Best GMAT Prep Books and only the best This discussion is officially retired - Please see Best GMAT Books 2014 for the latest GMAT Book Recommendations Usually these books are a great starting point - they get you familiarized with the test format, sections, timing, and main strategies. They also give you a feel about each section of the GMAT. Most people, however, find these books not sufficient alone to provide a solid GMAT preparation and supplement them with at least one specialized Quantitative and Verbal GMAT Book. Our recommendation is to get The Official Guide for GMAT Review + One other general GMAT book . For dedicated/specialized Math or Verbal GMAT guidebook, see: https://gmatclub.com/forum/download/file.php?id=12235 Best GMAT Math Prep Books (Reviews & Recommendations) https://gmatclub.com/forum/download/file.php?id=12234 Best GMAT Verbal Prep Books (Reviews & Recommendations) Top 20 GMAT Books as voted by GMAT Club members Below are our reviews of the best GMAT Books. However, people kept asking for my personalized recommendation over and over. So here it is - just tells you what to get The first column lists book categories and the purpose behind them and the other columns list approaches to the GMAT from average to most hardcore. Book Bundles and Study Plans at a Glance Standard Plan Advanced Plan Ultimate Plan Beyond Hardcore Plan General Strategy Books Explain how GMAT works, provide general principles and strategies, give an idea about weaknesses, provide practice tests Kaplan Premier + comes with 6 practice tests Kaplan Premier + comes with 6 practice tests Kaplan 800 - Poor guidebook, more of a question collection Kaplan Premier + comes with 6 practice tests GMAT Test Simulation Booklet + Great for practice Kaplan Premier + comes with 6 practice tests 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 MGMAT Word Translations Manhattan Prep Guides MGMAT Math Foundations Manhattan Prep Guides MGMAT Math Foundations Verbal Books Refresh grammar rules, acquire CR and RC strategies Kaplan Verbal Workbook OR: PowerScore Verbal Bible Manhattan Prep Guides or Veritas Guides or PowerScore Guides Manhattan Prep Guides or Veritas Guides or PowerScore Guides SC: Ultimate GMAT Grammar CR: PowerScore CR or Manhattan Prep CR RC: Manhattan Prep RC RC: LSAT Reading Comprehension SC: Ultimate GMAT Grammar + PowerScore SC or Manhattan Prep SC SC: Doing Grammar SC: examPAL SC Basics 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 tests GMATprep, Kaplan, Manhattan Prep, some GMATClub tests GMATprep, PowerPrep, GMAT Focus, Kaplan, Manhattan Prep, GMATClub tests GMATprep, PowerPrep, GMAT Focus, Kaplan, Manhattan Prep, PR, GMATClub tests GMAT Official Guide.jpg 1. Official Guide for GMAT Review 12th ed - Must Have Published by the creators/owners of the GMAT. Must have for the advantage of having access to 900 real gmat questions but will need Strategy/Study guide to build up math/verbal skills and test-taking strategies. Strengths: 1. 900 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, esp. in verbal 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. Other Notes: Differences between 11th and 12th Editions . yellow/0470449748 mgmat-bundle.gif 2. Manhattan Prep set of 10 Strategy Guides Not to be over-zealous but I would say the most comprehensive self-prep money can buy Strengths: 1. Very in-depth overview of every GMAT subject in 10 dedicated guides (each is 100-200 pages long) 2. Includes access to 6 online practice tests 3. Hundreds of additional targeted practice questions available online (get free access by using the codes inside of each book) 4. Includes the best of the best gmat books such as: MGMAT Number properties, MGMAT Word Translations, MGMAT SC, MGMAT CR, and MGMAT RC Weaknesses: 1. Requires Official Guide for best results (additional practice questions) Other Notes: You can buy these separately but it won't be as good of a deal. yellow/098417804 veritasguides.gif 3. Veritas Prep Complete Course Set: 12 GMAT Strategy Guides Very strong challenger to the Manhattan GMAT set Strengths: 1. Very in-depth overview of every GMAT subject in 12 dedicated guides (each is 100-200 pages long) 2. Comes with a test simulation booklet and a basic math book for those who need extra help (MGMAT charges extra for these) 3. A gmat book for any subject, including probability, combinations, DS, etc 4. Has more practice questions (by far) than the Manhattan set Weaknesses: 1. Could have used less paper - some books have only one question per page 2. Expensive! $250 on VeritasPrep Other Notes: See a photo review of this set | Read a review of the books by Mohater yellow/1936240165 kaplan_premier.gif 4. Kaplan GMAT Premier with CD-ROM Recommended. Well-rounded guide for GMAT preparation. Questions are usually harder than GMAT and sometimes a bit off; however, the book comes with 5 GMAT Tests (1 in the book and 4 online) Strengths: 1. Good review of fundamentals and valuable strategies - good first GMAT Book 2. 6 GMAT Tests included for the price of $27 with free shipping from Amazon Weaknesses: 1. Several questions overlap with Kaplan 800 book 2. Not representative CAT scores 3. Some areas such as combinations or probability are not covered in sufficient detail Other Notes: This is the same book as Kaplan GMAT Comprehensive Program (slightly cheaper) - the only difference is that this book has 4 additional CAT Tests on the CD, which makes it worth it. As of 7/10/2009, the CD version of the book has been out of print. Only the Online version is currently available - it is the same book except all testing material is online and limited to 6 months of usage. yellow/1419552953 kaplan800.gif 5. Kaplan GMAT 800 (aka Kaplan GMAT Advanced) This book is a great idea - create a resource for those who already mastered the lower levels of GMAT, do not require any information about the test or basic strategies but need to focus on higher difficulty questions, but it has its weaknesses, one of them, not living up to its name. Though a great marketing name, many feel it should realistically set expectations as a 650-700 book Strengths: 1. Good for additional practice questions as a supplement 2. Contains more advanced strategies 3. Saves time for advanced test-takers Weaknesses: 1. Review of mathematical content is not thorough enough and actually fairly basic 2. Guessing as well as Plug-in-the-number strategies are overused 3. Some questions are not very realistic (do not follow the GMAT patterns) 4. Very few 750-level questions Other Notes: Discussion on GMAT 800 . yellow/1419552554 marker_booklet.jpg 6. Test Simulation Booklet with Marker ("Scratch Paper") The laminated booklet and marker are exactly as the ones you will get at the test center. Great product to get familiar with the special laminated scratch paper. yellow/0979017580 New to the GMAT? - Free Guides GMATpill How to Ace GMAT in 1 Month gmat uncovered GMAT Uncovered Other Books You May Find Helpful: GMAT Official Guide 10 1. Official Guide for GMAT Review 10th ed - Great source of additional REAL GMAT questions Strengths: 1. More questions - 1,400 questions vs. 900 in the OG 11 and OG 12 2. Price - right now it is under $10 with shipping for a used copy 3. Not too much overlap with OG 11 or OG 12 Weaknesses: 1. Significant overlap with GMATPrep and PowerPrep . Also some overlap with ETS paper tests is reported. 2. I would guess the questions on average are somewhat easier but can't really remember anything about the book anymore. yellow/0886852404 princeton_book.gif 2. Princeton Review Cracking the GMAT Average. Most feel that the book focuses mostly on shortcuts/tricks, while undermining the value of thorough knowledge involved in confidently answering the question. Many testtakers also feel question explanations are not detailed enough. The book comes with 2 online GMAT CAT Tests. Strengths: 1. 2 online adaptive GMAT tests included Weaknesses: 1. Questions in the book do not reach the difficulty level of the real GMAT. 2. Some areas such as function questions, series questions, complex word problems, combined probability with combinations are not covered in the book. yellow/0375429263 pr1012.jpg 3. Princeton Review 1,012 GMAT Questions Not a guidebook and contains only practice questions. Strengths: 1. Review of factorials, probability, combinations, groups, Yes/No DS, assumption, and parallel structure questions 2. Good split between PS and DS in math Weaknesses: 1. A lot of errors in explanations! 2. Weaker RC section 3. Verbal questions are a bit off but all non OG Verbal questions are off. yellow/0375429271 Fiction books to read for GMAT - improve your RC/SC and enjoy doing it. Feel free to suggest other books you have liked or critique our recommendations :wink: quant.gif verbal.gif general.gif general.gif verbal2.gif quant2.gif

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11 Sep 2009, 00:54

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rahuljaiswal

hey ,
i am plannin to study from these books -
1.OG 11th edition
2.kaplan Gmat 800
3. Kaplan math workbook
4. Gmat verbal bible - Powerscore

i have compiled this list based on the various reviews on this forum..do u think it is a good mix?
my english and Quant are not that bad... should i be concentrating on any more books or any other reference material? i am planning at a score of atleast above 720..pl suggest improvements, if any

also pl suggest the order in which i should study the above mentioned books....
a friend of mine who got a 770 suggested starting with princeton review...is tht book good enough?

regards,
rahul

You should start with either Kaplan Premiere or Princeton Review Cracking GMAT CAT
Some prefer one over the other. Majority prefers Kaplan as PR seems to emphasize tricks too much and that just grows old.

Would suggest one Manhattan GMAT book as it will come with access to 6 online tests. You can get either MGMAT Number Properties if you are weak in quant or MGMAT SC, RC, CR if in verbal.

That's really it.

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13 Sep 2009, 17:14

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hgp2k

ThrillRide

anyone has feedback for the new The Official GMAT Verbal Review, 2nd Edition?

I have ordered new The Official GMAT Verbal Review, 2nd Edition, today from Amazon along with the Manhattan Sentence Correction (4th Edition). The only difference I can see from the description listed is, it has 75 new questions from the past GMAT exams. I will let you know what I find though.

As promised: https://gmatclub.com/forum/the-official-gmat-verbal-review-1st-edition-vs-2nd-edition-83882.html

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28 Sep 2009, 18:15

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I did Princeton review first and then Kaplan Premier. I liked Kaplan premier better. And their math and verbal foundations are good too. However for advance material, MGMAT is really good. They cover lots of advance areas.

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29 Sep 2009, 16:39

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See here: gmat-books-ez-solutions-thoughts-76791.html

I have not used it, but sounds like it may be too ez :lol:

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03 Oct 2009, 14:13

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This list is indeed a great help, but which books would you guys not recommend?

As a newbie, I spent too much time looking for the "holy grail" - some hidden, secret GMAT treatise that would reveal the path to 800 bliss. Instead of wasting all that time reading worthless Amazon reviews on Barron's and EZ Solutions, I should have simply followed the advice of GMATClub members.

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03 Oct 2009, 21:19

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bmillan01

Pretty much the rest are not recommended

Anything worthwhile is highlighted in the first post.

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06 Oct 2009, 08:41

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I generally agree that OG Verbal 2nd edition lacks the amount of 700+ level questions we all crave. Still, I think it's worth studying. But yeah, I'm currently on the hunt for some tough SC problems.

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06 Oct 2009, 23:59

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hey bb,

will MGMAT SC (latest 4th edition) go along with OG 11th edition?
thanks

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07 Oct 2009, 00:02

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rahuljaiswal

hey bb,

will MGMAT SC (latest 4th edition) go along with OG 11th edition?
thanks

and one more query...
i already have kaplan 800,...i am thinking of buying princeton or kaplan premier program to start my prep...though i have read here tht there is an overlap b/w the kaplan 800 & the Premier program...so would princeton as a starting guide be good enuf....??? after tht i am planning to study from OG 11th edition, kaplan 800 and MGMAT SC(more so because of the six Online tests)

thanks

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07 Oct 2009, 00:08

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Take a look at this post for a study plan - should answer some of your questions: gmat-study-plan-for-gmat-novices-start-your-gmat-journey-80727.html

If you are familiar with GMAT already and have strategies down, then you don't need Kaplan Premiere or PR Cracking GMAT (except for the tests they have)
If you are not familiar, then you are starting a bit backwards. There is some overlap with Kaplan 800 but not huge to make the book useless.

For MGMAT Number Properties, you can download a "conversion table" from MGMAT's website that has information on how to use 4th edition with OG 11 and 3rd edition with OG 12. More is here: https://www.manhattangmat.com/fourth-ed-info.cfm and here: manhattan-gmat-4th-edition-79546.html

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07 Oct 2009, 01:38

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many thanks for ur reply...
i am familiar with GMAT and i hav build myself a study plan based on this forum and ur suggestions...but i havent equipped myself with the strategies needed for solving
problems...tht's y i was thinking of starting with Princeton, then onto OG, then Kaplan 800..and then back to OG..and a MGMAT SC guide as another one mailny for tests....any suggestions here??

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27 Oct 2009, 20:16

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how about kaplan math foundations... i saw , the explanantions are good

but after finishing this , should i go for manhattan prep for maths?

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28 Oct 2009, 07:06

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If you have the time and money, then you should go for the Manhattan quant series. I'm currently using these books and I find them helpful.

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28 Oct 2009, 07:28

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okay....is manahattan quant tougher than kaplan's?

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28 Oct 2009, 13:41

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zakirhussain

okay....is manahattan quant tougher than kaplan's?

Some sections. The value of MGMAT guides is not in question difficulty but in the study material. The point is not how hard the questions are - you can try the hardest questions (gmat club tests I believe still hold that title), but if you don't have a good background and theory, you won't be able to take the full advantage of them. I think the key should be to master the basics and theory and then do the practice at the level you are.

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28 Oct 2009, 19:52

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Yes, ur rite bro... thanks for your inputs

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31 Oct 2009, 17:56

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You reference paper tests -- where are these available? And are they very useful?

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31 Oct 2009, 18:00

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jeckll

You reference paper tests -- where are these available? And are they very useful?

Here you go: gmat-paper-test-84064.html

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06 Nov 2009, 16:03

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Can anyone comment on which book is better in terms of practice questions?

1) Princeton 1012 GMAT Practice Questions
2) Kaplan GMAT Advanced

I plan to use one of these after I have exhausted the OG guides.

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06 Nov 2009, 17:16

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bmillan01

Your argument implies 1,500 questions from the OG Guides will not be enough...
I'd say if you solve 2K questions - another thousands will not add much value. If it is not working out by then, time to dig deeper.

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