Stacy, I need your advice.

[wantMBA]

Dear Stacy,

I read your reply to Shelly's message (Aug 10) and too decided to share my story with you and seek for an advice.

I studied and continue studying for GMAT on my own. My first score was 510. The second time, which was 10 months later from the first one, I scored 390, though when I took GMAT prep test downloaded from mba.com I scored between 500 - 560. Like Shelly, I really need minimum of 600 in order to get into schools i identified for myself. Therefore, I am now thinking about taking a physical prep course, maybe one from Manhattan GMAT. However, here is my situation. I live in Central Asia and do NOT have a normal initernet access, so virtual tour is impossible for me. Therefore, I am thinking about coming to the States, particularly to Chicago, IL for a month, anywhere between Sept 15 - Nov 15, to take a GMAT prep course. Does Manhattan GMAT offer one-month prep courses anywhere in Chicago? How much would that be?

Please, please resond.

Thank you in advance!!!

[aim-wsc]

Try to contact official ManhattanGMAT website.

[Stacey Koprince]

We do occasionally offer 2-week bootcamps in New York and I think we might have held it in Chicago, but I'm not sure. We don't currently have any on the calendar, so you'd just have to check our web site. You can also email [email protected] and ask if they can let you know about any upcoming boot camps.

When you took the test a second time, did you run out of time and have to guess a lot or leave some questions blank? That's the typical reason why someone will experience such a big drop (that and general anxiety) - there's a severe penalty for running short on time and having a string of wrong answers in a row.

We also do have a "Guided Self Study" option in which you have access to recordings of the classes. That way, you can watch the classes whenever you do have access to broadband Internet. You don't get live interaction with instructors or classmates, though.

I'd check out the Guided Self Study option and also email Student Services to ask when we might be holding another boot camp. Make sure they're aware that you'd be making plans to fly to the States for this, because you don't want them to tell you when they MIGHT schedule something, make your plans, and then find out that they don't end up actually scheduling it for that timeframe.

Oh - and private tutoring is also an option logistically, though that is significantly more expensive than a course, obviously.