Keith helped me increase my GMAT score by 90 points, from 640 to 730. We focused mostly on math but that seemed to be his greatest strength. His teaching style covers both basic lectures and question and answer formats but he also approaches the test in an abstract way as well, showing how each math topic relates to other math topics and how to quickly assess a problem and identify the steps needed to solve it. Because the GMAT only allows about 2 minutes per problem, speed as well as accuracy is incredibly important. Keith helped me tremendously on my timing. I was finishing tests either guessing the last 7 questions or sometimes even finishing the test with 5 minutes extra and my quant score was very poor. Almost every problem we did together was timed, no matter how hard it was. He also helped me identify lost cause problems, or problems that are so complicated and time consuming that is best to guess an answer and then move forward to the next question. Because of Keith my quant increased 40 to 48 and my verbal increased by 4 points from 38 to 42 and I was able to apply to a much higher caliber of schools due to my new increased score.

Read More

Manhattan GMAT is an outstanding course for people that are dedicated to working hard enough to get their desired score. The course teaches the fundamentals of solving all problems, and the extra resources provided ensure that all students have access to upper level questions and an opportunity to score in the 700+ range. Prior to taking Manhattan GMAT, I was scoring in the 500-600 range. Afterward, I was consistently in the 700-760 range. They drill timing and analysis of problems, which allows students to tackle even the hardest of problems. I would recommend the course to anyone that is looking to score high enough on the GMAT to get into top 10 business schools.

Read More

Manhattan GMAT's prep course gave me the preparation and confidence I needed to succeed - and I'll consider my 730 a success! The framework helped me organize the GMAT topics into digestable pieces so I could quickly see which areas I needed to focus on most. The quantitative drill set workbooks proved invaluable in helping me shake off the rust on my math fundamentals. And the strategies taught in the classroom helped me focus my time on the exam. I particularly loved the interactive class format where we were timed on practice problems one at a time and got to see where we (classmates and I) got tripped up so we could also learn from each other's mistakes.

Keith Blume is a great instructor who was able to think through problems and solutions from multiple perspectives on the spot to test alternate approaches considered by the students. I strongly recommend Manhattam GMAT if you want to challenge yourself to a high score!

Read More

Fantastic course. Although time intensive, the preparation was great (and a good prep for actually applying to a part-time MBA program). I took the test once on my own without enough preparation and did not get the score I wanted. I took the Manhattan course and retook the test about 2 weeks after the class was over -- and my score improved by 100 points. I decided on the in-class sessions to force some discipline upon myself.

The instructor was the highlight. He was so patient in class and followed up with emails each week. The class taught so many techniques to solve both the quant and verbal sections. On the verbal section topics, I was most impressed with how the course broke down Critical Reasoning. You learned how to truly read and answer the question. For the quant, the class opened my eyes to the various ways to think about the problems. It's a well designed course with more resources than you could ever utilize; but the options ensure every student will be able to get what they need.

Read More

Manhattan GMAT was an excellent course and I highly recommend it to everyone. Their instructors are very strong in teaching both Verbal and Quant. Chris Brusznicki in particular was excellent. I was able to increase my score from 620 to 750 with their help.

Their materials are also by far the best I've found out of all the other GMAT prep companies. In addition, their online tools such as their companion to the Official Guide were extremely helpful in my preparation. I really think the course is definitely worth the money, and I think it is the best you can find out there.

Read More

I only had 5 hours of private tutor time with Keith of Manhattan GMAT Chicago, and I improved my score by 50 points (from 650 to 700). I had spent about 3 months of self-study (including 2 online math fundamentals courses from Manhattan GMAT) and scored a 650. I had scored in the 50th percentile for math and 91st percentile for verbal. Needless to say, my quant needed work!

I studied for another 6 weeks on my own and did worse (620 overall with only a slight improvement in my quant and obviously worse on verbal). Needless to say, I was frustrated and defeated. I chose to meet with a private tutor vs. a prep class because I didn't want to invest another 9 weeks into studying.

I met with Keith for 5 hours total and focused solely on quant. From the first meeting, he diagnosed my issues (apparently I was studying TOO much) and taught me a few concepts that I kept getting tripped up on. I actually took the next 5 weeks very easy. I did one practice test, met two additional times with Keith and studied about 3 hours the week of the test. My score improved to 700 (71st percentile quant; 88th percentile verbal). Perhaps just not studying was really the key for me, but I wouldn't have felt comfortable enough to stop studying without Keith's belief in my ability.

I will also say though that at least 4-5 concepts we covered appeared on my quant section on test day - so that definitely did help! Both Keith's knowledge and encouragement were crucial to my success.

Read More

I took the 9 week course in downtown Chicago from Jan through March. I took the exam on May 11, 2012 and scored 760 (Q49, V 44). Before the 2nd class, I took the MGMAT online CAT and scored 680. I would attribute most of the 80 point increase to the Sentence Correction concepts covered by Keith in the class and the MGMAT Sentence Correction Strategy Guide.

Another great aspect of the course was the online CAT diagnostic report and the OG Archer - these help you zero in on your weak areas and help improve your time management skills.

I would certainly recommend the course/ prep books to anyone looking to do well on the test.

Read More

Overall, I was very pleased with the quality of the MGMAT material, instructor, and class environment. I highly recommend the system and methodology of MGMAT as I found the review material and study guides to be very helpful.

I would like to focus on the couple areas of constructive criticism I would have for the program-- only because I think MGMAT did a great job. There honestly isn't much I would change, but if I had to, I'd make the following 2 recommendations:

1. Test Readiness: I felt amply prepared for all portions of the test. The few areas where I wish the class spent more time were on the FDPs, Number Properties, and Probabilities sections. I found these to be the problems most represented on the exam. I would have appreciated having some more refresher material for me to review closer to the date of the exam with key FDP and NP concepts. I realize that part of this criticism is my own inability to go out and find representative problems.

2. Online vs. live class: I've always considered myself to be an in-person learner. While I still think this is true, and this is the reason I chose to participate in the in-person class, I would recommend that everyone that this class online. In the classroom, it is much easier to get off-track and distracted. I've heard that online classroom experiences minimize the amount of time spent entertaining individual's questions (when they may not be particularly helpful for the group), and in turn, maximizes the material covered.

Read More