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 Post subject: Best GMAT Math Prep Books (Reviews & Recommendations) [#permalink]
PostPosted: Thu Apr 23, 2009 10:29 am 
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Top Best GMAT Quantitative Books

This post is a part of a series on best GMAT Books. Also see:
Best GMAT Guidebooks
Best GMAT Verbal Prep Books
GMAT Fiction - improve reading skills on GMAT
Top 20 Best GMAT books - ranked by GMAT Club members



Common Book Combinations and Recommendatios
1. Need to figure out your weaknesses in GMAT math? Take a GMATPrep test or GMAT Club's free gmat diagnostic test
2. Rusty with Math or want to be very methodical - start with basics: Manhattan GMAT Foundations of GMAT Math
3. OK with Math but need a good review in a short amount of time: Kaplan Math Workbook + MGMAT Number Properties + MGMAT Word Translations
4. Need highest score and have time: MGMAT Guides + GMAT Club tests
5. Need specific question practice: PR 1012 (has some errors/typos), Quant OG, or use gmat club tags
6. Probability and Combinations review: combinations-permutations-and-probability-references-56486.html and MGMAT Word Translations


Book Bundles and Study Plans at a Glance
Standard PlanAdvanced PlanUltimate PlanBeyond Hardcore Plan
General Strategy Books
Explain how GMAT works, provide general principles and strategies, give an idea about weaknesses, provide practice tests
Kaplan Live Online
+ comes with 6 practice tests
Kaplan Live Online
+ comes with 6 practice tests
Kaplan GMAT Advanced
- Poor guidebook, more of a question collection
Kaplan Live Online
+ comes with 6 practice tests
Kaplan GMAT Advanced
- Poor guidebook, more of a question collection
GMAT Test Simulation Booklet
+ Great for practice
Kaplan Live Online
+ comes with 6 practice tests
Kaplan GMAT Advanced
- Poor guidebook, more of a question collection
GMAT Test Simulation Booklet
+ Great for practice
Quant Books
Refresh math principles, fill gaps, and learn patterns
Kaplan Math Workbook
- missing probability and combinations
Kaplan Math Workbook
- missing probability and combinations
MGMAT Number Properties
5 Quant MGMAT Guides
MGMAT Math Foundations
5 Quant MGMAT Guides
MGMAT Math Foundations
Probability and Combinations for Dummies
Verbal Books
Refresh grammar rules, aquire CR and RC strategies
Kaplan Verbal Workbook
OR: PowerScore Verbal Bible
CR: PowerScore CR or MGMAT CR
RC: MGMAT RC
SC: PowerScore SC or MGMAT SC
CR: PowerScore CR or MGMAT CR
RC: MGMAT RC
SC: PowerScore SC or MGMAT SC
SC: Kaplan Verbal Foundations
CR: PowerScore CR or MGMAT CR
CR: LSAT Critical Reasoning
RC: MGMAT RC
RC: LSAT Reading Comprehension
SC: PowerScore SC or MGMAT SC
SC: Doing Grammar
Practice Questions
Additional practice
Official Guide 12th
+ 900 retired real GMAT questions
Official Guide 12th
+ 900 retired real GMAT questions
Verbal Official Guide
+ 300 retired verbal GMAT questions
Quant Official Guide
+ 300 retired quant GMAT questions
Official Guide 12th
+ 900 retired real GMAT questions
Verbal Official Guide
+ 300 retired verbal GMAT questions
Quant Official Guide
+ 300 retired quant GMAT questions
Princeton Review 1012
+ Great target practice
Official Guide 12th
+ 900 retired real GMAT questions
Verbal Official Guide
+ 300 retired verbal GMAT questions
Quant Official Guide
+ 300 retired quant GMAT questions
Princeton Review 1012
+ Great target practice
Paper GMAT Tests
+ Official Retired tests available from GMAC
Tests
Simulated Practice GMAT tests
GMATPrep, Kaplan, Free testsGMATprep, Kaplan, MGMAT, some GMATClub testsGMATprep, PowerPrep, GMAT Focus, Kaplan, MGMAT, GMATClub testsGMATprep, PowerPrep, GMAT Focus, Kaplan, MGMAT, PR, GMATClub tests


1. GMAT Math Books
1.1. Official Guide for GMAT Quantitative Review
Excellent for additional math practice questions, but don't expect to find any strategies or math lessons here.
Strengths:
1. 300 real GMAT questions
2. Real GMAT questions retired from past tests
3. The practice questions are organized by level of difficulty
4. The practice questions follow actual GMAT test patterns - great to have one's ear trained.
Weaknesses:
1. The book does not contain any strategies
2. It does have a few short review sections but they are very weak
3. Mostly low and medium difficulty questions. Not very helpful to a person aiming to get above 700.





1.2 Manhattan GMAT (MGMAT) Guides
Recommended for best results if you have the time.
Strengths:
1. Good balance between test taking strategies and background theory explanations
2. Single-topic focus of each guide allows the student to purchase only those guides that pertain to his/her weaknesses
3. Covered concepts are illustrated with examples that are conveniently assigned to either PS or DS section.
4. Access to 6 Online CAT's (same for each book)
5. Additional online practice question banks (different for each book)
Weaknesses:
1. Time and Money
2. Books themselves do not contain many practice questions (though online and OG 12 references more than compensate)
Notes: most often recommended guide is the Manhattan GMAT Number properties and MGMAT Word Translations




1.3 Kaplan GMAT Math Workbook
A solid supplement to the Official Guide
Strengths:
1. Fairly comprehensive review of the basic math concepts needed for the GMAT
2. Structure of the book allows you to work from start to finish, building on previous skills learned
3. Sections devoted to Word problem and Data Sufficiency questions
Weaknesses:
1. Statistics, Combinations/Permutations and Probability are not covered
2. Questions do not reflect GMAT questions, but rather are designed to insure that the material is mastered
Notes: Recommended/most interesting problem compilation from Kaplan Math Workbook
Faster than going through the math MGMAT Guides, but also not as thorough




MGMAT

1.4 Manhattan GMAT Word Translations Guide - added 11/11/09
Contains material on Combinations and Probability
Strengths:
1. Coverage of combinations and probability
2. Coverage of Statistics and Overlapping sets problems
3. Comes with 6 MGMAT tests
Weaknesses:
1. As with all MGMAT Guides, lacks practice questions and relies on the Official Guide for additional practice. If you have covered the OG, you may have to look elsewhere for practice, such as GMAT Club's free collection of probability questions: combinations-permutations-and-probability-references-56486.html
Attachment:
wordtranslations.png
wordtranslations.png [ 24.83 KiB | Viewed 29028 times ]






1.5 Manhattan GMAT Foundations of GMAT Math - Added 2/5/2010
Great for refreshing math concepts and building confidence in math
Strengths:
1. Works well with other MGMAT books (structured in a similar way)
2. Best book for brushing up on long forgotten math concepts (fractions, powers, etc)
3. Comes with additional online practice questions
Weaknesses:
1. The book has 400 practice questions but they are not in a GMAT format, rather a math-textbook format
2. Long! 300 full-size pages - I think the expectation is that you skip parts that you know
3. No access to MGMAT tests that usually are included with all of the other 8 guides
Notes: recommended instead of the Kaplan Math Foundations







2. Interesting Second Tier Books

2.1 Math Review For Standardized Tests (Cliffs Test Prep)
Great Mathematics fundamentals review book.Strengths:
1. Great for a zero-knowledge start or for those who did not deal with maths problems for a long time.
2. Simple,straightforward and relevant
3. Extremely low price
4. 5 Stars on Amazon
Weaknesses:
1. Technically not a GMAT-dedicated book
2. Lacks some of the more advanced areas





2.2 The Ultimate Math Refresher for the GRE, GMAT, and SAT
Good Mathematics refresherStrengths:
1. Good book for starting from scratch.
Weaknesses:
1. Many people have found this book too basic.
2. Lack of good strategies.






2.3 Princeton Review Math Workout for the GMAT
Not a solid performer, even when it came out in 2005
Strengths:
1. Could be a good supplement if you need to master some of the more basic math areas
2. Contains 220 GMAT math questions
3. Price
Weaknesses:
1. Statistics, Combinations/Permutations and Probability are not covered
2. Tricks are emphasized above fundamentals
3. Not suitable for solid math performers
4. 2nd edition, published in June 2005 - long overdue for an update and hopefully will use a better paper grade






2.4 Kaplan Math Foundations - added 7/25/2009
Good coverage of Math Basics but numerous errors wipe out value; lacks difficult questions. Use the Foundations of GMAT Math instead
Strengths:
1. Methodical - starts with very basics of number properties and how to add/multiply large numbers
2. Good coverage of topics and well organized though a bit strange with equations as the last chapter
3. Covers adequately probability and statistics, coordinate geometry in great detail
4. No overlap with other Kaplan GMAT Books
Weaknesses:
1. A significant number of errors in questions and explanations
2. One-step questions only - nothing hard
3. No index and no single place for formula reference
Attachment:
kaplanmathfoundations.png
kaplanmathfoundations.png [ 46.86 KiB | Viewed 30079 times ]




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Last edited by bb on Mon Feb 15, 2010 4:06 pm, edited 28 times in total.
Added MGMAT Foundations of GMAT math


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 Post subject: Re: Best GMAT Math Prep Books (Reviews & Recommendations) [#permalink]
PostPosted: Tue May 05, 2009 12:31 pm 
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Book Bundles and Study Plans at a Glance
Standard PlanAdvanced PlanUltimate PlanBeyond Hardcore Plan
General Strategy Books
Explain how GMAT works, provide general principles and strategies, give an idea about weaknesses, provide practice tests
Kaplan Live Online
+ comes with 6 practice tests
Kaplan Live Online
+ comes with 6 practice tests
Kaplan GMAT Advanced
- Poor guidebook, more of a question collection
Kaplan Live Online
+ comes with 6 practice tests
Kaplan GMAT Advanced
- Poor guidebook, more of a question collection
GMAT Test Simulation Booklet
+ Great for practice
Kaplan Live Online
+ comes with 6 practice tests
Kaplan GMAT Advanced
- Poor guidebook, more of a question collection
GMAT Test Simulation Booklet
+ Great for practice
Quant Books
Refresh math principles, fill gaps, and learn patterns
Kaplan Math Workbook
- missing probability and combinations
Kaplan Math Workbook
- missing probability and combinations
MGMAT Number Properties
5 Quant MGMAT Guides
MGMAT Math Foundations
5 Quant MGMAT Guides
MGMAT Math Foundations
Probability and Combinations for Dummies
Verbal Books
Refresh grammar rules, aquire CR and RC strategies
Kaplan Verbal Workbook
OR: PowerScore Verbal Bible
CR: PowerScore CR or MGMAT CR
RC: MGMAT RC
SC: PowerScore SC or MGMAT SC
CR: PowerScore CR or MGMAT CR
RC: MGMAT RC
SC: PowerScore SC or MGMAT SC
SC: Kaplan Verbal Foundations
CR: PowerScore CR or MGMAT CR
CR: LSAT Critical Reasoning
RC: MGMAT RC
RC: LSAT Reading Comprehension
SC: PowerScore SC or MGMAT SC
SC: Doing Grammar
Practice Questions
Additional practice
Official Guide 12th
+ 900 retired real GMAT questions
Official Guide 12th
+ 900 retired real GMAT questions
Verbal Official Guide
+ 300 retired verbal GMAT questions
Quant Official Guide
+ 300 retired quant GMAT questions
Official Guide 12th
+ 900 retired real GMAT questions
Verbal Official Guide
+ 300 retired verbal GMAT questions
Quant Official Guide
+ 300 retired quant GMAT questions
Princeton Review 1012
+ Great target practice
Official Guide 12th
+ 900 retired real GMAT questions
Verbal Official Guide
+ 300 retired verbal GMAT questions
Quant Official Guide
+ 300 retired quant GMAT questions
Princeton Review 1012
+ Great target practice
Paper GMAT Tests
+ Official Retired tests available from GMAC
Tests
Simulated Practice GMAT tests
GMATPrep, Kaplan, Free testsGMATprep, Kaplan, MGMAT, some GMATClub testsGMATprep, PowerPrep, GMAT Focus, Kaplan, MGMAT, GMATClub testsGMATprep, PowerPrep, GMAT Focus, Kaplan, MGMAT, PR, GMATClub tests

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 Post subject: Re: Best GMAT Math Prep Books (Reviews & Recommendations) [#permalink]
PostPosted: Tue May 05, 2009 1:28 pm 
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I have one more book which has not been listed here in this section. It is McGraw Hill Book, I really found the book useful


Strengths:
1. Lot of word problems which are usually difficult to solve
2. Focuses on Maths basics with clear strategies foir each type of problems
3. Works well with the OG side with more detail on each topic


Weaknesses:
1. Does not cover complex topics like Permutation, Prob. etc


Last edited by bb on Tue May 05, 2009 1:53 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Added Link


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 Post subject: Re: Best GMAT Math Prep Books (Reviews & Recommendations) [#permalink]
PostPosted: Thu May 28, 2009 3:58 am 
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Hi Guys,

I am very new to GMAT Club just have been following it for the last couple of weeks. I have started my GMAT preparation around 1.5 weeks back (wasn't much in touch with these types of quant or verbal qs in the last 4-5 years)....to comment on the Mcgraw book, that was the 1st one I got from a friend and started with it......with absolutely no pratice, I found the questions pretty easy, I could finish all the quant (taking less than 2 mins per qs on an average) and verbal qs (taking a few secs more than 2 mins/qs on average) with fairly good accuracy......thus I feel
1> the qs standards are not up to the mark at all
2> the reviews are not very detailed in some specific topics like permu-combi, probability etc.
Then I got the OG12 this week and found the 1st 5 diagnostic tests (in the begining of the book) much different from what I saw in McGraw. I am planning to get Kaplan and some of Manhattan next week, I am happy that I did not spend much time on the McGraw one and then find out it's flaws nearer to the test date.

Cheers,
PC


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 Post subject: Re: Best GMAT Math Prep Books (Reviews & Recommendations) [#permalink]
PostPosted: Fri Jun 19, 2009 5:41 pm 
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Has anyone tried the EZ Solutions - Test Prep Series books? I was on Amazon and they came out as suggested books but I dont know...


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 Post subject: Re: Best GMAT Math Prep Books (Reviews & Recommendations) [#permalink]
PostPosted: Fri Jun 19, 2009 6:46 pm 
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gmatoverduegirl wrote:
Has anyone tried the EZ Solutions - Test Prep Series books? I was on Amazon and they came out as suggested books but I dont know...


Hi. and welcome to GMAT Club forum. It's always great to see new people.
Answering your question on E-Z Solutions. You can look though this thread gmat-books-ez-solutions-thoughts-76791.html
But I'll sum it up for you. Apparently this company has its employees writing fake reviews on amazon and other web-sites. There was an attempt to do so on gmatclub site also. Since we find such a way of doing business not only inappropriate but also highly unethical, we removed our review on E-Z books from Best GMAT Math Prep Books thread.

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 Post subject: Re: Best GMAT Math Prep Books (Reviews & Recommendations) [#permalink]
PostPosted: Tue Jun 23, 2009 7:19 am 
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Project GMAT isn't available on Amazon. Has the book been discontinued? Is there another place to purchase it?


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 Post subject: Re: Best GMAT Math Prep Books (Reviews & Recommendations) [#permalink]
PostPosted: Tue Jun 23, 2009 11:43 pm 
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sjtoby23 wrote:
Project GMAT isn't available on Amazon. Has the book been discontinued? Is there another place to purchase it?


It's been out of stock for a few weeks - not sure if another edition or batch will be printed. If not, we'll remove it.
It is not available from veritasprep.com, so my guess it may be the last we've seen of it.

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 Post subject: Re: Best GMAT Math Prep Books (Reviews & Recommendations) [#permalink]
PostPosted: Wed Jun 24, 2009 7:26 pm 
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Has anyone tried Total GMAT Math by Jeff Sackmann? I'd love to hear from someone who has. Thanks.


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 Post subject: Re: Best GMAT Math Prep Books (Reviews & Recommendations) [#permalink]
PostPosted: Thu Jun 25, 2009 10:16 am 
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Does anyone here has the "Project GMAT book"? I would like to buy it. Because it is not available on the Amazon.

Thanks


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 Post subject: Re: Best GMAT Math Prep Books (Reviews & Recommendations) [#permalink]
PostPosted: Fri Jun 26, 2009 5:31 am 
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I think "Project GMAT" is out of print. I've tried searching for it too but it's unavailable.


EDIT:
Veritas confirmed on the phone that the book is out print and will not be re-printed.
This material is included in the $450 package available from their website but not as a stand alone option.


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 Post subject: Re: Best GMAT Math Prep Books (Reviews & Recommendations) [#permalink]
PostPosted: Fri Jul 17, 2009 10:31 am 
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Hi Guys i have heared of Winners Guide E-books and i beleive it worth some serious consideration....wut do u think??


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 Post subject: Re: Best GMAT Math Prep Books (Reviews & Recommendations) [#permalink]
PostPosted: Mon Jul 20, 2009 9:41 pm 
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bb wrote:
Can you share your thoughts about this book? I don't think I have ever heard anyone using it.
What did you like about it?
How specifically did it help you?
What was lacking? and What could be improved?


Thanks!


Quote:
BB,

Can you please let me know which is better for strategies between Manhattan 5 Quantitative Strategy Guides and Kaplan GMAT Math Workbook?


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 Post subject: Re: Best GMAT Math Prep Books (Reviews & Recommendations) [#permalink]
PostPosted: Wed Jul 22, 2009 10:18 pm 
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I bought Manhattan GMAT Inequality and Geometry, I will highly recommend in case you want to work on the fundamentals of these 2 topics.


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 Post subject: Re: Best GMAT Math Prep Books (Reviews & Recommendations) [#permalink]
PostPosted: Wed Jul 22, 2009 11:11 pm 
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irajeevsingh wrote:
I bought Manhattan GMAT Inequality and Geometry, I will highly recommend in case you want to work on the fundamentals of these 2 topics.


Thank you. I have also added the Star Rating system for the books (planning to split up the Manhattan GMAT Books next but that's too much work :))

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 Post subject: Re: Best GMAT Math Prep Books (Reviews & Recommendations) [#permalink]
PostPosted: Wed Jul 22, 2009 11:21 pm 
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Grt feature, rated a couple of books. Can we do it for other books in some post?


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 Post subject: Re: Best GMAT Math Prep Books (Reviews & Recommendations) [#permalink]
PostPosted: Sun Jul 26, 2009 12:32 pm 
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I am truly torn. After working through the math section of PR's Cracking the GMAT it is apparent that I need additional study. I'm deciding between some of the specific Manhattan books, the Kaplan math workbook, and now the new entrant, the Kaplan math foundations book.

I should note that I am less concerned with additional sample problems accompanied by many of the books, but most concerned with what gives the most thorough, succinct, correct instruction on math concepts. I'll be purchasing the official guide to make sure I have a gauntlet of questions to test out my knowledge on, once I've studied up.

Are the mistakes in the Kaplan Foundations book only present in the review questions, or are their some errors in the fundamentals they teach?

Are Manhattan's books worth the added expense? i.e. If I purchase 3 math review books from Manhattan I am looking at roughly $50+ vs $15 for either the Kaplan Math Foundations or Kaplan Math workbook? Is this a 'get-what-you-pay-for" situation?

I ask because I cannot find any of the Manhattan books at any local retailers, so I can't actually take a look at these books before purchasing.


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 Post subject: Re: Best GMAT Math Prep Books (Reviews & Recommendations) [#permalink]
PostPosted: Sun Jul 26, 2009 4:57 pm 
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dumbasbricks wrote:
I am truly torn. After working through the math section of PR's Cracking the GMAT it is apparent that I need additional study. I'm deciding between some of the specific Manhattan books, the Kaplan math workbook, and now the new entrant, the Kaplan math foundations book.

I should note that I am less concerned with additional sample problems accompanied by many of the books, but most concerned with what gives the most thorough, succinct, correct instruction on math concepts. I'll be purchasing the official guide to make sure I have a gauntlet of questions to test out my knowledge on, once I've studied up.

Are the mistakes in the Kaplan Foundations book only present in the review questions, or are their some errors in the fundamentals they teach?

Are Manhattan's books worth the added expense? i.e. If I purchase 3 math review books from Manhattan I am looking at roughly $50+ vs $15 for either the Kaplan Math Foundations or Kaplan Math workbook? Is this a 'get-what-you-pay-for" situation?

I ask because I cannot find any of the Manhattan books at any local retailers, so I can't actually take a look at these books before purchasing.


Very valid question and I have been trying to figure out how to make the process of picking books easier.

I would say that the mistakes in the Kaplan Math Foundations are not very concerning - a few errors in the explanations are easy to spot. They are not in concepts or rules or theorems, so you are not learning baloney, just a few errors in the explanations/answer choices, which are minor. So, it is irrelevant for the majority of test takers except the pickiest, but I am sure the book will be condemned on Amazon as the result.

Here is my shot at it. I would say the best combination for what you are looking for is probably Kaplan Math Workbook with MGMAT Number Properties book.

Kaplan Math Foundations is much more thorough but basic and starts with how to multiply/divide numbers. It is not enough by itself - you would need another math book with harder Math Questions to practice.

MGMAT Guides are better than Kaplan Math Workbook in terms of explanations and learning presentation - they are the ultimate collection and having used them, you can be confident you covered all areas, though most people find that though they learnt the concepts, the books did not contain anything they did see in other books (except Number Properties book). In my opinion, it is probably not worth the extra $$$ for all of the guides.

To summarize:
If you are completely bad and rusty with math - get Kaplan Math Foundations
If you are looking for a good time/money ROI, then Kaplan Math Workbook and MGMAT Number Properties
If you are looking for the ultimate high score/thorough coverage, then the MGMAT Guides.



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 Post subject: Re: Best GMAT Math Prep Books (Reviews & Recommendations) [#permalink]
PostPosted: Mon Jul 27, 2009 1:56 am 
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My view about MGMAT books except SC Guide is not that great. Other MGMAT books lack in number of questions.
No dount to start with very basics, these guides might be helpful.

Also, i am under the impression that all high scorers usually refer to KAPLAN series and OGs.

I have a question here, I haven't tried, practising 1000 series questions. How much useful are these??


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 Post subject: Re: Best GMAT Math Prep Books (Reviews & Recommendations) [#permalink]
PostPosted: Tue Jul 28, 2009 4:25 am 
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hi, i recently started preparing for GMAT ,,and the only book i've got is OG11...( and i found the problems in the OG quantitative review fairly easy)
what i want to ask is-

is it really necessary to buy all these books ??
i found them quite expensive.. so which are the books are essential?? like i can't prepare without them?


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