I took the Manhattan GMAT class starting in the Fall of 2011. I definitely recommend this class.

In the class sessions, you’ll learn strategies for answering every type of problem on the GMAT. This kind of information is hard to learn via self-study, and I see some of my peers struggling with the GMAT because they didn’t take the class.

Manhattan provides everything you need to learn the concepts. It is up to you to make sure you master every problem type.

The secret to acing the GMAT is to MASTER every problem in the GMAC Official Guide. Manhattan has the OG Archer, which breaks down the Official Guide by question and sub-question type. Going over every single problem and then re-reviewing the ones that you missed was the secret to my success. Also, you have to take every practice test available – 6 Manhattan tests and 2 official GMAC tests. Review each test thoroughly, even the problems you answered correctly.

My practice test scores went as follows:

610 (Manhattan)
640 (Manhattan)
650 (Manhattan)
650 (Manhattan)
650 (Manhattan)
690 (Official GMAC)
720 (Manhattan)
700 (Official GMAC)

Official Score: 740

My practice scores shot up once I had mastered most of the OG material. Taking regular practices tests is also crucial so that you get a feel for your testing strategy. If I had been able to get to the OG quant and verbal supplements, I think I could have done even better.

Good luck to you all.

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I think one sure way of getting a high score is by using Manhattan GMAT guides and regularly reading Ron Purewal's blogs. I learned a lot just by reading his blogs where he explains concepts with a lot of details.

The Manhattan GMAT books are comprehensive and I believe the verbal sections helped me a lot. I think the SC book is by far the best book in the market for cracking the SC questions in the actual exam.

The tests were pretty accurate and the explanations for the answers were useful. Though I think the tests are slightly harder than the real exam they were useful in that they motivated me to study even harder for the actual test! In the actual test I scored about 30 points more than the diagnostic test.

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The first practice test I took, before I started classes at Manhattan Review, I got a 430. I went to a good university for undergrad and I've always done pretty well in school. So it wasn't the best feeling when I scored that low, especially since my goal was to get at least a 700.

The classes and the books from Manhattan were priceless. My instructor, Ryan Starr (who teaches in Orange County), was exceptional. He's exceptionally patient and very knowledgeable about the content he teaches and about the course itself. Also, the set of Manhattan books became my bible(s) for a couple months - I lived and breathed those books for a couple months.

Needless to say, I received a 710 on my first try. I wouldn't have been able to get that score with out the help of Manhattan Review.

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Manhattan GMAT offers a fantastic array of resources, programming, instructors, and encouragement. After eight practice tests fluctuating in range from 600-690 (hoping for a 700 at least), I walked into the testing center with the confidence that I knew what to do because I was prepared. I scored a 740 (Q49/V42) with perfect scores in AWA and IR and I could not be more thrilled ... it's still sinking in, to be perfectly honest.

Not only did Manhattan GMAT provide the instruction and resources for me to succeed, but I genuinely felt that by test day, I had a strong strategy on how to take the test. I learned the way to be strategic about skipping questions and understand how the test writers wrote questions that seem horrendous at face value but can easily be solved within two minutes with the right skills.

Additionally, even though I prepared with a self-guided study, any time I interacted with the instructors, I knew that they truly cared about my success on the GMAT.

I couldn't have done it without the team at Manhattan GMAT. I will recommend Manhattan GMAT to anyone preparing for business school.

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I ended up taking the Manhattan GMAT course twice -- the first time online and second time in person with Pedro in DC. When I originally signed up, I was okay with the fact that Manhattan wasn't one of the companies that reimbursed you if your score went up. After all, they're not the ones taking the test and the books are probably more important than the work.

The online course was alright, but not my preferred method of instruction. One of the teachers (Stacy Koprince) was really good and the other was just alright, but I wasn't as serious about the GMAT I needed to be and I'm not sure how much the online course helped. The problem-based course format got me some practice but I didn't leave lessons feeling like I learned strategies for problems I hadn't seen before. They demonstrated how to answer the questions in front of us, but there was little discussion of how to translate that to new problems in the times required by the GMAT.

My score stayed even with my diagnostic of 640 (.

The in-person course was a different experience. I really liked Pedro who was engaging and sarcastic, which fits with my learning style. He was excellent at answering questions from the class and there was more discussion about the mindset for tackling new problems in the time allotted by the GMAT. Just as importantly, the talent level of the class was high and I learned from them as well! The class was still problem-focused, but more engaging and helpful overall.

In the end, I got a 710 (40Q, 47V) with 5.5 on AWA and 7/8 on IR.

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The Manhattan course I took from Joe Lucero and Tom Rose was incredible! My score went from a 550 diagnostic to a 760 on test day. The strategies taught by Manhattan are simply the best. In particular, I benefitted from the timing strategy, the critical reasoning diagramming, and the number properties guides. Moreover, they give tremendous personal attention to their students. Joe Lucero helped me create a study plan for my last two weeks that I think alone boosted my score 100 points. Definitely money well spent and I would whole heartedly recommend this course to anyone considering taking the GMAT! Thank you Joe and Tom!

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I could not be happier that I signed up for the Manhattan GMAT course with Gregg Lachow. I took the GMAT with just self-study before the IR section was introduced and received a 700. My goal was to increase my score from one that I felt was good, to a score that was great.

Gregg is a very effective teacher. Without his help, I would not have reached my goal. He does a terrific job of breaking down problems, and can help students to develop the skills needed for the most difficult quant and verbal questions. He even goes out of his way to share insights on the whole MBA application process.

When I took the test, I felt well prepared and confident. I kept Gregg's lessons in mind, and received a 750.

I highly recommend Manhattan GMAT and Gregg. Take his course if you want a great score.

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I think Manhattan does a really nice job. The course material is essentially exhaustive, I don't think there was anything I would have expected to cover that we didn't at least touch on in live class and wasn't fully covered in the curriculum. The course can slow down a bit at times (partially as a result of adverse selection from the type of people who takes GMAT classes) but the teachers in general did a great job coaching everything through the topics.

One thing in particular I liked was the results-oriented approach. I personally tend to prefer the algebraic approach to problems, but they consistently pushed us to recognize when back-end tactics would be faster. I never fully mastered that skill set but it definitely helped with my timing.

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I had spent several months studying the GMAT and also took the Veritas online course, but decided to sign up for the MGMAT Live Course since it was paid by my employer. Because of this, the classes were a waste of time for me since we went over very basic materials. The books were excellent and the online forum was very helpful, but the CATs were very frustrating. I think the CATs are more difficult than the actual exam and my scores were all over the place. The thing I liked most is the OG Archer. I used it on every OG question and it helped identify my weaknesses. I would recommend just purchasing the books and utilizing the OG archer instead of spending over a thousand on the live course.

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I thought the course was awesome. The books were great, even if you don't remember anything from high school. The roadmap book also gives a ton of great general advice for the whole prep process. The web site had a ton of great tools besides just practice tests and anytime I had a question about a specific resource, I called the office, and it seemed like there was always someone there to help.

I think it's definitely important to do a lot of the recommended readings if you want to get the most out of the class. I found that the people I spoke to who didn't do the homework were more likely to seem a bit lost or confused. But, if you walk in prepared, you know what your weaknesses are and how you want to improve, you can ask better questions.

I must say that our teacher, Jonathan Schneider, was the best. He always explained everything very clearly and made it all easy to understand. He was even extremely helpful and patient outside of the classroom. Obviously you can't expect the teachers to be able to go over specific questions in their free time, but I must have emailed him at least 15 different general study questions and he always answered in a friendly manner within about 24 hours. I kept thinking, "How am I not annoying him yet?"

I took the test about a month after the class and didn't do as well as I'd like to have. I felt like I had an off day and definitely could've prepared better considering I'd been pretty busy at work. I signed up to take the test again in another month and emailed my teacher for a few more tips along the way. He really advised me through the whole process. On attempt 2, I did 50 points better than the first time and 10 points better than my best practice test. All in all I was very happy with my 730 and glad I didn't have to study any more. so yeah, I thought the course was worth it.

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