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21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Really the Only Guide Available, April 11, 2010
This review is from: Cracking the GRE Mathematics Subject Test, 4th Edition (Graduate School Test Preparation) (Paperback)
The 4th edition adds about 50 or so more problems in the Additional Topics section. There are a brief couple pages added regarding Graph Theory and Algorithms but nothing substantial. However, there are a few typos in the newly added material. One notable example is that Contraposition is mislabled as Contradiction. The 4th edition is not significantly different from the 3rd edition other than the aforementioned changes. The main complaint regarding Leduc's guide is a lack of exercises. Having taken the Mathematics Subject GRE just yesterday as of the writing of this review, I can honestly say that the major pitful encountered by most, including me, on the exam was the time constraint - an absurd 2 hours 50 minutes for 66 somewhat tricky to somewhat impossible to solve in 2.5 minutes mathematics questions. The best use of this guide is to serve as a nexus for your studies, and augment your studies with a lot of other books and exercises. Nonetheless , since this guide is not terribly expensive, I recommend the purchase if you don't already have the 3rd edition.
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6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Extremely simplified but perhaps better than nothing, May 23, 2011
This review is from: Cracking the GRE Mathematics Subject Test, 4th Edition (Graduate School Test Preparation) (Paperback)
If you are thinking about buying this book , then most likely you are about to take the GRE SUBJECT TEST IN MATH.The high ranked and better graduate programs in the U.S require it, with a lot of low ranked and intermediate graduate programs not requiring it.The main problem with this book is that the actual problems that are solved and discussed are much simpler than than actual GRE SUBJECT TEST IN MATH.This is a major flaw that cannot be overlooked. On the ETS website there is an actual test that was administered in 2005.A comparison of this test and a practise test at the end of this book shows great differences in the actual difficulty level.Needless to say the real ETS test is much harder.Another problem with this book is that many advanced topics do not get realistic treatment.Most notable are Real Analysis,Topology,Number Theory, and Abstract Algebra .Therefore it would be naive on the part of prospective test takers to think that this book represents an actual MATH SUBJECT TEST.The only worth this book has is that it makes the reader get used to multiple choice Math questions, and this is why it is perhaps better than nothing.As far as the actual MATH SUBJECT TEST is concerened,the people who score high on this test are mainly foreigners who are graduates of overseas Universities. In the United States in the great majority of undergraduate math programs it is a known fact that the stress is not on the most difficult problems.Ironically the GRE SUBJECT TEST IN MATH does stress the most difficult problems.As just one example supporting this fact look at question #51 on test available on the ETS website where it has the integral of the greatest integer function multiplied by the exponential function.Now realistically when was the last time you saw the integral of the greatest integer function on a calculus test?? Likewise the Actual MATH GRE SUBJECT TEST is full of very tricky questions.If you are about to graduate (or have graduated) from a U.S mathematics undergraduate program , you will need a major attitude adjustment to score high on this test.My advice to you would be to seek out the more difficult problems in undergraduate mathematics and solve as many of them as you can.It is perhaps after that stage that you could think about buying this book in order to get used to the multiple choice format.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Essential, but very short on problems, November 16, 2011
This review is from: Cracking the GRE Mathematics Subject Test, 4th Edition (Graduate School Test Preparation) (Paperback)
I took the GRE subject test twice. The first time I studied using this book alone, and that was just not enough. There simply aren't enough problems in the book. The second time I took the test, I did much better -- make no mistake, the Princeton Review book helped, but what really made the difference was digging up my old calculus textbook and just doing large quantities of problems as quickly as possible. Without more problems, you really just don't acquire the kind of pacing necessary to succeed on the actual subject exam.
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