Yesterday I received my course package from Manhattan GMAT. The course materials arrive in a small square box loaded to the brim. In the box I received a library of GMAT resources and a few extra goodies. Here’s the breakdown.
- 8 topic based review books authored by Manhattan GMAT, 5 on quantitative subjects and 3 on verbal.
- 3 Official GMAT books, the review guide, quantitative review, and verbal review
- An application strategy guide from MBA Mission consultants
- Headset with microphone for participating in the online course
- Stopwatch for timing problem sets
- Replica dry erase test simulation booklet (no paper is allowed in the GMAT)
They also have a significant amount of the course online including 6 practice exams, topic specific question banks, archived challenge problems, labs for each online class, free access to GMAT Write software for essay preparation, available weekly office hours, and a number of downloads including a really helpful pivot table for tracking your progress through the Official GMAT Review books.
It is really an overwhelming amount of material, but counting 3 hours for class every week I am anticipating anywhere from 12 to 20 hours of work per week for 9 weeks plus a personal review at the end. That could mean upwards of 200 hours of preparation! I have self diagnosed some really specific issues I need to address, like sentence correction, along with a general review of material so this course should be a big help.
The first GMAT practice exam, which I took cold, I scored a 610. The homework on arrival to my first Manhattan GMAT class is to have taken the first of their provided practice tests. So the two scores combined should give me a pretty solid baseline of my abilities at the start. I would like to see a final score hovering around 720, probably in part because I am being cocky, but also because it puts me over the hump of average GMAT scores for every school I am considering.
I will be discussing my own preparation as well as my experience with Manhattan GMAT as the course progresses. In the mean time, good luck to anyone out there undertaking their own preparation.