Great group class program

OVERALL: I recommend this class if you know what you need to work on and are looking for a group setting and if you're trying to get to high 600s-low 700s. If you're trying to get to high 700s, I would recommend a private tutor instead (once you are consistently getting high 600s), because you will not be hitting those less-frequently-tested subjects during this class.

RESULTS: I was getting about 630 on my practice exams (I was using Manhattan Prep practice exams which are notoriously harder than the actual exam). My first real exam I got a 710 and then I hired a private tutor from Manhattan Prep. I took the exam again and got a 720, but on my third time got a 750.

PREPARATION: I had done very minimal preparation work before signing up for this class. I had done a few online quizzes and quickly realized that I wasn't just going to be able to wing the GMAT exam. I signed up for this class and really committed to it - I went to every lesson and did all the homework, etc.

RESOURCES: The Manhattan Prep portal is very easy and straightforward to use. You can set up and take infinite quizzes online and even specify them to subjects you want to test. There's a page where you can analyze the problems you got wrong as well. They give you all the Manhattan Prep books which I found very useful for preparing for the exam - many forums recommend these books, but they are included when you sign up for a class. They also give you a GMAT scratch sheet (and special pen) which is VERY helpful for when you take the actual exam and they teach you how to set up your scratch work most efficiently (time is so crucial on the exam!). They also gave us a copy of mbaMission's Complete Start-to-Finish MBA guide which I found helpful for applying to school, particularly when I was trying to figure it all out.

COURSE SET UP: The class meets once a week for three hours, with a break around half time. We spent about half the time on quant and then half the time on verbal. We did not really spend any time on the writing section and limited time on IR. You have a significant amount of homework (this is where you work on IR). You will get as much from the class as you put into it, so you do really need to do the homework.

INSTRUCTOR: My instructor was very knowledgable and helpful. He made class fun as well - a three hour class can be rough especially after a full work day, but he made it enjoyable.

CLASSES: As this is a group setting, we obviously don't have time to go off on tangents to whatever any particular student's weakness is. However, I think we covered a lot of the basics - enough that you should be able to get a good score.