Manhattan GMAT Class: online or in-person?

I will signing up for the 9-week GMAT prep with Manhattan GMAT soon. Does anyone recommend the online class or the in-person class?

The price difference is $400. Pros/Cons of each or is it a draw?

Thanks in advance!

 

I've only been presented with the option of computer based vs classroom based learning when it comes to prof certification courses, but let me weigh in on this. If you're diligent, want to review the material on your own time, re-watch a lecture as many times as you want etc. go for digital. If you don't trust yourself to put the time in, do the live course.

Also, if you do a live course, make sure it does not conflict with work, considering your employer probably won't like the fact that you're preparing for an exam that will give you the opportunity to go to school and switch careers / jobs.

 

One other place to look is Kaplan. They raised my score on the SATs 310 points (old scale- two legitimate College Board Exams) and boosted my GRE scores by about 150, and my experience is pretty indicative of other stories I've heard. With discounts, an in-class program with Kaplan runs about $1100 and there's probably a center that's walking distance from you.

 

I have not taken the class, only self-study, but my personal opinion is that the books alone are sufficient. I studied for 8 days and got into the 99th percentile.

I am permanently behind on PMs, it's not personal.
 
APAE:
I have not taken the class, only self-study, but my personal opinion is that the books alone are sufficient. I studied for 8 days and got into the 99th percentile.

hah congrats! unfotunatley for me, i doubt studying for 8 days will get me into the 99th percentile (you are smarter than me).

do you happen to know if you get all the books when you do the prep program?

Money Never Sleeps? More like Money Never SUCKS amirite?!?!?!?
 
APAE:
I have not taken the class, only self-study, but my personal opinion is that the books alone are sufficient. I studied for 8 days and got into the 99th percentile.

You bought the self-study GMAT prep plus or the normal one (if by "I have not taken the class" you do not mean the recordings available with the prep plus)? Would like to know if the extra 200$ are worth it!

Can you take the online practice exams as many times as you want? How many times did you take it?

I was considering training only with this resource and was wondering how long it would take me to go through all the books and resources. I was thinking about working for ~1 month (average range of 6-9 hours a day).

Thanks

 

8 days of studying for 99th percentile is pretty unbelievable.

Anyways, I did the self study and am glad I did. i think it depends on learning styles, some definitely do better in classroom environment, especially those who need the structure. For me, the self study was really my only option because of my travel schedule, but i think it was advantageous in that i avoided getting competitive with classmates and was able to focus 100% on improving my score.

Also, the verbal material is excellent but the math is not as great IMO

 

So the books are sufficient? I went to a presentation by them once, because a bro was working for them and wanted interested folks to go there, and I happened to win a drawing they had which gave away all their books (they said $300 plus in value, idk the actual count) ... anyway if that's adequate for a driven person like me, I'd love that. Nothing like getting valuable things for almost no cost.

 
Spalding Get Your Foot Off the Boat:
value investing applies to real life - boom.

i would add that i did the class recordings and found them great. was able to skip over things you don't care about and replay things i wanted to hear again

nice dude... where did you get "videos". i'm considering taking the live online course, but would prefer videos if they are available. do they let you replay online lectures?

Money Never Sleeps? More like Money Never SUCKS amirite?!?!?!?
 
Spalding Get Your Foot Off the Boat:
i went to the free in person class 1 and left with all the books and then bought the class recordings online through their website. the lectures aren't live - they are recorded previously, so you won't be able to ask questions on the fly (although you will get study hours where you can ask questions)

wow nice, didn't see your comment earlier.

thanks y'all! i may go for the pre-recorded lectures instead!

Money Never Sleeps? More like Money Never SUCKS amirite?!?!?!?
 

Didn't do it myself, but my friend told me the classes catered to the least common denominator and were a total waste of time.

"'In summary, people are morons and who cares. Make a shit ton of money. I've never seen a Ferrari paid for by what people think.' - ANT" -rufiolove
 

in case anyone was wondering, i called Manhattan GMAT. i'm strongly leaning towards their online class as it includes pre-recorded replayable video lectures as well all Manhattan GMAT books, and is about $500 cheaper than the live course.

Money Never Sleeps? More like Money Never SUCKS amirite?!?!?!?
 

i took the class, thought it was really solid. my first practice test ever was a 650 and ended up with a 730. instructors are very good and able to relate. i will say though and could possibly have just been my class but most of the students were not that motivated. out of 12-15 kids, i'de say half werent even sure they were going to take the test or commited to b school. 3/4 of the class probbaly didnt do the weekly work which is essential if you want to take the class seriously. work can be done in 7-10 hours a week. they say 15 but i never spent that much. reason i mention the slacking is the instructors will often call on the ppl who get questions wrong and the slackers tend to slow the class down a bit. that being said, the constant questions and drills in class do get you into the test taking mode and prepares you for the timing aspect of the test. PM me if you have any specific questions. oh and yes, book and all come with the class

 
Best Response

I took a live course in Atlanta and thought it was worthwhile. As some have stated, the class can move slow at times because the instructor does ask the people with the wrong answers why they picked them. The benefit there is that the test is designed to trap people who don't fully understand the answer they are searching for, so sometimes learning what not to do is a good reminder of what to do.

It's really hard to say whether it's worth the price. If you can study on your own and get 700+, then not worth it. If you are unsure then the class makes it a bit more certain you can score well, though not an absolute. I figured I'm a relatively smart guy but could benefit from any additional instruction I could find.

Bottom line, I asked myself if I would be willing to $1,500 to get into my target school if I knew not paying the $1,500 would put me at one of my "non-targeted" schools. The answer is yes. I am simply buying a little bit of insurance for the GMAT because it is very unlikely attending the classes would make you score worse.

At the end of the day, I don't want to be accepted to my secondary choice and wondering if the few hours and the $1,500 would have put me in at my first choice.

Regards

"The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant, it's just that they know so much that isn't so." - Ronald Reagan
 
cphbravo96:
I took a live course in Atlanta and thought it was worthwhile. As some have stated, the class can move slow at times because the instructor does ask the people with the wrong answers why they picked them. The benefit there is that the test is designed to trap people who don't fully understand the answer they are searching for, so sometimes learning what not to do is a good reminder of what to do.

It's really hard to say whether it's worth the price. If you can study on your own and get 700+, then not worth it. If you are unsure then the class makes it a bit more certain you can score well, though not an absolute. I figured I'm a relatively smart guy but could benefit from any additional instruction I could find.

Bottom line, I asked myself if I would be willing to $1,500 to get into my target school if I knew not paying the $1,500 would put me at one of my "non-targeted" schools. The answer is yes. I am simply buying a little bit of insurance for the GMAT because it is very unlikely attending the classes would make you score worse.

At the end of the day, I don't want to be accepted to my secondary choice and wondering if the few hours and the $1,500 would have put me in at my first choice.

Regards

Thanks for the advice everyone...

I already signed up for the online course, as I'm a little tight on dough right now.

Money Never Sleeps? More like Money Never SUCKS amirite?!?!?!?
 

I really liked the course. Thought it was very helpful in class itself, and also was a good way to force myself to actually take time every week. Probably the most useful thing they did was give you great pointers for both individual question types, and attacking the test overall (strategy vs. tactics).

They also give you some pretty high quality practice tests, which help you get comfortable with format etc.

I took the GMAT before they changed the format though, not sure how well they've adapted to new section/question types yet.

 

I am currently using the prep material. It has a pretty cheap deal for about 10 books which cover all the material plus 6 practice test and word banks with 25 questions each from each book. Great methods, great details. Usually the most popular one for GMAT prep. I think the whole set cost about $180, maybe.

Disclaimer: I receive no commission from Manhattan Gmat for giving them great reviews on affiliated sites. Nor do any proceeds from any future purchases from my recommendations make there way into my bank account.

 
eyelikecheese:
Disclaimer: I receive no commission from Manhattan GMAT for giving them great reviews on affiliated sites. Nor do any proceeds from any future purchases from my recommendations make there way into my bank account.

I believe you meant to say "make their way into Your bank account" rather than "make there way into Your bank account" ... Manhattan GMAT material covers that and many other common errors.

 

I took the class and thought it was really good. Depending on what type of personality you have you might not even need the class and and do just fine by buying the books. For me it was kinda paying for the forced studying and motivation, ie I just dropped 1200 buck I better get my shit together. However, if you are more self disciplined the books and online resources will be more than sufficient.

 

what about compared to princeton review, 800score.com and veritas prep. anybody knowledgeable about pros/cons of the different choices?

i'm trying to decide and it seems nobody has a bad word to say about any of them

 

my roommate last year used manhattan's online course and gave it great reviews (got a 750 to boot). it also seems to almost universally be people's top recommendation.

i'd definitely recommend though that, no matter what you do, make sure to get the official guide. it's the only place where you can get guaranteed real, accurate practice questions. the two free tests from mba.com are also the only reliable way to gauge your score. i self-studied using nothing but the OG, and my actual score was the average of my two mba.com practice test scores. i took a couple of third party practice tests though, close to my test date, and the scores (and questions, it seemed) were wildly inaccurate.

 

dont know about their classes but i used their books and they are very good--the biggest issue you'll find in a class is assuming since you are on this site you are pretty intelligent...classes tend to target lower scores and possibly wont help you much

for example, kaplan has a 'special' class only for people who can get above 600 on a practice test. for someone who can get a job in banking or consulting, thats a joke.

 

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