I had 6 weeks to prep for the GMAT and started completely cold. I had not studied at all nor did I know anything about the GMAT test format or questions. My first practice test I scored in the 500s. After working with Brian Birdwell with Manhattan Prep in Portland OR, I scored a 710 on my GMAT. I would not have been prepared without Brian. He formulates a lesson plan that is tailored to the student and knows the tricks and methods of the GMAT test forwards and back. I felt completely prepared with Brian's help. He was flexible with scheduling and has years of experience with the GMAT having taken it many times himself. Between Brian and the Manhattan online resources I felt completely prepared. I would recommend Brian to anyone in the area!

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Started taking this course with no prior prep. David did a great job making sure that everyone in the class (~12-15 people) got the level of attention they deserved. He encouraged students to help each other when going through problems so that he could focus on those who were struggling in order to keep pace. David was always able to answer specific questions via email or before/after class. You could tell that David genuinely cared about how his students were faring.

The course in general is great - there are so many tricks and tips that you learn. It's definitely possible to do this by reading the books, but it helps to have someone there to explain the trickier concepts and make sure your studies are keeping up week-to-week. If I had to do it again, I'd definitely re-take this class with David.

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I took the 9 week course with Gregg Lachow. He was an excellent instructor. I found that the class moved at a good clip which I really appreciated since I was aiming for a high score. He was very clear in his explanations and as good at responding to all types of questions. I found him to be equally adept at verbal and quant. He has a passion / gift for teaching and a great attitude. He is also pretty funny which helps due to the boring nature of the topic.

In some ways, the course is really what you make of it. I sort of stopped doing the homework halfway through and I didn't get nearly as much benefit (no surprise there). So I strongly recommend doing all the recommended and required homework. I still really was able to master the fundamentals and techniques. The Manhattan Prep method is excellent as are their materials.

Since I didn't do all of the homework I ended up doing a lot of self study with the official guide which I also recommend. I also took advantage of many of the online resources.

Ultimately I scored well and I think it was in large part thanks to Gregg's class.

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The Instructor was not good at all for this class. I wish i would have opted for other course. I dont recomment Manhattan prep either. All they teach you in 9 classes are the questions fr4om the OG only, lIke 4 /5 OG questions in 3 hr session. I wasted my $1500. The Quant section was somewhat good but the verbal is very bad. I knew more things than him i think. By self studying you can get more knowledge than the 9 classes combined. Very bad. Also you have to take their books, there is no option of not taking their books even if you have those already. The books for verbal section are very bad.

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My biggest GMAT mistake was trying to glean insights from all the different test prep companies. I would be on Kaplan, Princeton, MGMAT, Magoosh, amongst others reading and trying new strategies. I'm here to save you a LOT of time. If you are serious about scoring 90th percentile of better (or for that matter 80th or better), you MUST go with Manhattan. No other tests are more accurate or will kick your butt like MGMAT.
The Veritas and Kaplan tests were usually very poor at mimicking the actual test and often inflated my scores (I was scoring 720s easily which was incredibly wrong.)
Manhattan's quant is the gold standard. It will be the toughest and hardest, but if you are serious about improving quant, Manhattan will get you there. Plus the suite of online tools they provide with their classes is second to none.
Additionally, their verbal was best at mimicking the actual GMAT and was strong enough to challenge a high verbal scorer like myself.
Manhattan will give you that test day pop- you will score higher on test day than your practices. Why? Manhattan will challenge and prepare you so well that when you try the actual test, you may find it mildly easier! So do not be discouraged if Manhattan kicks your butt, cause it did the same to me. (I saw a 20 point test day pop which is HUGE.)
Quick comment on my instructors, they were AWESOME and full of energy. But the competitive advantage isn't necessarily the class itself, but the high well organized study strategies and software they provide which give you a clear and crisp study roadmap.
In conclusion, I went from 550 after 6 months of self study, to 700 after the MGMAT class. Disclaimer- you MUST be a self starter and self motivated to get the most from it. But, if you are, do not skimp based on price. During my first round, I tried to go with the cheapest options- big mistake. Go with the gold standard. Manhattan has the best online tools, strategies, and tests in the business hands down! After experiencing both sides, I'm now a believer.

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This course was well worth the money because the instructor, Avi Gutman, was fantastic. He encourages students to approach GMAT problems, mainly quant, in a way that it is less algebraic and more real world application. His tricks and strategies for solving complex quant problems improved my score by at least 40 points and gave me more time to answer problems that I struggle on. I would recommend this course, and recommend Avi, for anyone looking to improve their score or who has plateaued with the textbook methods for solving GMAT problems. He also does a good job with mentally preparing to face the GMAT on the day of the exam.

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I opted for this course in order to get the access to the MGMAT guides and officially began my preparation for the test. I think the books did a good job in providing the fundamentals of the course and the IR course on the GMAT interact helped in understanding that section. The OG tracker i.e. the navigator and the access to the 6 MGMAT tests came free with this course and were really helpful in measuring the performance during the preparation. I would recommend you to start your study for the GMAT with these books to develop your foundation and then maybe after some practice tests figure out your weak areas and see if the course can help, in case not you can either upgrade to live/interact or switch to a course that can provide you a online video based learning.

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I signed up for this course with some hesitation for how much this would help me. I was scoring roughly around 650-670 on practice tests before beginning the course, with my goal just to get to 700. But man, did the course exceed my expectations!

The course does a great job of laying out what you should expect for the test, which is great for those with little to no idea what's on the GMAT. It takes you through each of the various question types for each topic, breaking down various strategies to approach each one. This is ideal as not everyone learns the same, so you can find the method best suited to you and your strengths. Even if you are familiar with the GMAT or are scoring pretty high, the various tips and strategies will provide you with opportunities to bump up your score. Beyond just tips and strategies, it also provides the foundation of knowledge you will need to do well.

Stacey was a fantastic teacher who was both engaging and extremely patient. Even though you are part of a class, she makes the time to get to relate to each and every one of you and she is never to busy to help you out. She understands the concepts extremely well and delivers the class in an understandable and concise manner.

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In order to effectively study for the GMAT, I decided to take the Manhattan Prep GMAT Course. To begin with, Manhattan Prep has an extremely well-designed curriculum and course materials, including a host of online resources. In particular, I found the GMAT Navigator Tool (where you can time your practice problems, receive detailed answer explanations, and track your overall progress) to be a useful study aid. The Manhattan Prep practice exams, too, are helpful.

In terms of the course itself, be prepared to spend a significant portion of your time on class homework and preparation. It's a lot, but if you really want to get the most out of the course, I recommend following the syllabus and completing all the homework. Dan, my teacher, was awesome! He made class fun and interesting, which is important given that it is a 3-hour session! He does a great job focusing on the most important and challenging concepts and doesn't waste time covering all the basics. For me, this was perfect, but if you feel that your foundation is shaky, this teaching style may not be for you.

Overall, if you are willing to spend the time and money, I highly recommend the course, especially if you are working full-time and juggling a busy schedule. If you feel that you can stay on track on your own and that you don't need a collaborative study environment that the course provides, then buying the Manhattan Prep books and online resources may be sufficient.

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The private tutoring ultimately depends on the tutor.

My first time around with MGMAT, I had a private tutor that seemed disinterested, was hard to schedule with, and never really came up with a lesson/study plan. I ultimately scored in the mid-600s

After about a year break, I decided to take another stab at taking the GMAT. I contacted MGMAT to see if I can get my subscription extended another 2 months because I wanted to use their online resources. I was not expecting to use another tutor because of my poor experience the first time around. MGMAT informed me that I was entitled to a post exam session with a more experienced tutor. I decided to take see what would come of it.

I was put in touch with Dan, and our free session went fine and he saw some gaps and identified points of interest. Since I had 2 hours from my initial package left over, I decided to use those hours with Dan and purchased an additional 2 hours. In the span of 8 weeks, Dan and I had 4 sessions together. It was very easy to communicate and schedule meetings with him. Also, he came up with great examples to help me understand concepts. I was able to bump my score 70 points and into the low 700 area.

What surprised me the most was how helpful my sessions with Dan were even though they were online. My first tutor's sessions were all in person and it seemed to be more difficult.

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