Wait for the Official Guide 2021 or buy the 2020 version?

Question

Hello people,

first a big thanks for all those helpful information in this forum.
Im sure they will be a major help in preparing for the GMAT.

I want to start preparing as soon as possible, but first a couple of questions.
1. Does anyone know when the Official Guide 2021 will be released?
2. Does buying the e-book version got any disadvantages?
Example: mba. com/exam-prep/gmat-official-guide-2021-ebook-online-question-bank
"Additional 150+ online questions (not included in ebook)"
3. If waiting isn't worth the time and I should buy the 2020 one - is there any coupon I can use?

AndrewN · Answer

Hello,  Holzbesen . My in-line responses are below.

According to mba.com, June, but Amazon is a little more specific: 3 June.

None that I know of, other than that you cannot flip through anything if you prefer to read from a book instead of a screen.

It really depends on when you intend to take the test and/or apply to programs. The OG gets a few cosmetic changes from year to year, with some questions added and a few dropped, but by and large, the OG from one year to another--at least since the 2019 edition, when the indices were introduced in the back of the book--is quite similar. I can assure you that you can get as much out of the 2020 edition as you could the 2019 edition, and I suspect the same will be true of the 2020 edition and the 2021 edition. Since the new OG will be released relatively soon, you will find more discounts on the current edition. For example, the current listing on Amazon for the OG 2020  bundle , including the extra Verbal and Quant guides, is $51.99, while the price on mba.com for the OG exclusively is $47.95. If I were considering the 2020 edition, I would look to a third-party site, pay a similar price, and get a lot more practice questions.

Good luck with your studies, and if you have further questions, feel free to ask.

- Andrew

Russ19 · Answer

OG-2021 was supposed to release in the second week of May 2020, but it might get a little late because of COVID-19. It might be published in the first week of June.

TheUltimateWinner · Answer

GMAT Official Guide 2021 will be released on 3 June 2020. The quant section of the guide is identical to the 2020 official guide but with an addition of 42 new quantitative reasoning problems. You're going to take your test by monitor (talking about the screen). So it is better to study from online version/epub/pdf. If you need to study from 2020, you can use the following link: https://gmatclub.com/forum/gmac-officia ... 40610.html Hope it helps..

bb · Answer

The printed Guide will be delayed due to the pandemic. 
The electronic versions should be out Monday next week... so it depends if you want paper or electronic format...

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi Holzbesen,

Did you decide which version to purchase? Also, do you need any other advice regarding your GMAT?

unraveled · Answer

Holzbesen Here is a question tagged OG2021: https://gmatclub.com/forum/if-k-and-n-a ... 21730.html It might help you decide though its only one question. So, get in touch with poster, gmatt1476, who might help.

GMATCoachBen · Answer

It is reasonable to either: 1) Buy the paperback 2020 bundle (3 books) here, for $53.92: https://amzn.to/2XX88aj 2) Buy the 2021 ebook next week (mba.com says "approximately April 28th"). I believe they will be similar in usefulness, and most questions overlap. (the 2020 version advertises "over 1,700" problems, whereas the 2021 version advertises 1,895 problems) I recommend registering your books for use at the Online Question Bank at Efficientlearning.com. The site will track your stats, time, and give you the official explanations for each problem. You can use "Study" mode to take multiple tries at each problem before revealing the correct answer, or "Exam" mode to do timed sets and simulate a practice test. It's much more efficient than either the ebook or the paperback. If the official explanation is confusing, I recommend searching GMAT Club for a better explanation from the community (you can paste the start of the question into google or the gmatclub.com search tool). One more tip: a useful mantra is "Review, Reflect, Re-do". Particularly on verbal, it is critical to understand WHY the choices are wrong or correct. In "Study" mode at Efficientlearning.com, if your answer is incorrect, give it a 2nd try -- think about what you might have missed, and then select another answer. For any questions that are wrong/slow/guesses, Review the solution and Reflect on how you could improve and prevent a similar mistake next time. There is a "Notes" feature you can use within the question bank, or use a separate error log. Later, come back to these problems and Re-do them. Extensive Re-dos are highly under-utilized among most test-takers. I also recommend creating your own flashcards, with paper index cards, immediately after you notice something that you are weaker or slow on. Active quizzing later is much better than just taking notes. Then make a separate pile for those that are 100% instant and automatic, vs. ones that could use more work. Best wishes with your training and exam!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Holzbesen,

Since it sounds like you're just beginning your studies, then it would be a good idea to take a FULL-LENGTH practice CAT Test; you can take 2 for free at www.mba.com (and they come with some additional practice materials). If you want to do a little studying first, so that you can familiarize yourself with the basic content and question types, then that's okay - but you shouldn't wait too long to take that initial CAT. That score will give us a good sense of your natural strengths and weaknesses and will help provide a basis for comparison as you continue to study. A FULL CAT takes about 3.5 hours to complete, so make sure that you've set aside enough time to take it in one sitting. Once you have those scores, you should report back here and we can come up with a study plan.

I'd like to know a bit more about your timeline and goals:
1) What is your goal score?
2) When are you planning to take the GMAT?
3) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?

With each new version of the Official Guide, approximately 15% of the content is removed and replaced, so there's ultimately not much of a different between the OG2020 and the upcoming OG2021. In simple terms, you would be fine using either book during your studies. Currently, the release date for the print version of the OG2021 is June 3rd (and the digital version will be available next week).

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

StaySafe · Answer

lnm87 The latest edition 2021 is yet to release. How did you get the tagged 2021 right away in the forum?

unraveled · Answer

naju Even i was flabbergasted the moment i saw the tag, more so when i wasn't looking for it. However, the next day i saw Bunuel's post on the Verbal OG tagged new question link. Well, then, we have to make an assumption.

Holzbesen · Answer

Many thanks for all your replies!
Some of you "guessed" right, the book is already out - and on my iPad (you have to use VitalSource Bookshelf).

The tips are quite useful, I saved this thread as pdf to check if I miss something important.
 
I have access to this Online Question Bank, but can't make use of these questions via app.
Don't know why its still not working, but the support is already contacted.
 
I will do that, but I don't think I will be able to get a good score with the time limits.
Ive answered 30 questions, for some it took like 5 minutes and were still wrong.
After completing a full test, I will release the score here.

Im aiming for at least 700points
I got no time restrictions, but want to achieve my goal in about 3-4 months
Im able to learn around 4-5 hours a day
Generally I'm thinking about studying in the Netherlands, but that's not decided yet

unraveled · Answer

Check this out https://gmatclub.com/forum/search.php?view=search_tags All sections have OG2021 tags available so that's plus for us. Another useful link https://gmatclub.com/forum/gmat-officia ... 22427.html

mk96 · Answer

Hey, I have an old 2018 OG, do you think it makes sense to buy OG 2021 which also has the online practice modes as well with it?

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi mk96,

The OG books are great sources for practice questions, so you would be fine using any relatively recent version of the main OG (going all the way back to the GMAT2015 book). As such, the GMAT2018 is fine from a content standpoint. Whether you want the online 'tools' that come with the more recent books or not is up to you, but I would not go so far as to say that those extra resources are 'essential.' It's also worth noting that the OG is not designed to teach you Tactics, patterns or the little 'secrets' behind the GMAT - for those, you'll need Course-oriented materials.

Before I can offer you any additional advice for your studies, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

Studies:
1) How long have you studied so far? 
2) What study materials do you currently have access to?
3) On what dates did you take EACH of your CATs/mocks and how did you score on EACH (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?

Goals:
4) What is your overall goal score?
5) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

mk96 · Answer

Is the online tool of OG 2021 that allows you to create practice test really worth it? I am following a digital ebook of OG2018? Please help someone.

AndrewN · Answer

Hello,  mk96 . Accessing the question bank through the Wiley Efficient Learning platform is good for practice, and sure, there would be more questions in the newer edition of the OG, but the OG 2018 is sufficient as a preparation tool. You can time yourself with a phone, for instance, on stopwatch mode, or you can simply look up the same questions on this site and take them with the built-in timer. (To save money, I have even borrowed a copy of the OG from the library in the past. One year I got lucky and was able to access the online question bank because the code in the book had not yet been redeemed.)

If you have further questions, feel free to ask. Good luck with your studies.

- Andrew

antoniojmcmillan · Answer

Can you give a detailed list of modifications for the new 2021 version? I want to know about the improvements and perspectives of the new version.

AndrewN · Answer

Hello,  antoniojmcmillan . You ought to check out the  Official Guides page . Just click on the edition of the guide you are interested in, and you will see a writeup of the features of that guide. The only thing that has changed from the 2020 edition to the newest one, to my knowledge, is that some questions are new, while others may have been dropped. The table that lists the questions under that edition of the guide  highlights  each new question, so you will be able to see just how much overlap there is from one OG to another. There is no difference in terms of general content, though, such as the math review chapter, the diagnostic test, or the introduction.

I hope that helps. Good luck with your studies.

- Andrew

antoniojmcmillan · Answer

Thank you for the useful information)))

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