Manhattan GMAT

I had taken the GMAT twice. I had seen a lot of improvement from my first exam to the second, but still fell short of the 700+ score I was looking for. I have traditionally done very well on quant sections on any standardized test, and was frustrated that I couldn’t reach my potential on GMAT quant section. I finally decided that I needed to hire a private tutor. Patrick Tyrell was my tutor and was AWESOME. I used a total of 5 tutoring hours with him. He helped rework my strategy for the quant section. On top of that, he is a GREAT tutor. He kept the sessions fun and made learning/​working on the material exciting (hard to do for dry GMAT quant topics). Not only did I feel much more confident for my final GMAT test date, but I reached my goal score on a very short timeline!
I highly suggest tutoring with Patrick for anyone who has to kick it up a notch on their GMAT!

I just want to express the fact that I could not
really obtain good GMAT score no matter how hard I tried
to study through Manhattan GMAT. Of course, some people
earned very high score, however, I couldn’t.
I stopped studying Manhattan GMAT and found
different sources of GMAT study. After a couple of
month of studying with my friends at some cafeteria
utilizing those textbooks, I could finally earn 610 for GMAT
(Math50, Verbal23), 5.5 for AWA.
Of course, my GMAT score is not yet outstanding. However,
I earned a small victory. I am sure that Manhattan GMAT
is not the sole solution to earn high score on GMAT.
I am now aiming at 700 score
on GMAT to reapply for MBA schools early next year.
I’d be very happy to communicate and help someone
who are sincerely looking for high score on GMAT.

I took Manhattan GMAT with Patrick Tyrrell and l let me tell you I was anything but bored. Generally the thought of sitting through a 3 hours class nauseates me to the point of boycotting, but I knew I needed to take a class to jump start my GMAT studying and after hearing great reviews from my good friend Unilocal and my real life friends, I went ahead and signed up. What a quick 9 weeks! Patrick has a way of presenting the dense subject material in such a manner that enables you to absorb all the strong points that will help kick your GMAT score into that 700 range. Additionally, his quick wit will keep you on your feet (even though you are sitting down). The class is outlined so that you can go back to your material if you fall off the GMAT bandwagon and essentially redo the class at your own pace. You wont have access to the amazing online features, but you will still have the material and your brain (which is all you need). All in all, I would definitely recommend Manhattan GMAT and if you are located in Santa Monica or near the area, I would suggest you take Patricks class.

I have always struggled with standardized tests. This class is perfect for achieving a strong GMAT score because it teaches you how to think and apply your skills smarter and faster. What I really appreciated about the class is not only did the instructor go over concepts that were either neglected in school or that we long forgotten, but also taught us short cuts that allowed us to think smarter and act quicker during the test, which is essential.
My instructor, Patrick Tyrrell, is brilliant in terms of the material but most importantly in terms of communicating it clearly to the students. He was enthusiastic when teaching and sincerely wanted everyone to success. Although I was in a class setting, he ensured everyone understood the lesson so we can all learn from common mistakes. He was accessible outside the classroom as well.
Manhattan GMAT offers a great and well-​structured program. I preferred the in-​person weekly class sessions. This way I can also watch an online session as a supplement to my in-​class session of if I missed a class. The best part about the program are the materials. After my class I had this wealth of knowledge. The program provides you with plenty of books and practice. The online tools are great too! You are given six online practice tests that are as close to the real test as it gets. You also have a homework tracker that tracks your problem areas and improvement when completing assignments.
This class is intense and does move at a fast pace, but it is necessary and for those who are truly dedicated to improving their GMAT score.

This is the 2^nd GMAT course I took, the first one being several years ago at a competitors company.
This GMAT course might be great for some folks, but it wasn’t at all for me for 3 reasons.
1. Extremely self-​directed learning
The onus is on you to teach yourself concepts at home, in class concepts are reviewed. If you didn’t do your homework for a given class, you are S.O.L. and quite lost.
2. Very Advanced
If you lack the basic fundamental concepts required for simpler problems, the classroom exercises/​challenges of concepts you are apparently required to absorb on your own are a total waste of time. If you’re already well on your way to getting a near perfect score on the GMAT, however, this course will help you bridge the gap from a good score, to a great one — it seems.
3. Expensive
The ratio of live instruction time to cost is abhorrently low, in comparison to other courses available out there. Some ex ellent online resources are free, and if you need to get on the basics, to get to a place where a near perfect score is possible, I’d highly recommend starting online cheaply. This will also test you for the determination and self-​discipline required to get the most out of Manhattan GMAT’s program, which, as I’m saying in this paragraph, is very expensive.
In short, do some serious digging into other (hopefully less expensive and more instructive) solutions to studying for the GMAT, especially if high school math are a distant memory (or perhaps even completely forgotten).

This review is partially a shoutout Patrick Tyrell, my genius instructor for the course of 9 weeks during the fall/​winter at the Santa Monica site (free street parking on Sundays!). If every instructor was like this, I’d rather be in school all day. He’s hilarious (I really think he should do stand-​up comedy), energetic so you don’t get bored, and dumbs things down so that lightbulb you’ve been struggling to find will go off. Oh and he sings – more plus points! But make sure to keep up with the homework so you don’t look like an idiot when participating.
The 9 week course is about $ 1100 (after $ 100 taken off if you take a free trial course). Alongside with the awesome instructor, you also you get: this ~50 lb package of study books, access to 6 online practice exams, a free 2 hour supplemental online course of your choice (I chose advanced Data Sufficiency), a 30 min weekly tutoring session throughout your 9 weeks, and this web tool OG Archer where you can time and enter as you do practice problems from the book and it’ll tell you what types of problems you’re good and terrible at. For the books, I can’t personally compare the quality of them to that of other courses such as Princeton and Kaplan, but from friends’ opinions who’ve used them all, Manhattan is one of the best. I would suggest scheduling the test a month to a month and a half after the course ends so you can do some more reviewing and practice tests but before you forget stuff from class.
The combination of having an awesome instructor and fantastic materials bumped my initial score to 70 points higher. super close to my goal score, but good enough. Gawd I’m happier now to have more free time to do fun things like write this Unilocal review. Good luck!

So I just took my GMAT, and I couldn’t be happier with the results! That being the case, it wouldn’t be right if I failed to highlight the tremendous impact of Manhattan GMAT. The 9 week course was absolutely crucial in helping me achieve my highest potential. The course was well-​structured, the practice content was thorough, and my teacher Dan was remarkable. Not only did I learn all of the content needed to ace the test (e.g., relearning the geometry I forgot years ago), I also learned test-​taking techniques which proved invaluable during the test. After my class, I felt so well-​prepared that I barely had any nerves on my actual test day. It was just a matter of going into the test center and applying what I had learned through Manhattan GMAT. What a great formula for success!
The cherry on top is that my class was really fun. Dan kept the class atmosphere light and enjoyable while at the same time making sure that each student was absorbing the lesson. It’s no wonder I recommended Manhattan GMAT to my roommate who’s planning on taking the GMAT. I’m a huge promoter of Manhattan GMAT and would take the class again in a heartbeat.

This is the best way to prep for GMAT. They are absolutely fantastic. The curriculum is very thorough, and the instructors are really helpful and interesting. The classes are small but very fun. Be warned… this class requires a great deal of self motivation. Self study is a huge part of this course, and for self motivated students, this course is the perfect guideline. It keeps you on track by providing the framework and order of preparation. After all no one is going to hand you a great score. YOU have to make the effort.

I can’t say enough about Manhattan GMAT and the wonderful course materials, instructors, post course followup, the on-​line materials, their study guides! By far the best GMAT course out there. I initially decided to apply to bschool in 2008, signed up for their in-​class 9 week course and found it to be great. But after the course, I realized I wasn’t ready, so I put my books away and went on with my life for another 2 years… then in 2010 I decided again that it was finally time. I just called up MGMAT and for just 300 bucks more, they let me sign up again for another 9 week course, provided me all new course books and study guides and full access to the on-​line system. I thought that was great because I was concerned about having to drop another grand plus to pay for the course. Everyone at the company was so helpful and they always encouraged me to keep at it, even when I struggled early on to get the score I wanted.
The best things about the course:
1) Course instructors kick ass and they know their stuff. Very good at breaking down the subject matter in a way that is understandable. Plus, the office hours are an added bonus. Take advantage of them if you sign up!
2) Study guides — these are great! Very clear, simple and concise in their explanations.
3) The on-​line tools are out of this world. They offer you everything you could ever need to get better at the gmat. Practice tests galore, question banks, timing tools, tracking guides… its all there and you can use as much or as little as you want. When I had to re-​take the test they offered to extend my on-​line access for another 5 months for free! Great stuff.
4) Prompt customer service and responses.
I was tracking in the mid to high 600s for all of my practice tests, but when i got in the testing center I completely messed up, stress and timing was off, so I got at 530. I was bummed. But they offered me a free post-​course assessment and it was so helpful identifying my areas of weakness and how I bombed in the test. I implemented all of the suggestions over the next two months as I started studying again and on my next go round I got a 700! A huge jump in one test!
Thank goodness for Manhattan GMAT. You won’t be disappointed.

Manhattan GMAT was everything I hoped for as far GMAT preparation. Having access to their proprietary CAT exams was clutch. I took a summer session at the Santa Monica location. The classroom was fine. My teacher, Seb Moosapoor, was awesome.

I decided on a Saturday that I should apply to grad school. Three days later I was attending my first Manhattan GMAT prep class, and three months after that, I conquered the GMAT.
I did a little internet research and saw some good things about M-​GMAT (including these reviews), but it was this Business Week article that really clinched it for me:
I signed up for the classroom course because I’m not very disciplined when it comes to studying (procrastination and I are besties), so I knew that taking an online course wouldn’t whip me into mental shape the way I needed it to.
I went to their Glendale location, in a room behind the concierge at the Americana Mall.
+ free parking if you get your ticket validated
+ convenient for me — I lived & worked in NoHo, so SM would have been a trek
+ the room is a little larger than the SM classroom, and it has an awesome flat screen for the PowerPoint/​classwork
— metal folding chairs. ouch.
— constant A/​C. just bring a sweater and you’ll be fine.
— sometimes the other half of the room (separated by partition) was occupied by a rather rowdy group. it was actually sort of funny. but if you’re hard of hearing at all, make sure you sit close to the front so you’re not distracted.
The GMAT is tough, but Manhattan GMAT deciphers it all for you — from laying out the different sections of the test so you know the format to expect, to introducing the types of questions you’ll encounter and giving you access to literally thousands of practice problems. The course is 9 weeks long. I would have needed 90 weeks to complete all the homework they assign — but don’t worry, they’re great about prioritizing how you should tackle each week’s homework and they remind you to come to class EVERY time no matter how little you were able to finish.
Pete Meyers was our instructor. He did an outstanding job of keeping everyone involved and motivated, despite the obviously enormous range of starting levels. He challenges you but is always rooting for you. I had some difficulty with the way he would present an answer, let you think that’s the way to do it, and then announce it as wrong — but he always shows you the right way to do it, so it’s just a matter of remembering which way was right and which was wrong. The handouts are spectacular — you’ll think they’re stupid when they get passed out but when you’re cramming the night before you take the test, they’ll be your lifesavers.
Also awesome are all the online resources that Manhattan GMAT provides, including six tests as close to the real thing as you can get, plus tons of analysis on how well you did each time. This was another lifesaver during the night-​before review — I could see from my test reports that I consistently sucked at combinatorics, geometry (stupid formula memorization), and number properties, so I spent more time reviewing those sections.
First practice test: 570 (taken before the first class)
Woe is me. I’ve been out of school for 10 years and can barely remember the Pythagorean theorem, let alone Venn diagrams and properties of prime numbers.
Second practice test: 640 (taken around week 7, towards end of course)
Ok. At least I’m out of the 500’s. Guess this review stuff is helping a little. If I can just push it up to the higher end of this bracket, then I’ll be happy.
Official GMAT score: 730 and 6.0 (taken a month and a half after the course ended)
WHAT?!! I mean, WOO HOO!!! I heart Manhattan GMAT!
Manhattan GMAT provided the foundation on concepts that I either never learned or had completely forgotten. Even when I didn’t think I was getting it, when test time came, I was able to draw on what I learned and work problems out. Five hundred stars for Manhattan GMAT.

Let me start off by saying I HIGHLY recommend Manhattan GMAT on all levels. The course is well structured, my teacher, Chris Berman, was fantastic, the materials are as comprehensive as you can imagine (you will never run out of elective practice), and the online content is really phenomenal.
I had taken a Testmasters course a few years ago with the goal in mind to break 700, and with some inconsistent scores decided against taking the test. Testmasters was good, but no course can compete with what Manhattan has to offer. A little over two years after finishing Testmasters, with the help of Chris and MGMAT, I got my goal and scored a 720.

A little background on myself:
Just finished undergrad in December and had some extra time to cram down and study for the GMAT. I knew that I needed a structured course because I had no idea what was in the GMAT; I just knew that I was going to take it.
I talked with older peers and they all directed me towards either a) Veritas Prep or b) Manhattan GMAT. I did a little research on reviews on blogs and forums and the consensus was that Manhattan was better than GMATVeritas. I was still a bit skeptical.
I went on the super user-​friendly website of MGGMAT and found the impressive profiles of all the instructors. I went to a very informative free, intro class with the SAME instructor that was going to be teaching me during the 10-​wk course.
Anyhow, throughout the course, my instructor, Steve Shaheen, taught us tips and tricks of how to cut down our time per question. He showed us methods of attacking the questions in both math&verbal. This was an excellent strategy. Steve expected us to do our homework and go over the comprehensive material at home and come prepared to class. If you do this, you will succeed.
Even after the 10-​week course, Steve gladly kept answering my questions about my problem areas over email, helping me master my weaknesses before my test date.
RESULTS: 1^st diag test I got ~610. After the 10-​week course and a couple weeks after of studying, I hit my goal of 720+.
Reason I gave MG GMAT 4 stars… I think the material and teaching in a 10-​week class is excellent to get you to the high 600’s, but if you want to break 700, you need to put in that extra-«umph» to get you over the hump.

I took a Manhattan GMAT class in Sept/​Oct 2009 and had a great experience. The course content does a great job of making difficult concepts easily understandable.
While the content was definitely a positive, the true differentiating factor between Manhattan GMAT and other classes is the quality of instructor. I was in Dan’s Saturday morning class in Santa Monica, and he was absolutely outstanding. He was able to clearly articulate concepts and was always available for one-​on-​one followup outside of class. He was also able to make the class fun with humor, games and interactive lessons — I always looked forward to attending.
In the end, I was able to achieve a 700 score on my first attempt. I was pleased with my result, and I am positive I wouldn’t have been able to achieve it without taking the Manhattan GMAT course.

Prior to enrolling in Manhattan GMAT’s 9 week course, I spent a month searching for the «perfect» study companion. I purchased the GMAC 11^th edition study guide, took the free practice test, scoured blogs and forums and even attended the free practice test secessions Princeton and Kapalan offered. However, after scoring in the 500’s consistently on each my diagnostic tests, I signed up for Manhattan’s free class with the hopes that I would at least get a low 600 score. Despite my reservation with spending $ 1200 on a class, I attended Seb’s Tuesday night class in Santa Monica. After just the first hour, I was convinced that I had found the class I was looking for. Seb’s teaching style was incredible; he managed to balance his ridiculous intelligence and familiarity of the material with a super easy going personality. Coupled with his dry sense of humor and mannerisms reminiscent of Vince Vaughn, he was the perfect teacher.
9 weeks, 14lbs of study guides and 5 practice tests later, I had achieved my goal of raising my scores to 650. I signed up for the GMAT on Halloween and used the remaining weeks to cram in a few extra idioms. When I finished my test and received my score, I honestly thought there was a mistake. I managed to score 690 on the exam (and would later receive a 5.8 on the AWAs). While my former 5 practice tests averaged about 630 and peaked at 650, I managed to score 40 points higher on the actual exam.
I sincerely believe that this was due to Seb’s teaching style. I feel that it was his ability to dissect the ridiculously complex material into easily understandable portions that allowed me to do so well on the actual exam. I honestly cannot say enough about Manhattan’s class. If you are on the fence trying to choose a prep course, attend one of their free classes. Worst case scenario, you leave with a free hour of high grade tutoring.

I finished the online Manhattan gmat course about 2 months ago. I was a little skeptical about an online course at first, but the setup was fantastic. I actually think there are some advantages to an online class. In any case, the class was great, and the material was AWESOME. I first took the gmat 2 years ago, and got a 630. I just took the gmat about 2 weeks ago and got a 730. Needless to say I am ecstatic with my score I highly recommend the course

Took a Manhattan GMAT course earlier this year. The materials they provided were excellent and the instructor was very helpful. I chose Manhattan GMAT because of the location and availability of the classes and because I heard good things about it online. I got a great score on the test and I’m now receiving a lot of attention from business schools.
Also, there were two people in my class who had already taken a GMAT Prep program with other providers who were still trying to improve their score. That was a big signal to me that I picked the right program.