I had the privilege to work with Stuart on GMAT prep and also on B-school applications. During our time, my GMAT score increased by 70 points in three months and I ultimately got accepted at UC Berkeley Haas, all thanks to Stuart. He is the epitome of professionalism, intelligence, and kindness. What sets him apart is his heart; he is sincerely willing to help and would go above and beyond for his clients. Not just a mentor, Stuart also doubles as a friend, a partner, and a supporter. I could only go this far because of his help! I was lucky to have found him in the sea of tutors. Folks, he is the one! read more

I worked with Stuart in a 1:1 setting and was rather disappointed in his recommendations / advice to help me master some of the GMAT strategies (He is a former Veritas instructor, but never went to B-School himself). Scheduling an appointment with Stuart was also a nightmare and he strictly adheres to a 48hr no-cancellation / change request policy. Additionally, I was surprised that I rarely heard from him outside "classroom hours"- no check-in emails, support links, supplemental resources, etc. During our sessions, I often found myself listening to the same strategies and tactics that are found in the official guide and used in the Veritas online course (which I was also taking simultaneously). He would literally read things out of his presentation materials and MGMAT / OG books as if providing help and guidance along the way?! Unfortunately, due to the lack of differentiation and cumbersome scheduling process I decided to go with a Veritas tutor who has a much more structured and programmatic approach to the GMAT and also leverages the strategies and tactics used in Veritas Prep program. read more

Before working with Stuart, I had been attempting to prepare for the GMAT on my own in a very short timeframe, yet my efforts were not focused on what exactly would help me improve my GMAT score the most. I found Stuart online while searching for a tutor since I needed focused support and I did not think going through a generic refresher course was going to help me quickly shore up my weak areas. I worked with Stuart 1:1 weekly from late December to March, and I got a 70 point score increase solely by working with Stuart and doing what he suggested. I also found him to be very knowledgeable, thorough, understanding, able to see my potential for improvement, and patient. He was also very accomodating of my schedule and was enjoyable to have these sessions with. With my increased score, I was admitted to my top choice program, the Haas EWMBA program, and I am thrilled - I could not have done it without Stuart's help!! I highly recommend anyone to enlist the help of Stuart because it is the best use of your money and time if you are willing to put in the work but need support and direction! read more

Prior to working with Stuart, I used the Manhattan GMAT self study curriculum and got a score of 680. Hoping to boost my score into the 700 range, I underwent the online private GMAT tutoring with Simply Brilliant. After working with Stuart for about 3-4 months, I was able to improve my score to 750, which is directly attributable to Stuart's help. I thought Stuart was a very patient teacher and a clear communicator. His well thought out curriculum and strong teaching skills helped me understand the nuances of harder GMAT questions and concepts. As a result, I was able to fill in gaps that I previously missed during the Manhattan GMAT self study and was able to get the higher score. My experience is the complete opposite of Leo R. who said that he had difficulty scheduling with Stuart and received no follow up. In my experience, Stuart was very flexible with scheduling and I was able to get on his calendar even with short notice. Within 24 hours after my sessions, Stuart always followed up with practice questions to reinforce the content that we covered previously. Overall, I strongly believe that Stuart's services rivals the big name test prep services. Did I mention that his private sessions are a fraction of the price charged by Veritas and Manhattan GMAT? If you are looking for someone to help you get to the next level, I strongly recommend that you contact Stuart. read more

Before working with Stuart and in spite of having completed a 10-week course and copious amounts of self studying, I had difficulty hitting my target range on the GMAT. I decided to look for a private tutor for some more tailored help and found Simply Brilliant's ad on Craigslist. I had a couple in-person sessions with Stuart and found him to be great at answering any specific math questions (he's an applied math major from Harvard). After following his guidelines for a few months, I took the GMAT and did great. Let's just say that my score is firmly in the zone for all the top schools. He was also fantastic with both time-management planning and general test-day strategies. While these are generally regarded as being more "soft" skills, I found them both to be extremely valuable. He has been very helpful and responsive via email even when not on the clock and without a doubt went above and beyond what was required or even expected of him. I appreciate that and would surely recommend him to someone else. read more

Stuart was an invaluable resource as I prepared for the EA exam. He helped me target my focus areas and develop efficient test-taking strategies. Unfortunately, GMAC only provides four official EA practice tests, but I was able to increase my quant score by five points after working with Stuart. Further, he provided clear and helpful explanations for difficult question types and always had additional study materials and resources to recommend as I progressed in my studies. I obtained an admit from my top choice school and couldn't be happier. Thank you! read more

I work in Private Equity and have little time to study for the GMAT. So when I was considering getting test prep help, I knew I needed someone who was not only a master of content, but someone who could help keep my schedule in line. Stuart does just that, providing expert strategy tutoring while courteously keeping his clients on track. As a result of our partnering, I ended up scoring in the 700+ range on the GMAT, raising my overall score by 60+ points. This score increase was done by working with Stuart 2x a week for roughly a month. Stuart's help was priceless and I consider him a friend. I will be referring Stuart to anyone who asks. read more

I worked with Stuart on my b-school applications and essays. I applied to four highly competitive schools for which my GMAT score was fairly below the average admitted student's score. Even though I thought the rest of my application was strong I was very nervous about my chances. After working with Stuart I was accepted to three of the four programs! My sessions started with an initial consultation, prior to which Stuart reviewed any material I had already written and during which he provided initial thoughts and feedback. More importantly, he provided me with a personalized application strategy and schedule. One of the best parts of working with Stuart is that at no point did the experience feel cookie cutter. I cannot stress enough how great it was to work with someone who made an effort to understand me, made me unique and a great candidate. I knew my ideas and story were compelling, but Stuart was able to coach me and help bring my essays to a level of quality that I would have otherwise never been able to obtain. His editorial and written communication skills were top notch. Lastly, even though I know I could not have been Stuart's only client, I would have never known it. He was incredibly responsive to all my e-mails and offered advice on any and all subjects that I could throw at him. I highly recommend Stuart, and believe anyone lucky enough to work with him will have an advantage over all other applicants. read more

Before working with Stuart, I took a Veritas Prep Course and worked hard on homework and practice tests. The first time I took the GMAT I scored a 610. I thought I might need some extra help, so I contacted Stuart and he was a big help! I worked with him for a few 2 hour sessions and tried to apply his tips & tricks to the homework he assigned. He had some helpful slides, but none of the information was really new to me, sometimes it just takes a 1:1 touch and some patience to drive it home! Stuart is really patient and has a good way of not making you feel bad or dumb for getting something wrong, which makes the working session a lot easier and takes some pressure off. After a few sessions with Stuart and applying his techniques, I re-took the GMAT today was able to bump my score up to a 680 - a 70-point improvement! It's a relief to be more comfortable with my score and I found Stuart's sessions to be really helpful in getting my score to where I needed it to be. Well worth the time, money, energy. read more

I recommend Stuart highly for anyone looking to improve their understanding and score on the GMAT. I previously took a Manhattan GMAT course online and hardly saw an improvement in my score despite putting in 15-20 hours of studying for many of the weeks leading up to taking the test. I was too focused on completing the problems instead of really focusing on understanding how to solve the problems first. Ultimately I was disappointed with my initial quant score and found Stuart. Stuart took a look at my diagnostic tests and we chugged through all of my weakest topics in 3-4 sessions. His emphasis on understanding the problems while studying and focusing less on the time really helped me. He also helped me nail down the easy problems like negatives/positives, digits and exponents instead of worrying about less common problems like combinatorics. Ultimately I saw a 50 point increase in my score and higher than I was shooting for after my initial test. I saw a 12% percentile improvement on my math score. 4 point improvement on my raw quant score. read more

After taking a 6-week online course and multiple practice exams, I was still struggling with my quantitative score and unable to break 600 or get above 40 percentile on quant on my practice exams. Stuart's instruction was exactly what I needed to get over this hurdle. Rather that sticking to a predetermined, one-size-fits-all approach to study, together we identified my weaknesses and tailor-made a program that would address these issues. Quickly we found that my score on practice exams jumped easily 50 points when I was able to keep my time on each question down to 2 minutes. Working off of this, we focused less on studying each concept and making sure I knew EVERYTHING, and more on tips and tools that would help me keep pace on my exam. We went over easy properties that, if I could commit to memory, would save me precious seconds on each questions. Maybe even most importantly, we looked at ways to quickly eliminate some answer possibilities on difficult questions, hopefully giving me a 50% chance of guessing the right answer and moving on, rather than wasting 4 or 5 minutes trying to answer the question as I was doing previously. For my particular situation, this was a great strategy. This approach, coupled with a strict study regimen, of course, worked wonders. I took my test and scored a 710 - a full 130 points higher than any score I had before studying with Stuart. Not only that, but my Quant score jumped from 40th percentile to 77th percentile. Best news of all - I have recently been accepted into UCLA, a top tier school I wasn't even planning to apply to until I was encouraged by the progress I made with Stuart. I highly recommend Stuart as a tutor, especially if you are looking for a tutor that can customize your study to your personal strengths and weaknesses. read more

This week I learned that I have been accepted to Wharton! I could not have tackled the GMAT without Stuart's help. It was a challenge for me to get back up to speed on my math skills and I had attempted it with both Manhattan GMAT classes and another private tutor but nothing worked until I found Stuart and immediately things began to fall into place. I initially was hesitant to do online tutoring so I opted for in-person sessions the first couple of times. After giving an online session a try, I realized that it actually worked well and was quite convenient. Thank you Stuart! read more

I contacted Simply Brilliant to quickly prepare for the GMAT. Although the next class did not have enough participants, Stuart was great and very accommodating to help in transitioning to private tutoring and helping me to prepare. His provided summaries are also very helpful and when implemented proved to be essential time savers. I would recommend Simply Brilliant to any serious MBA candidate who needs to prepare and attack the GMAT test with confidence and score above average. read more

Stuart is the man who can get you there.!! Simply Brilliant , has wonderful 5 week online course to prepare you for your GMAT exam. I was apprehensive before joining online prep course like everybody out there initially , but i was proved wrong . As taking classes are not only convenient but also has right depth needed to get crack GMAT. Stuart has sharp eye to identify your weak areas that can help you bump your score . With his guidance , I was able to reach to the GMAT score I aimed for and finally got through UC Davis Bay Area Program. If you are someone aspiring to do MBA and looking for the good GMAT prep course that can get your there , I would recommend only one name Simply Brilliant !! Thanks again to Stuart and my best wishes to all reading this . read more

Stuart really put in the time and effort to help me focus on my weak areas and helped me improve my score by 70 points. He was very professional, an outstanding teacher and a great motivator. I definitely recommend Stuart to anyone who is looking for GMAT success! read more

I was accepted into the Tuck class of 2014 after working with Stuart to bump my score from a 690 to 760. I had actually applied to business schools two years ago and had already read through the Princeton Review and Kaplan guides quite thoroughly. I had mastered the basics except a couple areas of weakness that started to become apparent once I starting drilling for my test, which I re-took this year. I met with Stuart to focus on those areas of weakness and he was able to give me direct feedback that helped me not only in the session but also in my own studying. Stuart was patient and had some great techniques for explaining difficult concepts. The biggest help is his ability to frame the test "tricks" which, while having little to do with everyday problem solving, are essential to master for getting a high score on the GMAT. I highly recommend Stuart to anyone who has put in a significant amount of study time on their own and are looking to break out of the inevitable "plateau" of progress to get to the next level. read more

Before working with Stuart, I used Manhattan GMAT self study and did not do well on GMAT. I was referred to Stuart's prep course by a friend. I am pretty impressed with Stuart's communication style right from the beginning. I wanted to sign up for his test prep services, however, could not fit one class due to my upcoming travel. He was very kind and generous to get the class material to me. In a very small group of virtual class, Stuart always checks in on every student's understanding. At least in one instance, he offered to take little extra time with one student to help understand a concept. I look forward to completing my current session and get a better GMAT score soon! read more