 2017 and scored a 520. I decided to do a 9 session in person class with Manhattan Prep every Saturday. Ryan was an awesome instructor and the class was very collaborative. He created a great learning environment, where my classmates and I strove to help each other understand tricky questions and materials. The course provided a great framework for my GMAT studying. However, I do think most people will need to study for several months or use other services to propell them to higher scores. After Manhattan Prep I scored a 640 & 670 respectively. It wasn't until I used tutoring and TTP that I was able to get to my target score (740).

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I was referred to Josh by multiple friends and relatives who had great success with Josh and were admitted to T7 MBA programs. The common theme when speaking to every single referral was that Josh is a miracle worker and each person credited his work ethic and patience as a major reason why they did so well on their GMAT.

Josh lives in Cyprus which I found to be a plus while studying for the GMAT while working full time in NYC. We would video chat for two hours once a week early in the morning before my work day,

I feel as though a written review for josh isn't enough to convey how good of a tutor he is. If you're lucky enough to work with Josh, take advantage of his knowledge and if you work hard, you will succeed. He is hands down the best tutor I've ever worked with.

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I took the Manhattan Prep 9 session course with Keith Blume in Chicago. I was very pleased with what I got out of it. Keith is a natural teacher, and his course sets out the path for what you need to do each week. If you commit to the course and put in the work, you will definitely end up better off. After completing this course, I walked into take the test feeling very confident and was able to beat my goal by over 20 points! Up 100 points from my very first practice test.

Anyone who is serious about doing well on the GMAT should look into this course!

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Hi, I took the course here and while the instructor was great and was the only best thing about the course, the course in itself wasnt too helpful. The basics covered are yes helpful, but the basics can only bring one to a certain score, and for me this course barely helped me cross a 600. It is very overpriced, I would recommend buying the verbal books but thats about it. Their quant material, as compared to the quant material of other online courses, is very, very basic in the least. The end of chapter questions are no where near the testing standards. Their 6 practice CATs are good, but other than that, I found the course lacked in preparing one in terms of the difficulty of the GMAT. The instructor is great in that he is so helpful in helping you understand everything about the GMAT, including relaxation tips, mental strategies but I wish I had rather heard those helpful tips without the >$1500 price tag. The instructor is the best thing about the course, and is one of the most helpful resources, but the course on the other hand, is too basic.

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Jeff was wonderful. This was my second run at taking the GMAT — the first time I never actually took the test after my studying got derailed by my job, which has crazy hours and a lot of travel. Jeff was very patient with my schedule and non-judgmental when I would drop off the grid for weeks on end, even though that obviously didn't make me the dream student. He helped me hone in on the specific things I needed to improve and gave me concrete homework assignments and study methods to address it, which helped me fit in studying on days when I didn't have a lot of time. Timing on the test was a big issue for me, and he was really helpful with strategies to address that.

Most importantly, he was a really reassuring presence to be around as I studied for this — from the beginning he expressed confidence that we could get my score to where it needed to be, and he never wavered in that, even when I was pretty down in the dumps of how it would go. I ended up doing even better than I'd been aiming for.

I would recommend Jeff as a tutor to anyone.

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I had self-studied using Manhattan Prep books for the GMAT for two solid months and took the test in July - sadly, I got a 640 and was deeply disappointed in myself.

After giving myself a month off, I decided to take matters into my own hands and enroll in a GMAT class. I would have preferred an in-person course but live in the Midwest, so an online class was the next best option. I ended up choosing Manhattan Prep for their live online class, and I am so glad that I did.

The course I took was compressed into about 6 weeks and boy was it a marathon! It consisted of 3-hour classes every Saturday and Sunday with a long list of homework assignments to complete during the week in between classes. It was definitely a slog, but it was worth it. What stood out about Manhattan GMAT's approach, in my opinion, was the way they taught the course. They placed a firm emphasis on mastering foundational quant skills and then taught techniques and shortcuts to use on the test. I also really benefited from the timed questions that they used during the class. They were excellent practice that helped me shed my jitters around completing complex math questions in such a short period of time. Tony was also a great instructor. He was patient, kind, and always willing to explain a concept multiple ways so that students fully understood it.

Thanks to this class, I increased my score from a 640 to a 710. I also got a 99th percentile Verbal score and a much higher quant score than I received before. It's not cheap -- financially or time-wise -- but I firmly believe that committing to a Manhattan GMAT course will significantly increase your score.

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I knew I would need a class in order to actually spend time working on the GMAT, and the class structure was extremely helpful. Ryan McGorman is the epitome of a teacher- you can tell he's been teaching the material for a long time, and has practical suggestions on how to improve your score. I honestly didn't hold out much hope for being able to improve my score enough from my initial practice test of score of 600 (or 510 on the one Manhattan Prep gave me!), and thought it would take at least three to six months. Miraculously, I had signed myself up for an exam the week following the end of my course (all of 8 weeks), and went into it expecting not to reach my target score of 730, and actually scored a 720!!! Turns out diligently doing all the work Manhattan Prep assigned, and attending class with Ryan actually works! I listened to his advice about moving on quickly from problems that weren't my strengths, and actually finished all sections of my exam with time to spare!

I'm debating whether or not to invest time in a second exam (as they recommend since most exam takers score better on the second one), or to move on to my applications as I'm quite happy with my current score. :) Thanks Ryan McGorman and Manhattan Prep!

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I really appreciate Dan Bernstein's help! He made my GMAT score improve significantly (by 200 points) in only two months. I don't think I was able to get into my dream school without his mentoring. He was really good at listening to my concerns and pointing out the issues and directions for me very effectively. More importantly, he was also great at encouraging me during the most difficult time. He was not only dedicated in the class but also very responsive after class when I wrote his emails. I was very lucky to have Dan as my GMAT tutor! I would highly recommend you to try him as your GMAT tutor.

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I participated in the MPrep 9 week course in Manhattan with instructor Ryan McGorman. I really enjoyed our weekly sessions with Ryan as he was not only smart and funny but a talented teacher. The course was an excellent starting point for me in my GMAT prep. My verbal was naturally higher than my quant, but both needed plenty of refining. Ryan did an excellent job laying the groundwork for me to gain a better understand and ability with the material and really helped me boost my verbal score as well as help me figure out what areas of my quant needed the most work. The improvement on quant came largely from self-study of the Mprep material simply because the number of repetitions I needed to really understand the material would not have been possible in a class setting, but I learned some great tricks and tips. Very worthwhile class and a great instructor.

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