Manhattan Prep

Manhattan Prep is a test prep company for graduate admissions exams, above all the GMAT, the GRE and the Executive Assessment (EA), with the LSAT, SAT, ACT and TOEFL also listed in its site navigation. It is a learner product: test-takers buy books, an on-demand course, a live course or private tutoring, and study for a business school or graduate school application. The About page traces it to 2000, when "Teach for America alumnus and Yale graduate Zeke Vanderhoek had a radical idea: students learn better from better teachers." The company grew, in its own words, "from a boutique tutoring company to one of the world's leading test prep providers." Its home base is an open-plan loft office in Chelsea, New York, and the site now carries the name "Manhattan Prep Powered by Kaplan," with a Kaplan, Inc. copyright line.

The instructors are the product

Everything Manhattan Prep sells starts from one hiring rule. The FAQ says "All Manhattan Prep instructors score in the 99th percentile on the exams they teach, have years of teaching experience, and create all of our test prep lessons, books, practice problems, and other study materials." The About page adds that "Last year, only 0.0003% of test-takers qualified to teach for us." The instructors page describes them as "Test prep gurus, curriculum authors, MBA and Ph.D. grads," and lists dozens by name and city, from New York and Chicago to Seattle, Atlanta, Houston, Montreal and Nova Scotia, with a filter by test (GMAT, GRE, LSAT). A student can look up who teaches before choosing a class or a tutor. Recruiting stays open: the company invites anyone with "a passion for teaching" who "rocked your GMAT, LSAT, GRE or EA" to apply, and the team page notes that classes run "all over the world" from the New York base.

The teaching philosophy follows from that. The company says "test prep should be real education," preparing a student for graduate school and a career as well as the exam, and it lists four principles: accomplished instructors, a curriculum "based on real test questions," critical thinking "not tricks or gimmicks," and classes that are enjoyable rather than something to suffer through.

Four ways to study

The home page FAQ lays out the options and what each costs:

• Books and self-study materials, "between $50 and $350." The FAQ suggests this route for people who are comfortable following their own study plan, pairing the official guide from the test maker with Manhattan Prep's strategy books.
• On-demand prep courses with interactive video lessons, "between $300 and $999," for learners who want a structured study plan built for them.
• Live prep courses, with all study materials included, at "about $1,000 to $2,000," which add a full study plan and direct access to an expert.
• Private tutoring, for one-to-one work with an instructor.

For the GMAT, the course menu names a Complete Course, Private Tutoring, On Demand, a Bootcamp and Math Basics. For the GRE, it lists a GRE for MBA option, On Demand and Foundations of GRE Math, alongside strategy guides, a store and the bookstore. The team page says the interactive videos, called Interact, are filmed in the Chelsea office, where the staff also plan courses, build products, write code and answer student questions. A GRE page advertises "Study now, pay later" with 0% APR financing, and the menu also lists a scholarship.

Practice tests and free resources

Practice tests come with the self-study and course packages, and GRE practice tests can also be bought on their own. To try the material first, a student can sign up for a Free Starter Kit account, which includes one free GMAT or GRE practice test and other free resources. The site also runs a free GMAT resources page, a free GRE resources page, a blog for each exam and student forums.

The FAQ is candid about difficulty. "A lot of people think that Manhattan Prep practice tests are harder than the real thing," it says, explaining that when the company has to err, it errs "a little on the harder side," while adjusting its scoring algorithm to mimic the score a student might get on the real test.

Guarantee, scale and support

GRE pages carry a Higher Score Guarantee, with the note "Conditions and restrictions apply" and a link to the full eligibility rules at manhattanprep.com/hsg. The About page reports 1,245,241 students helped, 16,514 classes taught, 1,015,352 books sold and 192 countries served, and the FAQ calls Manhattan Prep "the biggest GMAT test prep provider in the world." The GRE instructors page cites two outside rankings, "Best Overall GRE Prep Course" and "Best GRE Tutors" from Test Prep Insight, which the footnote openly describes as a Kaplan affiliate, and a "Best GRE Prep Courses" listing from Intelligent.com. The site also has a success stories section and a partnerships page.

Support is listed as a phone line, (800) 576-4628, and an email address, info@manhattanprep.com, and enrolled students log in through a Student Center. For test-takers sitting the GMAT Online or GRE Online, the FAQ notes that the content, question types and scoring are the same as at a test center; the differences are in how scratch paper works and the need for a quiet space with a steady internet connection.

Who it suits

Manhattan Prep suits a business school or graduate school applicant who wants to learn the material properly and cares who is teaching it. The four formats make it easy to match budget to need: a disciplined self-studier can work from the books, a busy professional can follow an on-demand course, and someone aiming high who wants accountability can take a live course or hire a tutor. The free starter kit is a sensible first step, since one practice test shows where a student stands before spending anything.

The costs rise quickly with the level of teaching, and live courses at $1,000 to $2,000 are a real investment, though financing is offered. The FAQ makes the case itself: a higher score "could get you into a higher-ranked school or earn you grants, fellowships, or other scholarships." Its depth is greatest for the GMAT, EA and GRE; the LSAT, SAT, ACT and TOEFL appear in the navigation but are not described on these pages.