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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
| 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 |
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.[rating1]yellow/0470449748[/rating1]
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.
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
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
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.
[rating1]yellow/0979017580[/rating1]
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10 Aug 2011, 20:31
Kudos
Bookmarks
New to the GMAT?
FREE - GMAT Uncovered [rating1]yellow/20121[/rating1]
FREE - Magoosh's Complete Guide to the GMAT[rating1]yellow/20122[/rating1]
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Attachments
gmat pill.gif [ 3.55 KiB | Viewed 515999 times ]
10 Aug 2011, 20:40
Kudos
Bookmarks
Other Books You May Find Helpful:
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 $5 with shipping for a used copy (though it will be quite old)
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.[rating1]yellow/0886852404[/rating1]
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.[rating1]yellow/0375429271[/rating1]
. So I do not understand why this new classification. 
