Manhattan GMAT Prep Review

One of the leaders of GMAT prep in the U.S. is Manhattan GMAT. The company features a phenomenal 10-volume preparation set that includes volumes on Mathematics, Critical Reasoning, Reading Comprehension, and Sentence Correction.

Be aware, though, that the Manhattan GMAT prep requires you to have basic knowledge and understanding of math. This is not for the beginner, and if you need a Math Foundations book, they have one but maybe Kaplan is a better option.

Though the MGMAT prep books are seen as a great help, many students will not be able to operate at the books’ level when they begin. Many students will need more support in math first, and others, more support in verbal skills. On the other GMAT subject fields, MGMAT’s foundation books are very useful.

Manhattan GMAT (MGMAT) has really set the standard when it comes to GMAT prep material in print, and the company’s 10-book set is perfect for students ready to get all set for the challenging GMAT (Graduate Management Admission Test).

Some refer to the MGMAT prep books as ‘the GMAT bible’. For students who are not ready to take a dive into the deep yet, MGMAT has published two books with foundational studies that precede the required high-level GMAT preparation.

These books are not meant to get you sufficiently prepared for the GMAT, they are merely intended to get your basics in order, so will be able to use the 10-volume MGMAT prep set effectively.  Let’s take a closer look at some of MGMAT’s foundation books and their prep books on Math, Critical Reasoning and Reading Comprehension.

GMAT Math Foundations

The MGMAT Math foundation book addresses all basic fields of math: algebra, geometry, and arithmetic. You won’t learn about more advanced areas (for example statistics, probability, or counting problems), and for students who never felt comfortable in high-school level math, this will be a good help to get up to speed with the GMAT questions.

The book comes with many practice problems to work on your basic skills, but at a level much simpler than at the GMAT. Keep in mind though that if you really are a beginner, this will be too much already, so consider Kaplan.

GMAT Verbal Foundations 

This MGMAT book takes you through all the elementary knowledge of grammar required for Sentence Correction, all the fundamental elements of reading needed for Reading Comprehension. and address all the basics of arguments required for dealing with Critical Reasoning.

This MGMAT book is actually one of the best instruction resources found in print. This volume is also ideal for students from India because it addresses Indian English differences with regards to what is acceptable English on the Sentence Correction section.

Manhattan GMAT Mathematics (Books 1-5)

MGMAT offers probably the most rigorous and in-depth approach to GMAT Quant. For applicants already having more than just a basic understanding of math, these five Math guides are perfect to help their math score soar.

The five books are on Number Properties, Fractions, Decimals & Percents, Equations, Inequalities, & VICs, Word Translations, and Geometry. But once again, these MGMAT math books are in no way appropriate for beginners. For students already good in Quant, MGMAT offers one of the best prep course to get perfectly set for this section of the GMAT.

In combination with the Official GMAT Guide and access to GMAT’s CAT exams, you’ll have the best resources to apply the concepts that are covered in these books.

Manhattan GMAT Critical Reasoning Guide
MGMAT’s Critical Reasoning book is seen by some teachers as not so effective, and some say that the content is not reflecting the actual GMAT questions on Critical Reasoning accurately enough.

On the other hand, though, you will pretty much learn all the basic strategies to tackle the GMAT appropriately, but if you have the idea that MGMAT’s general strategies and diagramming do not apply so well to actual GMAT questions, you know that you have more options to deal with Critical Reasoning preparation.

Kaplan, for example, comes with a more straightforward approach to Critical Reading questions in the eye of many critics, but again, that’s what they think, and if you feel MGMAT’s Critical Reasoning book fits you well, that’s perfectly fine.

Manhattan GMAT Reading Comprehension

Some critics say that MGMAT’s book on Reading Comprehension is a bit heavy on the theory and that some more practice exercises should have been included, and the fact of the matter is, it is not user-friendly in the way MGMAT Sentence Correction is, and also several critics find Kaplan’s GMAT Reading Comprehension easier to use, though the (too) easy take of Kaplan could pose some problems as well.

On the other hand, this book is of great value if you use it together with the Official GMAT Guide, and students will make considerable gains in Reading Comprehension. So though the book may be not really user-friendly, it is a great help to get confident in Critical Reading.