Customer Reviews

Arco 30 Days to the Gmat Cat (Serial)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I had less than a month to prepare for the GMAT. In fact, I spent no more than two weeks studying for the test. If you are like me who don't have a lot of time -I work full time and attend classes full time - I recommend this book. Although the book recommends that the readers spend one day per chapter (and therefore 30 days to prepare for the GMAT), I actually managed to finish reading the chapters and practicing the questions within a week. Their test taking strategies are good. I agree with the reviewer who mentions that there are some errors in the quantitative sections. This is the reason why I am giving it 4 (instead of 5) stars. But the errors didn't frustrate me as it did to the other reviewer, because I found errors in other GMAT guides too. Overall, the book is still an excellent buy. The questions in the book are slightly more difficult than the ones on the actual test. So don't get upset if you don't finish the practice tests within the recommended time.

I used this book as a study aid form my GMAT exam. This book is well organized and easy to understand, however the reader should be aware that there are several mistakes that occur in the quantitative section of this book. They range from simplifying fraction errors to improperly stated formulas. These errors create a high level of frustration when studying with this book.

I have mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, I appreciated the concise and to-the-point style. I found it easier to brush up on my quantitative and verbal skills with this book than with other GMAT books. If you are short on time then this book would be a good choice. However, the sheer volume of errors really bugged the hell out of me. Most of them are stupid editing errors (occurring on virtually every page), but I also found some critical errors with the practice questions. The massive number of mistakes detracted from my ability to study effectively because I was always second-guessing the book. I found this to be an unforgiveable sin for a test prep book and so I only give two stars instead of four.

I started using this book but switched to the Kaplan and GMAC guides because of the number of editing mistakes I encountered in using this book. Nothing undermines my confidence more than a book that dispenses wrong answers, so for that reason I gave it one star. Save your money - go with the Kaplan guides instead.

I did not want to spend the money for a Kaplan or Princeton review class. 30 Days provided the base for successful GMAT prep.

Arco's GMAT in 30 days is an excellent book for a person intending to raise his/her score by 80-100 points in that timeframe. I took the GMAT and got a score of 730 and 6 in the AWA. This book contains a lot of the information presented really nicely. It however is lacking in two areas. The verbal reasoning explanations are quite difficult to understand and the book doesn't talk much about probability. The other sections are excellent and provide all the information and relevant practice questions. In order to get a good feel for the GMAT though, I found several opinions from different publishers helped, besides, there is so much information out there that I wanted to get as much as I could. I would also recommend Princeton's excellent book with the CD for the other sections. Their Process of Elimination method is really good.

Poor Editing. Full of printing errors in the practice tests

I highly recommend this book. Small in price and page length, but packed with practical skill-building materials that don't insult the reader's intelligence. Explanations for practice questions are the most thorough of any GMAT book I've seen. Kudos! What I liked best is that the author provides online support for the book. (Why don't more authors do this?) At the end of each lesson the reader is referred to online materials (at the author's web site) that supplement the lesson. Cool!

Wish to know if there is a way to contact the author and ask if the errors (which seem obvious), are really errors. This may be a misinterpreted issue, but in most cases the error is hopefully in the book. These books should all have an email address to communicate with the author, to both help the author on the next issue and help the user resolve real issues.