Worth the cost

I first heard about this course from a friend who had taken it a few years back; he had raved about it, and he's a guy who rarely raved about anything. So, from the get-go, I was inclined to give preference to Manhattan Prep over any other companies. Still, at $2,000, I wanted to get a "taste" before fully committing.

One of the things I loved about this course was that I was allowed to come to the first session -- for free, no strings attached -- and check out the instructor and the overall vibe before plunking down the dinero. And about halfway through that first class, I knew I'd be handing over a bunch of Benjamins, but that I'd be doing it enthusiastically.

Our instructor was extremely bright, geeky about the material and the various ways to think about approaching problems, not at all pedantic (which is my biggest pet peeve with instructors/coaches of any kind), and he seemed to keep everyone in the room engaged. He was organized but not a stickler. There was room for questions. People were smiling and listening and stumped at times, and it was exactly what I thought this sort of class should feel like.

Over the course of the 10-week program, we had a clear syllabus outlining homework problems as well as topics to be covered in each class. As with most things in life, students got out of the program what they put into it, and in my case, I'll be honest and say that I didn't stick to the homework schedule...at all. Still, it was nice to have it -- as well as the accompanying boatload of books with practice problems -- for that inevitable time down the road where I actually decided to buckle down, SIGN UP for an actual GMAT test, and go back and do the homework the way I was supposed to have done it months earlier. Even though I didn't stick to the syllabus, the fact that I had one to refer to definitely helped was I finally got my act together.

The practice GMAT tests online and the analytics that go along with it are also super helpful. Manhattan Prep gives its students a granular look at their performance sliced and diced across all the different problem types. Super helpful for efficiently & strategically improving your game.

The whole company is also just good people. At least the four individuals I interacted with - either in person, on the phone, or over email. Not trying to nickel and dime you. Better customer service than your bank. Friendly and understanding people. And somehow they seem genuinely concerned with you getting the most out of the experience. A+ overall.

What else is there to say? These guys know their stuff, and they're here to help you hit your goals. I got a 720 on the real test two days after getting a 700 on my final practice one through Manhattan.