Instructor Recommendation - Avi Gutman (Toronto)

[JordanT290]

I took the 9 Week Manhattan GMAT Complete Course with Avi Gutman in Toronto this past spring. Avi is a brilliant teacher, and his knowledge of the GMAT is incredible. Avi follows the weekly content structure laid out by Manhattan, but does so in a way that adds significant value beyond what you can learn online or from a textbook. Avi emphasizes that the GMAT is a test of strategy and logic, not a test of your math or English skills. He teaches techniques and approaches to tackling problems that are not “textbook”, but are simple, intuitive and incredibly effective under the pressure of the GMAT. Avi is extremely patient and generous with his time. He is very responsive to emails, even on weekends and his days off, and is always happy to speak with students before or after class to answer any questions that they may have. Our class had a broad mixture of backgrounds and abilities, and Avi found a way to cater to the entire range of students.

Following the completion of the course, I scheduled several private tutoring sessions with Avi. I was struggling to get my Quant score to my target, and was beginning to panic as my GMAT date fast approached. After our first two hour session I was flooded with confidence. While Avi is a great teacher in a classroom setting, he truly shines on a one-on-one basis. He found a way to quickly relate to my struggles, breaking down problems that I found challenging into very simple, easy-to-approach methods. This gave me tremendous confidence moving forward.

After a number of private tutoring sessions, several more practice CATs and many practice Quant problems, I finally wrote my GMAT and scored a 740. Quite a leap from my initial CAT score of 630! I could not be more thrilled.

I would highly recommend Manhattan GMAT, and particularly Avi Gutman, to anyone. Over the past 6+ months Avi has been a great instructor and friend, and I will always be grateful for his help and guidance.

[PujaS982]

When I decided to attain my MBA; I had decided I would take an in class course for myself to prepare for the GMAT. I approached a family friend that had written his GMAT and Graduated from his MBA recently and the first words to me were Congratulations Thats Great !! but aside from that they were Manhattan Prep. My family friend had taken the online course and was extremely happy with the course but recommended for me to attend the in class sessions; as he had heard a lot of great things about the in class sessions. Which was perfect for me because are minds thought alike . It was at that moment in time that I had decided I would be taking these classes and I was excited beyond words. I went straight home and looked up the schedule for when the next class would be beginning- upon reading just a few words about Avi on the Manhattan Prep Website- I knew that he was the instructor I wanted to take the 9 session in-class course with.

Upon quickly registering for the course I was extremely thrilled when my GMAT books arrived within a matter of 1-2 days I couldn't wait for the sessions to begin. Avi instantly connected with all the students; he welcomed each of us just like we are family and got to know us both on a personal and professional level. He took the time to know what our ambitions are, what we are currently doing and what each of our strengths and weaknesses are. Avi is not just an instructor but rather a friend and mentor- for that I will always be greatful .

His method of teaching was breathtaking for many reasons- I feel so much more confident about my decision not just about writing the GMAT but also in attaining my MBA. Avi took the time to highlight the important aspects of Interact in class but spent most of his time- teaching strategies that have proven to be successful for him in effective GMAT writing and also MBA. As mentioned before while learning about our individual strengths and weaknesses he was able to really analyze that and really improve our weaknesses and teach us in a classroom setting how to overcome them.

Thank You Avi !- is just not enough. I wish him nothing but the best always and I will always recommend Avi as a instructor, mentor and friend.

[SerenaS51]

Before I dive into my personal story, if you don't want to read the entire review, I will say this right off the bat: Avi is an INCREDIBLE teacher, he is literally the definition of what a perfect, ideal teacher should be.
My story:
I researched online to find a tutor in Toronto with amazing reviews, and found Avi. I approached Avi four weeks before my exam, to inquire about his tutoring availability and rates, and gave him a brief explanation of my situation; I wasn't scoring where I wanted to be in my practice tests, so I figured a few tutoring sessions with the right instructor would help to boost my score. After explaining my situation to Avi, however, he did not encourage me to get tutoring sessions with him (he did not try to sell his tutoring at all, which I found to be very honest and genuine), instead, he made me realize that there was no rush to be done with the GMAT in the time period I was expecting to be, and told me he thought I would benefit more from enrolling in his 9-session course (much cheaper than private tutoring!), which covers the entire GMAT content. I decided to take Avi's expert advice, and enrolled in his course. This was an AMAZING decision! Avi is all of the things an ideal teacher should be: patient, extremely intelligent (goes without saying he knows the content inside and out), caring, devoted, thoughtful, funny!, did I say patient?, very calming and reassuring whenever you are in doubt or stressing, and he is extremely effective at explaining things in detail, he breaks every concept down so much so that everyone is able to understand even the most complex concepts and problems. It's absolutely incredible how simple he makes everything seem! Every time I would email Avi with a question or letting him know I am stressed out about my upcoming exam, etc., as soon as I’d read the first line or two of his email, I would IMMEDIATELY feel calm and reassured, he is truly a fantastic therapist, and always knows what to say to calm students down, while providing great advice with a sound plan of action. For anyone considering it but not sure if it is worth it: IT IS! Plus, with the cost of the course comes the 10-volume Manhattan book series, and access to all of Manhattan’s online services, including 6 practice CATs.
Thank you, Avi, for being an amazing teacher and therapist!!!

[DanielW669]

While the cost of Manhattan's prep course is is among the highest, it was exactly what I was looking for. Beyond providing an organized structure to study for the GMAT, the course provides multiple strategies to tackle problems to accommodate personal strengths and weaknesses, analytics to assess areas of improvement, and holistic guidance on how to study, manage time, and approach exam day. It's a complete package.

Avi's approach to instructing is engaging and reflective of the class' needs. There isn't a session that goes by where he doesn't ask for feedback and updates on students' individual progress. While he's efficient in covering content, he is also willing to slow down and tailor his delivery for students when asked. He's friendly, patient, and responsive to emails if students have questions outside of class. Definitely recommended as an instructor.

[SarahM804]

Avi is a fantastic teacher. Always available after class or between classes for help. He is very quick on email, which is helpful when you're in the middle of working on a question. When he discovered a few prep questions were missing answers, he quickly made a video of himself answering the questions and emailed it to me. A+!

[LoriO212]

Best teacher, hands down - no complaints. Engaging in the classroom, and responsive through e-mail. He also helped me mentally prepare for the exam, so when I went in on test-day, I was the calmest person in the room. That being said, you'll only get what you put in to the class. Avi teaches a lot of math tricks and interesting ways to approach problems, but if you don't practice them, they're moot. I would only recommend his class if you can put a good amount of energy into self-studying and absorbing information post-class. If you can, Avi's class will be very helpful in raising your score.

[Bobd876]

I took Avi Gutman's Manhattan Prep GMAT class and am convinced I would not have been able to achieve my target score of 750 without his help.

Since Manhattan Prep's course content includes interactive web tutorials that mimic the in-class curriculum, Avi uses class time to reinforce key concepts, thereby creating additional value for his students.

Additionally, Avi was extremely helpful in answering questions after the completion of the course.

I highly recommend taking his course to anyone who wants to maximize their GMAT score!

Bob, Toronto

[SaraB822]

I recently completed the GMAT prep course with Avi and have to say I'm very impressed. Not only did I learn a lot, but he has been very helpful and responsive to my (numerous) emails. I really appreciated that even once the course ended, he would still be there to answer questions and offer advice, and he definitely has been. I have yet to take the GMAT, but I have noticed my practice test scores have improved significantly since taking this course.