GMAT Classes? Manhattan GMAT?

Guys,

I just decided to take the GMAT for the first time ever this April and would love to hear your advice about how best to approach this beast of a test. Should I self-study myself for 150-200 hours for 12 weeks straight? Or should I combine self-studying with taking some classes such as the Manhattan GMAT classes as well to boost my score and make sure I get the score I want?

Has anyone take classes such as this before and have any good review/ success story with it. Overall, what's everyone take on self-studying versus classes.

Thanks guys,

 
Best Response

So I’ve done study classes before. Some times different teachers teach different subjects, sometimes one teacher teaches all the subjects. But here is my opinion of the pro’s and cons

Pros - Typically taught by a person who’s very good at the particular subject You can quickly find out a detailed answer to a question you have, not to mention all the help you can receive Forces you to study

Cons Usually an equal amount of time is spent on each subject when in reality, you should be focusing on those subjects that you need to improve on Classes can be distracting and held at inconvenient times More expensive than buying the books and studying yourself A lot of time is wasted going over questions you already knew, helping other students, etc

Personally, I would just buy the books and crank it out. I bought the Manhattan books and did a practice test every week, increasing it to two tests a week as I got closer.

 

I had a private tutor and she helped me structure the program and figure out the basics of each field (like geometry, which I haven't done in ages), the test structure and tips and tricks for the test. I studied using Veritas prep. I found the value of tutors in introducing you to the test and giving you a head start. After that, it's all about how much you want to study.

I would also recommend Chili Hot GMAT. It helped me understand some of the more difficult problems and it gives various shortcuts for problem solving. And GMAT is all about time management, so it's an excellent read (along with drills it comes with).

 
DeltaDecay:
Study for a total of 450 hours over 3 months on your own from a good prep material. Give mock tests regularly.

That's enough to score well.

You can't be serious about 450 hours. That's ridiculous. GMAT quant is basically high school math and GMAT verbal should be extremely easy if you're native speaker, somewhat tougher for foreigners.

 

i wouldn't take classes, i went to the first mgmat free class and the instructor basically said that 93% of you won't get a 700 so if you are a 700+ level scorer the class will be low level

just buy mgmat books, OG books, extra CATs from GMAC, and supplement with gmatquantum.com online course and you'll be good. budget 150-250 hrs depending on your score on a cold GMAC CAT.

 

just take as many practice tests as you can and you'll be fine. Course are expensive and rarely change your score much if you know how to study properly on your own.

 

Most important thing by far and away is to purchase the three books published by the actual makers of the GMAT. These contain ALL actual GMAT questions ever published by the makers of the test and hence are the source for the best questions and hence the best preparation.

If you do a service, Manhattan GMAT is geared for higher scoring test takers. So if you are looking for a higher score and want to do a course instead of studying on your own (I need the motivation), then this course is hands down higher level than Kaplan and Princeton review with tend to be more rudimentary.

 

How many hours/wk are sufficient to get a good gmat score? Anyone know of anybody who has been admitted to Stanford?

 

My advice would be to concentrate on the essays. They are by far the most important part of your application. Although I had a good Gmat (760), my extracurriculars were really subpar. So the only thing that got me in was my essay. Regarding the GMAT, i studied for 4-5 months and practiced a lot. the week before the exam i did all of the questions and tests in the Official Guide (closest to the real thing). I think if you study and practice enough, scoring over 700 should not be a problem, and this score is sufficient.

 

Although I am not involved in any admissions, I can't imagine that they would even be interested in anything but your most recent gmat score. For instance, what if you wrote your GMAT in your senior yr and did subpar, then went to work for 4 yrs, developed more, studied harder, and got a competitive score. Why would they want to judge you on the "old" you.

 

I used Kaplan's online system. The most valuable part for me was the practice questions. I think no matter who you use to study as long as you do a lot of practice questions you will be fine.

 

Kaplan & P.R. only teach you study skills. If you want to brush up on study skills and content try "VERITAS". It costs the same as the other programs ($1,200), but you get 42 hours of instruction in a small classroom environment. Don't be cheap on the test- it really is the single most important thing in your app. Good luck!

 

getting into b-school is a game, and for the GMAT section of the game, Kaplan does just fine. Take the course, do the homework, and you'll score at least a 700.

 

I am currently using the GMAT Interact program which I find pretty helpful. The program structures out your studying very well, and is well worth the price tag of $800. It takes about 130 hours to complete I believe, gives you all the books, and 6 practice tests.

Array
 

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