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12 Edition Review: Not a Guidebook but an excellent source of Real GMAT Questions Apr 24, 2009 (146 of 149 found this helpful)
I started GMAT Club - online MBA community; my GMAT score is 750 (49, 42), and here are my thoughts about this book:
Strengths:
1. 907 real GMAT questions retired from past tests
2. Practice questions are organized by level of difficulty
3. Practice questions follow actual GMAT test patterns (it's great to have one's ear trained, esp. in verbal)
4. Contains a 100-question diagnostic test
Weaknesses:
1. Does not include any test-taking strategies
2. Though it has a few short review sections for each area, they are weak and very unfriendly
3. Questions are predominantly low to medium in difficulty which is often not representative of questions one encounters on the test
4. There is a 66% overlap with the previous version (11th edition)
Contents (number of questions per section):
1. Diagnostic Test - 100 questions
2. Problem Solving - 230 questions
3. Data Sufficiency - 174 questions
4. Reading Comprehension - 139 questions
5. Critical Reasoning - 124 questions
6. Sentence Correction - 140 questions
* Why is this book valuable/must-have?
The Official Guide is published by the creators of the GMAT and therefore it is the only source of actual GMAT questions representative of what you will see on the test.
* Why is the book not sufficient by itself?
This Guide contains only questions and lacks insightful information about the test, a math/verbal concept review section, or any test-taking strategies. To get up to speed, you will need to get a study guide such as Kaplan Premier Program or Princeton Review's Cracking the GMAT Cat.
* How should this book be used?
This book should NOT be used as a study-guide. It is a collection of questions - think of it as a way to practice your test-taking strategies but not a way to learn them.
* What if I own a previous edition of this book?
If you have the 11th edition, the only difference between the two is 300 new questions, or about 30%. Most test-takers agree that 300 new questions is not a compelling enough reason to own both editions, as the 11th edition offers enough practice. If you do need additional practice questions, get the Math or Verbal workbooks instead as they each have 300 questions.
* What is a recommended study plan using The Official Guide?
There are a number of approaches that work - here is one that most find reasonable:
Step 1: Buy a GMAT Guide from Kaplan or Princeton Review. Get familiar with the test and brush up on fundamentals (math and grammar); also these books will give you a good base for test-taking and timing strategies.
Step 2: Take a GMAT Prep (2 free tests downloadable from MBA.com) - but don't waste these; these are free but very valuable tests. Take 1 after you go through the Guidebooks and save the second one for later. These tests will be representative of your GMAT score (plus/minus 40 points).
Step 3: (Optional - if you want a 650+ score) Get a specialized Math and/or Verbal workbook from Kaplan, Manhattan GMAT or EZ and do a deep dive into the fundamentals - this is what will help you crack the test - solid knowledge of Math and Grammar.
Step 4: By now you should have a good understanding of question patterns, strategies, and timing. Start working on the Official Guide and honing your skills - this is especially important for Critical Reasoning questions that have certain unspoken patterns and rules that only the Official Guide offers - work through the questions to train your ear. Keep in mind that these questions are on the easier side if you are aiming for 650+.
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GMAT Books Comparison Mar 15, 2009 (50 of 51 found this helpful)
After going through all the GMAT books, here is my comparison about some of the most popular GMAT books:
Official Guides:
Pros - Excellent source of GMAT questions. Very well organized with real test like questions.
Cons - No review of any math content or test-taking strategies. Not very good explanations of practice questions.
Overall, the Official Guide is a must have for all test-takers. It will give you a good idea about the type of questions to expect on the GMAT; however, if you need more than just a bank of questions, you need to look at some other source.
Kaplan:
Pros - It covers every section of the test as much as possible by a single book. Also a good source for additional practice questions.
Cons - Review of math content is not thorough but just the very basics. Not enough explanation of test taking strategies. Full of guessing techniques with no real mathematical solutions. Not good enough explanations of practice questions. Unrealistic questions.
Princeton:
Pros - Good for learning how to make educated guess and process of elimination. Focuses more on test taking techniques.
Cons - Review of math content is not thorough but just the very basics. Not enough explanation of test taking strategies. Full of guessing techniques with no real mathematical solutions. Not good enough explanations of practice questions. Weird sense of humor of Joe Blogs.
Dummies:
Pros - Good book if you are looking for test taking strategies and brief overview as it covers every section. It's definitely worth the price.
Cons - Not a regular standalone type of a book. You'll certainly need additional help.
Barrons:
Pros - Intensive math review. Big list of questions. Good test taking strategies. Very well organized. This is by far the best of the all-in-one kinds of books.
Cons - Although the book has a good math review, it doesn't go deep enough into each concept. Does not have a good section for logical reasoning (permutation, combination, probability, etc) questions, which is one of the most important question-type. Does not break down the concepts/questions step by step. This is the only book I recommend you must buy apart from the OG.
EZ Solutions (series of books):
Pros - Thorough math review from A to Z in the review books. Effective test taking strategies. Abundant solved examples. Numerous practice exercises. Great practice question bank in basic and advanced workbooks. As with most books, you are expected to already have a good knowledge about the various match concepts, but with these books, you can literally start from scratch and reach the most advanced level of the GMAT.
Cons - To get the best result from these books, you have to invest in buying several books (set of 10 books), but if you compare the cost and benefits, the benefits outweigh the cost, or you can buy a few not all. Missing the verbal section. This is not a good option if you are looking for a very basic brush-up. Recommended for serious test takers who have enough time for preparation.
I hope my review will help some of you in making the right decision.
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Nothing New Mar 17, 2009 (55 of 62 found this helpful)
This is the review for the The GMAT Review 12th Edition (2009) (A lot of reviews are for older versions of this book). I have the 11th Edition (Orange Cover), and bought this new edition hoping for brand new practice questions, but most of the questions are the same. The diagnostic test is even the same.
This is a great book to prepare for the GMAT, but if you already own the 11th Edition (orange cover), then don't bother. There's really nothing in here that isn't in that version
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GMAT Self Study Prep Plan Sep 20, 2009 (13 of 13 found this helpful)
The best approach for using the GMAT Official Guide:
The GMAT OG is a "must have" for everyone who intend to take the GMAT, but only if you use it the right way.
-First:
--Go through this book at the very beginning when you first start preparing for the GMAT.
--This will give you a good understanding of what you should expect to see when you take the actual test.
-Next:
--If you feel you are 100% comfortable with all the concepts involved - go ahead and crack every question in this book and you'll be good to go.
--If you feel you lack some if not all of the concepts involved - keep this book aside, go through some of the other study guides, and then at the end come back to this book and answer every question.
-Next:
--Buy the recommended books listed below.
--Take the official practice GMAT.
-Finally:
--If you feel, you still need more practice, consider browsing the internet to find any free questions you can lay your hands on.
--Once again take the free official practice test before your real test.
Positives:
-Indisputably, one of the best GMAT books - if you want to know what types of questions can potentially pop up on the GMAT.
-Excellent source for practicing real test questions for all difficulty levels.
Negatives:
-No conceptual knowledge of any concept whatsoever.
-Answer explanations are fine, but not that methodical.
GMAT Books: If you are serious about getting a high score, I'd recommend doing the following:
-Buy the latest edition of OG.
-Buy Barron's book as this is one of the best all-in-one review book (except the CD).
-For Verbal Practice - consider Kaplan/PR Workbooks, and Dummies book.
-For Verbal Review - consider Kaplan/Arco, and Manhattan for SC.
-For Math Practice - consider Kaplan/PR Workbooks, or EZ GMAT Basic WB for medium-difficulty problems and Advanced WB for most-difficult problems.
-For Math Review - consider Kaplan/Nova if you need a basic refresher, or EZ GMAT Review Books if you want a more in-depth coverage of each and every math concept.
Of course, amazon is a great place to get all these books at one place and at the best price.
I am certain that if you follow the above steps, you'll be well prepared for the GMAT without the need to take any expensive prep course or private tutoring. I did a lot of struggle preparing for the GMAT and that's why I know how painful it can be if one doesn't have the right guidance.
I really hope that I was able to help at least some of you who are still trying to figure out the best approach to prepare for the GMAT.
Thanks for reading and good luck with your exam.
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Go with the original! Jun 8, 2009 (9 of 11 found this helpful)
Crammed for the GMAT in 4 weeks and got a decent score - 720. Disclaimer: these are my opinions and impressions of the study guides and CATs that I took. Other people may have different experiences.
Reviews on the study guides I used:
- Official Guide (OG):
5 stars. My advice is to go with the original. Other study guides strive to have a similar look/feel to the GMAT. The questions in the OG don't just have a similar look/feel, they have EXACTLY the same look/feel as the GMAT because they are written by the same people who administer the GMAT.
- Kaplan (Premier Program):
4 stars. Excellent math and verbal review, a lot of supporting online material. I bought this after finding out that the Barron's math review didn't cover some of the types of math problems that I encountered. I read that there were a lot of mistakes in the math section but I didn't see any issues that you couldn't easily decipher. I understand and agree that proof readers should catch these errors before publishing but for review and practice, it serves its purpose. Bonus for the amount of online support material that comes with the purchase of the book.
- Barron's:
2.5 stars. Decent overall study guide. I used it for the math review which covered about 95% of the math material I encountered in the GMAT. I didn't even glance at the verbal review sections based on other reviews I read prior to studying. The AWA tips are irrelevant, at best.
Reviews on the practice CATs that I took:
- Official GMAT practice CATs:
5 stars. These are what you should gauge your pace and performance on. There are no other tests that have the pace and feel of the original. The only problem is that you only have access to the two tests from MBA.com. The good thing is that you can take each one more than once and get mostly different questions the second time around.
- Kaplan's:
4 stars. This is the only test that came close in feel to the official practice CATs from MBA.com. However, the math section is still much faster than the real GMAT, for me at least. I finished the math section with over 10min to spare but was short on time on all practice and real GMAT CATs. My score was about 80pts lower than the average I was getting on the official CATs; I've read that Kaplan CATs typically score 100pts low. Unlike the official GMAT CATs, the Kaplan CATs give you the exact same questions the second time around. Not a big deal though because you have access to 5 CATs (4 on the CD-ROM and 1 online).
- Barron's:
2.5 stars. This CAT was awful. I made the mistake of taking this CAT first to determine my study plan. The math section is significantly easier than the real GMAT so don't trust your pace or score if you crush this.
- Princeton Review:
2 stars. Another awful CAT. The math section was also far too easy compared to the real GMAT. Math questions have a completely different feel to them. I spent 5 minutes on an accounting question that asked for the % of a fraction of a % of a portion of a % of a fraction; you will never get a question like this in the real GMAT, as far as my experience goes, at least. Same goes for verbal; some questions seemed to test my limerick skills rather than typical verbal questions.