Manhattan Prep

Manhattan Prep
Name	Manhattan Prep
Type	Private
Industry	Test preparation
Founded	2000
Founder	Zeke VanderSlik
Headquarters	New York City, New York, United States
Products	GMAT, GRE, LSAT, SAT, ACT prep courses; practice tests; study guides
Parent	Kaplan, Inc.

Manhattan Prep is a test-preparation company headquartered in New York City that offers courses, materials, and tutoring for standardized examinations such as the GMAT, GRE, LSAT, SAT, and ACT. Founded in 2000, the organization expanded from boutique tutoring in Manhattan to a global brand with classroom locations, online platforms, and published guides. Manhattan Prep competes with firms like Kaplan, Inc., Princeton Review, Magoosh, The Economist (GMAT tutoring), and Khan Academy (SAT resources), and interfaces with testing agencies such as the Graduate Management Admission Council and Educational Testing Service.

History

Manhattan Prep was founded in 2000 by Zeke VanderSlik and early partners to serve applicants to business schools such as Harvard Business School, Stanford Graduate School of Business, Wharton School, Columbia Business School, and London Business School. During the 2000s the company expanded its footprint in Manhattan and opened centers in cities associated with recruiting hubs like Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Boston. In 2009 Manhattan Prep acquired assets and talent from smaller tutors and later in 2011 entered a strategic relationship with Kaplan, Inc., which acquired the company and integrated it into the portfolio alongside Princeton Review and BarCharts offerings. The brand evolved through the 2010s with online course launches that coincided with broader digital shifts exemplified by platforms such as Coursera and Udacity.

Services and Programs

Manhattan Prep provides live classroom instruction, private tutoring, online adaptive courses, and published study materials for tests administered by organizations like the Law School Admission Council, the College Board, and ACT, Inc.. Course formats include multi-week flagship courses taught in urban test centers—frequent locations include New York City, San Francisco, and Chicago—as well as on-demand video libraries and interactive practice problem sets similar to offerings from Kaplan, Inc. and industry peers such as The Princeton Review. Manhattan Prep also markets proprietary practice exams, strategy workshops tailored to applicants to programs at INSEAD, MIT Sloan School of Management, and Yale School of Management, and diagnostic assessments used by applicants preparing for interviews at firms like McKinsey & Company, Goldman Sachs, and Bain & Company.

Curriculum and Pedagogy

The curriculum emphasizes content review, problem-solving strategies, and timed practice aligned with administrations by Educational Testing Service and the Graduate Management Admission Council. For the GMAT and GRE tracks Manhattan Prep offers focused modules on quantitative topics historically emphasized by admissions boards at schools including Harvard, Stanford, and Wharton. Pedagogical choices draw on techniques popularized in test-prep, such as scaffolded skills, worked examples, and spaced repetition—approaches seen in publications from John Dewey-era pedagogues and contemporary cognitive researchers affiliated with institutions like Harvard University and Stanford University. Materials include published guides and books marketed alongside authors and educators who have lectured at venues such as Columbia University and New York University.

Instructors and Staff

Instructors have typically been recruited from graduate programs and consulting backgrounds, with many hailing from institutions such as Harvard Business School, Stanford Graduate School of Business, Princeton University, and University of Pennsylvania. Staff roles include curriculum designers, often with prior affiliations to organizations like Educational Testing Service or editorial experience with publishing houses such as McGraw-Hill Education and Wiley. Tutors have gone on to teach or consult for firms including McKinsey & Company, Bain & Company, and Boston Consulting Group or to enroll in graduate programs at schools like Columbia Law School and Yale School of Management.

Corporate Structure and Ownership

Manhattan Prep operates as a subsidiary within the broader portfolio of Kaplan, Inc., which itself is part of the education and publishing landscape alongside companies such as Pearson plc and John Wiley & Sons. Corporate governance aligns with Kaplan’s structure; strategic decisions have been influenced by market dynamics affecting competitors like Princeton Review and technology entrants such as Magoosh. The company’s business model combines direct-to-consumer retail of courses and content licensing to institutional partners, mirroring revenue strategies used by multinational education firms including ETS contractor relationships and licensing agreements similar to those held by College Board affiliates.

Reception and Criticism

Reviews of Manhattan Prep have appeared in publications and platforms that cover higher education and test preparation, including comparisons alongside Kaplan, Inc., Princeton Review, and Khan Academy resources. Advocates praise the firm’s depth of content and instructor quality, citing success stories from admitted applicants to schools such as Harvard Business School and Stanford Graduate School of Business. Criticisms mirror those leveled at the test-prep industry broadly: concerns about cost relative to online competitors like Magoosh and debates about the role of tutoring in admissions processes scrutinized in reporting by outlets referencing admissions at Ivy League institutions and corporate recruiting practices at firms like Goldman Sachs and McKinsey & Company. Regulators and commentators have also discussed equity issues highlighted in studies from organizations such as Educational Testing Service and policy analyses relating to standardized testing in higher education.

Category:Educational companies