GMAT Online Courses – Advantages & Disadvantages

For many years, Manhattan Review has offered both in-person preparation courses and tutoring, but also online prep. The global pandemic starting in 2019 accelerated a shift towards online options, as in-person meetings were not feasible from a practical or legal point. While Manhattan Review will continue to offer in-person courses and tutoring in locations where there is ample demand, it might be worth looking into the advantages of online preparation options and where such courses might fall a bit short. Here are a few advantages that are mentioned to us frequently by our online students:

More time to study

Travelling to a physical location is time consuming, and – thinking about the New York Subway, the London Tube, or a car ride in LA – quite an inconvenient experience. Many students are happy to ditch travel times and spend the gained time on what really matters, prepping for the test. Some students even opt to not participate in the online class at home, but rather do this at their favorite café or even from work. Whatever your preference, you can spare yourself a lot of time and stress through using the online prep options.

Increased flexibility

We all have busy schedules, whether that be full-time work, leisure activities, visiting family and friends or running errands. Preparing for the GMAT and trying to fit an in-person preparation course into your routine can be daunting and sometimes simply impossible. Our online courses allow students to flexibly plan their preparation by not only having the option of participating from home, but also utilize the recordings of the sessions if they are unable to make the live lesson for any reason. If you feel that you may miss out on key information through asking questions, there is no need to worry as your instructor would be happy to field anything on your mind via email or during the next live session. Our online group courses and private tutoring packages are a perfect fit for students who are working or studying full-time, but still are serious about attaining an elite score on the GMAT.

If we offer an in-person class in a location, this will typically be offered at a specific time every week. With the online options, which run on the exact same syllabus as the in-person courses, you have the ability to choose between a variety of options and select one that better suits your personal schedule.

Lower Cost

While there are many advantages of opting for the GMAT Online Classic Course, perhaps the one that is most overlooked is the price. Since firms like Manhattan Review do not have to rent expensive classrooms, they can pass on the savings, meaning the course is offered at a significantly lower price with the same content as the in-person class. If you are looking for a budget friendly, high quality option, then the our online GMAT prep options are the best choice.

While there is plenty to like about online prep courses, there are also some disadvantages. These are sometimes mentioned to us:

Lack of social interaction

There is something comforting about in-person interaction, and it’s great that you can grab a coffee or maybe a drink with your fellow prep classmates after the lesson and rave about the great Manhattan Review teacher you just had your lecture with before. We fully understand this satisfying feeling that can hardly be replicated online.

Having said that, one advantage of the online classroom is that breakout rooms can be created very easily, enabling you to get to know more of your classmates faster than in a traditional classroom setting.

Dependance on Technology

Many students are worried that they might not be able to install the required programs to participate in an online class session. While this might have been a concern years ago, technology has become so stable and easy to install that this is not a point of relevance anymore. At Manhattan Review we are using Zoom, a popular online teaching platform, which many participants already know from work or their studies, where it is used for team meetings or lectures. So, while there were valid concerns about the tech years ago, this is no longer an issue as systems become more and more stable every year.