The Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) is required for admission into most MBA programs in the United States, and is a source of anxiety for many students who feel intimidated by standardized tests. To alleviate that distress, companies have developed GMAT preparation classes. In New York, there are several GMAT prep classes to choose from, with differences in fees and services.
MLIC GMAT
MLIC, located in Manhattan, is a GMAT prep course that uses professional instructors who each have 10 years of teaching experience and are required to take the GMAT once a year to stay current with the questions and problems used on the test. MLIC GMAT employs the Socratic method of instruction: a question, answer and debate style that provides a comprehensive knowledge of a subject. Students in the MLIC course are required to commit 120 hours of time to mandatory, practice and remedial assignments. Ninety percent of those who complete the program score 670 or better on the GMAT, which is in the 80th percentile. MLIC offers a five-day Turboprep course for $1,450, a weekend three-day intensive course for $1,150 and an online course for $695. All fees are as of 2011.
Veritas Prep
Veritas Prep offers full and accelerated GMAT prep courses in New Brunswick, Manhattan and Long Island, and provides instructors who have scored in the 99th percentile on an actual GMAT, and unlimited online and toll-free customer service support. The full course spans seven weeks and 42 hours of instruction, and provides students with 15 specialized lesson books that use actual GMAT questions to help students prepare. The fee for the full course is $1,600, which can be paid in three installments of $550. The accelerated course, available in Manhattan only, covers the same material as the full course, but meets for seven straight days and requires students to commit to a rigorous homework schedule after the class ends. As of 2011, the cost of the one-week accelerated course is $1,750, payable in three installments of $600.
Manhattan GMAT
Manhattan GMAT based in New York, with offices across the U.S., has developed a nine-session prep course taught by instructors in the 99th percentile of scores on the GMAT. Manhattan Prep provides eight GMAT strategy guides, three official GMAT review guides with questions from past exams and an official guide companion that goes through detailed problem solving and data sufficiency questions found on the exam. The course also provides six computer adaptive practice tests that duplicate the actual GMAT, a foundation of math workshop, a test simulation booklet, class recordings of all nine sessions and a weekly 30-minute online or phone session with an instructor. The 2011 in-person fee for the nine-day course is $1,490, and the live online fee is $1,090.
Manhattan Review
Manhattan Review's GMAT prep course offers private tutoring, crash courses, intensive courses, long courses and online long courses that feature unlimited class access, dedicated math and verbal instructors, course materials, three official guides, five online practice tests and a home study guideline that includes email support. All in-person classes are taught at the Manhattan Review Prep Center. For 2011, private tutoring starts at $110 per hour, the two-day weekend crash course is $950, the one-week intensive course is $1,650, the six or eight session long course is $1,099 and the seven or eight session online long course is $899.
Tags: GMAT prep, actual GMAT, full course, Manhattan GMAT, Manhattan Review, prep course, 99th percentile