Jeff Vollmer Reviews

My goal from the tutoring session was to improve my score from 700 to high 700s. Jeff was very helpful in designing a study plan for me in the right range of difficulty level. He also accurately identified my weak areas, and we spent majority of our tutoring session on my weak areas (turned out indeed to be the right thing to do). I felt that the 10-hour tutoring session with Jeff & the very targeted homework he assigned me saved me a ton of time.

Jeff has a very solid knowledge base of the GMAT materials and is extremely clear in communication. He is also quick in understanding complex concepts on the spot - I brought many challenging questions to our tutoring sessions, and it often took him very little time to understand, solve and then explain those questions to me.

Jeff's extensive experience is also helpful, demonstrated by the fact that he would sometimes understand exactly what my confusion was before I was able to pinpoint or communicate it in a clear way. Jeff also knows many practical test-taking strategies.

Over our 10 weeks of tutoring sessions, I sent Jeff many emails of questions I didn't understand. He responded to them and went over them with me either via email or in class. This level of customized help was very important for me to understand concepts in an efficient manner and to solidify my knowledge base.

I would not have been able to study as efficiently and effectively without Jeff's help. I appreciated all my tutoring sessions with him and would highly recommend Jeff to anyone seeking a helpful tutor!

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My first practice test I got a 600, and studied over the course of ~6 months and got a 740 on exam day. Manhattan Prep complete course was very helpful, and Jeff helped me outline my post-course study plan. I was able to get 50% extra time due to a learning disability, and he helped me understand how to adjust my timing strategies.

The course is broken up by week with homework assigned for each week. After the 10 week course I had more time until my test so I did not study regularly for the next ~4 months, but studied occasionally with my post-course study plan. It was great to have access to the online portal and books for that time.

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I had the privilege of working with Jeffrey Vollmer from Manhattan Prep as my GMAT tutor. Jeff's mastery of the GMAT was evident in his deep understanding of each question type and his ability to develop effective test strategies.

Jeff knowledge of the GMAT was truly impressive. He possessed an in-depth understanding of the intricacies of each question type, enabling him to guide me through various problem-solving approaches and techniques. Whether it was critical reasoning, data sufficiency, or sentence correction, he had a wealth of insights and tactics to share. His expertise not only helped me grasp the fundamental concepts but also gave me the confidence to tackle even the most challenging questions.

Moreover, Jeffrey's talent for developing personalized test strategies was invaluable. He didn't just provide generic tips; he took the time to understand my strengths, weaknesses, and learning style. Jeff taught me how to dissect problems effectively, manage my time wisely, and make informed decisions during the exam. His guidance enabled me to approach the GMAT strategically and maximize my performance on test day.

Thanks to Jeff and very very recommended!

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Jeff was incredibly helpful in improving my score by 40 points (710 --> 750). He pinpointed my weaknesses in both verbal and quant, even though I had really only flagged verbal as a concern. In addition to teaching me strategy and diving deeper into questions I was answering incorrectly, Jeff was just a calming presence with the perfect balance of pushing me to be better and serving as a motivational coach. After taking the GMAT a couple of times with no significant improvement in my score, I was thrilled when Jeff's coaching had a direct and quick impact on my studying tactics and score on test day.

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First, I found that the Manhattan Prep 9-week course exceeded expectations. Looking for how to get started? For help with pace? A framework to set goals and stay organized? A wealth of resources, including a syllabus, practice problems, video solutions, practice exams, and more? If you need direction in your GMAT prep, Manhattan Prep will provide that and more. It gave me exactly the one-stop-shop I needed as I tried to balance GMAT prep with a busy work schedule.

Second, if you are wondering which instructor to target, whether for the 9-week course or for private tutoring, look no further than Jeff Volmer. Jeff is THE man. Absolute whiz intellectually? Check. Awesome communicator able to distill concepts and takeaways clearly? Check. Engaging presenter that blends lecture, examples, humor, and more in a way that captures and keeps your attention? Check. Dedicated teacher than seems to take a genuine interest in each pupil and is always willing to stay after class to help with an extra question or provide a quick response offline? Check. I could go on...but if this gets much longer, no one will read it :)

I really can't say enough about Jeff. I was incredibly lucky that he happened to be teaching the course I signed up for last-second. I'd strongly recommend anyone looking for guidance on their GMAT journey to not rely on the luck I had. Seek out Manhattan Prep, and seek out Jeff. You won't regret it.

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I initially requested Jeff to be my tutor after I had attended one of his free online GMAT prep hours and saw that he was strong in Quant. I was convinced that Quant was my weakness since I had a lower percentile score in Quant than Verbal. Right off the bat, he showed me how percentiles lie and recommended that I primarily focus my efforts on Verbal. He taught me how to effectively deconstruct an argument in critical reasoning questions and corrected some grammar misconceptions I had in sentence correction (i.e., adverbial vs. noun modifiers, -ing words are not all present tense). With reading comprehension, I learned to stick very closely to the text, especially for inference questions. Do not assume anything in verbal without evidence from the passage to back your conclusion!

I had considered giving up on the GMAT and MBA applications this year after taking the exam multiple times and not getting the results I wanted. With Jeff’s guidance and expertise, I found the motivation and vigor to keep going. Not only did I get the score I wanted, but I also enjoyed the process of studying for the GMAT. Highly recommend Jeff as a tutor if you are new to the GMAT or stuck in a rut but determined to reach your goal!

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MAN! Where to begin.. My GMAT journey took about 8 months from my first practice test. Initially, I struggled getting over the mental hump to really commit to studying for this test, which meant hanging up distractions for a bit. I took my first 'cold' GMAT in late October, 2020, and after scoring in the high 500's, I knew I needed outside help if I was going to get into my top schools. The first thing I did was go to my local Barnes and Noble store and picked up the latest GMAT Official Guide hoping I could get away with drilling practice questions over and over again. I did this for a while, an hour or two a day for a few weeks before I took my second Practice GMAT and scored LOWER! My quant scores were high, but my verbal scores fell, and I felt that is where I needed the most help. Feeling defeated, I ended up asking my peers of their methods, and that is when I started looking into Manhattan Prep. I would like to preface that my quant scores were strong, and I could manage a lot of 700+ level questions, but in contrast, my verbal needed a lot of work. What I was searching for was something that could sharpen my quant skills and possibly accelerate my timing, but most importantly, I needed a foundation for verbal.

I ended up enrolling in the 9-session Manhattan Prep course with Mr. Vollmer in November, and I got exactly that. The classes were fun, the classmates were engaging, and Mr. Vollmer made the whole experience really great. I was able to ask all the questions I wanted and I learned a lot from my classmates asking questions as well. I was very detailed in my note taking, and I concluded the course feeling very good about the foundation I had in verbal.

Immediately after the conclusion of the course, I took my first real Official GMAT Online. I do not recommend the online version, as my computer crashed while they were trying to send the test over and I ended up taking it 2 hours after my scheduled time and doing horribly. I took this hit as a growing experience because I knew that the computer issues were a huge reason for my poor mindset going into it. Obviously, this was probably an anomaly, and I am sure this is typically a great way to take the test; I just had some bad luck.

I studied a few more weeks, and took the test in person, I ended up scoring in the low 600's, and this was my lowest point in this whole process. I had put in the time, I have taken the course, and I studied for weeks after the conclusion of the course only to score far less than what I expected of myself and what my practice tests suggested I could get to.

"Just one more time" is what I told myself. I studied relentlessly for an extra couple months, doing well over 1,000 practice questions between GMAT Practices tests, tests and questions provided by Manhattan Prep, and the Wiley site that you get access too if you have the Official GMAT Guide. FINALLY in the last week of April, I took my last test. I ended up scoring in the high 600's which was where I needed to be to get into my first choice program at UofM Ross. It was with a lot of perseverance, a killer application/essays, an excellent recommendation, and a GMAT score that fell within the school's range, I was able to be admitted.

In conclusion, I would not have scored as high as I did if it wasn't for Manhattan Prep and Mr. Vollmer helping me get the basics down for verbal. I would highly recommend them. What worked best for me is knowing what my strengths and weaknesses are before enrolling, and really focusing on where I needed help. Mr. Vollmer got me there and I am beyond thankful for the opportunity to pursue a Masters Degree at Ross, and I couldn't have done it without his engaging lessons!

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I went into working with Jeff with very little context on the GMAT and a general assumption that if I had done well on past standardized exams, I could do well on the GMAT with minimal effort levels. Not only was I wrong, but I quite literally could not have gotten the score I received without Jeff's coaching, support, and the structure he provided. Jeff is without a doubt the most helpful tutor I've had and managed to provide an approach to my exam that helped me succeed beyond my own expectations. I would recommend Jeff and Manhattan Prep to any student looking to nail the GMAT and get over the hump.

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Manhattan was a great way to learn the necessary techniques to approach any GMAT Quant or Verbal problem. The class had to go online halfway through due to COVID-19, but Jeff did a wonderful job making sure that the class was just as effective as it would be had it had been in person.

Jeff did a great job of focusing on the most important strategies - Quant has always been a challenge for me but once I learned the key strategies and was able to recognize and execute the problems quickly, I saw huge improvement. One thing that also helped were the breaks during the course sessions -- they largely resembled the types of breaks you would get on the GMAT.

Finally, Jeff was very good at adapting to whatever the class wanted to review. If we felt we needed to do some extra Quant problems, he had them ready.

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The course itself was great, highlighting every skill one would want to refine before taking the GMAT in verbal and quant sections. Additionally, the resources provided by the course were easy to navigate and extraordinarily useful. Beyond that, Jeff specifically was always very available and helpful. Throughout the weekly 3hour classes, he instructed in a way that kept the group engaged and always hung around after class to go over any individual questions. He broke down questions very clearly and made sure everyone understood the various strategies that could be utilized to attack different questions. I'm very pleased I chose to do my GMAT prep with Manhattan Prep and Jeff.

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