GMAT score improved from 650 to 740!

I’ve never been very good at standardized tests. For me, the GMAT was the most intimidating part of the business school application process, and it almost kept me from even applying. My biggest takeaway from this experience: don’t give up hope if you get one bad score! Fully explore your options – if the regular class/online sessions aren’t enough for you, consider working with a tutor for several sessions (it really does help you go from knowing a subject well to complete mastery of that subject!). For me, it was definitely worth the investment.

As I was starting out, several colleagues recommended that I try Manhattan Prep based on their positive experiences with the program. Being someone who wanted to do a self-study program vs. a classroom program (just my personal preference), I decided to purchase the Interact package. Overall, I thought the Interact package was very well done – it’s engaging, covers a lot of ground, and really teaches you the fundamentals of how to approach each type of problem. Over the course of the program, I got to the point where I was scoring pretty consistently in the 680-710 range on the MPrep and GMAC practice tests, and since my goal was to score 700, I felt like I was in a good position to take the actual test.

I ended up getting a 650 on my first actual test. It was pretty demoralizing. I decided to take MPrep up on their offer for the Post Exam Assessment (with Jamie Nelson) and had really good results so booked two more sessions (I was matched with Eric Garthoffner).

Jamie Nelson: I had a wonderful experience with Jamie on my post-exam assessment. She did a ton of homework beforehand, and closely went through each of my practice tests (and my enhanced score report) to really get a sense of the areas in which I was struggling. She picked up on errors I was making on a consistent basis that I never would have realized on my own. We then dissected each of these problem types and she provided customized problem sets to work on these weak areas. I saw improvements in my next practice test and decided to invest in several more sessions.

Eric Garthoffner: I spent around 4 hours with Eric over two sessions. He really transformed my approach to studying for the quant section. We spent a lot of time on strategy (both test prep and actual test day strategies), and on pattern recognition / short-cut application. Like Jamie, Eric was very good at identifying areas where I was struggling and created a customized study plan to help me improve in my weak areas. I gained a ton of confidence on the quant and significantly improved my timing.

Overall, I had a great experience with both Jamie and Eric. The sessions were very complementary to the other MPrep materials and helped me power through that last mile. Importantly, both Jamie and Eric were great motivators and taught me how to approach and study for problems in a more effective way. Based on my experience, the extra tutoring is well worth the investment if you don’t quite get your target score initially. I ended up getting into two top-five business schools in round one, and could not have done that without the help of MPrep (or Jamie and Eric).