GMATPill: So it’s theory versus practice. With our program each student actually has the same experience. They’re watching the same videos. So the experience is very consistent. Would you say as a student of a popular program-do you think your experience was similar or different from other students who enrolled in the same program.
Paul:Well, to be honest I took the Manhattan GMAT course. I took a couple classes and I sat in with one of the teachers. He was great. He was phenomenal with math, but with verbal he was just OK. He didn’t really go through the verbal as rigorously as I hoped. There were a lot of kids in my class that were really slow with the math so he spent more time with math. And then I had a break for a couple of weeks because I had to move so I took a couple of weeks off and transferred to another section. That section was terrible. There was one person who wasn’t good at teaching at all. So I switched sections. What I realized through that transition is that it’s really luck of the draw. If you sign up for a Manhattan class or a Kaplan class or a Princeton class and the teacher is no good-then you’re basically throwing $1400 or $1500 down the drain because he’s not teaching well.
I like Zeke’s approach because it’s consistent, right? He gets to edit all the videos and basically deliver a clear concise message each time. It’s not like sitting through a class where there are so many variables. The teacher’s performance is a function of if he had coffee or if he had a late night or how fresh he is. And I like Zeke’s approach because it’s problem based-again getting back to academics versus actual problems. At the end of the day all of the academic stuff doesn’t matter-you need to answer the problem correctly. Again, I’m a very big proponent of the GMAT Pill.
GMATPill: They are able to an additional point that I wanted to make sure our listeners understand and that’s-with membership you really get access to email me with any questions you have. So if you have any queries with the video and uncertain about the thought process, you can email me. So the email service is actually a very good component- a lot of students do take advantage of the skills to email. Just as a review, it appears as if you’ve had sufficient knowledge of other prep programs and overall you feel their approach is a little different from the approach here at GMAT Pill and the approach here is a lot more thought-process driven and provides you with more real world experience and it appears as if you’ve benefited a lot more from that experience.
Paul:Yea I think it’s hands on practical experience that’s going to grow your score-it’s not learning a fancy phrase or learning some specific trick. Right, because what a GMAT taker needs to do is be in a position to identify specific problems and understand what precisely he needs to do. At the conclusion of the day, a test taker has 2 minutes to answer a question. And with 4 or 5 things floating about in his head, he is more than likely to be confused. What Zeke does is he walks through questions in the best manner possible and he tells you why each question is wrong. And so for people around who are thinking about GMAT prep, you’ve must understand that when you’re doing this problem, 1) you have must have excellent explanations for each problem. And 2) you need to learn the approach of doing each question properly in order to score well and I think Zeke handles both these credit issues.
GMATPill:Paul we’ve heard some of the positives that GMAT Pill has versus ManhattanGMAT-but there must’ve been nearly all positives with Manhattan GMAT as well.
Paul:Sure, ManhattanGMAT is good in the sense that the instructors are usually very caring. He or she genuinely wants to help you. Manhattan GMAT also has forums so you can post questions and get answers. There are also books. If you have time, the sentence correction book is very comprehensive. If you do all of their exercises, it gives you a very comprehensive view of sentence correction quesitons.
GMATPill: Well, I know you are very busy, Paul, with your schedule. We really appreciate always remember time here today at the GMAT Pill for expressing your honest opinion with how our service compares with the other ones. And certainly going forward, email me with any questions you have. And best of luck with your GMAT Preparation.
Paul:Thanks! Thanks for having me.
GMATPill:OK, give thanks.
This article was authored by GMAT tutor and guru, Zeke Lee. Zeke is the founder of The GMAT Pill Study Method and has aided numerous students ace the GMAT exam in as little time as possible. Although his secret techniques were limited to wealthy students who could pay $200/hour a few years ago, Zeke has now opened the door to his special strategies to the average student. Online GMAT Prep
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