Best Way to Prep for GMAT

I'm about to start studying/prepping for the GMAT and am hoping someone can share some advice with me.

Which books are best?

Should I take a course?

Any other useful tips to know before spending time and money that will help me get the best score possible?

Thanks a lot!

 

if you do a search, you can turn up some pretty good results.

people seem to have had good results with Manhattan GMAT prep.

I personally used real GMAT questions book and Barron's GMAT 2011 and did better than I expected. I found Barron's questions were tougher than the actual GMAT questions.

 

Go through the original guide first, the big orange gmat book. Great introduction to the questions.

Manhattan GMAT's sentence correction is a great resource. I'm not a big fan of their math books though.

For math, I really like jeff sackmann's "total gmat math." You can also buy a huge database of his questions online. A bit pricy, but they are a great resource. You can get like 1800 problems for around $150.

I've heard good things about grockit and gmat pill although i never used them. I was not a big fan of knewton, which does online course. Good for people trying to break 650 but not in-depth enough for those looking to crack 750.

 

I did self study using the Peterson's GMAT book the first time(which is absolute garbage by the way but I didn't know that at the time) and scored a 700. Wasn't happy with my 44Q though so I decided to retake. I got the Official Guide and GMAT 800 books. I also took the Kaplan GMAT Advanced Online course. The course gave a few tips I wouldn't have come up with on my own. Ultimately though it just gave structure and a huge set of practice problems and 9 practice CATs. I didn't take all of the CATs but did lots of practice problems on the areas I knew I needed help in. Brought my score up to a 750 with a 48Q 46V.

 
Best Response
  1. Download the GMAT Prep software from mba.com.
  2. Take the first official CAT as your diagnostic. This will give you your benchmark score and show you all your areas of weakness.
  3. Purchase the Manhattan GMAT complete set of 8 Strategy Guides, 5th Edition. Crush these one by one, five quant and three verbal.
  4. Register the code from one of your MGMAT books on their site and take one of their unofficial CATs.
  5. Focus on areas of weakness from that test, review your notes from the run-through of the full set of 8, and take another MGMAT test.
  6. Purchase the Official GMAT Review, 13th Edition. Crush literally every problem, there are over 1,000. These will be the most helpful, they are literally taken straight from old versions of the test and will be the most invaluable resource during this whole process.
  7. After crushing the entire OG13, take your second (last) official GMAT Prep CAT from mba.com. This score will provide you the score you will get if you sit for the exam the next day, accurate to within ~10-20 points.

At that point, you have exhausted just about every resource. If you have not broken 750 by this point, purchase the Official Guide to Quantitative Review and Official Guide to Verbal Review and go through them. They are like miniature versions of the OG13, and after completing them, you should retake your first official GMAT Prep CAT. You will see a few of the same questions, but your performance ought to be so drastically better that thanks to the adaptive software, you quickly progress past the questions you've seen to the hardest ones the software has.

I followed those steps and scored in the 99th percentile. Hope this helps.

I am permanently behind on PMs, it's not personal.
 
APAE:
1. Download the GMAT Prep software from mba.com. 2. Take the first official CAT as your diagnostic. This will give you your benchmark score and show you all your areas of weakness. 3. Purchase the Manhattan GMAT complete set of 8 Strategy Guides, 5th Edition. Crush these one by one, five quant and three verbal. 4. Register the code from one of your MGMAT books on their site and take one of their unofficial CATs. 5. Focus on areas of weakness from that test, review your notes from the run-through of the full set of 8, and take another MGMAT test. 6. Purchase the Official GMAT Review, 13th Edition. Crush literally every problem, there are over 1,000. These will be the most helpful, they are literally taken straight from old versions of the test and will be the most invaluable resource during this whole process. 7. After crushing the entire OG13, take your second (last) official GMAT Prep CAT from mba.com. This score will provide you the score you will get if you sit for the exam the next day, accurate to within ~10-20 points.

At that point, you have exhausted just about every resource. If you have not broken 750 by this point, purchase the Official Guide to Quantitative Review and Official Guide to Verbal Review and go through them. They are like miniature versions of the OG13, and after completing them, you should retake your first official GMAT Prep CAT. You will see a few of the same questions, but your performance ought to be so drastically better that thanks to the adaptive software, you quickly progress past the questions you've seen to the hardest ones the software has.

I followed those steps and scored in the 99th percentile. Hope this helps.

Thanks for the step by step. Will get on that soon.

 

Thanks for the mention, Brady4MVP.

As finance professionals, you might be interested in this GMAT question related to Apple's (AAPL) stock price:

http://www.gmatpill.com/gmat-practice-test/gmat-integrated-reasoning/gr…

Everyone has different learning styles. In general, we don't recommend using books besides the Official Guide. After all, the actual exam is in front of a computer. Even the new Official Guide questions for integrated reasoning are online in the form of a paid online question bank.

We believe less is more. The only 3 resources we recommend to our students are: 1) Official Guide to the GMAT (13th edition including IR question bank) 2) GMAT Prep software 3) GMAT Pill membership + access to Practice Pill Platform

We also recently released the first iPad app for GMAT that lets you download course videos directly onto your iPad so you can view videos on-the-go without internet. Take a look!

Hope that helps!

 

If you're a decent test taker, I don't think you need more than a month.

I think the reading comp and critical thinking are pretty low marginal value add for hours studied after an initial familiarization, so what I did was focus on the Sentence Correction (memorizing the various grammar rules) and the math (for which you need to be quick and accurate).

I took a GMAT-provided practice test at the very beginning on my studying, and then took a Manhattan practice test every few days and focused on understanding each question I missed. I then took the second GMAT practice test a couple days before and made sure I got some decent sleep. Ended up with a 99th percentile score, so it worked for me.

 

I like to leave a lot of time to prepare. It took me 3 months. If you're a native speaker and decent at math, you don't need more than 2-3 weeks to refresh yourself on the material. Another 2 months of practicing you'll be golden. I actually found taking 1-2 weeks off at the end helped everything sink in. Don't rush it, but you don't need 6 months.

 

You not being a native speaker can give you a semi-advantage for sentence correction, because you will look at it more as a formula than a sentence. That being said, you should be good at math for that. A true paradox.

If you're bad at both, realistically I'd say 3 months is plenty of time. Look into taking a class or tutor to keep you motivated. In my experience, a class gets you to the 650 level, then your hard work pushes above 700. Or a tutor so I hear.

 

I think you need to think about how much time you will be able to commit in the 1 month prior to the test. A busy student or junior analyst for example should spend at least 3 months preparing of at 3-5 hours per day, with more than this on the weekend. Most people I know have spent around 8 hours per day, for 1 month, and score into the 700s.

A good way for you to figure out how much time you need would be to try a practice test about 4 to 6 months before the GMAT. If you find the math part challenging, or another part, then over the next 1 to 2 months you could focus in on that. Then would you get to 3 months out you could start practising with tests.

The more you prepare the better you will likely score - up to a point though.

 

From the time I first started studying to when I actually took the test was 9 months. This is because I wanted absolutely zero rush or time pressure, I wanted to make sure I got a good score. I did take advantage of the no pressure thing though, I think at one point I went about 4-5 months without studying once. For the record, I got a 760.

I would say start as early as possible, but keep in mind that GMAT scores are good for 5 years. I would look at what year you want to apply, take 5 years away from that, and start studying as early as possible. If you feel comfortable that you'll get your score after 1 week of studying, awesome, go for it. If not, you've got plenty of time..

Rather than saying "I want to study for X months then take the GMAT" you should say "I want X score" and study until you feel confident you'll get that score. If you start early enough, timing won't be an issue.

 

MFFL has a fantastic comment. Give yourself tons of time and keep studying until you achieve the score you want. It is absolutely impossible to guess how much studying is appropriate. Each person is incredibly different. They are starting at different points and learning at different rates. The only way to be absolutely sure you get the score you want is start WAY in advance.

CompBanker’s Career Guidance Services: https://www.rossettiadvisors.com/
 

It also just depends on what type of person you are. For me, I needed to give myself a finite window (2.5 months or so), during which I would be forced to study a lot and hard to make sure I was ready. Of course, at the end, if I wasn't ready, I could always postpone, but having that deadline was key for me.

I mean, MFFL says he gave himself nine months, but took 4-5 months off. What's the point? Seems like the average is about 1-3 months, so know yourself, your skillset, and your bandwidth for studying, and figure out a plan.

The only thing to make sure of is that you have plenty of time to take the test twice before you even want to start applications. As long as you do that, and don't take it five years before you apply (MIT is actually now four years), you'll be fine.

 

I think it depends on your study habits. Because of work, I couldn't devote a long term plan and had to take 2 weeks "vacation abroad" right before my scheduled exam date to crunch. All I had were the official book and the 2 official tests (software). I suggest first thing in the morning to take an exam as if it were real, then crunch through the 1000+ questions front and back in the official book. I went through these questions twice over, and took the tests around 4 times each.

 

I'll tell you what worked very well for me and friends I helped study.

Start with your most frequent errors. Review that math section (e.g. rates, probability or whatever). Read and memorize every math concept and rule for that section. 1) Do the practice problems in the mgmat book. 2) Do all the associated math problems in the OG. 3) Write down all errors and incorporate those into a formula sheet that includes common catches/errors along with formulas and rules. If you have any questions after that, find other difficult math problems of that type until you hardly ever miss even the most advanced questions. Remember, the test is timed and will throw new twists at you so you have to be 100% fluent. When you get through 8-12 sections of math, take another timed test, and review those missed questions too. I recommend MGMAT CAT tests. Do about 6 of those before the real thing

It's ok to jump around from book to book, but don't leave a problem type unmastered before moving on. This is probably the number one reason people plateau at a lower score.

 
eja456:
It's ok to jump around from book to book, but don't leave a problem type unmastered before moving on. This is probably the number one reason people plateau at a lower score.

This!

I have sheet with all the equations and formulas if you need it.

I may not be on the Jedi Council, but I sure am great with the Force. See my WSO blog posts
 
eja456:
I'll tell you what worked very well for me and friends I helped study.

Start with your most frequent errors. Review that math section (e.g. rates, probability or whatever). Read and memorize every math concept and rule for that section. 1) Do the practice problems in the mgmat book. 2) Do all the associated math problems in the OG. 3) Write down all errors and incorporate those into a formula sheet that includes common catches/errors along with formulas and rules. If you have any questions after that, find other difficult math problems of that type until you hardly ever miss even the most advanced questions. Remember, the test is timed and will throw new twists at you so you have to be 100% fluent. When you get through 8-12 sections of math, take another timed test, and review those missed questions too. I recommend MGMAT CAT tests. Do about 6 of those before the real thing

It's ok to jump around from book to book, but don't leave a problem type unmastered before moving on. This is probably the number one reason people plateau at a lower score.

I'm not TOO worried about the quant section, but rather more worried about the verbal section. Any suggestions on how I could improve SC/CR/RC?

 

Still start with the area you are missing the most questions.

No matter what though, make sure you learn all types of SC /grammar rules from the guide. Also practice those according to topic.

SC are easiest to study for so get all of those right. I think that MGMAT overcomplicates SC/CR so if you need more tips down the line, pm me and I'll help you. My friends improved around 10-15 raw points (some were not native english speakers) from my specific suggestions for those two sections. I know that's a big improvement, but that's how important it is to be approaching the sections effectively.

 

So I just did the official practice test, got 13 wrong in verbal 10 of them in SC. Is it possible to improve substantially before my test in 2 days? eja456, can I know what tips did you give your friends?

Also, 11 of the 14 I got wrong in quant was in Data Sufficiency. Any tips on tackling these right?

 

i had trouble with data sufficiency as well and the secret to me for cracking them was do as many as you can until you're comfortable with them. Like many others said they should become substantially easier than PS because you can narrow choices down and do much less calculating..

For SC i hear the manhattan guide is good but I got a guide off of gmatclub or beatthegmat (cant remember which) by someone named slingfox who summarized all the rules from the guide. Just search his name and you'll find it

 

what type of SC questions were they? There's usually a primary error and then a secondary. If you're having trouble with idioms, there will most likely be a secondary error that you can hone in on.

DS. When I was practicing, I basically asked myself if I could say "yes" or "no" to the question. If so then either/both are sufficient. If you get "neither is sufficient" then double-check your work b/c it usually (but maybe) isn't the anwer.

 

So, I was able to send the documents to those who gave me their emails. For some reason I cannot attach anything through the PM attachment option, it keeps giving me an error, although I reduced size files.

Anyway, I am sending the most common formula cheat sheet, an amazing set of printable flashcards that helped me a lot and a scribadoole PDF by someone on their final review night before the test. His doodles are of course hand written so it helped me lock the memory of what formulas look like and what angles sit where in shapes stuffed inside circles. I do not know the dude, but I send him virtual thanks almost every day.

If you want the files, please send me your email and I am more than happy to send.

I may not be on the Jedi Council, but I sure am great with the Force. See my WSO blog posts
 
Disincentivy:
So, I was able to send the documents to those who gave me their emails. For some reason I cannot attach anything through the PM attachment option, it keeps giving me an error, although I reduced size files.

Anyway, I am sending the most common formula cheat sheet, an amazing set of printable flashcards that helped me a lot and a scribadoole PDF by someone on their final review night before the test. His doodles are of course hand written so it helped me lock the memory of what formulas look like and what angles sit where in shapes stuffed inside circles. I do not know the dude, but I send him virtual thanks almost every day.

If you want the files, please send me your email and I am more than happy to send.

Hey, could you please send me the material too? I know this is an old post, but I would really appreciate it if you could send me any study material you still have, thanks!

 

Coming from someone who scored a 700.

My verbal was relatively good on my first attempt (39) but I noticed that my SC was my biggest weakness. I did not find that the Manhattan guide explained SC very well.

Next attempt I stumbled across a website called GMATpill. Bumped my SC up 2 points to a 41, doesnt seem like a big jump but its over 15% percentile difference. The website really doesnt teach you much about actual grammar but teaches you how to notice patterns in the SC that you can easily spot and select the right answer. Also has a million practice problems. It cost me only like 90 bucks or so. Definitely worth it for me.

"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts." - Bertrand Russell
 
iambateman:
the official guides (green, purple, orange) and mgmat sentence correction

Manhattan GMAT, hands down. If you take one of their classes, you get their 8 books + the official guides.

I took the GMAT earlier this week and scored in the mid 700's. Not too bad :)

 

iambateman, how do the Manhattan GMAT books compare to the Princeton Review guide? I was rocking the SC questions in the OG, but after doing the most difficult verbal questions in the PR guide, I realized that I needed more pointers. PR's SC review is pretty solid. Would you recommend the MGMAT RC guide? RC's my weak point as of now. I might just get it solely for the 6 free practice exams.

nygiants, I second iambateman's advice. Get the OG guides (orange, green, and purple) solely for the practice questions. Don't rely on them for test-taking strategies. If you find yourself scoring in the low 600s on the OG's practice exams, purchase a guide that helps you with test-taking strategies, such as those from Princeton Review or Manhattan GMAT.

I've heard mixed reviews on the Kaplan guide, with a slight majority saying that the questions don't really resemble what you'll find on the GMAT, that the strategies and advice are weird, and that there are lots of typos and errors. I've also heard that the Kaplan practice tests are extremely difficult for the purpose of goading you into enrolling in their course for additional help. No direct experience with Kaplan, but that's what I've heard.

 

In terms of what materials to buy, get anything and everything with Princeton Review or Kaplan on it, from my experience those are the only brand names you can trust with certainty. I dont think its worth taking a class, unless you have money to burn or you learn well when a lecturer basically recites information already written in their books.

Also, you can buy official GMAT tests, and of course use the GMAT online test prep software.

I got a 740 using only these 3 sources (PR, Kaplan, official GMAT) for what thats worth.

 

Um, I haven't heard too much about PR/Kaplan - I would suggest starting with a GMATPrep (free download from MBA.com) practice test, find your weak spots and then use Manhattan GMAT (MGMAT) materials to work on those weaknesses. Official GMAT is also valuable. Generally though, MGMAT is regarded as the "gold standard" in GMAT Prep. Kaplan's tests are too hard, but in an unrealistic way (from what I'm told, didn't use them).

Personally, I used GMATPrep/Official GMAT/some MGMAT resources (their CAT and a couple books) and got a 770.

 

actually, ive found manhattan gmat to be much more useful in reaching the higher end of the scoring spectrum. they do a great job of integrating it with the official gmat questions, they have SUBSTANTIALLY fewer typos and mistakes in the books (i dont think kaplan knows what proofreading is), the tutors are better trained and more qualified, and they have 6 very useful practice CAT GMATs

 

stk is right. any guide besides the official one either hurts you by wasting your time or is not very useful. i just wanted to get two perspectives on the test, but kaplan did not add much value to my studying.

 

Kaplan may have not worked for jnr, but it certainly worked well for me; I would definitely suggest Kaplan Premier Live Online 2010. It's a book that comes with an online companion (6 practice tests very similar to the real thing, numerous quizzes, in-depth reviews, etc.).

 

TheSunKing,

Not sure if you've already got all your study materials sorted out but I'd recommend having a look at this website http://www.businessbecause.com/schools/the-700-gmat-guide.htm. It contains several articles aboutGMAT Guides to success and real-life experiences of individuals who have written it and done well! Some useful materials are:

Manhattan GMAT (Sentence Correction, Reading Comp, all math) GMAT - Verbal Extra Practice (Green) GMAT - Quant Extra Practice (Purple) Original Guide 11th Edition CR Powerscore Bible Manhattan GMAT - Free Test (1 other free test...PR would do) 1 x easy/cheap GMAT book you can find (Barrons, Kaplan's, PR, etc)

Hope this helps!

 

i did the vertias online thing. set me back $800, but its got videos and books for all different types of questions, in addition to the normal GMAT book with all questions together. helped me kill it. 760. well worth the money

 

I have used all 3 of the OG guides as well as the princeton review, etc. I found the OG guides to be good for sample questions, etc. Do a torrent search as most of the books are available online.

How hard is it to break the 700+ barrier. Depends on the individuals. The test is adaptive so as you get the questions correct they will increase in difficulty. That being said they are all basic mathematical concepts you learn in high school. I think the best tip is do practice tests so you develop a smooth pace for answering questions. Manage time properly and learn how to take the test. The questions are asked in a GMAT specific way.

 

I have heard ok things about the courses. I met a Kaplan tutor and she was very smart and helpful. I would get the books, do a bunch of practice tests so you can identify your weak areas and then see if you can get a tutor for a little bit. Probably the most helpful.

 

I used the Kaplan basic prep + CD book. Found it to be very thorough and harder than the acual test, which was useful. Kaplan + one or both of the official GMAC prep books should be about all you need if you run through all content at least once.

 

Just don't take a class. I actually did take a class (Manhattan GMAT Live Online class for $1k), but it proved to be pretty useless after a few weeks because it moved so slowly. Buy all the Manhattan books if you need detailed review of Quant topics (I did), the Official Guide, and search on GMAT Club for a good study plan. There are plenty floating around. You can probably buy all those books used for like, $100.

The GMAT is really just about two big things: 1) learning how to take the test (timing, Data Sufficiency, etc.) and 2) overcoming your weaknesses. Therefore, you really need to study the concepts underlying your weak areas a ton, and you need to take a bunch of practice tests to understand the timing and flow of the actual test.

Look on GMAT Club. There are a ton of resources on there for people looking for a structured approach to taking the GMAT.

 

^ Agreed. Also will give you a solid baseline for how much work you have to do. If you score a 700 on the first CAT, you're probably going to want to do a relatively accelerated study plan to focus on a few areas of weakness/test taking skills. If you score a 580 (not that uncommon if you've never seen the test before), you probably will need a bit more of a comprehensive approach.

 

Is there somewhere online I can take a free diagnostic test so I can have it graded and timed so I know where I should start focusing or should I just take it out of the back of the book? I already have a Kaplan study book

 

http://www.manhattangmat.com/free-gmat.cfm

Manhattan's CATs are a bit harder (I think) than the real thing, but tend to give a very accurate score prediction. You can also do one of the two Official GMAT Prep tests, which are real GMAT questions from the actual test company, but I personally would save those for later. They're valuable tools for studying later.

 

Also, I would like to have everyone's input on the best way to study for it. I plan on taking a practice test to see where I stand and go from there. Any other ideas/tips/suggestions?

 
jajaja:
Also add your IQ score if you have it (but only if Mensa-certified), and Myers-briggs type.

oh, and try to get into toastmasters and put that on your resume too...

Do employers prefer if we put M-Briggs type on our resume?

Also, is toastmasters really that recommended. I am in my senior year and I was thinking of joining that club.

 
parttimephilosopher:
I am ESTJ by the way.
As am I; more borderline on the E and a very strong T. The test was actually one of the first things we did at B-school.

Some interesting numbers from Kroeger's Type Talk at Work:

Executives: 32.1% ISTJ 28.0% ESTJ 15.8% INTJ 9.4% ENTJ 5.3% ENTP Remaining less than 5% each

Entry Level: 19% ISTJ 16% ESTJ 9% ISFP 8% ISFJ 8% ISTP 8% ESFJ 5% INFP 5% ESTP 5% ESFP 5% ENFP Remaining less than 5% each

So I guess this bodes well for us.

 

forgot to add these to my list: astrological sign, blood type (especially if you plan on applying in Asia), weight, height, benchpresses, 40 yard time (particularly important for IB, as they want to be sure you are physically fit for the job)

I heard also (didn't know about it myself back when I was interviewing...) that it helps if you can bring your mother (bonus points if she is jewish/chinese) and girlfriend (in the unlikely event you have one) with you to the interview. Signals that your whole family and intimate circle supports you in your career choice. Banks value that

 
buysideanalyst:
I'm not entirely in agreement with the distinction between T and F. I think someone could have both traits equally expressed.
Indeed. The test does allow for that distinction. Each letter has a number assigned to it; and thus the "strength" of your preference is based on the relative difference between the two. For example my scores:

E14 I7 S14 N12 T19 F5 J14 P8

Thus I have a huge preference for Thinking versus Feeling; but my propensity for Sensing is only slight compared to Intuiting.

 

I realize what you are saying and noted the same thing. However, I think that in the way the test is used you are classified as either black or white. Anyway, not interested in tearing the test apart and making a scientific argument, but that's my two cents.

---------------- Account Inactive
 

lol already did the search but thx for doing it again for me fez ;) (there I thanked you)

Thanks Pike, I guess I wasn't clear enough, I'm trying to find the best prep program. I've seen ads for this and am considering getting either this or the Manhattan/Veritas study guides as a supplement to classes.

But before I do, I'd love to hear any feedback other people may have had with these programs? I hear Kaplan and Princeton aren't worth it since they just teach you tricks and not to actually solve the problems.

 

Hi Pike,

Thanks for the mention. We're glad we were able to help your friend. Would you be able to let us know his/her name? We'd like to thank them and offer him/her a chance to write a review on a third party site and earn a $25 Amazon giftcard.

We don't advertise heavily the way other programs do but are glad to see good words floating around.

Here's a student who got a GMAT Score from 650 to 760 + 25 minutes left on the exam

Enjoy!

 

FWIW I did the self-study Kaplan on-line course. I would only recommend it if you are in a bind for time as you can speed through it pretty quickly. You also get a LOT (I think 9) practice tests that follow the exact format. The lessons are not very good though and almost all the value was in the practice test/explanations. Kaplan spent far too much time spent re-hashing high school math concepts that most people already know, and not teaching good strategy to solve problems quickly.

All that said, I raised my score 60 pts from my first practice to my final test, so I guess it worked.*

*DISCLAIMER - I have a sneaking suspicion Kaplan scores their practices conservatively so they can live up to their higher score guarantee. I never scored within 30 points of my actual test socre on any of their practices.

 

Does anyone have experience with the Veritas Prep package? I see a lot of people writing that is very good, but no real information about how it stacks up against other programs.

Still considering taking a program or just going through the books myself. I consider myself primarily a self-studier/independent but really can't fck this up.

 

I've actually been using Manhattan GMAT books to self study. It's pretty darn good so far.

"When I was young I thought that money was the most important thing in life; now that I am old I know that it is." - Oscar Wilde "Seriously, psychology is for those with two x chromosomes." - RagnarDanneskjold
 

I think the single best verbal book has to be the CR Bible. It totally changed my approach to CR and made my practice problem success rate go up from 70% to about 95%. The CR Bible breaks down the CR questions into 3 major categories and 10 or 12 (I cant remember anymore) subcategories. Once you recognize the patterns, you will see right through the wrong answers and select the right one.

 
wannabeaballer:
I think the single best verbal book has to be the CR Bible. It totally changed my approach to CR and made my practice problem success rate go up from 70% to about 95%. The CR Bible breaks down the CR questions into 3 major categories and 10 or 12 (I cant remember anymore) subcategories. Once you recognize the patterns, you will see right through the wrong answers and select the right one.
I can also vouch for PowerScore's materials. I actually only skimmed their GMAT materials, but I used them extensively for LSAT prep, and the guys there know how to break down strategies like no other. A bit hefty on the price but worth it.
Currently: future neurologist, current psychotherapist Previously: investor relations (top consulting firm), M&A consulting (Big 4), M&A banking (MM)
 

Is it just me , or are a lot of the Critical Reasoning Questions on the Kaplan Quizzes just really unclear and badly written. I'm switching to Manhattan GMAT.

The CR bible from PowerScore is awesome.

 
<span class=keyword_link><a href=/company/goldman-sachs><abbr title=Goldman Sachs>GS</abbr></a></span>:
Is it just me , or are a lot of the Critical Reasoning Questions on the Kaplan Quizzes just really unclear and badly written. I'm switching to Manhattan GMAT.

The CR bible from PowerScore is awesome.

Kaplan and Princeton review are both horrendous.

For sentence correction the manhattan gmat guide is the bible. CR bible from powerscore is apparently good, but i haven't used it yet.

For math, jeff sackmann's material on gmathacks. Very thorough analysis of the various topics, lot of tough questions to practice with.

The GMAT is now more important than ever before, moreso than essays and second behind work experience.

 

Manhattan is the way to go. Just make sure you buy with plenty of time before you actually take the test. The verbal material can be difficult to take in within a very short amount of time. Supplement Manhattan with the Official GMAT guides (The green, blue, and red books, although there is some overlap).

Brady is right. Don't even open a page of Kaplan and Princeton review books. You could get that info in a 4th grade grammar class, so don't bother. Manhattan has real strategies that really change the way you test.

Finally, nothing beats practice tests. The test is more just a brainmelter more than anything. When you think you did well, you did horrible, and if you thought you did awful, you probably crushed it. Get used to the feeling of being completely defeated by taking 8-10 practice Computer Adaptive Tests online. Manhattan alone gives you 6, MBA.com gives you 2 more, and you can dig up 2-3 more between free Kaplan and Princeton review CATs. Good luck to you.

 

Those Manhattan GMAT practice exams really help. I used Princeton Review to get a feel for the test layout, then Kaplan GMAT 800 to get used to really hard questions, took 6 GMAT exams from Manhattan GMAT, 2 from GMAT Prep, and then OG 11. I went from a 480 to a 640 to a 720. The time I got a 480 I didn't study for it and I didn't finish all the questions--they really ding you for that.

 

OG 11, OG verbal, OG math Manhattan GMAT’s Preparation Guide series (7 or 9 books, $200) Should be more than enough for you. Sure those $200 might seem like a lot, but think about it. Higher GMAT score might (I said might, not will) get you into better b-school.

I find officials guides to be pretty easy. I've read somewhere that if you keep getting correct answers, questions will get harder and harder. If you aim for GMAT > 700, you'll end up getting hardcore questions and those OG don't cover them well. I've seen a couple of hard math questions and it took me like 10 minutes to solve each one of them out (math major).

That's why www.beatthegmat.com is great for preparing for those hard questions.

As far as Manhattan GMAT’s Preparation Guide, I haven't started it yet, but I've heard questions are harder than from OG and a lot of people recommend that series.

Good luck on GMAT, I am taking mine at the end of May.

 

I agree with all the advice above. If you can't afford classes or a private tutor, then self-study using the materials above will probably deliver the most improvement. Make sure you have the TIMING down. dont underestimate that part.

Shameless Plug: I am actually in the process of launching a WallStreetOasis 1-on-1 tutoring business for the GMAT here: //www.wallstreetoasis.com/page/one-on-one-gmat-prep

Right now we are still recruiting tutors so we are only based in New York, but we plan to make our official "launch" across the country in late March once we can cover other cities. Our goal it to bring students elite tutors (only hire tutors that scored in the 99% percentile) for less than the other programs. So if you guys know anybody that scored a 99th Percentile and has tutoring experience please have them e-mail WallStreetOasis.com>[email protected].

Good luck! Patrick


Please help us get to 20,000 members by March 31st and win a free WSO shirt! http://www.printfection.com/wso-store //www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/march-to-20000-members-t-shirt-contest Invite People Here: //www.wallstreetoasis.com/invite

 

Would recommend buying 2-3 different guides and then just cranking through them. For me, it was just about doing hundreds of questions to figure out what the test was looking for. The end result: 760.

 

i didnt take any courses

i got princeton review cracking the gmat for the basics

used the official guide for quant review and for verbal review(2 seperate books, 1 green, 1 purple)

also got gmat 800 for practice on some really tough questions

i did fairly well and an additional site that could help is www.urch.com/forums/gmat

 

Manhattan GMAT is the most expensive and requires the most hours, but it is certainly the most effective. Attend an info session at least.

You are looking at putting in 15-20 hours a week with the course though.

-------------- Either you sling crack rock or you got a wicked jump shot
 

Take a GMAC practice test for a baseline score. Then crush through the MGMAT books to learn the concepts. Take a couple of MGMAT practice tests during the process. I found the advanced quant book to be helpful.

After this stage, use the official guide for more representative practice problems. They have a guide and also an extra verbal and quant practice problems book. While going through these books, take a couple more MGMAT tests (they have 6 in total).

A few days before the real test, take the second and last GMAC practice test. Wrap up any loose ends and review the IR and essay portions.

Good luck!

 

I thought the Princeton reviews were ok, not great, just ok. Don't think it made much of a difference to be honest.

At the time, when I was preparing for the GMAT I felt that I needed the discipline of a classroom to force me into reading, studying, doing practice tests.

In retrospect, I think I could have faired pretty well on my own and saved $1,200!

 

I used the official prep book and found it useful in giving me a refresher on a couple items. I would also recommend you download the official prep software and take their practice exams.

 

Barron's motto is to prep you for material much harder than what will be tested. This makes studying take a lot longer and not worth it unless you have a lot of time to devote to it. If you prefer this method then I would recommend checking them out as well, but when you're working probably not the book to pick up as a quick refresher.

 

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