Manhattan GMAT offers smart instructors who know the ins and outs of the GMAT and a solid structure and timeline to prep for the exam. I took the exam before my 9 week course was over and still scored over 700. While ultimately you need to put in the time studying (regardless of which prep program you use, if any) MG teaches great tips and tricks that are helpful on the exam. I have already recommended Manhattan GMAT prep courses to my friends.

The Manhattan GMAT Prep course is designed for students that want to get a score in the high 600s and 700s. The classroom sizes are small and the instructors themselves have scores in the high 90s percentile. In addition to your weekly classes, Manhattah GMAT offers a free one-on-one phone session with instructors to answer any questions you have - I found this to be really helpful when working through homework problems. What I loved the best about the course however was the test prep materials, including the step by step syllabus - they're set up really well. I would recommend this course to everyone - seriously the best decision I ever made!

I found that in the course of 9 weeks (plus 2 weeks of post class study time), MGMAT was able to lay a solid foundation of not just content but test taking strategies.

Regarding verbal - I found that the content was not nearly as helpful as the test taking strategies. Their methods of note taking (diagramming) and classification of answer types really help in taking the test.

Math - they cover a ton of content in a very organized fashion. The books are very readable and were useful to get the background of the content. The in-class instruction on the more complex nuances of each topic were done extremely well, though that may likely vary by instructor. I found my instructor, Jonathan, to be excellent. He presented ideas in a clear, understandable manner and managed to move the class along at a good pace while still giving each student a tailored experience.

All in I would highly recommend this class and company, especially as I have friends concurrently using Kaplan and finding it to be much less useful, if helpful at all.

The first time I took a GMAT (diagnostic), I scored a 550. After my ManhattanGMAT experience, I scored a 720 (on the actual test). Two things helped (immensely) to get there:
1. Gregg Lachow. Gregg was my instructor. He was nothing short of amazing. He understands what students need to hear (and how they need to hear it) in order to truly grasp something. Gregg knows his stuff. Besides his intelligence, what makes him outstanding is HOW he teaches - his approach to the material. He uses imagery and analogy and association to communicate the content so that it sinks in. He once explained divisibility in terms of espionage - the prime factors of one number spying on the prime factors of another. It was both entertaining and effective.
2. Putting in the time. There's no way around this one. You can't cram for the GMAT. ManhattanGMAT suggests 10-15 hrs a week of studying (outside the classroom). For some, it will be less; for others, more. 10-15 hrs a week is about what I did - for 3 months. It paid off. That's not to say I never felt like I was hitting my head against the wall. I did. I remember pouring hours of time into studying and feeling like I wasn't getting anywhere. You will feel like that too (most of you anyway). Trust that all the time of focused studying you put in will pay off. You might not see returns immediately (in fact, you probably won't), but trust that you will. Carve out the right amount of time (over time), Pour everything you have into those study periods, and see results.

Also, I'd be remiss not to mention this: Gregg was the third in-class instructor I experienced at ManhattanGMAT. The first one I had was surprisingly bad; the second one was OK but didn't live up to the ManhattanGMAT hype; the third was Gregg (see #1 above). My point here is not to disparage ManhattanGMAT - no, they were quite amenable to my feedback and willing to place me more appropriately - but rather to let you know that if you find that something is not working at ManhattanGMAT, work with them to fix it (and don't let them charge you extra, or give you a hard time, to do it. You paid good money for a program that bills itself as tops. You should both expect it and tell them you expect it.). It's also fair to say that of all the instructors I interacted with at ManhattanGMAT (I'm including those with whom I interacted in the weekly 30-min tutoring sessions over the phone), the excellent ones outnumbered the not-so-excellent ones. There's variability everywhere - even at ManhattanGMAT.

Last thing I'll say is this: Take advantage of the complimentary 30-min tutoring sessions every week on the phone/online - it's one-on-one tutoring with a real person! One-on-one time is both sparse and critical in GMAT prep. Sign up for the weekly tutoring - what ManhattanGMAT calls Office Hours. You only get one session per week during the course - and if you miss one, it doesn't roll over - so make sure you sign up every week.

Good luck!

The first time I took a GMAT (diagnostic), I scored a 550. After my ManhattanGMAT experience, I scored a 720. Two things helped (immensely) to get there:
1. Gregg Lachow. Gregg was my instructor. He was nothing short of amazing. He understands what students need to hear (and how they need to hear it) in order to truly grasp something. Gregg knows his stuff. Besides his intelligence, what makes him outstanding is HOW he teaches - his approach to the material. He uses imagery and analogy and association to communicate the content so that it sinks in. He once explained divisibility in terms of espionage - the prime factors of one number spying on the prime factors of another. It was both entertaining and effective.
2. Putting in the time. There's no way around this one. You can't cram for the GMAT. ManhattanGMAT suggests 10-15 hrs a week of studying (outside the classroom). For some, it will be less; for others, more. 10-15 hrs a week is about what I did - for 3 months. It paid off. That's not to say I never felt like I was hitting my head against the wall. I did. I remember pouring hours of time into studying and feeling like I wasn't getting anywhere. You will feel like that too (most of you anyway). Trust that all the time of focused studying you put in will pay off. You might not see returns immediately (in fact, you probably won't), but trust that you will. Carve out the right amount of time (over time), Pour everything you have into those study periods, and see results.

Also, I'd be remiss not to mention this: Gregg was the third in-class instructor I experienced at ManhattanGMAT. The first one I had was surprisingly bad; the second one was OK but didn't live up to the ManhattanGMAT hype; the third was Gregg (see #1 above). My point here is not to disparage ManhattanGMAT - no, they were quite amenable to my feedback and willing to place me more appropriately - but rather to let you know that if you find that something is not working at ManhattanGMAT, work with them to fix it (and don't let them charge you extra, or give you a hard time, to do it. You paid good money for a program that bills itself as tops. You should both expect it and tell them you expect it.). It's also fair of me to say that of all the instructors I interacted with at ManhattanGMAT (I'm including those with whom I interacted in the weekly 30-min tutoring sessions over the phone), the excellent ones outnumbered the not-so-excellent ones. There's variability everywhere - even at ManhattanGMAT.

Last thing I'll say is: Take advantage of the complementary 30-min tutoring sessions every week on the phone/online - it's one-on-one tutoring with a real person! One-on-one time is both sparse and critical in GMAT prep. Sign up for the weekly tutoring - what ManhattanGMAT calls Office Hours. You only get one session per week during the course - and if you miss one, it doesn't roll over - so make sure you sign up every week.

Good luck!

I was on the waitlist for a top-tier B-school that I had applied to with the GRE. I was then in another degree program (Master of Public Policy) and had an excellent GRE score from that program; intra-university applications accept the GRE in lieu of the GMAT.

While I was waitlisted I was researching my options and found that the admissions committee at my school heavily favored the GMAT for transfer/dual degree students, not just because they consider it a better test than the GRE (I agree) but because they also feel it shows commitment. I resigned myself to the belief that I would not make it off the waitlist and decided to start preparing a future application to a top-tier MBA program. I would start by taking the GMAT, in case the effort helped with my waitlisted application.

Just a week after I signed up for the Manhattan GMAT course I was accepted off the waitlist. While I no longer needed a great GMAT score, I still attended most of the remaining classes to recoup a little of what I had paid for and give myself a good quantitative foundation before B-school started this fall.

But I didn't have much choice in the matter: my excellent teacher wouldn't LET me quit. I received all the help I could ask for and then some; I was even pushed to learn the material better even though I no longer had to take the test and do well on it.

Everything about the company--from the books, to the accessory materials, to the incredible instructor--was impressive, professional, and presented in the highest caliber I could've expected. I highly recommend them as a test prep service. My only direct comparison is with the ~9 session Kaplan course, which my younger sister completed earlier this year. We both agree that I had the better prep experience BY FAR, and now after a mediocre test session she is even considering doing the Manhattan GMAT course before she re-takes the test.

While studying for the GMAT is never fun and a lot of work, Manhattan GMAT provided me with the motivation to put in the hours and the sage advice to keep me calm about the whole process. They provide more than enough problems (I didn't get a chance to open the supplemental guides).

My teacher was not only great at cutting to the core of each problem, but he handled the class well (keeping us on time and on focus without rushing) and provided a lot of good strategies. He went beyond the written material and really added value to the learning experience.

After completing the course, I studied (no more than 2 hrs a day for 6 days a week) for another 5-6 weeks before taking the exam as instructed by my teacher. Although I was nervous during the exam and felt like I didn't do well initially, these were all things that my teacher had prepared me for and I was very pleased with the result!

It was definitely worth taking the class and putting in the necessary effort so I only had to take the exam once and Manhattan GMAT provided more than enough resources to do that.

Within 5 weeks, I improved my score from a 630 (cold) to a 730. Had I finished the full 9-week course and allowed myself an extra 2 weeks for review, I could have probably scored in the upper 700s.

I had the pleasure of taking the course in Summer 2010 after graduating undergrad. I was in somewhat of a unique situation, because I did not complete the course before I took the GMAT. About a third of the way through, my teacher recommended that I start taking 2 practice tests per week. By the third exam, I became confident in my ability to score in the 700s, and took the test only 5 weeks after the start of the course. I had never even looked at a GMAT or Computer Adaptive Test before, and was able to score a 730.

The teaching style was very effective, though, at times, I wanted the class to move a bit quicker. To compensate for what I saw as a "slower" in-class treatment of material, I used Manhattan GMAT's online tools, labs and spreadsheets (Thank you, thank you, thank you OG Tracker!). These helped me tremendously in tailoring my own schedule, and made it possible for me to get extra practice and feedback outside of the classroom. The excel spreadsheets are the most underrated tool in all of GMAT review. They allowed me to:
- Effectively track my errors and areas of weakness
- Sort every problem in all OG guides by topic area and type
- Continue reviewing outside of the assigned homework
- Create custom problem sets that were suited to my personal needs

Bottom line: classes were informative and well-structured, my instructor gave me incredible advice by recommending that I go ahead and take the GMAT early (thanks for a month of my life back, Tom!), and Manhattan GMAT gave me every tool to succeed on the GMAT. If you want a class that will prepare you for the test, give you the learning materials that cover the exam, and provide you with intelligent, experienced GMAT teachers, go Manhattan GMAT.

Tommy is a great instructor who is honestly interested in helping students succeed on the GMAT. He communicates the material clearly and provides his personal insight and strategies when possible. The classroom setting was a mix between lecture and discussion. He maintains a comfortable pace throughout the session so all material is presented. During each class session, students are trained to answer questions quickly or guess and move on. This prepares students for the time sensitivity of the actual exam.

The course material is logically divided into 8 books which focus on a particular area of the GMAT. They teach the basics and advanced concepts and strategies. The amount of homework assigned each week was challenging to complete. Class meetings were used to teach new concepts and review certain elements from prior sessions. Homework problems were not reviewed during the class. However, students are allocated 30 minutes a week for private tutoring sessions over the phone. Also, the course uses webcasts effectively to provide students with access to additional lectures.

I've had a a number of friends try Manhattan GMAT, and they've all said that it's fantastic. The tutors are knowledgeable (and relatable), which is key, and the studying materials, incredibly useful.
Some advice: Time management is key. From work to extracurricular activities to all the other stuff that takes up your day, the schedule that the tutors have you on is intense. It's non-stop for more than two months, so take some time out to devote a good portion of your free time to studying. Another tip: Don't take the class during the summer. Your head is someplace else. Mine was on the beach, on where I was eating that night, on weekend mini-trips, not studying. No matter how disciplined you are, summer will temp any student to "cut class" for a day.

I know it's just a silly test but I'm so excited that I don't even know where to begin or what to do now. I started in late October 2008 with a 530 MGMAT CAT score and finished the GMAT on Wednesday with 740 result. I am no propeller head so this can be accomplished with time and good study habits. It may take 1 month for the gifted ones out there, 3 months for others, or maybe even a year if you completely screwed off during high school math classes. But eventually things will click. Below is my debrief:

I first thought about an MBA back in 2001 when every other NYC investment banking turd that I was working with at the time told me that I had to do it. So, being young, being dumb, and in over my head with these guys, I followed the crowd. I took a Kaplan class and studied (while working long hours) for a few months before taking the GMAT. Back then I used to put so much pressure on myself that I'd simply have a meltdown on these things. Rule #1 of success on this exam: chill out dude, it's just a test. 1st try 590 (Q44, V27), 2nd try 630 (Q44, V33). I was completely crushed, embarrassed and just gave up on the MBA idea. Although I realize that a 630 isn't bad, I was confident that the net present value of my MBA would certainly be negative. I was not going to get into a top program and I have a somewhat non-conventional opinion on the MBA degree that just forced me to forget about it.

Fast forward 7 years later...I'm in Boston now, unemployed, and thinking a lot about my future so I spent a couple days researching GMAT prep programs in late October. I had never even heard of ManhattanGMAT but most reviews, including those on Beat The GMAT, pointed them out as the best of the bunch. So, since I despised my Kaplan experience and obviously the results, it was a no brainer to check out a free class class.

The instructor was Eric Caballero and his teaching style actually made the subjects interesting and fun. My only concern was that the MGMAT curriculum would be similar to the Kaplan class that I took in '01/'02. Perhaps Kaplan is much different now so I won't bash them too bad but I remember a lot of focus on "Backsolving" and other educated guessing techniques that just didn't work for me (I still find them almost useless.) I also don't recall much focus on Reading Comp or Critical Reasoning techniques, which was a big help to me this time around. Nor do I remember ever seeing OG questions. It was all Kaplan books and practice tests. Anyway, I knew that taking a class would at least get me focused so I forked down a few unemployment checks on it.

About halfway through the syllabus I began to get some sort of sick enjoyment out of this stuff, almost like a puzzle addict. The MGMAT guides were excellent and I followed the heavy syllabus pretty closely (did all the assignments and online labs but usually didn't get to do many OG practice problems). However, I didn't really get serious until after the class was finished in early January. I have a bit of a competitive streak in me and tend to go "tunnel vision" on things that I sincerely commit to doing. So, with the distracting holidays behind me, I completely immersed myself in GMAT for the last 2 months determined to not only erase the embarrassment of '01/'02 but also to beat the hell out of this exam in general. So, although my competitive side is telling me that I could have done better on the test (I need therapy!), I know that a 740 is plenty good enough and I'm happy to say that I achieved my goals. Below was my progression:

MGMAT #1 530 (46%) Q28, V35 (24%, 77%) Oct 24
MGMAT #2 690 (91%) Q44, V39 (73%, 89%) Jan 21
MGMAT #3 710 (94%) Q44, V42 (73%, 96%) Feb 3
MGMAT #4 680 (90%) Q43, V39 (70%, 89%) Feb 10
GMAT Prep #1 690 (88%) Q47, V39 (79%, 87%) Feb 22
GMAT Prep #2 730 (96%) Q45, V45 (75%, 98%) Feb 25
GMAT real 740 (97%) Q49, V41 (88%, 92%) Mar 4


Further thoughts on MGMAT:

Quant
Outstanding. I always considered my quant skills slightly above average, not engineer good but above average. The strategy guides teach all the basic rules that need to be memorized in order to do well on this. The MGMAT guides alone are sufficient to get a 640-680 score. However, when used in conjunction with the online forums (both MGMAT and BTG), one's understanding of these topics explodes as you figure out the different ways of asking about the same subjects. I did just about all of the Problem Solving and Data Sufficiency questions in the OG 11th Ed (big yellow book), taking notes on tough questions and lessons learned. However, most of the OG answer explanations stink at best. Without the MGMAT and Beat the GMAT forum discussions on just about every OG question out there, I could never have fully understood the topics tested. On the MGMAT CATs and the OG questions, I spent a silly amount of time reviewing different ways to answer each question and the theory behind it. Relative to other people who have posted their results on these forums, I don't think I did nearly as many questions but I spent an absurd amount of time understanding each one that I did do. The explanations to the MGMAT CATs, Question Banks, and Challenge Questions were also thorough and very helpful. I have to say, primarily because of my score jump, that the MGMAT quant in general is more difficult than the GMAT Prep and the real GMAT (especially Geometry). I did not feel that I had done well when I had finished the Quant section on Wednesday's main event (I had to guess on question #1!) so I am pretty shocked by my jump in score.

Verbal
My bread and butter but historically also my achilles heel. In high school, I had a drill sergeant of an english teacher for 2 years who permanently branded parallelism and proper grammar in my head for life. So, from the get go I was killing SC questions, similar to my experience '01/'02. However, as evidenced by my poor Verbal scores back then, I could never get to flash the grammar skills on the GMAT. Since my early school days, teachers have been trying to get me tested for some sort of reading disability. I could never digest what I was reading without having to reread things immediately after. SAT and GMAT RC questions were impossible under the timed conditions. I would never finish things like reading comp questions in the allotted time. It was torture and I dreaded those types of questions. But for whatever reason, after once through the MGMAT RC and CR guides, that problem disappeared forever (where the hell were you for the SATs?). Maybe I got better at critically reading things over the past 8 years of working in a high paced, sink or swim Wall St. environment but still, something clicked when I read those guides. I got so good at RC/CR on the CAT exams that I barely even bothered to do the OG problems (as I look at my OG tracker, I only did 12 RC passages and about 24 CR questions). Because of this drastic improvement in these areas, I not only was able to use the grammar skills to push it on high level questions throughout the verbal section but I also hoped for as many RC questions as possible for easy, quick points. All that said, I'm slightly disappointed in my Verbal score. I got tied up on some hard SC for too long and had to hustle through a couple RC/CRs to catch up. I think another 2 points puts me into the 750+ range but whatever.

AWA
I did little to no prep for this. Study consisted of a brief discussion in class, the online lab, reading a few 6-score topic and essay examples, and practicing on the 4 CATs and 2 GMAT Preps. I hope to hell that it was enough.

Forums
As I mentioned, the content in the forums was a vital study aid. One issue, however: about a month ago MGMAT changed up the search function in the forums. I'm not sure what they did but the new "search" function is garbage. I won't get into it unless you really care but try searching the MGMAT forums for a few Number Properties or Equations, Inequalities, or VIC OG questions that you know have been discussed there. There's a good chance that the query will not produce the threads. Then search for the same question on the Beat the GMAT forum and you'll get my frustration. I can't emphasize enough how important Ron and Stacey were (on both MGMAT and BTG forums) to my understanding of the topics. They are like 24/7 private tutors so thanks guys. But the forums are useless if your search produces no results because of a technology hitch. Someone has to fix the MGMAT search function.

One other comment regarding a class: Most of us want to get this test over as soon as possible. So, if you're signing up for a class (and I do recommend you do if for no other reason than to mold good study techniques), then I suggest checking the class schedule. DO NOT take a class that will be broken up by holidays, vacations, etc. I found momentum to be a strong ally for this stuff but it kept getting cut off by Thanksgiving, Xmas and New Years'. There were 3 weeks between the next-to-last and final class. That's not how you want to finish up when you're hoping to fire out of the gate on your own when the class is over.

Anyway, I hope that's helpful. Thanks again everyone, especially Eric, Stacey and Ron from MGMAT. Remember to commit to good study habits, study at your own pace, and most of all remember that it's only a foolish test. Don't beat yourself up if you get knocked down.

Dave

I took the Winter 2010 class with Chris B. and had an excellent experience. His enthusiasm for business school was contagious (in a positive way) and his instruction/the Manhattan GMAT curriculum left me feeling very prepared for the test. Achieved my goal score on the first try! A word of advice, though -- if you're committing to the class, then commit to doing the homework assignments. All the insider tips in the world can't replace solid, steady practice.

i took the course with jon schnieder who did a great job of keeping our overworked group engaged with the material. it was nearly impossible to keep up with the homework during the nine weeks, but Manhattan GMAT is really good about allowing you to attend additional classes and access their amazing online resources once you have finished the course. i buckled down for a month afterward and do not think that i would have scored as well had it not been for going through the 6 adaptive tests, question banks, sentence correction study guide, and listening to some of the lectures online. i would highly recommend manhattan gmat and jon schnieder.

Manhattan offers a very comprehensive and thorough course for anyone of any academic or professional background looking to take the GMAT exam. The strategy guides and online materials that the course comes with are very helpful. The only negative that i encountered was that, if anything, there was so much material that at times it seemed like it was impossible to get through everything in the allotted time. The instructor was very engaging, and made sure that everyone was not only prepared, but also excited, to face the GMAT. My experience with Manhattan was totally positive, and i would highly recommend this course to anyone who is serious about scoring ugh on the exam.

I've taken a course through two different test companies and the difference really was night and day. The Manhattan course was superior in nearly every aspect: instructors, curriculum, materials, and facilities. I took the competitors course first and scored a 630, I then took some time off and enrolled in the MGMAT course about one year later. After completion of MGMAT?s 9 week prep I received a 710.

When compared to this specific competitors program, MGMAT?s course requires significantly more time and effort. It?s a big commitment. The curriculum is ambitious and, if you put the time in, very effective.

The materials included with the course were great, they give you all the official guides and their own guides, which were very helpful (especially the SC guide, buy that even if you don?t take the MGMAT course). My instructor was very encouraging and enthusiastic throughout the 9 weeks, which made the whole process easier. I couldn?t be any happier with my experience.

Chris was a great teacher and really tailored the information to meet the classes needs. He made sure to focus on material that we were more unsure about and quickly go over other material that we were more confident about.

The class is great in terms of giving an overview of the types of questions you can expect to encounter on both the verbal and math sections. Additionally, the class gives helpful hints of how to tackle some of the problems to save time during the test.

I decided to go with MGMAT because of the numerous positive reviews that I had seen. I decided to go with the self-study prep plus (for budget reasons). This was where the program went south... I was inundated with information and no way to know which part(s) were critical to understand.

Math was my weak point here... I do excellent in college-based math courses (got an "A" in every class I took) because the information is fresh and focused. However, this isn't the case with standardized tests. I knew I needed suggestions and information about how and where to focus my efforts for the GMAT.

This self-guided study was lackluster and incredibly unfocused. Overall, I feel as if the books were incredibly informative, but, seeing as you're studying on your own, you're bound to get lost in the information. Basically, I had nobody to guide me throughout the whole ordeal. What little interaction I did have with instructors (1 hour) was useless. (The teacher was incredibly rude.)

The math books were quite thorough. I feel that these books would have been incredibly informative had there been a teacher thoroughly explaining problems and concepts. The sentence correction book was also decent. However, the CR and RC books were quite useless. I didn't learn a single thing from either of these books.

I feel as if a live class or an in-person class would be vastly superior to anything self-based. I wish I had taken the class in a different format. I feel like the course had potential, but without the guidance, this potential was never realized.

I'll be taking my next prep course with Knewton.

Since the first day of class, our instructor made me feel comfortable and confident about taking the test. He has been extremely helpful over the past 9 weeks and because of that I will get a grade way beyond what I expected before entering the class. This class helped turn my weaknesses into strengths while also taking my strengths into a higher level. Basically without Manhattan GMAT I would not have reached the grade I needed to get into the business school of my choice.

Highly recommend. Instructors are top notch. Program is very flexible to fit personal needs. Lessons plans fit all learning styles. Improved my GMAT score significantly. End result was acceptance into my first choice MBA program. Also should take into account the resume review, over the phone tutoring, and interview prep help. Angela was engaging and all around a great instructor.

Manhattan GMAT is by far and away the best GMAT prep course. I may be biased because it is the only course I have taken, but after speaking with friends who took other courses, I know Manhattan is the best. Many of the most helpful tips and tricks that i used on test day were never even covered by the test prep companies my friends took. The structure of the course is hard but not overwhelming, and the staff is unparalleled. Chris Brusznicki is the absolute man! and everyone should try to take the course with him. Good luck and ace the test!