Best GMAT Books Updated Nov 2014 Previously you could get a general GMAT Book and then more specialized GMAT books to go deeper into each section. Today, there is a shift towards just getting a number of specialized GMAT books such as the 8 Manhattan GMAT Guides and 15 Veritas Prep Guides . Whichever GMAT Book you decide to use, remember to also get the Official Guide for GMAT Review – it is the only source of the real GMAT questions. My Other GMAT Book Reviews Best GMAT Math Prep Books Best GMAT Verbal Prep Books Fiction Books for RC Books and Study Plans at a Glance Standard/Quick Advanced/Thorough Specialized General Strategy Books Explain how GMAT works, provide general principles and strategies, give an idea about weaknesses, provide practice tests Official Guide 16 + comes with 900 official questions Kaplan Premier + comes with 6 CAT's Official Guide 16 + comes with 900 official questions MGMAT Guides + come with 6 online tests or Veritas Prep Guides + come with 5 online tests Kaplan GMAT 800 - Poor guidebook, more of a question collection Quant Books Refresh math principles, fill gaps, and learn patterns Kaplan Math Workbook - missing probability and combinations OG Quant - somewhat easy MGMAT Math Foundations MGMAT Advanced Quant Total GMAT Math Verbal Books Refresh grammar rules, aquire CR and RC strategies Kaplan Verbal Workbook OG Verbal MGMAT Verbal Foundations PowerScore CR Aristotle SC Ultimate GMAT Grammar examPAL Sentence Correction Basics LSAT Books – goes beyond the scope GMAT Practice Tests Tests included with books or recommended practice 6 Kaplan Practice Tests + come with Kaplan Premier + Take 1 free 6 MGMAT Practice Tests + come with MGMAT books + Take 1 free 15 Veritas Prep CAT tests + come with Veritas books if purchased at VeritasPrep + Take 1 Free GMAT Club Tests + Take 2 Free Other GMAT Tests OG-2016.png 1. Official Guide for GMAT Review 2016 - 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-6th.png 2. Manhattan GMAT 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. veritas-books.png 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. Tests are only available if book purchased from Veritas Prep Bookstore 2. Could have used less paper - some books have only one question per page 3. Expensive - $250 Kaplan-2016.png 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 6 GMAT Tests (1 in the book and 5 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 marker board.gif 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 -

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PeterHAllen

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09 Nov 2013, 12:36

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Anybody have any experience with Official Guide 9? Is it even worth it?
I am not trying to go crazy here but I really want a top score and I have a copy of it.

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09 Nov 2013, 18:52

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PeterHAllen

Anybody have any experience with Official Guide 9? Is it even worth it?
I am not trying to go crazy here but I really want a top score and I have a copy of it.

As far its official guide any edition is worth...But you may want to check 12 or 13 edition for some new questions..

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18 Nov 2013, 12:33

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From what I recall, OG 10 was a particular favorite. But OG 9 seems quite old. And while it wouldn't hurt to go over these questions, more recent editions are superior. If you want a strong performance and need more practice questions outside of the OG material, look into GMATClub tests (and forums), Jeff Sackmann, and Ariel Goldberg. Just make sure that you are comfortable with the OG questions before moving on to other, more difficult resources.

Good luck!

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15 Dec 2013, 03:09

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Hi,
I am just starting up, I have finished KAplan premier Verbal section once but I am not really happy with the quant part.I have also bought, Official guide but havent practiced much as I don't want to waste question of OG. Now what should be my next step??
since,I am doing self study so I think My next book should be Manhattan series (8 strategy books) What do you think?.Also,can you help me and suggest me a good Quantitative book that touches all the topics properly with satisfactory explanation.
Thanks,
Shikha

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17 Dec 2013, 02:51

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Hi Dear,
Official Guide for GMAT Review 10th ed book is really helpful for GMAT students many sample questions are given in it and all most syllabus are cover by this book
the best thing is it is very helpful to crack this exam in minimum time. and I also want to opinion about GMAT 2013 with 6 Practice Tests Book...

hell0w0rld

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22 Dec 2013, 01:23

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Going through Aristotle SC. Very nice book. very clear explanation and classification of SC problems.

nomibucha

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12 Jan 2014, 22:32

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If you can afford it, buy a few of the major books - Prnctn, Kplan, etc. I found that when I looked at three of them, the areas on which they intersected were the important ones.

LizEconomistGMAT

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16 Jan 2014, 10:24

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Hi all,

For 2014, the only book we recommend in conjunction with our course is the Official Guide, 13th edition.

You should only use this book once you have completed most of our program, as it is only a practice book and does NOT teach a student how to attack each question type. Our course already includes 5,000+ questions, so the Official Guide, which only has about 850 questions, contains fewer questions.The Official Guide does not always provide the most thorough explanations, so do rely on our lessons and techniques even if you use the OG. The point is: The Official Guide is an excellent extra resource. Use it in conjunction with our program, not as your main study resource.

Thank you,

Elizabeth

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26 Jan 2014, 00:18

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Hello BB,

i have started study since 3 weeks by the official guide 13th edition and then i found the "GMAT CLUB MATH book " where i found it very useful when i try solving question from the official book and really the note increase my ability so am just asking if i am on the good path and i can see all the posts are old so please if you do a favor and post new post with recommended resources and questions and what material must i buy ?

appreciated your advise

Mohammad

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26 Jan 2014, 00:56

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mohammadalsheikh

You have sent me this over a PM. Please do not double-post.
You should start here: gmat-study-plan-for-gmat-novices-start-your-gmat-journey-80727.html

Best Regards,
BB

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08 Feb 2014, 02:12

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Manhattan series is the ultimate for in depth knowledge of concepts !

charliedan

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08 Feb 2014, 02:14

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But i guess the gmat club books(quant ) and magoosh free ebooks for grammar are also a good asset for those looking to score good in exam !!

charliedan

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08 Feb 2014, 02:14

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Specially the gmat club quant book authored by bunuell is ultimate for last time revision

charliedan

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08 Feb 2014, 02:16

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Also sincere thanks To Mike from Magoosh for making a lot of useful content available to students !!

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23 Feb 2014, 19:52

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Hey guys,

Just stumbled upon this site... really amazing won't lie.
I'm actually taking the GMAT in approximately 2 months. I'm doing my studying using the nine MGMAT guides + Official GMAT review 13th edition.
I'd appreciate if anyone could let me know if this seems like a reasonable study plan or not.

- Sina

Mel2014

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09 Mar 2014, 08:41

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Hello,

I'm getting ready to begin preparing for the GMAT exam. After searching and reading I've narrowed my options down to a few books. I'm wondering if all are worth getting or if I should only get a couple of them. I have three months to prepare so I want to be realistic about how much I can actually read. Two toddles can make that a bit difficult. :shock:

The ones I am considering are:

1) Official GMAT Guide (Was thinking of getting the three books - are the quantitative and verbal worth it?)
2) Manhattan GMAT Guides set of 10
3) Kaplan Premier (is this worth it?)

Thank you! Any help is much appreciated!

Also, if you found this post helpful for you please give kudos! Would love as much practice help as I can get! Thanks!

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19 Apr 2014, 05:17

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Hello Everyone,

I am preparing for my GMAT and having the below materials with me for prep..

Fifth Ed. - Complete Strategy Guide Set

Fractions, Decimals, & Percents GMAT Strategy Guide, 5th Edition
Algebra GMAT Strategy Guide, 5th Edition
Word Problems GMAT Strategy Guide, 5th Edition
Geometry GMAT Strategy Guide, 5th Edition
Number Properties GMAT Strategy Guide, 5th Edition
Critical Reasoning GMAT Strategy Guide, 5th Edition
Reading Comprehension GMAT Strategy Guide, 5th Edition
Sentence Correction GMAT Strategy Guide, 5th Edition
Integrated Reasoning & Essay Strategy Guide, 5th Edition

and Foundations of GMAT Math and Foundations of GMAT Verbal.

Can anyone tell me should i start with the MGMAT guide or foundations materials .. Please tell me..

Thanks

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19 Apr 2014, 05:33

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kravindran7

it really depends on what lelvel you are at and how long ago you did Math.
I found foundations to be pretty easy and basic, but some will need it to get up to speed....

kravindran7

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19 Apr 2014, 05:44

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Thank you you very much.. I am preparing after 6years and completely lost touch of math..This is the case with verbal. I am starting everything from basic. Please suggest.

Appreciate your help

Thanks

siddhantoutram

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01 May 2014, 08:26

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Hi,
I'm new to this forum as well as just started preparing for the GMAT exam.

I have the complete set of Manhattan Official guide (containing 10 volumes) as well as the Official guide for GMAT Review, Foundations of GMAT (Verbal & Math).
My question is weather this set of books are enough for my preparation?

Aiming for a score 750+
Please suggest as right now i am a bit concerned about this. Thanks in advance.

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