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The Manhattan course I took from Joe Lucero and Tom Rose was incredible! My score went from a 550 diagnostic to a 760 on test day. The strategies taught by Manhattan are simply the best. In particular, I benefitted from the timing strategy, the critical reasoning diagramming, and the number properties guides. Moreover, they give tremendous personal attention to their students. Joe Lucero helped me create a study plan for my last two weeks that I think alone boosted my score 100 points. Definitely money well spent and I would whole heartedly recommend this course to anyone considering taking the GMAT! Thank you Joe and Tom!
I think Manhattan does a really nice job. The course material is essentially exhaustive, I don't think there was anything I would have expected to cover that we didn't at least touch on in live class and wasn't fully covered in the curriculum. The course can slow down a bit at times (partially as a result of adverse selection from the type of people who takes GMAT classes) but the teachers in general did a great job coaching everything through the topics.
One thing in particular I liked was the results-oriented approach. I personally tend to prefer the algebraic approach to problems, but they consistently pushed us to recognize when back-end tactics would be faster. I never fully mastered that skill set but it definitely helped with my timing.
I had a great experience using MGMAT's online 9 week course. Even though my class was virtual, I still felt that there was a sense of community in the classroom and that my teachers were invested in my success. I found the problems in class and the discussions to be very helpful, and the homework to be a good use of my time. The online practice tests and the analysis provided were the most useful tools in my preparation. I was able to track my progress and see what types of problems I consistently got right and wrong. On test day, I felt nervous but confident and saw how my hard work had paid off!
I recently took my GMAT for the first time, and was very pleased to have received what I consider a very good score(770). Although I have no prior experience taking the GMAT, and therefore no real "benchmark" to compare to, I am certain that the instruction I received from Manhattan GMAT was instrumental in allowing me to achieve such a result.
I think the bulk of Manhattan GMAT's success stems from their uncompromising focus on teaching. Indeed, it is very well advertised that ALL of Manhattan GMAT's instructors have scored in the 99th percentile of the GMAT. Less touted, however, is the rigorous selection and training process, all of which further refines the class of potential instructors. The result is a very concentrated group of uniquely qualified, extremely capable teachers. My course was no exception, and, despite a class with a diversity of scores, I feel that the whole class was able to receive the resources and instruction necessary to improve dramatically.
While teaching is, in my opinion, the most important aspect of the Manhattan GMAT experience, it is certainly not the only advantage offered to students. In particular, the depth of available resources is a HUGE part of--as would be said in the business world--the "value proposition" that is offered to customers. Manhattan GMAT has truly applied itself to deconstructing and dissecting the GMAT content and structure and, as a student, this seemingly unlimited set of information is made fully available. This is ironically both overwhelming and comforting at the same time; the depth and breadth of resources are initially very daunting, but it is refreshing to know that the team at Manhattan GMAT has exhaustively investigated and optimized every facet of the GMAT.
Finally, there are a few intangibles that I believe make Manhattan GMAT a very worthwhile experience. Firstly, students are provided with a definite approach--a "roadmap" as it is termed by Manhattan GMAT--that is pretty much guaranteed to ensure score maximization. In addition, I really appreciated the extra "office hours" and after class sessions with instructors. Moreover, included in the class are tools that helped me to develop a personal GMAT "gameplan," which really helped me approach the test in a very methodical way. The one-on-one 30-minute review of my personal testing history, included with the class, was also VERY helpful. With regard to the online class, the environment was very similar to, if not better than, an in-person, location based classroom approach. Having TWO instructors really is a bonus!
All in all, I am thrilled with my Manhattan GMAT experience. As others have mentioned, there are some small things that I would like to see improved(i.e the CAT is not as accurate as I thought it would be), but it is hard to argue that Manhattan GMAT is not extremely effective at its core purpose: to maximize students' GMAT scores. Like anything worth fighting for in life, mastering the GMAT will likely take dedication, hard work, and the right approach. I trusted Manhattan GMAT to guide my approach, and, fortunately, I haven't had to look back since.
I had never taken the GMAT before I took the Live Online course from Manhattan GMAT but my score from my practice test went to my actual GMAT went up 130 points.
The course provides great structure each week with a ton of problems/strategy guides to work through. There is a lot of homework each week but I don't really see how you could do well on the GMAT without doing a lot of problems and taking the time to really learn the math concepts. You will never run out of material from Manhattan to do, there are tons of problems provided and CAT practice tests. The problems provided all seem pretty similar to the actual questions on the test. The strategy guides are great at explaining concepts, especially sentence correction and quant.
One of the best things about the course is OG Archer which lets you track every OG problem you do. This makes it so easy to verify strengths and weaknesses so you can use your study time better. The CAT exams also have great stats on how you did and you can aggregate your data for multiple exams to get a good understanding of where you stand.
The classes themselves were basically just going through the material you did for homework and providing a few extra tips and strategy clarifications. I felt it mostly just keep me honest about getting all the homework done and served as reassurance each week that I was on the right track. The instructors were great and I assume all Manhattan's instructors probably are. They were always available outside of class to answer any extra questions.
Would definitely recommend this course. Great structure for your GMAT studying and provides all the materials/books you could possibly need.
The Manhattan GMAT Live Online course was excellent. Ryan Wessel and David Chong were really good instructors. I raised my GMAT score by 100 points (from 620 to 720) by taking the class. The class was given once a week for 9 weeks.
The most helpful lectures were on the subjects of:
- Sentence correction
- Data sufficiency
- Reading comprehension
The recorded labs offered had some of the most insightful tips and shortcuts I learned throughout all my time studying for the course. The information given in the labs was extremely relevant for test day; the labs taught things such as timing strategy, shortcuts to data sufficiency questions, etc.
With no previous experience in studying for the GMAT, I decided to take Manhattan's 9-week online course. I found the class sessions to be somewhat helpful, the self-study materials to be more helpful, and the practice CAT exams to be most helpful.
Prior to the course (or any preparation)- my first practice exam - February 2012 - I scored a 720 (95% Verbal, 81% Quant)
By my third practice exam - March 2012 - I scored a 740.
By my fifth practice exam (on mba.com) - April 2012 - I scored a 750.
On test day - April 2012 - I scored a 760 (99% Verbal, 85% Quant
In addition to the 3-hour weekly course, I probably averaged about 8-10 hours per week (+4 more hours whenever I took a practice CAT). About three months elapsed between my first look at any GMAT materials and my test-day, so FAST IMPROVEMENT IS POSSIBLE.
I found some of the math materials to be helpful in teaching shortcuts that are useful for common problems (Prime Trees, Probabilities, etc).
I believe that it is easiest for a course to improve one's sentence correction skills, as this is the most objective verbal category. And Manhattan definitely succeeded here. My improved speed and accuracy in sentence correction accounted for much of my improved score, and I owe this entirely to the MGMAT materials.
Finally - the CAT exams. I believe MGMAT's CATs are a very accurate portrayal of the real exam, and the ability to review incorrect (and correct) answers was very useful in understanding my weaknesses. It was not until the 5th exam that the CAT question bank had exhausted 700-level questions. This is better than most (all?) other GMAT preparation services.
In short - I would definitely recommend Manhattan. I found the materials to be extensive, the program to be customizable to my own needs, and the practice exams to be better than the competition's. If you can afford Manhattan's class, you won't be disappointed.
The course was nothing short of excellent. I found the analytic approach to tracking your progress really helpful. The one-on-one office hour sessions were also really very helpful to understand concepts that I was not understanding completely.
The biggest thing that I valued was the post-course assessment one-on-one session with an instructor to develop a strategy for internalizing everything and preparing for my test. After my course, I was getting a 630 score on the practice tests, but following the advice from this post-course assessment helped me raise my scores tremendously. When I took the test I ended up getting a 710.
I REALLY feel like I got my moneys worth out of this class offered by Manhattan GMAT. When I took my first practice test (Manhattan CAT) I was stunned when I received a 560, how could this be, I'm an intelligent person. After the initial shock I realized that this is not an intelligence test, but a standardized test.
Manhattan taught me everything about the test and more. I felt more and more confident as my scores climbed from a dismal 560, to a 640, to a 700, and finally a 730 on my actual test day. I am proof that the material on the GMAT can be taught and that Manhattan offers the best prep program around.
Although $1000 may seem expensive, most would invest that in a heartbeat if they new they could boost their score up to a 730. Although I did invest 100 hours into studying, it was made much more tolerable through this course and the amazing instruction - highly recommended!
The Live Online course was very solid, especially for consultants who never know where they'll be or when they'll be there until.
Pros: Provides an excellent framework for how to approach studying. Breaks it down into manageable weekly segments that require a lot of work, but are thought out and doable if you put in the time. The syllabus and the books are the most invaluable part of this course.
On that note, I cannot recommend the MGMAT books enough. They are the best material out there, especially for those of us who struggle with concepts like number properties. The CAT's are also the best non-Official tests you can take, and give a very accurate representation of your score. I would estimate that the Quant on MGMAT CAT's is more difficult and time consuming than on the real thing, but that prepares you well for time management.
The instructors were very good, especially the lead instructor for our course. Cold calling was definitely appreciated, since it motivates you to do your work.
Also, the best part of Manhattan is that they are a no fluff company. I read a lot of tricks and secrets and other things from certain providers, but Manhattan emphasizes hard work and learning the underlying concepts, which in my opinion, are the key to doing well on the test.
Cons: I thought the class moved a bit too slowly. If you're a higher level test taker and really putting in hours to study, you will probably rise above the course material and find class a little slow. That being said, it was still a good review of things and a good confidence builder.
Overall: Solid 9/10. I would recommend it to anyone, especially if you need the spark to study like I did, and the weekly check points to make sure you do your work. You also get free office hours that I wish I had used, and would have been really valuable for certain sticky areas. The CAT's and the books are an easy 10/10. I was happy with my score.
