Manhattan Prep GMAT

I first bought the books online with the intention of studying on my own. After receiving my 30+lb package, I was more than overwhelmed. So I signed up for a free session and never looked back. I signed up for the class on the spot. It IS expensive. But, worth every penny. I would not have stayed on track or made it through the material on my own. Not only did the class hold me accountable, Keith was a GREAT instructor. He made the class interesting & fun. I actually looked forward to attending. You also learn advice and tips that make the GMAT far easier and less intimidating. Do yourself a favor and sign up (but you will be on a budget for a few months as a result)

Manhattan Prep was the best decision I made in my preparation for the GMAT. I tried studying on my own and didn’t get anywhere near the score I needed. I signed up for the 9 week course in Chicago and it was just the structure I needed to up my study game to the next level. The classes were helpful but the true value came when the online lessons, classes, books and homework was brought together. It took me about 20 weeks to go through all the material but I was able to get the score that I was hoping for.
I utilized the Post Exam Assessment (PEA) that Manhattan offers and it was extremely helpful. Chris form Manhattan met with me for over an hour to revue my study strategy and we were able to develop an intense plan to get me over the 700 hump. He also held me accountable by asking for follow-​ups on progress.
There are not a lot of quick shortcuts they offer in the program but if you are willing to spend the time studying and just need help with organization– this is a great option.

After a few months of self-​study with the Kaplan Premier 2015 book I was satisfied with my Verbal score, but knew my Quant needed to improve. I was set up with Keith Blume for private Quant tutoring, and it was an excellent decision. Keith is extremely knowledgeable not only on the specific math used on the test, but on the tricks and shortcuts of the test as whole. He helped my practical quant skills and my psychology going into test day. I did 4 sessions spanning 5 hours with Keith and improved my score (on the real test, not practice tests) by 90 points. I highly recommend Keith as a tutor, and I know he teaches full length courses as well.

10 stars please! So I took the Kaplan course before this. I actually tried it numerous times in an attempt to increase my GMAT score. Kaplan just didn’t cut it. It was not specific enough. Thank goodness my boyfriend recommended Manhattan GMAT! Instead of taking a course, I went straight for the private tutoring sessions. My tutor was Keith Blume. All I have to say is «AMAZING!». I’m convinced he is part excellent tutor, part therapist. My issue was that I am such a Type A Personality that I get too wound up during the test. Keith was cool and calm. He quickly determined my issues, helped improve my testing skills and made me feel confident. The result: a 40 point increase in my score and acceptance into a top 10 business school. Thank you, Keith!!!

Quick Summary:
Best in-​person GMAT prep course in Chicago. Dan is awesome.
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Lots and lots of detail:
Teaching: ¹⁰⁄₁₀
Dan. Bartz. I owe a LOT to him. He was a huge part in the 90pt increase from my first attempt to my second attempt.* He scored in the 99^th percentile (several times), so yes, he’s insanely smart. As a teacher, top notch scores will only get you half way to five stars. Dan’s personality gets him the rest of the way and more. During my prep, I asked a lot of basic questions (trust me), but Dan always had a patient and thorough response. In class, he aimed for true comprehension. No matter how complex or simple, if we weren’t getting it, he found another way to teach the concept or open up the problem. He was very conscious of varied learning styles and backgrounds in the room and made an effort to find opportunities to tailor a message.
In addition to being incredibly approachable, Dan is very engaging. The Manhattan classes have a card system so all students «poll in» an answer to questions (makes sense since you can’t skip an answer on test day!). He’d use this and other techniques to get the class involved. This engagement really helped keep my energy up and stay mentally present for three hours after a full day of work. He was available at any point during the course or while studying after the course ended. He wanted to help us succeed and whatever he could do to help, he would.
Did I mention he’s just a really nice guy? He’s just a really nice guy.
As we approached the end of the course, everyone had different time lines. Some were ready to face the GMAT monster. I was not. I met with Dan to create a personalized game plan for life-​after-​Manhattan. He went over my strengths and weaknesses and we created an outline for what turned out to be four more weeks of studying. I was planning on evenly studying Q/​V and focusing on my weaknesses within those topics, but Dan suggested that I be more in the ⁷⁵⁄₂₅ range. It paid off! After sitting the test a second time, I maintained my Verbal percentage from the first try, but increased my Quant percentage by 37 percentage points. My overall score went up 90 points! Dan’s guidance heading into the homestretch was priceless. I honestly don’t think I could have cracked 700 without it.
*I’m sure someone out there would want me to say that this isn’t guaranteed, and no, I don’t work for Manhattan GMAT.
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Materials: ¹⁰⁄₁₀
Studying for the GMAT is intense, but the order and depth of the materials broke down the concepts into digestible segments. You could all but feel the building blocks stacking as you worked through the books. The syllabus was also a godsend. I thrive on structure and deadlines (I realize that makes me sound super awesome); free form studying is not for me. The detailed syllabus kept me on task and progressing logically for nearly over months.
The 14 or so books are great. Some thick, some thin. Some you’ll use once, others replace your best friend (don’t worry, your real best friend will forgive you). Each major concept has its own book, and you work from basic concepts to full-​blown convoluted and mean GMAT questions on each topic. The syllabus ties it all together and tells you where to go and when. Then the online resources tell you if you should go back and review anything in particular.
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Online Resources: ⁹⁄₁₀
Manhattan GMAT has all the resources you’d expect (practice questions, CATs, videos, etc.). The OG Archer is a really great tool. Even with Dan’s urging in class, I really only started using it after my class but I wish I would have taken advantage of the Archer sooner. The analyses available for both the Archer and practice tests were very insightful and helped me focus my attention on what mattered.
I gave the Online Resources a ⁹⁄₁₀ since there were a few quirks in the system, specifically in the OG Archer, that I found clunky and a bit annoying. To really work on a specific area (number properties, anyone?), there are some focused sets of questions organized by topic. Once you’ve started in one of these sets, clicking next will give you the next problem in the OG, not the next question in the focused set. I ended up opening a browser tab with the list of questions in the focused set, and a second tab with the OG up. Also, as you are clicking next or loading a new question, the full page reloads and scrolls you back up to the top so you have to scroll down again. Both are minor annoyances, but when you’re trying to make the most out of limited study time, it would be really helpful to move through the Archer smoothly.
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My brief history with the GMAT (for credibility, I guess):
12÷12−4÷13: Took an in-​person course with a company in Chicago
⁴⁄₁₃: Official GMAT (low 600s)
¹⁰⁄₁₃: Demo’ed a class with another company; wasn’t feeling it
¹⁰⁄₁₃: Demo’ed a class with Manhattan GMAT; felt it
10÷13−1÷14: Took an in-​person class in Chicago
¹⁄₁₄: Official GMAT (low 700s)

Since I had a pretty busy work schedule on the weekdays, it was difficult for me to focus my efforts on the GMAT on the weekend. Manhattan GMAT had a variety of classes, both online and in-​person to meet anyone’s busy schedule.
I took the classes at the Ontario St. Location with Michael (Mike) T. in the Fall of 2012. The class definitely provides the foundation for you to be successful, but at the end of the day, it’s how much effort you put into studying and doing the practice GMAT exercises outside of class. The class will give you the tips and tricks which are required for proper time management during the GMAT.
If you’re not a natural standard test-​taker, or need some motivation with the GMAT, I would recommend the Manhattan GMAT. I can’t speak to the other teachers, but Mike was a pretty cool dude.

I took the MGMAT 9 week course back in fall 2012, and I must say that it was a really good class. My instructor was Dan B. — he was very helpful and knowledgeable. The timing for me in taking the course was not the best though, and I can’t say that I used the printed and online materials to 100% capacity. I strongly recommend that you sign up for the class at a time when you can devote serious time (at least 5 hours/​week) for study. The good part about MGMAT is that they allow you access to their online resource for 9 more months after you take their course. I definitely recommend them.

I took the MGMAT course in summer/​fall ’12 with Chris B. Great guy and great instructor. He really drove in the high value material in an encouraging environment. Before I took the course, I was studying with MGMAT off and on for a year and progressed slowly because I would study in spurts, take a few weeks off, and then start all over again from the beginning because I forgot what I learned. The course provided the structure I needed to get through all the GMAT topics. The 10 weeks flew by very fast. Although I absorbed and learned with more depth studying on my own, the course gave me confidence that I was learning the material properly and efficiently. I’m sure I would have taken much longer to learn the material myself.
There is a lot of material. Very thorough and comprehensive. Also overwhelming at times. MGMAT’s on-​line Archer tool (free, but w/​restricted features from paid users) was really useful when studying and doing problems from GMAC’s official GMAT guide (s). I also found MGMAT’s on-​line adaptive tests extremely useful. I ended up scoring better on the actual exam, so the practice tests were more difficult than the actual exam for me.
I give it five stars because I would take the course again if I were back in time and studying for the GMATs.

I love this class. The materials and resources are wonderful and you could not possibly want more. Dan B is a fabulous instructor. He is so cheery and intelligent and he is very knowledgeable about all aspects of the GMAT. I am so glad I signed up!

So just for summary I would give Manhattan GMAT 5 stars for Quant review and 1 start for verbal review.
I took the full length 9 week course. Overall it was a good experience and the Quant review was really good. My instructor was Chris B. and he really knew how to teach the Quant. I went from a 29Q (first actual GMAT attempt) score to a 43Q (second actual GMAT attempt). That was a great boost and I really had an understanding of what I was doing. 5 stars for this.
For the verbal section it sort of felt like we just scanned over it, went over the 4 main topics and basic skills and approaches. I went from a 23V to a 25V, which I doubt is statistically significant. We spent a ton of time on the quant (2 hours or so) and an hour at the end just doing practice problems, but I never got to the point of fully understanding the verbal section. It was pretty disappointing especially considering that verbal is the easiest way to boost your overall score.
The online tools were great. The archer tool was a great way to keep track of your missed problems. The full length tests were so-​so. The quant is really difficult, but awesome because if you can score well on this then you will score well on the actual test. The verbal got easier everytime because your brain started recognizing patterns amoung their tests (always tested economic vs economical; «being» in a middle of a sentence; «and also») and when I took the actual test NONE of these were there. I started scoring well on the MGMAT practice tests because I saw those quick cheats and started getting those right, so it was overinflated.
My highest MGMAT practice was 640 and got a 560 on the test. I was really lacking the verbal and decided to find a tutor (not through Manhattan) to try and boost verbal.
If you have a great verbal score then Manhattan is great. If you are strong with Quant and weak with Verbal, I would recommend staying away from any class and just finding a quality tutor. I have a recommendation, but would like to not post on here. Send me a message instead.

I had a personal tutor from this group. I had already been through the personal Princeton Review and Kaplan books, took the test, and got about 50 points below my target. I signed up, and my tutor did an excellent job diagnosing my strengths and weaknesses, and told me what I needed to do in order to be ready for the test. He’d never let me off the hook for not putting necessary time into study, and could always tell when I was really giving my all to a problem. I took the test after our sessions had ended, and I got exactly my target. I highly recommend the materials and techniques taught by this group!

I had a great experience with Manhattan GMAT. I highly recommend the study guides and practice tests, and if those aren’t enough to get you over the 700 mark, reach out to Liz Ghini, the best tutor in the world. She changed my life. I think a top 5 bschool might be in my future.

After trying another GMAT course and not being satisfied with my test results and overall progress, a friend gave me her Manhattan GMAT books so that I could self-​study. The materials were phenomenal and really provided the best techniques in a practical, digestible manner. I was able to get a better grasp of all test areas, but I still lacked the confidence and problem solving techniques for a higher score. I decided to give MGMAT’s private tutoring service in Chicago a try. I was matched with Angela Guido and signed on for several 2-​hour sessions. On the first day, I felt extremely productive because within 2 hours, Angela was able to understand my goals and challenges, identify my weak areas by closely watching me solve all GMAT problem types (timed), and develop a very customized study plan for me to follow. On top of that, I even received special guidance on how to study and review my work, which was the real kicker. The studying and reviewing techniques really improved my approach to GMAT preparation. Our subsequent sessions were very helpful because we were able to follow up on my progress and further refine my approach. Within weeks, my practice test scores improved greatly and I was able to achieve my goals on the real test.

ManhattanGMAT is the way to go in terms of GMAT preparation. I have many other friends who did other courses like Kaplan and when I told them about ManhattanGMAT’s program, they wished they had signed up. The program provides you with a homework schedule, which really helps those of you who work full-​time (like I do), because it gives structure. I felt like my teacher was very realistic about people’s schedules and he provided advice on when to take the exam based on the amount of time you could put in. He was extremely enthusiastic about the GMAT, which definitely rubbed off on the class. I found all the teachers to be very receptive to how the class was doing with the material, so we could speed up or slow down when necessary. Also, the ManhattanGMAT guide books provide certain strategies that are lacking in other texts and it is these strategies that really help you on test day.
Overall, I found this class was worth the money. If you are going to invest this kind of time and money, go ManhattanGMAT.

The Manhattan GMAT Course was great. It raised my score from 660 – 770.
I took the online course, which was once a week for 3 hours. In addition to the coursework, there was a rigorous homework plan, office hours (one-​on-​one time with GMAT instructors to work on specific stuff), practice tests and tons of books/​online resources. All of the work they give you really helps you gain mastery of complex subjects tested on the GMAT so that when you get there on test day, the actual test seems easy in comparison. I highly recommend it.