Manhattan GMAT 9-Session In-Person Prep Course Reviews

Not to sound like a broken record, but your success with Manhattan Prep GMAT depends on how much work you put into it. I mean, real work. I think that the best part of the prep course is actually the strategy guide set. The set, along with the syllabus, are great for those who need a bit of guidance when it comes to studying. The actual in-class course is really for those who need to an extra push. I recommend that you follow the syllabus 100%. Take the practice exams when they're scheduled. I didn't do this, and ultimately paid for it. Create an error log from day 1. I also didn't do this initially and, well, I also paid for this. Follow the guides, put in the work, and the results will come.

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What you need to succeed on the GMAT are an endless supply of questions and a recording engine to tell you what subject matters you need practice in. Manhattan provides both of those things in spades. I probably did hundreds of questions over the last month of my studying and barely made a dent in their question banks. With the analytics tool, I could see exactly which subjects I needed to drill on and which ones I could ease up on.

While the course itself was nothing unexpected (from a content perspective), the real value in taking the in-person course comes from being able to email a real person at all hours and get a personalized response to your question. I made a personalized study plan which really brought my score up after the course was finished.

One caveat, the classes tend to go at the pace of the average student which can slow you down or speed you up depending on the class. I was fortunate to have a very dedicated class with lots of sharp students but classes that I substituted were not as fast paced. Props to Isaac (the instructor) for adapting to the speed of our course.

Highly recommended especially for the sheer volume of resources you have at your disposal.

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I was really happy with Manhattan Prep's 9-Session Prep Course for the GMAT--I enjoyed the studying journey (as much as you can) and was thrilled with the results. My instructor was Isaac Puglia. There were about 20 other students enrolled in this class, and we met every Tuesday night for three hours.

Before enrolling, I was worried that I would be too tired after work to get the most out of the three-hour sessions. Isaac, however, was a great instructor and made each session engaging no matter how tired I was.

The three-hour sessions, instruction from Isaac, homework, and practice exams gave me the confidence, know-how and mental-stamina to increase my GMAT score by 110 points.

Specifically, the sessions gave me the tips and tricks on how to tackle each question type on the GMAT. The homework/curriculum from Manhattan Prep allowed me to master these skills. The practice exams helped me build stamina for the actual exam and gave me a sense when I was ready to take the real test. I also loved Manhattan's Prep online study portal--the portal kept me on track, and it was reassuring to have this resource always at my disposal. And finally, Isaac was a great instructor. He genuinely believed you could succeed, making all the difference in getting the results you wanted.

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I was prepping for the GMAT and felt overwhelmed by the different number of ways that I could tackle the exam. I saw countless books and free plans on line and attempted first to plan on my own. What I was missing, though, was advice on overall structure. I decided to enroll in the Manhattan Prep course.

From the onset, the class itself was incredibly organized. We had a game plan for material and strategy to cover each week, had clearly outlined homework to complete, and had milestones and check-ins to make sure we were progressing according to our plans.

Isaac in particular was a very strong instructor. He has a unique ability to keep the class going through all of the material but also makes sure that each question is answered and that each student is comfortable with the pace. He always stayed after class to make sure everyone had the info they needed and he always wrote back to emails when I had specific questions about my test timing.

I increased my score a huge amount and I owe a lot of that to Isaac and Manhattan Prep!

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Started taking this course with no prior prep. David did a great job making sure that everyone in the class (~12-15 people) got the level of attention they deserved. He encouraged students to help each other when going through problems so that he could focus on those who were struggling in order to keep pace. David was always able to answer specific questions via email or before/after class. You could tell that David genuinely cared about how his students were faring.

The course in general is great - there are so many tricks and tips that you learn. It's definitely possible to do this by reading the books, but it helps to have someone there to explain the trickier concepts and make sure your studies are keeping up week-to-week. If I had to do it again, I'd definitely re-take this class with David.

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I took the 9 week course with Gregg Lachow. He was an excellent instructor. I found that the class moved at a good clip which I really appreciated since I was aiming for a high score. He was very clear in his explanations and as good at responding to all types of questions. I found him to be equally adept at verbal and quant. He has a passion / gift for teaching and a great attitude. He is also pretty funny which helps due to the boring nature of the topic.

In some ways, the course is really what you make of it. I sort of stopped doing the homework halfway through and I didn't get nearly as much benefit (no surprise there). So I strongly recommend doing all the recommended and required homework. I still really was able to master the fundamentals and techniques. The Manhattan Prep method is excellent as are their materials.

Since I didn't do all of the homework I ended up doing a lot of self study with the official guide which I also recommend. I also took advantage of many of the online resources.

Ultimately I scored well and I think it was in large part thanks to Gregg's class.

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The Instructor was not good at all for this class. I wish i would have opted for other course. I dont recomment Manhattan prep either. All they teach you in 9 classes are the questions fr4om the OG only, lIke 4 /5 OG questions in 3 hr session. I wasted my $1500. The Quant section was somewhat good but the verbal is very bad. I knew more things than him i think. By self studying you can get more knowledge than the 9 classes combined. Very bad. Also you have to take their books, there is no option of not taking their books even if you have those already. The books for verbal section are very bad.

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This course was well worth the money because the instructor, Avi Gutman, was fantastic. He encourages students to approach GMAT problems, mainly quant, in a way that it is less algebraic and more real world application. His tricks and strategies for solving complex quant problems improved my score by at least 40 points and gave me more time to answer problems that I struggle on. I would recommend this course, and recommend Avi, for anyone looking to improve their score or who has plateaued with the textbook methods for solving GMAT problems. He also does a good job with mentally preparing to face the GMAT on the day of the exam.

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In order to effectively study for the GMAT, I decided to take the Manhattan Prep GMAT Course. To begin with, Manhattan Prep has an extremely well-designed curriculum and course materials, including a host of online resources. In particular, I found the GMAT Navigator Tool (where you can time your practice problems, receive detailed answer explanations, and track your overall progress) to be a useful study aid. The Manhattan Prep practice exams, too, are helpful.

In terms of the course itself, be prepared to spend a significant portion of your time on class homework and preparation. It's a lot, but if you really want to get the most out of the course, I recommend following the syllabus and completing all the homework. Dan, my teacher, was awesome! He made class fun and interesting, which is important given that it is a 3-hour session! He does a great job focusing on the most important and challenging concepts and doesn't waste time covering all the basics. For me, this was perfect, but if you feel that your foundation is shaky, this teaching style may not be for you.

Overall, if you are willing to spend the time and money, I highly recommend the course, especially if you are working full-time and juggling a busy schedule. If you feel that you can stay on track on your own and that you don't need a collaborative study environment that the course provides, then buying the Manhattan Prep books and online resources may be sufficient.

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I highly recommend Manhattan for test prep and also David as an instructor. David is a great teacher and did a really good job of articulating and explaining how to handle every aspect of the GMAT. As a result my score went from a 620 to a 720!

Summary:
9 weeks. About 150 hours studying.
I got a 40 on the verbal, up from 34 and a 49 on the quant, up from 41. The most helpful things I learned were elimination of wrong answers, especially on the verbal and also timing. Even though I had the flu the second time I took the test timing and pacing were so helpful that I scored above 700. Overall good experience with Manhattan

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