I studied the GMAT starting in Feb/March; enrolled in the course starting in April and finished in June. Took the GMAT once in August after 1.5 months of intense self-studying and improvement. I didn't do as well on the CATs through MGMAT but I was within 10 points. I took a class because I just needed a routine schedule to get into the mode of studying while at work and I also like being able to contact an instructor for any questions. Ron was pretty laid back although he had some quirks about him. But the material was pretty useful. I found that the examples used in class weren't as hard as ones in the practice CATs. I am an engineer so i thought the MGMAT math wasn't so bad but I found MGMAT's math CATs to be harder than what they made you practice during the course. When I took the actual GMAT, I thought the math was extremely easy, so I guess its good to have a training course thats harder than the actual test. On the other hand, I did pretty well on Verbal portion of MGMAT's practice CATs, but I found the actual GMAT to be much harder, in both SC and CR, so that was a throw-off and I didn't get as good of score as I was getting on my practice tests. Lastly, the IR section was insanely easy on the real GMAT compared to the MGMAT practice IR. Markedly large difference. All in all, my score is pretty good and much better than when I started studying in the beginning so using the MGMAT materials definitely boosted my score and understanding of the test.

Read More

I decided to take the GMAT pretty late in the game, so I figured I needed a course to keep my attention focused. Manhattan was highly recommended and I have to agree.

I started at a 590 on my first practice, I and got a 700 on my first real exam. The key for me was just diving into the types of problems I was missing and learning everything I could about those topics in particular. This is generally how we were taught to study.

I wish I had done a better job of keeping up with the homework and structure set by the course, as I think it definitely helps to learn the same things at home as in class

Read More

Keith helped me increase my GMAT score by 90 points, from 640 to 730. We focused mostly on math but that seemed to be his greatest strength. His teaching style covers both basic lectures and question and answer formats but he also approaches the test in an abstract way as well, showing how each math topic relates to other math topics and how to quickly assess a problem and identify the steps needed to solve it. Because the GMAT only allows about 2 minutes per problem, speed as well as accuracy is incredibly important. Keith helped me tremendously on my timing. I was finishing tests either guessing the last 7 questions or sometimes even finishing the test with 5 minutes extra and my quant score was very poor. Almost every problem we did together was timed, no matter how hard it was. He also helped me identify lost cause problems, or problems that are so complicated and time consuming that is best to guess an answer and then move forward to the next question. Because of Keith my quant increased 40 to 48 and my verbal increased by 4 points from 38 to 42 and I was able to apply to a much higher caliber of schools due to my new increased score.

Read More

Manhattan GMAT live online course was helpful in preparing me for the GMAT. The math matreial covered in the books is very helpful to review the basic concepts and also helps to give you problems to apply these concepts to from the Official Guide.

The syllabus and the quant books were most helpful for me. The courses were ok in helping to understand certain problems, but may not be worth if for all who are good at self-study (nearly all of the problems they go over in class have video answers stored online). Doing it again, I would just purchase the books and the online tests/Interact program and skip the course.

Read More

I was very nervous going into my GMAT studying - not knowing if I had the ability to score very well and not knowing if I could even get back into intense studying after being out of college for five years. After scoring a 570 on the initial practice test, I knew I had my work cut out for me, but Manhattan GMAT was such a helpful program. My in-class instructor, Dan Bartz, was so knowledgeable about all of the topics we covered. He was so great at teaching us what we needed to know to be able to do well on the GMAT, and he also did a great job preparing us mentally for the test. He was very good at engaging everyone in the classroom, and I often times was surprised when class was over, as it seemed time had flown by! The materials provided by Manhattan were also fantastic. All of the books explained each subject area so thoroughly, but in an easy-to-understand, not-too-technical manner. The online materials were just as helpful, as well. What I also really appreciated was the post-exam assessment I had with Haakon Brown (a long discussion following my first attempt at the official GMAT). Having an MGMAT instructor break down my weak and strong areas and provide me with a study plan for my next attempt at the test was great, but what I found most helpful was the way Haakon was able to help me get in the proper mental state - since I found the GMAT to be such a psychological grind (both while studying and while actually taking the test), it really gave me the confidence I needed! I ultimately scored a 700 on my second attempt at the GMAT, and I know I would not have come close to that without having taken Manhattan's GMAT review course, and I can't thank the company - and the instructors who helped me - enough!

Read More

I started the MGMAT 9-session course in September 2013 and took the exam in August 2014. To be frank, I didn't really start studying until ~July 2014. The punch-line is this: you MUST do the homework. While I will say I benefited from the class, I did myself a huge disservice to not put in the hours WHILE I was taking the class. That said, the MGMAT books and web system are so strong that I was able to refresh much of what was taught in the class, and advance beyond. Wait until you're in a position to truly dedicate several months, then take the course, and plan on taking the exam a few weeks later. Good luck.

Read More

MGMAT instructors are properly vetted (99%ile) and prepped, the course has been developed and refined over years and years, and the amount of resources are so vast they're simply unusable. The course is expensive, but will doubtless help you to organize your study habits and provide you the resources to effectively target your weaknesses. I came in with strong test content knowledge, but I was impressed with how logically and comprehensively the necessary concepts were taught. As with anything, you'll take out of this class what you put into it - but with MGMAT, there's no ceiling to how much you can put in. From homework, to class sessions, to practice tests, each problem you do provides a data point for attacking your weaknesses. If you're willing to do the work, you can't be disappointed with the resources MGMAT puts at your disposal.

Read More

Overall I had a great experience with Manhattan GMAT. I took a 9-week, online class with Brett Kimball, and actually enjoyed attending class sessions. He did a great job tailoring the class material to our level. I was very nervous about the "online" nature of the class beforehand, because I've never been great at learning off of a computer. However, the software MGMAT uses for the online sessions is truly fantastic, and I had no trouble remaining engaged in the course.

The course materials were incredibly comprehensive. I've heard of other people studying for the GMAT mix and matching materials from a variety of test prep companies, but I felt that I was 100% prepared with the materials that Manhattan GMAT made available.

One of the most worthwhile features of Manhattan GMAT, for me, were all the materials on the website. GMAT Navigator is a great program for answering prep questions, and the tools to analyze results/progress are really helpful. In addition, the online workshops are great for a deeper dive into a concept at your own pace. I especially liked the one for the Integrated Reasoning section. The question banks were also really helpful, as I was able to really ascertain what my mistakes were in regards to specific topics, and I was able to note what to make sure not to do when I saw those types of questions again. Finally, I found the online forum to be really helpful, especially since the instructors are very active in answering questions.

However, I feel that MGMAT could definitely improve its CAT exam experience, specifically with the Quant section. I found MGMAT's CAT exams' Quant section to be much harder than the real thing, and I ended up having a severe confidence issue with the test because of it. I probably ended up studying much harder and for the wrong topics because of the difficulty gap. I also wasn't able to practice timing properly as I was struggling so much with the difficulty level. I would have really appreciated if MGMAT would have been more upfront about the difficulty level of their exams, especially since I have heard of many people feeling the same way about their CAT Exams as I did. Otherwise, if MGMAT does not want to let its students know that its CAT exams aren't fully accurate, then they should fix the types of questions generated to make them more representative of the actual test. As a testament to this difficulty gap, my best score on a MGMAT CAT was a 720, but on the real thing I scored a 770 (which was comparable to my GMATPrep scores).

Overall, I wouldn't have been able to score as well as I did without the class and resources Manhattan GMAT provided. However, I do feel the inaccurate difficulty of Manhattan GMAT's CAT exams did hurt me in some way. Regardless, I do highly recommend Manhattan GMAT, but advise that when doing their CAT exams you keep in mind this point about difficulty.

Read More

Josh was both personable and smart, as well as a good instructor. The course covered all the necessary content, as well as timing, guessing, and study strategies. I made sure to work the entire quant foundations before the first class, and about half the verbal foundations (my verbal was high so I was not as worried).

Throughout the course I kept up with the syllabus, although I had to balance a full-time job. I did all of the problems after each class, and recorder all my answers for OG problems in the archer, which has been rebranded the GMAT Navigator.

I didn't stray from the syllabus and took the CATs as instructed:

MGMAT CAT 1: 630 (Q37, V38) before session 1
MGMAT CAT 2: 700 (Q45, V40, IR 3.8) before session 6
MGMAT CAT 3: 680 (Q46, V37, IR 3.1) before session 8

On my first MGMAT CAT I was correctly answering 700 level problems, but I was spending 3-5 minutes, so I left about 9 problems unanswered. Alongside learning how to solve problems efficiently, the course drilled timing and guessing strategies, and I reinforced those in my homework and self-study sessions. Every problem was done timed (and this was the answer than I plugged into the Navigator), but then I would continue to work towards the right solution, and in the end I would compare my solution to the Manhattan solution to look for mistakes or inefficient techniques.

After the course, I worked all the quant problems in OG13, the 2nd edition quant supplement, and all the problems in OG12 that were removed from OG13. And then I did all the problems in OG13 again, although I ran into my deadline (T-minus 1 week) and stopped working problems at this point.
I followed the recommended study plan and these were my post-course results:

MGMAT CAT 4: 730 (Q45, V45, IR 3.8) 2.5 weeks before GMAT
GMATPrep CAT 1: 750 (Q49, V42, IR 8) 1.5 weeks before GMAT

Leading up to my first official GMAT score:
GMAT 773 (Q49, V48, IR 8)

The Manhattan course provided an excellent structure to my studying, and I believe the Manhattan CATs are "harder" in a way that is very useful. The problems Manhattan wrote were not any trickier than official problems, but they often required more steps, or more calculations. This forced me to learn to solve problems efficiently; I was constantly timing my problems and practicing guessing or choice-elimination strategies.

Read More

I had not taken a standardized test in ten years, nor had I really done any quantitative work since my freshman year of college. My first practice GMAT reflected that; I didn't finish the quantitative portion at all and scored a 640 overall. By the end of the Manhattan GMAT class, I was scoring mid to high 700s on my practice tests, and scored a 760 the second time I took the actual test. I had a rough week the first time I took the test, just a few days after the end of the class) and was not satisfied with my score, so I retook it after studying the class materials for another month, focusing in on my weak points. It is a very comprehensive, well-structured, and effective program. If you need a thorough review, take this class, do the recommended homework assignments, and use the practice tests to identify specific types of problems where you are weak.

Read More