Official Guide 2019 released!

Should i use the most recent version of OG 2019 or the old OG 2015 would suffice.Have they made the changes related to reasoning for some particular type of questions in between these versions is my worry.

If that is your only worry, the 2015 will do just fine. The GMAC doesn't make too many changes to the quantitative and verbal sections, and even when it does, the changes it makes tend to be minor.

Either one is fine. the changes are not considerable. However, I prefer 2019 cuz it could be more relevant to the test

They dont emphasize any change that effects significantly so no worries about which version. Just pick any of them

Hi
The OG 2015 will suffice. You will find the additional questions in the new OG in Gmatclub within a few days.
You can also find all questions of OG 2016, 2017 and 2018 in Gmatclub under the respective sections.

Any suggestions whether to go for ebook version or the hard copy books??

SD88 I recommend the eBook as it allows you to begin to adapt to the limitations of a computerized test. Plus it tends to be cheaper if you purchase it from a third-party seller.

Is there any justification for the price increase?

Monopoly? or excessive IT costs related to the online platform they have not budgeted for?

Posted from my mobile device

From what I can tell thus far, there's a significant amount of new problems, but neither the content nor the presentation of the content is any better. Also, the online presentation is still lackluster. So I would say there's no justification for the price increase. I'm still working through the Quant side though; I hope to have a full review ready to go by Tuesday.

The only issue with that is that they're competing with the 2018 version of their own book which is 85% the same at 55% of the price.

And spending what I can only presume was $0 on IT costs for the last 10 years, you would think they would have had some budget saved up.

Both give you access to the questions on the online Wiley platform, so an ebook is really not all that different. On the other hand, if you need access to the questions even without access to the internet, an ebook would be better, as you would have to download it just once.

GMAC gave us 51 new Quant problems in this year’s guide (out of the 404 that appear in the book). Unfortunately, they did not provide any new advanced problems (rated as a difficulty level of 8 or higher on our 10-point scale). In fact, the most difficult of the new problems only rated at a level 6. So the Quant section of the new Official Guide might not be more helpful than the 2018 version for those of you aiming for the 700+ level.

Contentwise, the 2019 book is quite similar to the 2018 edition, as to be expected. There were slight increases in the numbers of Algebra and Geometry questions at the expense of Arithmetic questions. In more granular detail, there are 5 new Statistics questions, granting it entry into the double-digit club (stats is now covered in 10.4 percent of questions). This shift seems consistent with the material covered on the official practice tests as well. So we would certainly recommend emphasizing stats in your GMAT prep. The other significant increase came in Equations, specifically Modeling Equations, which accounted for most of the increase in Algebra problems.

In conclusion, the Official Guide 2019 doesn’t provide all that much in the way of new and challenging content on the Quant section, but still provides the most up-to-date material for your GMAT prep. If you have any questions about the new Official Guide or the GMAT, please feel free to pm me. Happy studying!

PS: Verbal and Misc. posts coming

For some attempt at comparison - on the SAT standardized test, the College Board official guide is sufficient to score in the 700s.
Does one use supplemental material apart from the official guide to score in the 700s on the GMAT?
What is the maximum score one can achieve with official guide problems "rated at a level 6"?

gmatzpractice great question! The Official Guide doesn't include too many 700+ level problems, but there are some in there. This post was specifically referring to the new content in the OG 2019. In our rating system, we aim for a curve that matches the GMAT score thresholds. So an average problem that we score as a 5 would be roughly the kind of problem that a 550 level scorer should be answering correctly. For more advanced content, we partner with Magoosh so that all of our students have access to Magoosh's question bank, which has many more advanced level questions. Also, the official supplemental guide has more advanced problems.

So I would say that the Official Guide provides plenty of material for test takers looking to score in the 600-650 range, but those who are aiming higher should seek some more advanced content in either the supplemental guides or third-party sites.

Anyone know if there is a spreedsheet for the OG 2019 like there is for 2018 edition?

Yes. It is available.

Posted from my mobile device