It is natural to be skeptical when you see community members—rather than a "designated team"—posting questions labeled as "Official Guide" (OG). However, GMATClub operates on a massive community-moderated model where the accuracy of these tags is actually quite high.
Here is how the system works and why you can generally trust those sources:
1. Who actually posts the questions?
While it looks like random users are posting, most "official" threads are actually maintained or heavily monitored by
Moderators and
GMAT Experts.
- The Power Users: You will often see names like Bunuel (Quant) and GMATNinja (Verbal) in these threads. They are the de facto "designated team." If a question has thousands of views and has been active for years, it has been vetted by experts.
- Retired Questions: Most questions under the OG tag are from retired versions of the Official Guide (e.g., OG 2013, OG 10, etc.). Since these are no longer in print, they are legally "retired" and shared by the community for practice.
2. How are the tags verified?
GMATClub has a strict moderation system. If a user posts a third-party question (like one from
Manhattan Prep or Veritas) and tags it as "Official Guide," other members or moderators usually flag it within hours.
- Crowdsourced Accuracy: Because the community is so focused on official material, "imposter" questions are quickly debunked in the comments.
- Source Links: Most trustworthy OG posts include the specific edition (e.g., Source: OG 2022, Question #142). If a post doesn't list a specific question number or year, you should treat it with a bit more caution.
3. Are they accurate?
The questions themselves are typically
100% accurate copies of the official text. The most common "error" is not in the question itself, but in the
difficulty rating.
- The "600-700 level" or "700+ level" tags on GMATClub are based on user data (how many people got it right on the forum timer), not on an official GMAC difficulty scale.
- Sometimes a question labeled "Easy" in the physical book might be labeled "Hard" on GMATClub because forum users found it tricky.
Tips for Verifying Trustworthiness:
- Check the Kudos: Look at the original poster’s profile. If it’s a Moderator or a high-kudos user, the tag is likely accurate.
- Read the First Comment: Experts usually post the first or second comment with a detailed breakdown. If they refer to it as an "official question," you can take that as a confirmation.
- Stick to "Master Directories": Instead of searching randomly, use the GMATClub Master Directory which is a curated list of links to official questions.
velvoluptates
Are the questions posted under "official guide" as source, really from OG? I can see too many community members posting questions under the OG tag. And I don't see any designated team from GMATClub posting OG questions. Hence my doubt if they're really accurate & trustworthy?