Best GMAT Books - Latest Update

Hi Folks,

I have just started preparing for the GMAT. I am planning to appear for the exam in Feb 2013. I do have the 13th edition OG but was wondering if I should order the complete strategy guide series from MGMAT. I am not sure if I will be able to cover all the material in the OG and MGMAT before Feb. I know I am weak in both Verbal and Quant after taking my first prep test on the MGMAT's website. So I do need to practice and learn all the strategies in both sections. I am planning to target a score of 700+. I am planning to study 1-1 1/2 hr every weekday and about 4-5 hrs Sat and Sun. I have found the free flashcards provided by MGMAT to be very useful. Any thoughts.

BTW I found the videos posted online for the 1M post celebration today very helpful. Thx a bunch guys. You have helped clear a lot of questions that a newbie like me would have and also made my work in searching for a good school lot easier. Kudos.

Hi,

I have very NO quant background ( Am a pathologist) and started my prep in middle of september after having not touched MATH for almost a decade. Currently i am hitting between 42-44 in Quant Mock tests, and attribute it to the MGMAT set of strategy guides and Practicing questions from the OG. I seriously felt that as far as Quant is concerned MGMAT provides the most comprehensive guidebooks and has a FUNDAMENTALS book for pepole who have lost touch with Quant (like me). Now, 42-44 is no where near what i am aiming at for my QUANT (47-49) but comming from the background that i come from, i think i have done rather well in the 1.5 months that i have been seriously studying for the test (lot more needs to be done still) If i were you, i would dedicate the first month of my prep to going over the MGMAT supplements (completely doable) and then moving onto OG before tackling the tougher books.

Hi vomhorizon,
Thanks for the info. Have you tried using their verbal books and have found them useful. I know their math series is very good. BTW when are you planning to take your GMAT.

Fore verbal i have only purchased the Sentence correction book, which came highly recommended by one and all. I may go on to purchase their RC book as well given that i need 5-8 point improvement in my verbal section (from where i stand today). Their SC book is excellent and covers almost everything one needs for sentence correction. I have seen their CR book (5th edition) with a friend and it also seems quite comprehensive. For CR i am following the Power Prep Logical reasoning book (LSAT). I am planning to take the GMAT in the middle of February as i need some time off between May and August in order to take some Quant courses in order to boost my application (since i do not have a single quant course in my Undergraduate, and my doctorate).

Hi guys,

I'm wondering whether I should buy the MGMAT 8 books (4th edition) or the newer one (5th edition, 10 books)?
I'm taking the GMAT in the end of February/beginning of March and haven't even started yet.

Would be great to hear a qualified response!
Thanks in advance.

I am in the same boat as you are and planning to take the GMAT in Feb. I ended up buying the 5th edition as it also includes the IR portion. I have gone through their SC book already and have found it to be very useful. One suggestion would be to buy the set online. I found it cheaper at Barnes and Noble with free shipping than even Amazon....assuming you are in the US.

Wish I found this forum earlier. Just got Kaplan Premier, wayyyy better than Princeton Review's "Cracking the GMAT", I really like the way they covered the Quant section breaking it down into problem solving and data sufficiency.

I wonder which books are best for a total beginner, aiming for about 500-600?
Is the OG 13 enough, or do I need any more books, which ones if so?

Please be very specific in writing out the whole titles of the books that you guys recommend, since I am a foreigner!
Thanks

I would recommend, if you need to review the basic of quant and verbal, to read "Foundations of GMAT Math" and "Foundations of Verbal" by Manhattan GMAT.

Then you have multiple choices: GMAT Strategy Guide (by Manhattan GMAT or Veritas Prep) or you can go through the OG questions. it depends on you level and how "rusty" you are.

If you are aiming for a 500-600 score, and are good at covering material thoroughly you can pretty much get that desired score by purchasing 2 books in addition to the 2 free books provided by this forum (Grammar book and Quant book), and using this forum to practice hundreds of questions that are totally free . The books i would recommend are :

* Kaplan Premier 2013 : Covers EVERYTHING tested on the GMAT, has a reasonable amount of practice questions, most of which are easy to moderate in difficulty ( but great for those that are starting out)
* Official Guide to GMAT, 13 : As a question bank it contains hundreds of official question, and tests all the topics in quant, verbal and IR . Most of the questions are easy - moderate difficult but towards the end of each section their are a dozen or so 700 level questions.

Once you exhaust these books you can start practicing questions on this forum, and then take a practice CAT. If you are still short of the 600 mark you can perhaps target your weaknesses and acquire some of the more popular specialty books , SC book, CR book, Word problem book, Geometry book etc etc..Some of the specialty books i would recommend :

* MGMAT Sentence correction book
* Powerscore CR Book/MGMAT CR Book
* Veritas Prep Data Sufficiency book
* Veritas Prep Advanced Word Problems Book

I would recommend buying one MGMAT book and One Veritas Prep book from the lot, so that you can get access to 10 CAT's (adaptive practice tests) ..

Thanks guys for the recommendations!

Which Kaplan Premier book is the current one? It seems like we have different editions abroad, and I can´t find the one you linked to!
Is it the "Kaplan New Gmat 2012-2013 Premier" or "Kaplan GMAT Premier with 5 Online Practice Tests"?

This one: https://www.amazon.com/Kaplan-Premier-On ... 1609780930

Hope it helps

Thanks for the suggestions!
Just took a practice test to know were I stand, before I start studying.

Had:

Total 450

Goal is 500-600

Guys can someone recommend me the best book to practice IR questions... OG 13 doesn't have any IR practice questions...

OG13 does come with an online password to access IR content....

Hi VomHorizon.

Buying a Veritas prep book allows to take 5 CATs? I am surprised.
Because till now i thought only MGMAT allows so.

Thanks for the information.

As per my understanding, CAT's are only included if you buy directly from Veritas Prep or one of its partner companies (Whiteglow in India for example). The tests can be only take ONCE , and 6 are included. Not sure whether the same deal is offered if you buy from third party vendors such as amazon, or barnes and nobles.