Cracking the GMAT with Sample Tests on CD-ROM, 2003 Edition (Graduate Test Prep) [Paperback]

Geoff Martz (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0375762507 | ISBN-13: 978-0375762505 | Publication Date: June 18, 2002

The Princeton Review realizes that acing the GMAT is very different from getting straight As in school. The Princeton Review doesn't try to teach students everything there is to know about math and English—only the techniques they'll need to score higher on the exam. There's a big difference. In Cracking the GMAT, The Princeton Review will teach test takers how to think like the test makers and:

• Eliminate answer choices that look right but are planted to fool you
• Raise your score by practicing with our GMAT Pre-Diagnostic Test, Scoring Guide and Explanations
• Use process of elimination to solve tough data sufficiency problems
• Master even the toughest sections: Reading Comprehension, Sentence Correction, Data Sufficiency, Critical Reasoning, and more

** Study the techniques and strategies in this book, and then perfect skills on more than 155 practice questions inside. The Princeton Review also gives readers 4 full-length simulated GMAT exams on CD-ROM with instant score reporting. Practice test questions are just like the ones test takers will see on the actual GMAT, and The Princeton Review fully explains every solution.

Contents Include:

I Orientation
Orientation
How to Think About the GMAT
Cracking the System: Basic Principles
Cracking the system: Intermediate Principles
Cracking the System: Advanced Principles
Taking the GMAT
II How to Crack the Math GMAT
GMAT Math: Basic Principles
The POE and GMAT Math
Arithmetic
Algebra
Geometry
Data Sufficiency
III How to Crack the Verbal GMAT
Sentence Correction
Reading Comprehension
Critical Reasoning
IV How to Crack the Writing Assessment
Writing Assessment

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

The Princeton Review realizes that acing the GMAT is very different from getting straight As in school. The Princeton Review doesn't try to teach students everything there is to know about math and English—only the techniques they'll need to score higher on the exam. There's a big difference. In Cracking the GMAT, The Princeton Review will teach test takers how to think like the test makers and:

• Eliminate answer choices that look right but are planted to fool you
• Raise your score by practicing with our GMAT Pre-Diagnostic Test, Scoring Guide and Explanations
• Use process of elimination to solve tough data sufficiency problems
• Master even the toughest sections: Reading Comprehension, Sentence Correction, Data Sufficiency, Critical Reasoning, and more

** Study the techniques and strategies in this book, and then perfect skills on more than 155 practice questions inside. The Princeton Review also gives readers 4 full-length simulated GMAT exams on CD-ROM with instant score reporting. Practice test questions are just like the ones test takers will see on the actual GMAT, and The Princeton Review fully explains every solution.

Contents Include:

I Orientation
Orientation
How to Think About the GMAT
Cracking the System: Basic Principles
Cracking the system: Intermediate Principles
Cracking the System: Advanced Principles
Taking the GMAT
II How to Crack the Math GMAT
GMAT Math: Basic Principles
The POE and GMAT Math
Arithmetic
Algebra
Geometry
Data Sufficiency
III How to Crack the Verbal GMAT
Sentence Correction
Reading Comprehension
Critical Reasoning
IV How to Crack the Writing Assessment
Writing Assessment

About the Author

Geoff Martz attended Dartmouth College and Columbia University, joining The Princeton Review in 1985 as a teacher and writer. Martz headed the development team that designed the Review's GMAT course. He is the author or coauthor of Cracking the ACT, Paying for College, Cracking the GED, and How to Survive Without Your Parents' Money.

Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Princeton Review (June 18, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375762507
• ISBN-13: 978-0375762505
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.4 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,677,514 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Practice tests are full of errors, January 15, 2003

By 

Brian Dresher (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cracking the GMAT with Sample Tests on CD-ROM, 2003 Edition (Graduate Test Prep) (Paperback)

I 100% do not recommend this book. The tests were filled with errors that are unacceptable. If you're taking the tests to simulate the actual exam experience, then you will be in for a serious letdown. Here are examples of the problems that I encountered:

1. The actual GMAT allows for a 5-minute break in between the Math and Verbal sections. The PR test allowed for a 1-minute break. If you have yet to take a practice test, this might not seem like a big deal, but those full 5 minutes are just enough time to run to the bathroom, eat a quick snack, stretch your legs, and clear your head before the next section begins.

2. On one prep exam, the software indicated that I answered a problem incorrectly; however, its explanation for how to solve the problem resulted in the same answer that I chose! This one question difference can possibly result in a 10-point higher score. Also, this made me wonder that if it indicated that I got answers wrong when they were correct, then did I get answers correct when they were wrong.

3. The verbal section on one prep exam was full of errors. All of the following errors occurred on one prep exam: 1) One question was repeated twice. 2) Similar to above, one question was marked incorrect when, according to the software's explanation, it was in fact correct. 3) The answer choices for a Sentence Correction question did not have the same part underlined as did the original sentence.

4. This is the weirdest and most frustrating error of all. On a Verbal section on a prep exam, I answered a question and hit the `next' button. This resulted in a pop-up window appearing on the screen asking me to open a file in the Princeton Review folder on my hard drive (similar to when you select `Open' within Word or Excel). I cancelled out of the option and was returned to the exam. The exam then only gave me 40 questions for the Verbal instead of 41.

5. While the writing section is not considered as important by many test takers, it is still a part of the exam and must be completed. On one exam, I finished the first essay as time expired. When this happens on the real exam, you are asked by the exam if you wish to submit that essay and proceed to the next essay. The PR exam gave me the options of either exiting the test or proceeding to the next section, i.e., going straight to the Math section and not doing the next essay. The GMAT is an endurance test and to subtract a 30-minute essay is to reduce the timed test by nearly 15%. Once again, I was give only one minute for a break when I should have been allowed five minutes.

You want your test experiences to simulate the real experience as closely as possible. You want your test scores to simulate the real scores as possible. The errors mentioned above can throw you out of rhythm when you expect something to occur and it doesn't. Or worse, something doesn't occur when you thought it would.

I highly recommend the Official Guide for GMAT Study. This book is a must for all test takers. I would definitely pick up a Kaplan book to learn the test tips, but not for using their practice tests. The Prep software available from the GMAT web site (MBA.com) contains two tests. If you want additional tests, then I would certainly not recommend PR and I don't think I would recommend Kaplan (way more difficult than the actual exam and their scoring system is about 60 - 100 points lower than the actual). I used PR and Kaplan tests and wish I would have chosen another guide.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Mistakes and oversimplifications make for frustration, July 2, 2002

By 

RN (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cracking the GMAT with Sample Tests on CD-ROM, 2003 Edition (Graduate Test Prep) (Paperback)

I have found a few mistakes in even the 2003 edition which has sowed a seed of doubt in my mind when I practice on their materials. It seems like their explanations to answers on their CATs were put together so they could publish the book quickly because they are not very good (or always accurate!!!)

I looked at the Kaplan book (which I had to return because the CD-ROM wouldn't run on WIN2000 -- information not advertised anywhere!) which had overall better tips. I have also heard that Kaplans tests are harder. But I have also heard that it doesn't matter because neither company can offer actual ETS-comparable questions.

The PR's advice is mostly what seems to be over-simplistic guessing techniques (eliminating answers that seem too obvious to be correct on hard questions) and I don't know if I can trust it on real ETS questions. Well, I'll find out when I do real ETS questions.

The main problem is that of all prep books -- they get you to answer their questions correctly because they are based on their advice. What will be important is how close their questions are to ETS questions.

I guess the book may be better than nothing though, since some outsider advice (which I heard is not in the ETS Official Guide) surely will help to some extent. But if Kaplan's CD would have worked on Win2000, I would have went with it instead. This book is cheaper than sticker price and the Kaplan 2003 edition wasn't sold on Amazon when this one came out. (You'd think they would have found their mistakes though)

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars 'Cracking the GMAT' won't get you there, April 17, 2003

By 

John Clark (Baltimore, MD United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cracking the GMAT with Sample Tests on CD-ROM, 2003 Edition (Graduate Test Prep) (Paperback)

Go straight for the Official Guide to GMAT Review from ETS. I spent a month working through Cracking the GMAT from Princeton Review and now find myself 3 weeks away from test time and completely ill prepared. Princeton Review tests told me I was doing great - when I started working on real GMAT problems I was completely lost. Half of the techniques taught are not unsed on the real test and the concepts taught in the Princeton Review are so rudimentary it is laughable. Skip this book - waste of time.