Kaplan GMAT 800 Advice?

Question

Hey All,

What are your thoughts on the Kaplan GMAT 800 book? I'm trying to improve my quant from a 44-46 to a 48+. Would this book be helpful?

ysr · Answer

I have heard mixed reviews on this book . I do have this book but am not willing to touch this as I am afraid that i might waste my time . Why dont you take up gmatclub tests to improve your quant score ...I have read +ve reviews about these tests ...especially for improving quant

bb · Answer

It is a collection of questions, not truly a guidebook or something to help you patch your weaknesses.... treat it as such. On the upside, if you have time, it is very cheap.

tonebeeze · Answer

I will just focus on GMAT club tests and re-doing the 600-700+ OG & paper test problems. Thanks!

123MBAme · Answer

I agree with bb, it isn't a guidebook. I've found it to be useful for practicing for the verbal. As for the quant part, I think you should look at it as a collection of practice questions after you got you've seen your week and strong spots. Practice is always good.
I hope this helps

negroide · Answer

I didn't find this book useful since I am convinced Kaplan questions are not the best representation of the actual GMAT questions... after trying the Kaplan course, Princeton Review's Cracking the GMAT, GMAT Club tests and Manhattan GMAT books, I can tell you that Manhattan GMAT represents the best investment for test-prep. I don't regret investing time and money in the other resources, since I believe that they helped out somehow... but I can tell ya that I could finally reach the 700 plateau after buying 4 Manhattan GMAT guides...

By the way I did buy the Kaplan 800 book... but it was really leftovers from the actual Kaplan course I had already bought months ago, so it pretty much was a waste of money...

Good luck in your prep!! the 700 path is tortuous, but it is sooooo worth it...

By the way I did buy the Kaplan 800 book... but it was really leftovers from the actual Kaplan course I had already bought months ago, so it pretty much was a waste of money...

Good luck in your prep!! the 700 path is tortuous, but it is sooooo worth it...

deeptikachalia · Answer

I totally agree with negroide. I am still preparing for my GMAT. But after trying various material out there and comparing it with OG questions, I am convinced that MGMAT is the next best in line only after OG. In fact they are fantastic guides to unpack some of the difficult concepts not covered in other prep books.

On the other hand, I tried Kaplan Premier, Workbooks and GMAT 800. I really think that these books will make you delirious. I also tried two Kaplan prep tests. Gotta admit, they are overwhelming and hardly representative of the actual questions. On the other hand, MGMAT not only helped me polish some of my weaker areas but also the prep tests boosted my confidence.

I would suggest to try Kaplan Quant questions ONLY if you have exhausted all your other prep questions.

freakshalini · Answer

I'd also echo the opinions of others. It is not a good book especially if you're looking for concepts and for higher difficulty questions.

vomhorizon · Answer

Just finised the Sentence Correction, PS and DS sections on the Kap 800 .. Here is my take :

Quant: It should not be considered anything more than a collection of questions, and should be used as a question supplement to the Kaplan Premier or MGMAT quant books (for basic concept development and understanding). As a question source, i seriously doubt that this book is a collection of 700-750 or 750+ level questions. I will go as far as guessing that no more than a fourth of this book includes 700 level questions(at the maximum), and majority of them are in the 650 range. Having said that, i do not think that this is all that disappointing. Any person looking to go from a 600-650 GMAT score to a 700+ score will most likely need to get PAST the HUMP that is - "The 650 level questions" .. Anyone who gets say a 700-720 will get a lot of 650-700 level questions that he or she would need to get right in order to move to higher questions.. What this book tries to simulate are the tough questions that are tough because the test makers have laid traps in order to trick you towards a particular answer choice. I feel that a lot of the quant questions towards the back end of the OG problem set do the same thing (questions that could be safely clubbed in the 650+ level), therefore these questions on the Kap 800 do make you better at avoiding common traps especially in word problems. The DS section is a bit disappointing, and i seriously feel that the last 20-25 questions on the OG13 (DS section) are better for practice.

If it is STRICTLY 700+ questions that you are looking for, The MGMAT Advanced Quant is the book, but i would guess that any one scoring say a 720 on the GMAT would only get around 5-8 of those questions that involve really tough concepts or rarely tested topics (in the quant section, given that it is reasonable to expect 6-10 experimental questions, and the first few are medium diffuculty level questions, only 20-25 questions will be TRULY ADAPTIVE) . The rest would be either 650-700 level questions or 700+ level questions that club multiple much simpler concepts and topics.. From the free Questions attempted it seems that the GMAT CLUB tests are a couple of notches above the MGMAT Advanced quant. and therefore, they probably are the best recourse for 750+ level questions on the planet (that are still relevant for the material tested on the GMAT, and are written with similar style).

Sentence Correction: Although some tough questions, i feel that many answer choices are not as clear as those given in the OG.. yet overall i am satisfied, and do not feel that i have wasted time on mediocre questions especially after having finished the OG13 SC questions and done all in the KAP premier. I also feel that no recourse other than the OG tests the new emphasis on the SC (as per reports from test takers) ie. long passages which are completely underlined and involve multiple categories (parral., modifiers, pronouns etc) and cannot be split vertically. I strongly believe that practicing Sentence corrections questions beyond a point is not an optimal allocation of time, and that once one has done the OG problems, and perhaps a 100 or so more problems, it is better to spend 2-3 hours a week reading the primary SC book and going over basic grammar rules. I spend 30 minutes daily on going over ONE particular topic of SC from the MGMAT SC guide, and then use the grammar resources on the internet to read more about that topic. Doing this for a couple of months, one can cover all the topics and then move onto the CAT's. I am on my third reading of the MGMAT SC guide and discover something new every time :-)

.

Conclusion: I feel this is a book for someone who gets around 600-620 and wants to touch 700 and maybe go a bit over..Especially for those whose weak area is WORD PROBLEMS and who makes careless mistakes...It will by itself not Guarantee a 700 by any means (as i am learning, now with CAT's) but will help if supplemented with the OG's and online resources. It will almost never help you achieve 800, nor will it enable a 720-750 level person to get 800. Infact if you are consistantly scoring 700 or above in CAT's i think this book will be a waste of time, and anyone in that situation would find it better to get the MGMAT Adv. quant or move to the GMAT club tests for the extra boost (considering that GMAT club tests are so many in number, and include both quant and verbal) ... So the NAME KAPLAN 800 is only a marketing gimmick and one must look past that. This is a logical supplement for the Kaplan premier, and those that have started off with the Kap premier (as a huge number does) then this is a couple of notches above that in difficulty. For those that start off with MGMAT set, and do well in the 400 or so questions that come with that can perhaps skip this book and move on to the MGMAT Adv quant.(if they are getting a good score on some of the practice CAT's )

. Conclusion: I feel this is a book for someone who gets around 600-620 and wants to touch 700 and maybe go a bit over..Especially for those whose weak area is WORD PROBLEMS and who makes careless mistakes...It will by itself not Guarantee a 700 by any means (as i am learning, now with CAT's) but will help if supplemented with the OG's and online resources. It will almost never help you achieve 800, nor will it enable a 720-750 level person to get 800. Infact if you are consistantly scoring 700 or above in CAT's i think this book will be a waste of time, and anyone in that situation would find it better to get the MGMAT Adv. quant or move to the GMAT club tests for the extra boost (considering that GMAT club tests are so many in number, and include both quant and verbal) ... So the NAME KAPLAN 800 is only a marketing gimmick and one must look past that. This is a logical supplement for the Kaplan premier, and those that have started off with the Kap premier (as a huge number does) then this is a couple of notches above that in difficulty. For those that start off with MGMAT set, and do well in the 400 or so questions that come with that can perhaps skip this book and move on to the MGMAT Adv quant.(if they are getting a good score on some of the practice CAT's )

jppaa · Answer

I'm currently studying for the GMAT as well. Like you, I was scoring in the 44-46 range for Quant after going over the basic concepts and approaches that any guide or test prep company can give you. But, if you really want to get better on the Quant section, I would get the MGMAT Advanced Quant. This book is overkill, but it will make you so much better. I scored a 49 on the Quant section of a GMAT Prep exam a week ago after going through this book. This book teaches you to think better, and conditions you to learn the main strategies behind any difficult problem. Nobody that passively performs calculations and simply looks to find a data point as their answer will score above a 45 on the GMAT Quant. That is what this book pushes you to get past. Don't get discouraged if you find the practice sets in this problem difficult. Generally, they require more time than two minutes (because many of them require more steps than real GMAT problems). They are difficult, and way more difficult than what you'll see on test day. But hey, that's exactly what you want. I was simply amazed how well conditioned I became after doing this book, it made me think of the official gmat material as child's play. I agree with the other members in their assessment of Kaplan's Verbal prep. I think it has an excellent pool of problems you can use as practice. But, refer to MGMAT for any "guide" or "strategy" knowledge. They know what they're doing.

vomhorizon · Answer

I agree, infact i think MGMAT Quant is the single best Book published by MGMAT for it includes strategy , concepts, and tough questions that cannot be found in any other publication. It is the only resource that deals with DS strategy for 700+ questions (VP DS Book is more of a collection of 600-650 level question - Q Bank) and the only one that teaches GUESSING techniques that can be very helpful in making strategic guesses where one is totally bamboozled by the question.

jppaa · Answer

I agree with vomhorizon on another idea as well: use the MGMAT Sentence Correction book. This helped my grammar tremendously. I don't mind doing test prep for the Math section because I've always excelled in math. I've always seen math as a challenging puzzle to solve, rather than a tedious and boring process. Naturally, it hasn't taken me a great deal of time to start scoring extremely high on the Quant section of the GMAT. But, the verbal is what will get you a higher overall score. So, it cannot be ignored in hopes of "acing" the Quant. The sentence correction is almost 40% of the Verbal. To be honest: having sentence correction on a standardized test seems very antiquated. But, that is besides the point. A lot of people moan when they see Sentence Correction and Grammer, but I think it could be used to an analytical (and process focused) individual's advantage. Grammatical rules (much like mathematical properties) can be learned and applied in a somewhat objective manner when given the right materials to prepare. I think MGMAT's Sentence Correction should be read at least 3 times before taking the actual test. Once you've read over it once, do practice problems from other sources. Test yourself, and if there is a grammatical principle you are unsure of, look it up in the book. With the MGMAT Advance Quant book, I would make it a habit to do 10 problems once a day (if you have the time) once you've gone through the book. That way you keep your skills fresh as you prepare for other sections. In summary: I think you can can master nearly three-fourths of the entire GMAT with the two books mentioned and frequent renforcement. The only sections I am leaving out are the Reading Comprehension and Critical Reasoning. LSAT book helps with RC because the articles you read there are much longer and more convoluted than anything the GMAT would throw at you.

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