The GMAT Advantage with Professor Dave [Paperback]

David Scalise (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 2003

The GMAT Advantage with Professor Dave is a unique, comprehensive review for the very difficult GMAT. The simulated classroom-presentation style, academic mentor, graphics, and quotes provide a refreshing, non-intimidating approach to exam review. The CD, with four interactive tutorials, 25 Practice Sets, voice tracks, and full-length exam provides an in-depth, analytical approach. The book and CD ROM comprise 1,700 pages of on-target, academic content.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Professor David Scalise JD, University of San Francisco, has been the recipient of more than 10 awards for teaching excellence. At USF he has taught more than 25 different courses, written numerous articles on teaching techniques, authored several research articles, and written 16 books on test preparation. His unique LSAT and GMAT Advantage Series provides test-review students with his motivating, humorous teaching style captured in the book and on the CD ROM.

Product Details

• Paperback: 496 pages
• Publisher: The Fairfax Lectern, Inc. (November 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0970175620
• ISBN-13: 978-0970175625
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 8.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #576,239 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Preparing for the GAMT, December 7, 2004

By 

J. LaPrade (Virginia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The GMAT Advantage with Professor Dave (Paperback)

After many years in the workforce, I decided to pursue a graduate degree. The most significant hurdle was the GMAT. Writing and language are strengths for me, but for the past 18 years, I've let computers take care of quantitative issues. So, in short order I had to become reacquainted with math concepts long forgotten, and learn how to take a CAT exam and score reasonably well. All of my research led me to one conclusion: it takes more than one study guide to adequately prepare for the GMAT. The course I followed, with an evaluation of each guide, is outlined in the following paragraphs.

For my math review, I selected Peterson's Math Review for GRE, GMAT, and MCAT, 2nd edition. There have been some comments about errors in previous editions, but I found this guide quite helpful, and an excellent refresher on math topics I have not seen in years, but need to know for the GMAT. 4 out of 5.

The GMAT Advantage with Professor Dave was selected because of its readability and the questions. The material is challenging, and the more difficult questions in each category provide a good idea of the difficult questions faced on the GMAT. The verbal chapters are very strong and have excellent examples. The math problems are also very good, but the text assumes that the reader already is familiar with most math topics. This is why I recommend Peterson's Math Review to compliment this guide. Overall 4 out of 5, with a solid 5 for the verbal sections.

The Official Guide for GMAT is the best resource for practice questions. 1400 questions are in this guide, and the last 1/3 in each section represent some difficult concepts that will be tested. This book gets the reader prepared for the real questions that will be seen on the exam. In addition, the question writers provide excellent explanations for the solutions, and reveal some elegantly simple ways to solve math problems that at first appear to be very labor intensive. 4 out of 5. (Also, be sure to take the 2 free CAT tests available online from GMAC. These prepare the user well for the GMAT experience.)

Finally, I also used the Princeton Review Crash Course for GMAT. I used this as a final review and to gain some additional pointers and time savers. While brief, this book does provide excellent quick reference tips for all question types that will be seen on the test. The idiom list and formulas are worth the price alone. 4 out of 5.

I prepared over an 8 week period, with at least 1 hour of review per day, and more often it was 2 to 4 hours. Regular, consistent preparation, using different references that fit your style of learning will prepare you for this rigorous test. Prepare thoroughly with relentless repetition, and take the test. After 18 years out of school, I scored a 690.

Good luck.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent review, December 21, 2004

By 

Nana Luetta (Arizona) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The GMAT Advantage with Professor Dave (Paperback)

This was the first book I picked up. I didn't know what to expect but I had
heard of the author from friends. I was a little intimidated by the exam but
this book was just what I needed to ease me into a study mode. The style is friendly and inviting, but don't be fooled by the classroom style, levity, and graphics. The material is very challenging academic stuff.

The professor is friendly and polite, then challenges you with some very
difficult math problems. But he shows you how to categorize problems and several techniques to use. It really opened my eyes to math problem solving. I must have worked 300 problems. This was the most help. The math tutorials were excellent. There is a section in the book on new types of math problems that have appeared on the most recent exams. I'm not sure how they got this information but it shows they do their homework.

Be ready to work hard. There are four 7-8 hour classes in the book (plus
extensive homework) but it took me a lot longer than eight hours per class because I read every explanation carefully.

They rated every question in the book as to easy, medium, or difficult. I
didn't get this at first but later I realized recognizing harder questions
indicated I needed more time with these. This little tip made me aware of timing which has always been a problem for me. My pacing improved markedly.

The critical reasoning questions were abundant in the book, broken into
categories which made them easier to understand. Many of these questions were related to business (with some business terminology) that can be tough for Liberal Arts majors.

All in all, I strongly endorse this book and the Official Guide which is another great study guide, but without the pictures.

N. Luett, a student from Arizona



  

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent, especially for math, March 4, 2004

By 

Beth Szarsky (Pittsburgh, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The GMAT Advantage with Professor Dave (Paperback)

Math freaks me out. As a Sociology major I took only one very easy statistics class. I hadn't seen a triangle since high school. I'm not worried about the verbal questions of the GMAT. I'm maxing those without a problem. It's Algebra and Geometry that make me nauseous.

In the GMAT Advantage they give a variety of useful strategies, then show you how to solve almost every problem by a common sense method. The questions in the book are similar to those in the GMAT Official Guide so I know my review is on the mark. One thing: Why doesn't the GMAT Official Guide offer multiple strategies and understandable shortcuts?

I'm only half through with my review (scheduled to take the GMAT in May) but already I'm starting to feel comfortable with the math.

The data sufficiency stuff on the exam is weird. Who came up with this kind of question? The best help for these questions are on the GMAT Advantage CD ROM. You just have to do a bunch of these to really understand them. The CD ROM categorizes these by certain characteristics which is extremely helpful. Then the author provides a specific strategy for each different question.

The interactive tutorials are great. I keep referring back to them. They gave me the basics (which I had forgotten) in a very imaginative way-each problem is "graded" as to difficulty to help you understand why you are missing certain types of questions. And there are more challenging, interactive exercises.

I'm looking forward to getting over the exam hurdle. Thanks GMAT Advantage.