I started prepping for the GMAT with Manhattan GMAT's 9 week course with Gregg. The curriculum was great but I didn't have enough time to dedicate to studying. When I finally had time to be serious, I reached out to Gregg for private tutoring.

Gregg is very knowledgeable about the GMAT. He clearly communicates techniques and methods that are effective once you adopt them. He is able to quickly pinpoint your weaker areas and offers great recommendations on how best to approach studying. Having him in my corner provided a great confidence boost that enabled me to improve my score from the 500 range to 720. The journey was tiring but Gregg made it more manageable and ultimately, successful. Thank you, Gregg!

Manhattan GMAT focuses on teaching the actual topics covered on the GMAT, rather than just tips and tricks (you get these too but the focus is on the subject matter). I took another well-known test prep class a year before and MGMAT's class was better. My instructor Eric told us that GMAT success requires you to let out your inner nerd ("nerd" in the positive sense of someone who is very intellectually curious and likes learning obscure things). At Manhattan GMAT you'll find students and teachers who love to let out their inner nerds in the pursuit of a great GMAT score! I was really happy I took the class and I'd recommend it to anyone contemplating taking the GMAT.

I cannot recommend this course?and I'm shocked at all of those who have. The reason for the one star is because I believe that I would be better off not going to the course and rather spend time studying by myself.

I started the process having read half the OG. I had scored 690 on MGMAT prep. 4 weeks after I was at 660 and at the end of the course I was at 590. Great. i think there are several reasons for this: the level of the problems during the course are about 600 level - which normally only get me if I'm not paying attention - so yeah, any problem below the 600 level I can dominate; guess what? Now I have very little practice with 700-800 level questions.

In the end don't do it. I wish I could get my money back, but honestly, that's not what bothers me; it's the time wasted. This was my experience. I was aiming to be at around 750 by about now. I think I can still do it - on my own.

Best of luck,

AM

I started with a 670 on my diagnostic test and Manhattan GMAT got me to a 730 in a matter of a few weeks. I did the guided self-study course so I could focus on the areas I needed improvement rather than doing broad strokes through all the material.

The course was set up in an easy-to-access manner. The syllabus was simple to follow and each lesson built upon the previous ones. Manhattan GMAT tech support was available and helpful when needed. The result: I was able to watch all the videos I wanted.

How did the videos work you ask? Great. The videos had no problems playing on my Mac and I appreciated being able to fast forward through material I felt I understood. As for the content, the videos will not provide in-depth mastery, but they do provide an excellent 5,000 ft overview that can be the difference between one more "correct" answer and one more "wrong" answer. The instructors (Dan Patinkin & Dan Gonzalez) clearly mastered the material and had no trouble imparting their GMAT wisdom.

As for the books, Manhattan GMAT makes it easy to do the types of problems you need by breaking listing where you can find what problem type/topic. Further, the material itself is easily understood and has abundant practice problems to challenge your understanding of the material in questions that are sometimes harder than you will find on the GMAT.

Bottom line: Manhattan GMAT is a strong recommend. Don't sell yourself short by trying to save a few dollars, go with Manhattan GMAT and maximize your chances at the score you want.

I've recently retaken GMAT and got the score of 710 - just the thing I need to apply to business schools of my choice.

I would highly recommend Manhattan GMAT online materials and especially its 6 CAT exams and question banks as perfect resources to prepare to become GMAT winner. For me the most important thing that distinguishes Manhattan from other prep courses is the level of difficulty of questions it contains. I should admit I found them tougher than actual questions I encounter on the real exam. So going through these challenging questions enormously helped me on the real exam as I am a kind of person who feel anxiety under time pressure and as a result may choose incorrect answer. Additionally, I should mention that Manhattan provides very clear explanations of each answer choice so it takes not so much time to go through all of them in comparison with other study guides that are too much focused on detail and lack concepts that help to choose the right answer in the quickest way.

I can?t imagine getting score of 710 without using Manhattan prep course and I recommend it to everyone who is going to apply to top business schools.

MGMAT offered a comprehensive course that, combined with the strategy guides and online material, helped me score a 700 on my GMAT.

The course was very good, and introduced you to the GMAT and what to expect. Furthermore, the course helped you learn how to approach the exam-how to think. Because the course is a total of 27 hours, there is not enough time to get in depth into material. This is where their strategy guides as well as the online materials come in. The strategy guides helped me build a foundation, while the online material (especially Thursdays with Ron) help me push to a 700.

A friend of mine referred me to Manhattan GMAT because he said it was geared toward people who have aggressive GMAT goals. I signed up for the self study so that I could review the materials on my own time. After completing the basic course content and taking a couple practice tests I signed up for private tutoring with Andrea. Andrea helped me to develop a game plan to address my weaknesses. We spent a significant amount of time in our sessions reviewing the problems. We discussed the logic behind the problem and practical strategies for eliminating certain answers if time is running short. Additionally Andrea provided tactical tips about how to prepare for the test: how many practice exams to take, when to take the final practice test, when to stop learning new content, etc. Originally I had planned on taking the GMAT two times. But, MGMAT and Andrea helped me to exceed my goal on the first attempt, allowing me to focus on the rest of my application. I would highly recommend Manhattan GMAT and Andrea to anyone who wants to do well on their GMAT. Thank you!

My primary goal for taking the MGMAT course was to improve my quant score. I had taken the GMAT before, studying only with the Kaplan purple book, and had scored 700. 700 is an okay score, but my verbal and quant were highly imbalanced (I got 97% on verbal - soooo, my needless to say, my quant was mediocre at best.) I had run out of time on quant on my first try. I attribute my performance on my first GMAT to not having done sufficient practice and not having sufficiently mastered the quant concepts to look at a problem and know the approach.

If there's one thing I'll take away from my MGMAT experience, it's that getting a good score on the GMAT, for most of us, requires a ridiculous amount of work. I studied for at least 15 hours a week for the length of the nine-week course (and took the GMAT the week the course ended), and I spent every minute of that on quant (I replicated the verbal 97% on my practice CAT in the first week of MGMAT so I figured I could count on that.)

I would say that the strength of MGMAT is that it is a comprehensive program. Even if I had the materials, I wouldn?t have been able to put together the weekly lists of practice questions on my own. MGMAT tells you exactly how to fill those 15 hours a week spent studying. I wouldn?t say that the teaching is the strength of the course, and NOT because the teachers aren?t great. They clearly have subject mastery and, more uniquely, are really personable and committed. They are always available and are really dedicated to helping you do well. They have a weird passion and enthusiasm for the GMAT, which is refreshing, if not contagious. However, they are going to be with you for, at most 3.5 hours (class + office hours) each week. In each class, we probably did 5 or so quant problems, and they weren?t the most difficult ones. Class time, at least for quant, was really just review and an opportunity to do the problems timed. There wasn?t a lot of actual teaching of the concepts in class, because there just isn?t enough time.

Long story short, I studied way more than I ever would have without MGMAT. I finished the quant on time, and did better than I had ever done on a practice test (MGMAT CATs are hard!) I felt as confident as is possible given the insidious CAT format. I replicated my verbal score. I think there are probably much easier ways to get a 700, but if there is one weak part of your score that needs strengthening (mine was 600+ level quant and quant timing), MGMAT will help you do that. But, I wouldn?t recommend if you don?t have sufficient time to commit, because you won?t get much out of 3 hours of class plus a few hours of studying a week.

One last thing ? MGMAT should win accolades for customer service. I was living in Cambodia when I started the course and they DHL?d the 80 pounds of books to me in a few days. On several occasions, I picked up the phone and spoke with an actual, competent New Yorker in their office. Sure, you pay for it, but rarely have I experienced such excellent customer service. I would HIGHLY recommend MGMAT for anyone looking to prep from overseas, as I am sure the support is ten times better than for a cheaper course.

The curriculum is extremely thorough, which allows you to focus on those specific areas where you really need help. The instructors know absolutely everything - it's quite impressive, really. Whitney's enthusiasm made a 3-hour class not only tolerable, but sometimes enjoyable.

I took the Manhattan GMAT 9-session prep course with Michael Schwartz. First, the Manhattan GMAT curriculum was very good. They spend time on all the right things, and they introduce the right kinds of strategy for high scorers. Second, the teaching was excellent. Michael knows the material extremely well, and he has a knack for making the courses interesting and entertaining.

I believe the Manhattan GMAT course raised my performance on the GMAT considerably, and put me in range for the top schools. I highly recommend the course.

I've taken 10+ hours private tutoring with MGMAT instructor Dmitry Royter

Overall attitude and strategy

Dmitry didn't seem interested in improving my score. I think that he just didn't care. As no guarantees on improvement are offered by MGMAT he was sure that he will receive the money anyway. He didn't try to figure out my weak points he just helped me to solve some difficult problems. May be I'm wrong, but I think that when you pay 200$ an hour it's not just for solving some tasks. I can find solutions to most of the difficult tasks on line for free. I have completed several CATs and asked to give me some feedback on them for several weeks, but haven't received any clear answer. Just - "you are doing fine"...
Even though I'm not satisfied with Dmitry's attitude I must say that he is friendly and polite.

Tactics
Dmitry was good at explaining some tasks. Mostly CR part. His SC explanations were weak and usually unclear. I've received no new info in math.

To summarize, I consider my experience almost complete money and time loss.

I had previously taken a crash course offered from Kaplan and was disappointed on how much of the content was focused on guessing the answers to the questions instead of building the foundation required to succeed beyond the test.

The GMAT program from Manhattan did not focus on educated guessing until the later classes. The primary goal of the program was to build the foundation and providing shortcuts to solve the issues instead of strengthening a pattern of guessing.

At times, the numerous guides/books can feel like drinking from a fire hose. I found that in addition to using the study guide, the analytical tools provided in the Student Center (such as OG Archer) helps you focus more on your weaker areas.

As any course, the instructor goes a long way in making the material interesting (and bearable for those long classes). Chris has a great sense of humor but with his military background, he doesn't have any trouble asserting the areas you need to improve :-) It's nice to have a Kellogg alumni help you throughout your preparation.

Finally, a shout out to the folks who run 'Office Hours' at Manhattan (where you can schedule an hour to talk over the phone/web to discuss issues you have). I used every session - *Nothing* compares to these 1 on 1 sessions. The teachers are always upbeat, friendly and surprisingly funny.

My practice test scores were nowhere near where I wanted nor reflective of my ability.

Abby and Manhattan GMAT made all the difference and I got the 700 score I wanted.

Working with Abby was an excellent experience and I feel I made real progress because of her skills and dedication to the process. Abby tailored her teaching process to my unique needs and coached me not only on the tested topics but helped mold and develop my studying and testing skills. It not just about knowing the subject matter but everything including studying and how to take the test. Abby has it all nailed.

The Manhattan GMAT materials were extremely well done and provided a great resource for my preparation. The online recorded classes let me review material at my own pace. Enjoyable and well done. I especially liked the Manhattan GMAT Official Guide Question and Answer explanation utility "Archer".

The rigorous course offered by Manhattan GMAT is without doubt the best GMAT prep course. The 9-week program offers enough work to fill your time, and you are not able to procrastinate. By keeping students involved with the material, Manhattan GMAT affords the best opportunity to improve your score.

I am really pleased I went with Manhattan GMAT. I participated in the on-line recorded 9 week course. What was most valuable for me was the course materials (all of the explanatory books as well as the Official Guide book paired with Manhattan explanations), as well as the structured schedule that the 9 week course creates. The classes were valuable, but aside from a few gems and strategies here and there, they were a review of what we had done for homework the following week. Most valuable was the pace that the classes set which made sure that I was learning enough each week. I wouldn't do anything differently (except maybe end up with a 740 :) )

I don't have a strong quantitative background and haven't taken a math course since 2002. Needless to say, I was really nervous about the GMAT. A friend suggested Manhattan GMAT and I'm really glad I decided to take a course.

Additionally, I was a bit skeptical about taking an online course. I'd never taken a class this way, but was pleasantly surprised how interactive it was.

My instructors, Stephanie Moyerman and Joe Lucero, were incredibly knowledgeable, helpful during and outside class and most importantly made taking a GMAT prep course from 8-11pm on a Thursday evening much less painful than I expected. They taught the material and engaged the class in an encouraging way. Their leadership created a learning space for us to work through the material and explain our thought process to the class without really worrying too much whether we actually got the answer right. To create an encouraging, non-intimidating space for individuals from a variety of backgrounds to work on their weaknesses isn't easy, especially in a virtual classroom, but Joe and Stephanie did just that.

The Manhattan GMAT materials were very thorough and the course came with 8 strategy guides, multiple Official Guide books, a plethora of online resources, many CAT exams, etc.

I highly recommend Manhattan GMAT!

When I was first starting to prepare for the GMAT I met a friend to discuss how he approached the test. He had scored well on the test and been accepted to Tuck, so I really trusted his advice. He told me that his top two tips were to start studying early and to use Manhattan GMAT. He had taken their course online and gave me all of the class materials as well as some books he had bought from other vendors.

I signed up for in person classes since it fit my learning style. I was not disappointed. The materials were top notch. There are about 9 different books that dissect unique elements of the test. While I felt some books by other companies were trying to teach you "tricks" to score a little higher, the Manhattan GMAT books really broke down each concept and taught you the skills you needed to do well.

My instructor, Daniel Patinkin, was also an amazing teacher. All Manhattan GMAT instructors are required to score in the 99th percentile. So of course he had proven he could beat the test, but he was also a very knowledgeable teacher and was able to make some very difficult concepts very accessible.

The other great benefit of Manhattan GMAT is that taking their course gives you access to a lot of extra online materials. They have 6 different practice tests, taped online courses if you need to brush up on a topic, and practice modules for each test skill. Additionally, there is an analytical tool that tracks your speed and accuracy on different types of Official GMAT guide problems so you can zero in on your weaknesses. And there's even flash cards for each topic, which I found very useful to drill myself on different concepts at the gym.

Make no mistake, this course is not a shortcut or replacement for hard work. They recommend doing 8-12 hours of homework a week to prepare for classes. I personally locked myself in my room for several months after work and the gym and studied non-stop. However, the GMAT is a critical component of your MBA application, so for me it was worth it. Having scored a 750 on the test, I am thrilled with choices I made. And I fully understand why my friend insisted I take the Manhattan GMAT course. I am very thankful to them and wholeheartedly recommend them to anyone looking for top notch instruction for the GMAT.

The instructor, Chris Berman, is a fantastic teacher. He tells you exactly what you need to know and does so in a highly entertaining manner. I will miss my weekly Tuesday night comedy sessions in Chris' classes. The entertainment factor actually makes it easier to learn since you're engaged in the course.

The strategies guides are excellent. Definitely go through all of them... thoroughly... multiple times. If you do, you will be successful.

The service by admin staff has also been top notch. They checked in for feedback multiple times and answered all questions quickly via email.

I work a very busy schedule and by the time I get off work I'm usually spent for the day. So when I signed up for Manhattan GMAT, I was worried that I wouldn't have the time or energy to keep up with the class. I thought that the moment I started to lose interest, I'd fall hopelessly behind. Well, that moment never came, because my instructor rocked and the course material seemed designed for people like me.
First, about Sean - he certainly knows how to keep a room full of very sharp people engaged: by challenging and entertaining them at the same time. Sean only caught me looking at my phone once in the entire nine weeks, which says something. He focused on tactics and counterintuitive situations, not merely foundations, so I knew that if I stopped paying attention even for a moment I'd miss something important.
The course materials were the same - always cutting to the chase with something new and important. I'm sure other courses just provide a textbook understanding of the fundamentals -- which is fine, and you can get that too from Manhattan -- but these course books never wasted my time with obvious stuff. For example, the first book focused on number properties -- elementary school stuff -- and yet when it was full of highlights when I was done with it. It was chock full of high level, valuable extrapolations from the easy number properties that I had not been taught in school, but I knew would be incredibly important on the GMAT.
Finally, the most valuable thing the course emphasized was the need to quickly recognize problem types. I got to the point that I could read a problem, realize that I'd done 10 like it, and then I'd follow the same path as before and get it done in half as much time. So with enough practice and recognition skills, you can autopilot your way through this test. That's what Manhattan (and Sean) taught me, and that's what got me a 780.

I just took my GMAT and scored a 750 (Q49, V42). This was a pretty amazing feat for me considering I scored only 560 my first time taking the GMAT (and that was after taking Veritas tutoring and a Princeton Review Class!)

Only by sitting down with the Manhattan GMAT books and really learning the content contained in them was I able to get into the 700 range. Then, when I was consistently scoring in the 90+ percentile, Manhattan tutoring got me my 750 and into the 98th percentile. I recommend trying to get Sean Murphy in D.C. if he is available. He is a superb teacher and pretty much a genius. He'll show you exactly what you need to do to get the score you want.

If you want a 700+ on the GMAT, use Manhattan GMAT. PERIOD!!!