Good for GMAT Overview but not necessary...

In my opinion, the course is not necessary to supplement the books. If you're pretty competent in math and verbal, the books itself were good enough. I didn't gain much additional help from attending the course because you end up being part of a larger group and the skill level varies widely, especially for those that require more basic brush up after more than 5 years post-college. I finished all 10 books before the course started and it was good at my own pace. The course is good to provide structure if you don't have the self-motivation or willpower to stay on a strict regimen. Otherwise, my instructor was Joe Martin and he was very energetic even during a weekday evening session and he explained what we should prioritize if we asked questions about things that had a 1% chance of showing up. That helped because I was going to take the test within a couple of months and I wasn't looking to learn every nitty gritty detail but just what I needed to get above 700. The first time I took it, I got a 700 (Q48/V38)... second time was 720 (Q49/V39). I didn't practice as much as I wanted to between the second and first time because work got in the way, but I did do a post-GMAT Manhattan Prep consultation and the consultant gave me a few tips that must've helped push me to my threshold of acceptable. Overall, the course helps give structure but the books provided 80% of what I needed to know along with the OG books.