How I upgraded my 700 to a 770 (Q50, V44)

I can't make a fair comparison, because I've only used the Number Properties book, which I thought was very good. I think the real value in Jeff Sackmann's book is the practice material and answer explanations for each chapter. It's also worth mentioning that Total GMAT Math also covered all of the concepts that were covered in MGMAT Number Properties, so it wasn't necessary to use both for that subject.

Maybe someone else who has used both resources can comment.

Avernusaur

Great score!

I just finished the challenge set for geometry and i was pretty impressed (espc DS is much more challenging that PS)

Good luck with ur apps!

Hey Avernusaur, thanks for sharing your experience.

After reading this post, I decided to purchase Total GMAT Math. The book, however, is not exactly what I had expected. Of course, I did not think it would be a miracle worker, but something seems a little off.

The book does cover a great deal of topics, but the amount of space devoted to each section is miniscule - 1.5 to 3 pages at most. The rest is spent on questions. This would normally be fine, but it seems that the book doesn't cover the material sufficiently for readers to answer the end-of-chapter questions. I have dealt and looked at other math guides, and they don't have this characteristic.

Is my approach to this book wrong? I'm concerned that, even after reviewing the answers, I will only be able to answer these particular questions and not different ones because I lack the necessary math skills and concepts.

If anyone can shed some light on this, I would be VERY grateful.

CONGRATULATIONS !!!

Congrats again.

And we appreciate the thorough review.

Sorry for the delayed reply, I haven't been very active on the forum lately. I'll try to give you some advice, but I everyone's learning experience is different.

Although the book does cover every topic, I had a pretty decent foundation before I started (Q47-48). In my experience, everything in the Practice Questions was covered in the previous text. If you think you need a stronger foundation of the fundamentals, I'm a fan of the Kaplan GMAT Math Workbook - this is the book that I used for my first GMAT attempt. If you want to test your knowledge, start doing practice questions from a variety of resources.

What I liked most about the Total GMAT Math approach to learning is that it teaches you the GMAT question framework through repetition. After a while, you'll start noticing patterns that will allow you to pick your approach very quickly. At times it might feel like the questions are all the same with a different outfit on them, but that's the way the GMAT really is. Knewton actually uses the same strategy.

I hope my response wasn't too late! Let us know how you're doing.

Congrats!!

Wow.. Really inspiring post!
Congrats!

Congradulations!!! Awesome score and great debrief.

Can you guide me from where can I get these books... I dont see them in Amazon! Moreover they aren't listed in the forum site too!

https://www.totalgmatmath.com/

It's an e-book that's delivered in PDF format via email. Great content, but a bit of a pain to print out and organize in a binder.

congrats
and thanks for sharing your experience

Avernusaur,

How did you study Jeff's book? Did you read the whole book, or did you skip some chapters?

How long did it take you to finish the book?

Why did you prefer to use an ultimate set rather than GMAT Club tests? I know you wrote that GMAT Club tests had been demoralizing. However, wasn't they good for practice?

When solving problems from the Ultimate GMAT Math, did you time yourself, or not?

Thank you for answering my questions.

1/2) With Jeff's book, I skimmed over the subjects that I already knew and spent most of my time working on the areas that I thought needed more attention. I don't remember how fast I worked through the book, but it was mostly paced by time required to complete the practice questions.

3) I preferred the Extreme Challenge set over the GC tests, because I thought they were the best representation of genuinely difficult GMAT questions. The explanations for each of the Extreme Challenge set questions are also really good, so you're not left on your own trying to figure out how to properly solve each question.

4) I don't remember if I timed myself with Jeff's material, but I had already developed a natural rhythm for solving questions in 1-2 minutes, so I typically made a note if I felt like the question took longer than it should have.

When it comes to selecting study materials, sample everything and choose what you think will work best for you. I used a larger variety of materials than most people, but that was mostly out of curiosity (I didn't use each resource 100%). You should take the free GC math test and see if it works for you. If you don't like it, try something else

Avernusaur, thanks for answering my questions.

Really good info about Sackmann's study material!

Congrats on the awesome score and thanks for sharing your experience!