Best GMAT Math Prep Books (Reviews & Recommendations)

Top Best GMAT Quantitative Books






Common Book Combinations and Recommendatios
1. Need to figure out your weaknesses in GMAT math? Take a GMATPrep test or GMAT Club's free gmat diagnostic test
2. Rusty with Math or want to be very methodical - start with basics: Manhattan GMAT Foundations of GMAT Math
3. OK with Math but need a good review in a short amount of time: Kaplan Math Workbook + MGMAT Number Properties + MGMAT Word Translations
4. Need highest score and have time: MGMAT Guides + GMAT Club tests
5. Need specific question practice: PR 1012 (has some errors/typos), Quant OG, or use gmat club tags
6. Probability and Combinations review: https://gmatclub.com/forum/combinations- ... 56486.html and MGMAT Word Translations

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 Live Online + comes with 6 practice tests	Kaplan Live Online + comes with 6 practice tests Kaplan GMAT Advanced - Poor guidebook, more of a question collection	Kaplan Live Online + comes with 6 practice tests Kaplan GMAT Advanced - Poor guidebook, more of a question collection GMAT Test Simulation Booklet + Great for practice	Kaplan Live Online + comes with 6 practice tests Kaplan GMAT Advanced - Poor guidebook, more of a question collection 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	5 Quant MGMAT Guides MGMAT Math Foundations	5 Quant MGMAT Guides MGMAT Math Foundations Probability and Combinations for Dummies
Verbal Books Refresh grammar rules, aquire CR and RC strategies	Kaplan Verbal Workbook OR: PowerScore Verbal Bible	CR: PowerScore CR or MGMAT CR RC: MGMAT RC SC: PowerScore SC or MGMAT SC	CR: PowerScore CR or MGMAT CR RC: MGMAT RC SC: PowerScore SC or MGMAT SC SC: Kaplan Verbal Foundations	CR: PowerScore CR or MGMAT CR CR: LSAT Critical Reasoning RC: MGMAT RC RC: LSAT Reading Comprehension SC: PowerScore SC or MGMAT SC SC: Doing Grammar
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, MGMAT, some GMATClub tests	GMATprep, PowerPrep, GMAT Focus, Kaplan, MGMAT, GMATClub tests	GMATprep, PowerPrep, GMAT Focus, Kaplan, MGMAT, PR, GMATClub tests

1. GMAT Math Books


1. Manhattan GMAT (MGMAT) Guides
Recommended for best results if you have the time.
Strengths:
1. Good balance between test taking strategies and background theory explanations
2. Single-topic focus of each guide allows the student to purchase only those guides that pertain to his/her weaknesses
3. Covered concepts are illustrated with examples that are conveniently assigned to either PS or DS section.
4. Access to 6 Online CAT's (same for each book)
5. Additional online practice question banks (different for each book)
Weaknesses:
1. Time and Money
2. Books themselves do not contain many practice questions (though online and OG 12 references more than compensate)
Notes: most often recommended guide is the Manhattan GMAT Number properties and MGMAT Word Translations[rating1]yellow/390957[/rating1]





2. Veritas Prep Guides
Rival of the MGMAT bundle though a bit higher priced.
Strengths:
1. 12 total guides + an intro book for quant + test simulation booklet
2. Practice questions. Every one of the guides is packed with practice questions
3. Fresh questions; you probably have not seen them on forums/etc since these books have just been published

Weaknesses:
1. Price: $250
2. Spacing is a bit strange sometimes with only one question per page









3. Kaplan GMAT Math Workbook
A solid supplement to the Official Guide
Strengths:
1. Fairly comprehensive review of the basic math concepts needed for the GMAT
2. Structure of the book allows you to work from start to finish, building on previous skills learned
3. Sections devoted to Word problem and Data Sufficiency questions
Weaknesses:
1. Statistics, Combinations/Permutations and Probability are not covered
2. Questions do not reflect GMAT questions, but rather are designed to insure that the material is mastered
Notes: Recommended/most interesting problem compilation from Kaplan Math Workbook
Faster than going through the math MGMAT Guides, but also not as thorough







4. Official Guide for GMAT Quantitative Review
Great for additional math practice questions, but don't expect to find any strategies or math lessons here.
Strengths:
1. 300 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.
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.
Bottom Line: this book is optional; usually OG 12 is sufficient by itself.

Notable Specialized Books - Arithmetic, Probability, Combinations, DS, etc

Combinations & Probability

Veritas Prep Combinations & Probability - added 08/24/10
Dedicated Combinations and Probability Guide considered by many to be the best
Strengths:
1. Good strategies
2. Plenty of practice questions
3. Well organized and laid out

Weaknesses:
1. Possibly crosses into non-gmat section but a very minor concern





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5. Manhattan GMAT Word Translations Guide - added 11/11/09
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Contains material on Combinations and Probability
Strengths:
1. Coverage of combinations and probability
2. Coverage of Statistics and Overlapping sets problems
3. Comes with 6 MGMAT tests
Weaknesses:
1. As with all MGMAT Guides, lacks practice questions and relies on the Official Guide for additional practice. If you have covered the OG, you may have to look elsewhere for practice, such as GMAT Club's free collection of probability questions: https://gmatclub.com/forum/combinations- ... 56486.html







6. Manhattan GMAT Foundations of GMAT Math - Added 2/5/2010

Great for refreshing math concepts and building confidence in math
Strengths:
1. Works well with other MGMAT books (structured in a similar way)
2. Best book for brushing up on long forgotten math concepts (fractions, powers, etc)
3. Comes with additional online practice questions
Weaknesses:
1. The book has 400 practice questions but they are not in a GMAT format, rather a math-textbook format
2. Long! 300 full-size pages - I think the expectation is that you skip parts that you know
3. No access to MGMAT tests that usually are included with all of the other 8 guides
Notes: recommended instead of the Kaplan Math Foundations. See a very detailed review of the Foundations of GMAT Math by a member