I started the Manhattan GMAT online course in the last week of August and scheduled my test for the last weekend in October. This gave me exactly 9 weeks to finish the class and take the exam following the Manhattan course syllabus.

My first test score was a 610. My second test score the next weekend was a 590. I had a lot of work to do.

The Manhattan course intuitively presented the course material and challenge problems in an effective and efficient manner. Over the course of the next 8 weeks I devoted over 200 hours to class and study time. Most of this time was doing problems on Manhattan's OG Archer software and watching their video solutions.

I used the Manhattan course books to refresh math concepts and learn strategies to tackle verbal problems. I then followed the OG / GMAC books on a subject by subject basis. This was my instructor Avi's suggestion. He suggested that I identify a weakness and strengthen it by doing large sets of just that concept or subject. I liked this strategy a lot and started to see big improvements. I took another test at the halfway point and scored a 670.

During the last two weeks of prep I scored 700, 710, 710 and 710 on practice exams so felt ready for test day.

I felt good on test day and scored a 730. I felt I could have done even better but got flustered during the math section by a problem that completely stumped me.

I would highly recommend the Manhattan program to anyone who is looking for study material for the GMAT. I also bought the Kaplan online program and did not find it as helpful. Kaplan's tests were quality but I didn't find their recorded classes to be effective. Make sure to ask for Avi and Liz. They are the real deal.

Read More

By far, hands down, the best GMAT prep course around. Interestingly, I heard about the course from a friend in Korea. My friend in KOREA had heard about Manhattan GMAT! So I tried the course and rocked the GMAT.

I took the 9-class course in the summer and studied with the Manhattan GMAT prep books. About a month after the class, I took the exam. The course is demanding, requiring solid 5 to 10 hours of studying a week, but it is definitely worth it. (Though, frankly, the course is made so that you can still keep up with the class if you hadn't done much outside studying... You will just feel really stupid in class).

Great teachers, great books and great on-site test simulation center.

Read More

The self-study course helped me improve my GMAT score by more than 100 points. The coursework and syllabus provide a very structured approach to learning the necessary material. I appreciated that the coursework is very easily adapted to best meet individual needs. Specifically Manhattan GMAT has created a problem tracking tool, OG Archer, that provides students with a very qualitative overview of performance over time, broken down by subject matter, difficulty, etc. In addition, the detailed problem explanations, labs, question banks, and CAT exams were all helpful.

If you are planning to use the self-directed program, I STRONGLY recommend that you get the package that includes access to recorded lectures. The lectures provide invaluable insights about how to use study time effectively, approach challenging problems, deal with test day stresses, and much more. My recorded lectures were led by Emily Sledge and Stephanie Moyerman, both of which were fantastic.

For those of you interested in the numbers:

I scored a 760 on test day, a 100 point improvement from my initial CAT (660)

Cat 1 - 42Q / 38V - 660 (7/14/12)
Cat 2 - 45Q / 45V - 730 (8/26/12)
GMAT Prep - 47Q / 38V - 690 (9/15/12)
GMAT Prep - 45Q / 45V - 730 (9/18/12)
Cat 3 - 45Q / 45V - 730 (10/10/12)
Test Day - 48Q / 47V - 760 (10/11/12)

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 took this class in the spring at their flagship location. My goal with taking the course was to structure my studying and break it up into manageable parts rather than going it alone and not having a sense of what I needed to cover and stagnating.

My effort in studying for the GMAT consisted of two parts. The first, where I attended all 9 sessions and completed all basic and advanced homework. And the second, the end of the course and month afterwards before the exam, where I did additional studying using the Official Guide and Manhattan GMAT practice exams.

In the first segment, I think the course was really key for me in the way I mentioned above - it provided the structure to get me through all the material and broke my studying down into pieces.

Specifically:

-The 9 live classes: For me, this was necessary to move myself along the process.

The instruction was helpful - Steven taught both Manhattan GMAT methods as well as personal tips and insights. The instruction on Quant was very helpful. On Verbal, I found the MGMAT methodologies less useful and I think Steven did as well because he didn't strongly recommend that we use them and his deviation from some of the materials was actually very helpful. I appreciated this flexibility. All in all, I felt, throughout the whole process, that my instructor was an expert and knew the material backwards and forwards.

The materials provided - the subject area books are great - they provide both depth and breadth and achieve the right level of detail and complexity. They served really well as the place to 'learn' the material. Later, when practicing and reinforcing, I primarily used the Official Guide, coming back to the subject area books as needed.

In the second part of my studying, towards the end of the classes and afterwards, I really focused on practicing problems and taking exams. For this, I found the Manhattan GMAT practice exams and the ability to go to their center to take them, especially crucial. For several weeks, I would go to the center every Saturday and take a full exam. Not only are MGMAT's exams very good quality, simulating the actual test day experience is key and was one of the main value adds of the course to me.

If I have any criticisms of the course, I would say that for me personally, I probably could have use a more custom experience. Although historically a stronger quantitative test taker, for the GMAT I found that I put 95% of my effort into Quant and that Verbal came easier. As a result, I probably would have benefited from a Quant focused course. I think that a lot of native/fluent English speakers find themselves in this situation and as such, I think Manhattan GMAT would do well by creating this kind of class. I also found the Quant section on their practice exams to be a little bit too difficult, and not in a way that was beneficial. The practice exams you get from the actual GMAC are more representative.

Overall, however, I am extremely satisfied with my experience and would definitely a. do it the same way if i had to do it again and b. recommend Manhattan GMAT to others. I have not taken any other company's courses but based on what I've heard, I feel comfortable saying this is one of, if not the, best prep companies out there.

Read More

I took my diagnostic in June and scored a 600. I was ambitious about a good score, and I had to do it in about 2 months amidst a very heavy workload. I needed a good coach and that's when I enrolled in the Manhattan GMAT 9 session course.

First of all, this is a very detailed and demanding course. From the first look at its curriculum it was pretty clear to me that this company knew the art and science of turning a novice into a master on this exam. The material is exhaustive and intuitive - it really captures the naunces of the varied thought processes that different people follow while solving a problem, and then tells you how to hone your unique way of thinking. I found that particularly helpful as most people have a particular style of doing things, and some approaches resonate with that style while some don’t.

The classroom course does not take the traditional theory-to-questions approach. Mind it that you would be expected to do the formal studying yourself. The classroom sessions explore the theoretical aspects of the course mainly through carefully chosen questions that well-exemplify the concepts involved.
Personally, I liked this approach as concepts are presented and learned un-detached from the contexts and situations where they'll be applied to, and are thus easier to remember.

The course is ultimately about honing your intuitions to razor-sharpness and set you up with a viable plan on how you're going to attempt your exam. The best thing - there's always a plenty of help available around for whatever you might need it.

My instructor was not only a master of the subject but also very involved with my success. He gave me some very good advice with some unique problems that was keeping my score low in the exam while I was coming out with flying colours while attempting practice problems. I finally took the exam on 8th of September and scored a 730.

I would highly recommended score for anyone seeking to score a 700+. And lastly, there's a lot of free stuff that'll come along with the any course - classroom or self study. They conduct a lot of free sessions, not just on GMAT but the whole application process. It's expensive, but totally worth the money!

Read More

I have had an excellent experience with Manhattan GMAT. I took the course in May 2012 and am very happy with my decision.

To begin with, the staff at Manhattan GMAT is excellent. Everyone whom I spoke to before and during the class was knowledgeable and very helpful.
The class itself was excellent. The instructors were great and the sessions were engaging. I had tried studying for GMAT on my own before, but I was not doing all that great. But the GMAT approach is unique and it really suited me.

The instructors focused on fundamentals and, whenever necessary, on shortcuts to save time. The approach with which they solved problems was the key differentiator for me.

Apart from the instructors being excellent, the syllabus was properly divided into 9 sessions. I felt that by the end of the class I was prepared for the real test. I was crossing 700 in my practice tests. Eventually, I landed up scoring 720.

The resources that MGMAT makes available to all students is worth a mention. The various question banks and labs, the OG Archer, Thursdays with Ron, Challenge Problems, Post course evaluation etc. make a strong impact on ones preparation. I really liked the post course/post exam evaluation.

All in all, great course. Highly recommend it.

Read More

My pre-class scores were below 600, so needless to say I had a lot of work ahead of me. My goal was to clear 700. The course with David Braslow was great for reviewing and re-learning a lot of the concepts (math in particular), but make sure you're willing to practice, as the amount of material can be overwhelming.

If you're like me and really need to go through all of the strategy guides to re-learn the math, practice problems are the best way to burn those concepts into your memory (something I failed to do the first time around). I tried learning as much as I could in the 9 week session, but I don't think I practiced enough, and I was still prone to making careless mistakes. My first test scored a 640, I was disappointed. I started private tutoring sessions with Kate McKeon to refine my skills, learn my weaknesses, and give me areas for focus. After a few sessions with Kate, I was back up above 700 on my practice tests, and I ended up with a 760 on my 2nd official attempt.

Highly recommend the instructors at Manhattan GMAT, especially for personalized sessions. They won't tell you what you want to hear. If you're weak in a particular area, they'll let you know! Better to have that honest feedback upfront than to be disillusioned by a few successful practice tests.

Rather than familiarity with concepts, try to master what you can before you even step into the test room.

Read More

Hi eveyrone,

I recently used Manhattan GMAT and had a great experience. The company's material is very applicable to the test, and the OG Archer is a great way to identify area where you need to improve.

My instructor, Jihae, was very good. She was engaging and did a great job connecting with the students despite the class starting after a full work day.

The most valuable asset, for me at least, was the FREE MGMAT post exam assessment. My test scores were as follows:

MGMAT Diag: 630

MGMAT 1: 730

MGMAT 2: 670

MGMAT 3: 690

MGMAT 4: 680

MBA.com 1: 720

MBA.com 2: 730

My goal was a 700, but I scored only a 620 when I took the test in July. After the test, I used Manhattan GMAT's post exam assessment. I spoke to Eric, and, after reviewing my file, he identified areas he felt I should focus and pointed out that I may have burnt myself out or that I perhaps rushed through problems on test day.

After speaking with Eric, I took a week off, relaxed and refocused for my exam in three weeks.

I scored a 710 (47Q, 40V) and am pleased with my performace.

Thank you Manhattan GMAT!

Sam

Read More

I highly recommend the Manhattan GMAT 9-Session Prep Course for anyone studying for the GMAT. The course provides a comprehensive overview of the all content on the GMAT, focusing specifically on the content and test-taking strategies that I believe are the difference between a mediocre and a great test score. Moreover, and perhaps most importantly, the Manhattan GMAT course instills in you the confidence that is so important for success on the day of the actual test.

I am a lawyer and have not had much math in my daily life since high school. Of course quant was a big concern of mine. Manhattan GMAT's content-based approach and repetitive drilling helped me tremendously. My instructor Kate McKeon was also a huge help in this regard. She made the class fun and kept the atmosphere light, all the while challenging us to master a combination of the most tested and difficult content. In addition to helping me nail down the content, she taught me not to sweat the small stuff and what areas to focus on for test day. This relaxed approach kept everything in perspective as I prepared for the real test.

After scoring a 560 on my first practice test, I ended up scoring a 720 on the real thing and was thrilled. I am certain that without Manhattan GMAT I would not have achieved such a satisfactory result.

Read More