Knewton vs Manhattan GMAT Prep

Question

I currently am in the Knewton online class. I have already taken the GMAT (received a 680) and am taking knewton in hopes of boosting my score.

I am now in week 3 of Knewton class, and so far, I think the amount of homework has been very light and the questions very easy. Does anyone else agree? I remember Manhattan GMAT work taking a considerable amount of time--Knewton homework I can breeze through in about 2-3 hours.

I guess I'm concerned that the lack of Knewton homework is not preparing me well for the test the 2nd time around. Anyone have any thoughts on this comparison? Is Knewton helpful and I just don't know it? Is Knewton providing more "targeted" homework? Was Manhattan GMAT more broad in it's curriculum which is why I spent 10-12 hours per week on homework?

Thanks for any and all comments.

perseverance · Answer

Although I didn't take either a Knewton or a MGMAT prep course, I did take the Knewton diagnostic and a few of the MGMAT practice CATs. I agree with you that the Knewton questions seemed very easy when I was taking the diagnostic. And I ended up with a Q40 with around 9 wrong. The MGMAT questions were much harder I felt. IMO, MGMAT questions will better prepare you for the exam from a timing aspect but their questions involve too many steps/calculations. Knewton's questions seemed to be the exact opposite. In my experience, the best questions came from the OG.

Hope this helps.

Hope this helps.

Cclay · Answer

Hi there,

It sounds like you've already taken a course with Manhattan GMAT! I know we pride ourselves on making sure you know all of the fundamentals and material behind the test as well as the strategies for taking the GMAT itself. While my experience with Knewton is limited and I am obviously not writing from an objective perspective, it sounds like what they're doing is just giving you practice problems to do, whereas we make sure our homework involves studying the material in the guides in addition to the OG problems.

Also, I just wanted to remind you that if you have taken our course before, you can retake it for $300 (this includes a new set of books if we've updated them since you've taken the course.) You also have two free 180 online resource extensions that you can apply to your account, so that you get access to all of the material and resources you had during the course. If you want more info on this, you can give us a call at 1-800-576-4629 or send us an email at [email protected].

Best Wishes,
Caitlin Clay
Student Services Associate
Manhattan GMAT

JoshKnewton · Answer

Hi all,

To recap for the OP, for a student that has scored a 680, you will probably find the first few weeks of class to be easing in as you solidify the fundamentals and work into the more challenging material. You'll find the problem sets will get progressively harder both as you progress through the class and as your performance proves a high level of mastery. And don't forget, when you get to those more difficult problems later in the course, you can use our academic email support and attend office hours to get that teacher feedback to make sure you're on top of things.

As far as the difficulty of questions goes, MGMAT is well-known for having a plethora for very challenging questions, particularly in quant. The problem is that questions that go out of their way to introduce complexity do more disservice than they are worth because they are untestlike. Standardized tests are all about pattern identification, and working with practice items that are only loosely correlated with the official exam will not yield results for most students on test day. It is, to be frank, a dangerous way to study.

Also, keep in mind that often the strangely difficult items that can sometimes be found on the GMAT represent the experimental questions that ACT and GMAC play around with for psychometric uses.

Lastly, to respond to Caitlin's post. We're friends with MGMAT in general and appreciate what they've done to raise the bar for GMAT prep in the last ten or so years. However, Knewton gives more than practice problems. We have literally hundreds of learning objects and videos to go along with thousands of practice questions. Not only that, we're not going to charge you $300 to take a course again if you haven't yet seen the results you wanted. Knewton gives you a full year of membership, so you can take as many classes as you see fit until you are comfortable. We also offer a 50-point guarantee, while MGMAT doesn't even offer the 10-point guarantee of it's new parent company, Kaplan. We strive for the best product with the ultimate in convenience, and we stand behind it.

Hopefully helpful,
Josh

markbrown525 · Answer

+2 to Josh for this well groomed retaliation

We're friends with MGMAT in general and appreciate what they've done to raise the bar for GMAT prep in the last ten or so years. However.......

Then a very solid "put her in her place" drive home. Nicely done. Tactful, professional mudslinging with manners is a delight to read

Baboon · Answer

Hi,

Well I am currently studying for the GMAT and have worked with both service providers. Overall i preferred MGMAT for the simple reason that the prep felt a lot more thourough and when you consider the pricing - in my opinion MGMAT wins hands down. Knewton charge USD 450 for four months access - this is a big negative, especially for an exam like the GMAT where some people may not be able to get everything completed within the 4 months due to a busy work schedule. Also it is widely accepted that to get a good grade on the GMAT - the best way is to spend time and to really master the concepts. On average a 4 month subscription is not enough to do this. The MGMAT books are cheaper, they allow you to study with the official questions (therefore you know that the difficulty level will be the level of the exam) AND YOU CAN USE THEM FOR AS LONG AS YOU LIKE!. If knewton increased the subscription to 6 months then i think the argument changes. But USD 450 for 4 months is really too expensive for a self study course. If Knewton representatives would counter this argument, with the point that a live classroom course will charge a similar/higher price - My response is: the reason why i would choose an online classroom course is because i have a busy schedule and need flexibility, If i knew i can get everything completed in 3-4 months - i would opt for a classroom course. But the benefit of a self study program is the flexibility it allows - the 4 month constraint is too tight to allow the student to have enough flexibility for this to be worthwhile.

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