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Seriously what should I do to study.

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tplee
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Seriously what should I do to study. [#permalink] New post   14 Sep 2011, 07:50
I will be taking the GMAT in about 2 months and wanted some opinions on the best study guide. I have read a lot post here that claim all these different books are good and bad.

I just want a straight answer: Which book if any should I buy to study? What's your opinion the the Official guide main book and the OG Quant and Verbal books? Should I buy all three? I have a copy of Kaplan's GMAT Premier 2010 edition. I don't really like it and feel its not helping me enough.

All I really need to be able to score is a 650 or so. I will need most of my help in Quant and might need help with basic review etc. I'm not that worried about verbal.

I would greatly appreciate any help.

Thanks,

Thomas
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KapTeacherEli
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Re: Seriously what should I do to study. [#permalink] New post   14 Sep 2011, 08:57
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Hi Thomas,

Sorry you didn't feel that Kaplan Premier was good enough on its own. That said, it will help you out immensely once you move on the the OG. The Official Guide is a great resource for problems, but its explanations and strategies can be lacking in some cases; on the other hand, putting Kaplan content and strategy to work on the vast number of real test problems in the OG series will help you master the techniques that you don't feel are helping you yet.

As for a basic review, you mentioned your score of 650 (which is already a great start!) but what have your math/verbal splits been like? I can definitely recommend some resources, but I'd like to make sure they're as good a fit for you as possible.

Hope this helps!
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tplee
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Re: Seriously what should I do to study. [#permalink] New post   14 Sep 2011, 09:30
Thanks for the reply,

I havent actually scored anything yet. My target is around a 650. Its all I need to get into the school I want. By basic review Im talking only Quant. I was looking for something that help with intermediate math fundamentals. For instance some of these books assume you have a certain knowledge of math principles and they get you to the end result without explaining every step taken to get there.

An example is I forgot that in math that you can change a problem that is 5/2 divided by 2/3, to 5/2 multipled by 3/2. Some of those principles of math I have forgotten over the years and need a refresher with. I'm basically looking for a book that will explain how the problem was solved without leaving out any details. I've attached a pdf showing an example of some math priciples that I have forgotten and need help with.

I hope that makes more sense

Thanks
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KapTeacherEli
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Re: Seriously what should I do to study. [#permalink] New post   14 Sep 2011, 09:55
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tplee wrote:
Thanks for the reply,

I havent actually scored anything yet. My target is around a 650. Its all I need to get into the school I want. By basic review Im talking only Quant. I was looking for something that help with intermediate math fundamentals. For instance some of these books assume you have a certain knowledge of math principles and they get you to the end result without explaining every step taken to get there.

An example is I forgot that in math that you can change a problem that is 5/2 divided by 2/3, to 5/2 multipled by 3/2. Some of those principles of math I have forgotten over the years and need a refresher with. I'm basically looking for a book that will explain how the problem was solved without leaving out any details. I've attached a pdf showing an example of some math priciples that I have forgotten and need help with.

I hope that makes more sense

Thanks

Hi Thomas,

Sorry for misreading your post about your scores :-)

Anyway, if you really need the basics, Kaplan offers a Math Foundations book, which will cover things from the ground up.

https://www.amazon.com/Kaplan-GMAT-Math- ... 1607148471

I definitely would NOT recommend moving on the the OG until you've gotten that down; again, it's explanations aren't always the clearest or most efficient.
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mmapplebeck
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Re: Seriously what should I do to study. [#permalink] New post   14 Sep 2011, 10:19
Hey tplee,

First, if you're looking for a refresher on the basic math topics tested on the GMAT, I suggest you take a look at Manhattan GMAT's Foundations of GMAT Math book: https://www.manhattangmat.com/storeitems ... 4&catid=10

Regarding the Official Guides, you're definitely going to want The Official Guide for GMAT Review 12th Edition--it contains hundreds of real past GMAT problems and is an invaluable resource. You may want to save the other two OGs for extra practice if you need it. Be aware that you may have difficulty going through the OG without guidance or explanations. Manhattan GMAT's Strategy Guides take you through each type of problem tested on the GMAT, helping you to master the concepts first before directing you to OG problems for practice. Manhattan GMAT also offers several other resources that will help you through the OGs, including our OG Companion, which contains thorough explanations to every quant problem in the Official Guide, and the OG Archer, an online tool that lets you track your progress through the OG, pinpointing your strengths and weaknesses. We've spent years continually improving our curriculum and it's very well received--I'd encourage you to check out reviews.

You mentioned that you might just be interested in studying quant. I encourage you to take our free practice GMAT exam to gauge your ability level in both quant and verbal: https://www.manhattangmat.com/free-gmat.cfm. If you're still just interested in studying quant, Manhattan GMAT's Complete Quant Set may be useful to you along side the Official Guide 12th Edition: https://www.manhattangmat.com/storeitems ... 41&catid=1

Additionally, this article may help you with creating a study plan for the next two months: https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... tudy-plan/

Best of luck!

Matt Mapplebeck
Student Services Associate
Manhattan GMAT
GMAT Club Bot
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Re: Seriously what should I do to study. [#permalink]
14 Sep 2011, 10:19

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