am1974
Hi bb,
Thanks for your insight. For GMAT plus material I went to the web site mentioned in the Link section. I could find and download the material for BOOK 1,3,5,6 but could not locate BOOK 2 and 4. Is there any way I can get my hands on these 2 books as well?
Also just to let you know that in the "Prep Material" menu the link to "Reading Comprehension" is not working. I do not if it would be useful but I was just curious.
Thanks for all of your generous hardwork.
I don't really know about #2, 4
Please, don't be mislead though - you don't need #2, #4, or event any of them. I did not use them and did fine. It is not the life sucking practice that will improve your score. Sleepless nights contribute little to your success on the GMAT. YOu have to be fresh and receptive when you study - you have to refresh material, learn grammar, study arithmetic again so that you can be on top. Blindly solving gmat tests is a heinous waste of time - go to the movies instead. You will get a better result.
The point I try to get here is KNOW YOUR ****.
If you know math perfectly, you are familiar with the grammar and feel fine about reading - there is no need to do more than take Kaplan tests, a few PP and go ahead - you are ready for 700+
I strongly believe that a special point needs to be made about this. Many people try to prepare for GMAT by taking numerous sample tests. DO NOT follow this faulty pattern! Here is why:
1. You are supposed to study using books, formula sheets, study guides, and other STUDY materials. Tests are designed to assess your knowledge and to diagnose your math and verbal skills; they were NOT developed to teach you. Sample tests are supposed to help you polish your strategies for verbal and math sections as well as to help you learn how to use your time efficiently and how to control the test. You should use a different source to find properties of a triangle. Of course, every one learns something from taking CATs (Computer Adaptive Tests) but that should not be a major source of information. LetтАЩs look at it this way. If you are involved in testing a new aircraft, you probably know that before the final model is assembled, it takes about 2 years to test the engines, body, flaps, etc. Engineers examine and test each part one by one; they donтАЩt just assemble 20 aircrafts and shoot them out to see if the engine fails or if the flaps jam. Why? Well, it is too expensive to pay $50,000,000 just to try out the flaps. In the similar manner, it is also too expensive to waste a full GMAT sample test just to try out your algebra skills or the Pythagorean Theorem since they account for only a small portion of the test. We believe that learning is more effective when you take a collection of problems on a certain subject after you studied it persistently.
2. There are only a few good sample tests and test questions on the market right now. So, if you take all the tests and your scores are still not good enough, you will not be able to use the same tests for a comprehensive diagnostic of your math/verbal skills, nor will you be able to accurately evaluate your standing. You may not believe how amazing this thing called human memory is: if you took a test once, there is a very, very good chance that you will remember the majority of answers for an extended period of time.
3. If you study using only sample tests, it is very likely that you will be able to understand only bits and pieces of information about a certain subject area, thus, getting incomplete picture about, letтАЩs say, probability or subject-verb agreement.
4. It is faster to learn using textbooks; you can cover more material in an hour of reading a textbook than in 2 hours of taking a sample GMAT, again, because the test tests only a small portion of knowledge from each area.
5. If you take a full sample test right after brushed up a chapter on geometry, you will hardly notice any difference in your score. Instead of taking a sample test, do a set of geometry problems that hone exactly what you just learned.
If you follow this advice, you will not need to spend a lot of money on extra test materials and will be able to suffice only on Kaplan, Princeton Review, Power Prep and maybe 800 Score. Visit the links section for more practice tests.