Ceilidh Erickson Reviews

I had a tough time deciding whether or not to do private tutoring. On the one hand, it's expensive. Hundreds of bucks an hour. On the other hand, I wanted to push my score up from acceptable to above average for my target schools. I bit the bullet.

I took Manhattan GMAT's in-person class and had a great experience with the teacher, Ceilidh. She gave us great advice on when to take the test, how to prepare for it, and study habits (she's written tons of articles on it). She was traveling this summer, so I literally planned my test dates around her available.

We got together for 4.5 hours and really dissected everything, from my GMAT/MGMAT practices exams to specific problems or areas. She helped me use MGMAT's awesome online tool to find, target, and fix any deficiencies I had. She gave me more strategies on test day, including guessing. Who knew, but guessing twice really shot my score up.

With Ceilidh's help, I was better prepared mentally and physically than I would have been otherwise. I can't thank her enough.

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Ceilidh isn't a great GMAT teacher; she's a great teacher. She naturally puts people at ease, challenges them, and creates an environment where we can learn from her and each other.

I took the in-person course at 6 pm on Thursdays. Everyone showed up chipper and ready to go. We engaged with Ceilidh and with each other, not just looking for an answer, but all the ways to get there.

The books and course were excellent at covering strategies and tactics, but also for learning the material. When I hit tough questions on the test, I was able to fall back on a really firm foundation.

I like Manhattan GMAT, but I think Ceilidh is aces. Her class is 100% worth your time, energy, and money.

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I highly recommend Manhattan GMAT and Ceilidh for your GMAT prep. Though it was a big investment, I have no regrets. Ceilidh made the material fun and I looked forward to the three hour class after a full day of work--that's a sign of a great instructor! Though there's a set curriculum, Ceilidh definitely catered the content to the particular needs of her students and was always available to answer questions or talk through concerns. She got all of the students to look differently at problems and to push ourselves to try different approaches until we found the strategy that worked best for us. The course and Ceilidh's guidance were definitely key to getting a score that was well above my goal.

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Manhattan GMAT's program is excellent and was a huge factor in my success taking the test.

First of all, the quality of the teaching is fantastic. I took a course with Ceilidh and she was awesome. She rightfully focused on ensuring we approached problems and topics in a logical and determined way, and did a great job of pushing students not get hung up on extremely difficult or tricky topics. The trick with the GMAT is knowing when to move on, and not being stubborn. That's the best lesson Ceilidh taught us.

I started off the class getting a 660 in the first CAT (practice test) after our first lesson. While that was an encouraging sign for my starting level, I did not realize how difficult it is to improve one's score without a systematic and structured approach. The course, along with the excellent materials, website, and online supplemental information (such as the Interact lessons), did a great job of honing me in on such an approach.

The one thing I would say is that if you are strong in quant, it is important that you realize that some extra work is necessary to get prepared to face the toughest questions (given the test's adaptive nature). The good news is that Manhattan GMAT has great tools to guide your study towards difficult topics. The Advanced Quant e-book is a definite must, and I would also suggest going through the OG Navigator to create a study schedule build around all the "Harder" and "Devilish" questions in the materials. If you still feel like you need some practice, the "Quest for 750" advanced workshops are helpful (but not absolutely necessary - take them if you need new tips and materials and don't mind spending a bit more).

I ended up getting a 770 on my first try - about 3 months from after the course started. I can't recommend Manhattan GMAT, and in particular my instructor Ceilidh Erickson, enough.

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The course was fantastic. It focused on teaching you how to beat the test efficiently and to best improve your score. My teacher did a great job of both explaining the "right" way to do a problem and then exploring other more efficient ways to do it. She gave us a lot of tips throughout the class about taking the test/time management/etc. With the 9 session class, you also get a free consulting session which was extremely helpful. Because Manhattan GMAT has very sophisticated tracking software, he was able to see exactly where I was going wrong and gave me very specific feedback/tips that very much helped my strategy and approach to the test.

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Three years ago I took the Princeton review class and this one is better by 1,000x. They focus on the important elements that can actually improve your score and teach you logic as opposed to memorization. For example, the first time I took the test post-Princeton review I was so worried about memorizing math formulas and idioms that I felt overwhelmed and didn't focus on the right things. With Manhattan GMAT, they teach you the reasoning behind formulas (so you can logically recall as opposed to memorize) and don't get caught up on details (like odd idioms) that could maybe come up on 1 question of the whole test.

Overall, the instructor quality and availability was excellent. Also, the online tools of MGMAT really are differentiating and helpful (aka assessment reports).

I would only recommend MGMAT to people in the future.

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I currently work at an Investment Bank so trying to study for the GMAT has been difficult. In addition to achive a successful score, you have to not just worry about studying and understanding the material but having strategies along the way. Manhattan GMAT provides great structure that has been proven in addition to the support and resources. They understand what is key asnd how you should look at the questions and test. This is important for a test taker looking to get a high score.

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