Manhattan Foundations of GMAT Math Book - worth purchasing?

Cool, thanks guys for the quick posts. I'll just stick with the current 5 quant books then. Once I've done those, if I need to reinforce any concepts I may consider purchasing the Foundations book.

Am I right in saying that the Foundations book contains essentially a summarised version of all 5 quant books, but with a heavy focus on additional questions and exercises?

Ah ok, thanks Dayne! If I have time for more exercises I may give it a go but it probably won't be at the top of my to-do list.

Hi,

While I would agree that the content between the five strategy guides and the Foundations of GMAT Math does overlap, and also that the Foundations of GMAT Math (FOGM) has many more practice problems than our other guides, I would disagree that it is a summary.

The Foundations of GMAT Math book takes the concepts covered in the other guides to a more basic level, breaking down ideas that the other strategy guides assume are already understood. It also brings in a few core concepts that are not covered in the other material, but are important foundational blocks for understanding the concepts in our five quant strategy guides.

That being said, if you are understanding the problems in the strategy guides without any problem, you probably don't need FOGM. You can always test your math skills on our free diagnostic test, though, to help give you a better idea of where you stand: https://www.manhattangmat.com/foundations-math.cfm

Best,
Caitlin Clay
Student Services Associate
Manhattan GMAT

Yes - I have all the books and they provide a good foundation.

Also, take a look at my review of the book on Amazon: MGMAT Math Foundations

If utilized properly, all the books are excellent resource for solid preparation.

Thanks for asking the question, I was going to.

I bought it, it was cheap so...., and it was not worth it for me.

The concepts are very rudimentary, i.e. 5th grade level stuff. If you did fine with other books, you really don't need this one.

Thanks for the information Caitlin, especially: "it also brings in a few core concepts that are not covered in the other material, but are important foundational blocks for understanding the concepts in our five quant strategy guides". As I work through these MGMAT quant books, I'm finding there are occasional moments where I am saying to myself "hey Manhattan, how did you get from this step to that one" during example explanations; clearly the 5 books do assume you know a decent amount of the rudimentary maths rules. So I may consider actually purchasing the Foundations book as, admittedly, I haven't given much attention to these basic rules, which I covered about 6 years ago.

@BB, don't worry, that was the first review I checked during my efforts to find more info about the books. Thanks for reviewing it so thoroughly.

@Suvorov, yes it does seem quite rudimentary but I'm sure I could find use for it. The one reason why I am holding back a purchase is because of the price. In the UK, the Foundations book is the same price as the other 5 quant books. Since I will only use about 20% of the book's contents as compared to 100% of the main 5 quant books, I'm not sure I can justify paying another £12.50 for a book I won't use as much.

I'm glad you found my post helpful!

If you're worried about the price, try bookdepository.co.uk: they don't charge for shipping and they have the Foundations of GMAT Math book: https://www.bookdepository.com/book/9780 ... -GMAT-Math

If you're in London, we do actually have a center there, where you could pick up your book. To do that, you would buy it through us (just give us a call at 212-721-7400) and then pick up your book when the center is open. (It's open when we're holding classes there or an instructor is tutoring.) If you're interested in doing that, let me know!

Also, by the way, if you don't want to make the international call, you can Skype us for free. Our Skype name is m.gmat . You can also call our local London number: 020 3318 5346‎

Best,
Caitlin Clay
Student Services Associate
Manhattan GMAT

In my personal opinion, I have used the MGMAT Prep Guide. I believe MGMT is good for the quantitative part and Cracking the GMAT is good for Verbal part.

Hello all,

I figured I'd post this review since I went over this book cover to cover. Although I have a quantitative background (finance & accounting), I felt that I really needed a big refresher for the fundamental math concepts on the GMAT. Let's face it, unless you see geometry or even word problems to solve on a regular basis, this book may serve a great purpose to get you into the GMAT game.

Over a period of 2 weeks in April, I did the book (reading, taking notes and problems at the end of the chapter). The most I got out of it was how to use prime numbers, get a good feel of word problems and solid geometry overview. At the end I felt a lot better of my math skills and now am well into the MGMAT guided self-study prep course and feel that the foundations of GMAT Math really helped me. You get the book free when you sign up for the guided self-study prep plus class. Even if you pay for it yourself, I thought it was worth it and helps you get over the initial fear of quant on the GMAT.

I am doing my GMAT in a little over a month so hopefully it will work out.

BLITZ

Hi

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Thanks

Excellent book to refresh the concepts. I am not bad in Mathematics but Geometry is my weak area, and this book is a big help for me.