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Improvement N/A
Course Manhattan Prep Manhattan GMAT 9-Session In-Person Prep Course
Instructor Avi Gutman
Location Toronto, Canada
I really enjoyed this class with Avi. He's very engaging in the classroom, and teaches a lot of tricks on how to solve math problems in creative and efficient ways. He also helped me mentally prepare for the GMAT, so that when I walked into the testing room, I was the calmest person there. Verbal is not stressed in the class, but Avi requires that students watch the online tutorials before coming to class, so that he can focus his class time on extra tips one couldn't get in those online videos. However, this class only works if you're willing to put in the effort and study on your own
Improvement N/A
Course Manhattan Prep Manhattan GMAT 9-Session In-Person Prep Course
Instructor Sage Pearce-Higgins
Location London, United Kingdom
I did the 9-session prep course and had an amazing experience with Sage and Ryan. The lessons are well structured, teachers are extremely smart, and are available for you (even outside the classroom). The classes are big enough so that there is strong group cohesion but small enough so that you can interact with everyone on a regular basis.
Plus, the tools and resources available to students are very helpful. Especially the software to take practice tests / questions, it helps practice and assimilate each topic addressed during the courses, it is very straightforward to use and actually very similar to the official test, which I guess takes away the element of surprise on D-day.
It's all well thought out and you have the option to take evening / weekend classes to accommodate around professional commitments.
I would highly recommend the 9-course program as it is structured to keep you focused and provides all the tools for you to succeed.
Improvement 70 Points
Course Manhattan Prep Manhattan GMAT 9-Session In-Person Prep Course
Instructor Ceilidh Erickson
Location New York (Lower Manhattan), NY USA
After struggling with the GMAT for a year and not moving past the mid-600s, I decided to sign up for a Manhattan GMAT live class. Some people I know who previously took the class spoke very highly of the course. Ceilidh Erickson was the instructor and she was amazing.
She not only did a great job of teaching the basic skills and formulas but also taught us how to think and attack each question logically. During class, she addressed everyone’s needs and she was great at reading how people were absorbing the material. She showed different logical techniques which helped save time, eliminate answers, and guess and move on. These techniques are what she uses on the test such as spending the first few seconds with the pen down on quant and crossing off extreme answers on the RC section. These techniques are KEY when solving the tougher questions because the test is adaptive. When we did practice questions, she showed us multiple ways to solve a problem and this helped add to the arsenal of methods to use during the actual test so you don’t get stuck.
After the course, I wanted to work on a few specific areas and set some hours for tutoring with Ceilidh to make sure I would surpass the 700 level. I debated on spending the money but decided to go for it because in the end, it’s a small investment for the future. We spent about 3 hours going through my weaknesses to sure those up and she showed me some new techniques and ways to think about solving problems before I actually put pen to paper. After another month of studying, I was testing above the 700 level and booked the test.
I highly recommend taking either the class or tutoring with Ceilidh. I honestly don’t think I would have achieved the score I got without her. It’s and no regrets decision and well worth the money, time, and energy. Even after the class and tutoring, when I was studying on my own, she was always available to answer questions.
Improvement 30 Points
Course Manhattan Prep Manhattan GMAT Private Tutoring
Instructor Josh Braslow
Location Pune, India
I scored a 710 on the first attempt of GMAT but felt that it wasn't adequate for the schools I was aiming for. To get that extra push and target my weaknesses I opted for the Manhattan Prep GMAT 10 hour tutoring session. From the first hour itself I could see a remarkable change in the way I approached problems especially in the verbal section where I needed the most improvement. Josh guided me through the difficult concepts like divisibility, number properties, permutations and combinations by providing me with material with challenging questions and explaining concepts in a clear manner. He taught me the right way to approach critical reasoning problems which was my main area of concern. He also helped me get over my test anxiety which usually used to hamper my concentration to a large extent. The Manhattan Prep GMAT Strategy guides and the practice exams also were very helpful though the quant section in the practice exams was a little harder than the actual GMAT level and can demoralize you at times. But on the whole it was an excellent experience working with Josh and Manhattan Prep GMAT and the results are evident from a score of 740 in the second attempt.
Improvement N/A
Course Manhattan Prep Manhattan GMAT 9-Session In-Person Prep Course
Instructor Kim Cabot
Location San Francisco, CA USA
Instructed by Kim Cabot.
She was truly excellent. I think the Manhattan Prep materials are pretty good, but Kim was great, because where they weren't, she would provide alternative strategies. A good example here would be the Critical Reasoning questions. Kim taught us a more efficient method than Manhattan Prep had in its materials. This saved me at least 20 seconds per question, which could then be used elsewhere.
The online Manhattan Prep materials were great. I really appreciated there answer explanations to official questions, because the answers in the official book tend to be poor.
My only critique with Manhattan Prep is I feel like their materials are not set up for you to get a great score in quant. For the max difficulty questions, you have to have a bunch of tricks and alternative techniques on hand. I had to find these on message boards.
Would recommend, Kim especially.
Improvement 70 Points
Course Manhattan Prep Manhattan GMAT 9-Session In-Person Prep Course
Instructor Christine Defenbaugh
Location New York (Midtown Manhattan), NY USA
In my opinion, the MGmat guides set is definitely worth the money but I can't say the same for the in-person classes. The video 'interact' option that you get with the in-person class package was great because I could watch and re-watch the lessons until I was confident about certain topics.
Although I had a very smart instructor (insane GMAT/ LSAT Score), I feel that in the in-person classes, we didn't really go to in-depth when we studied concepts, the classes were mostly about 'tips and tricks' one uses when answering multiple choice questions (how to eliminate/ how to choose etc) and discussing solutions to a few questions. If you need content, read the MGmat guides cover to cover (I can't stress this enough).
For me, I would have probably learned the same if I had opted for the online course instead of the in-person one. So in my opinion, I would still choose to learn via the MGmat course (that's how I learn best) but I would instead opt for the online option (not the in-person classroom experience).
One more thing, this was also a recommendation of MGmat, make sure to schedule your test at least a month after your last class. Practicing on your own is KEY to a good score and that month (or more if you have time) will really help you drill down concepts learned from the guides and from the videos/ in class. PS: English is my first language.
Improvement 50 Points
Course Manhattan Prep Manhattan GMAT 9-Session In-Person Prep Course
Instructor Kara Thornton
Location Boston (Back Bay), MA USA
Compared to all other prep programs, Manhattan GMAT by far had the best content for me. It simplified complex problems and made every problem type approachable. That said ... I wasted a lot of money. Now as a grad student, I regret this. I need money!
Before picking what you pay for, I would truly evaluate what your needs are.
First of all, don't go buy all the books first. Paying for the course gets you all the books. So if you end up doing the course, you've wasted money getting the same books twice.
Second, I would look through the books at a bookstore and evaluate: Can I learn this myself, or do I need their full course? I would also look into what online webinars you can get access to by getting the books instead of the full class. You may find there's enough webinar content to ensure you can get all the material you need.
NOTE: If you are not someone who can keep yourself accountable for ensuring you study, the course can help ensure you do.
Third, evaluate if you'll perform well in a classroom or 1:1. Attend a class before you pay to shadow.
I say all this because I paid to take the course. It was good, but I realized later I got MUCH greater benefit from 1:1 tutoring. The tutors could watch me go through problems (online or in-person) and give me personalized recommendations. I wish I did this in conjunction with free webinars and books. That would have been money spent much better for me.
Improvement 120 Points
Course Manhattan Prep Manhattan GMAT 9-Session In-Person Prep Course
Instructor Isaac Puglia
Location San Francisco, CA USA
I had a great GMAT prep experience with Manhattan. The course was very effectively organized, and Isaac was a great instructor. If you stay on top of the assigned weekly work and practice the strategies on your own, you will be on track to dramatically improve your score. I went up by 100 points from my first practice test to the actual exam. I then refined my prep for another 2 weeks and raised my score by an additional 20 points. The Manhattan method is very effective if you subscribe to it and put in the time. And I can't say enough good things about Isaac as an instructor. He is very thoughtful and clear in explaining concepts -- extremely willing to help.
Improvement N/A
Course Manhattan Prep Manhattan GMAT 9-Session In-Person Prep Course
Instructor Avi Gutman
Location Toronto, Canada
While the cost of Manhattan's prep course is is among the highest, it was exactly what I was looking for. Beyond providing an organized structure to study for the GMAT, the course provides multiple strategies to tackle problems to accommodate personal strengths and weaknesses, analytics to assess areas of improvement, and holistic guidance on how to study, manage time, and approach exam day. It's a complete package.
Avi's approach to instructing is engaging and reflective of the class' needs. There isn't a session that goes by where he doesn't ask for feedback and updates on students' individual progress. While he's efficient in covering content, he is also willing to slow down and tailor his delivery for students when asked. He's friendly, patient, and responsive to emails if students have questions outside of class. Definitely recommended as an instructor.
The Manhattan GMAT prep set was the only resource I used to study for my GMAT. The discrete guides were a great way to really focus on your weaknesses. In general, you want to avoid spending too much time on things that are already strong on so I truthfully read about half the books in depth and skimmed the other half.
Additionally, the practice pad was instrumental in getting my score squarely above 700. I would attribute a good 20 points to proper pad management - setting it up ahead of time and using it to help manage time.
Additionally, the teaching content of the guides were great - the GMAT is a game and the MGMAT materials treats it as such - it gives you the strategies and trains you to know how to play the game. You don't need to genuinely understand or know the content intimately to ace the GMAT - you need to know how to play the game.