Customer Reviews

GRE Prep Course

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Though several other reviewers seem to find this book mediocre at best, I found that it was very helpful in a lot of ways. The questions seemed a lot harder than actual questions on ETS practice tests as well as on the real GRE, so when it came to actually taking the test I felt that everything was pretty easy by comparison. My score was much better after having studied this book than it would have been without it. Granted, I did come across some wrong answers in problem explanations, but very few when considering the sizable quantity of practice questions in this book.

The Quantitative lessons were the most helpful to me, as they provided in-depth reviews of all the concepts that are likely to be encountered in the exam, with practice problems for each concept. The logic sections were also very helpful, especially when it came to practicing how to concisely jot down the conditions of a problem and how to draw the right kinds of diagrams quickly. Finally, the verbal section provided a good review, including a list of 4000 important vocab words. Unfortunately, the vocab definitions provided were extremely brief, and I found it necessary to turn to another study guide for more extensive definitions.

Overall, though I didn't manage an 800-800-800 like some reviewers who used this book (I wish I could have gotten that score!), I did very well (well enough to feel no inclination to take the test again). I found that the only factor that lowered my scores at all was the fact that I had trouble finishing all the questions on the quantitative and analytical secitons within the time limits (damn those time limits! damn them to hell!). I was much better off for having studied with this book and I would recommend it to anyone, although I'm sure that most study guides are fairly equivalent. What really makes the biggest difference is the time and effort you're willing to devote to studying this or any other guide.

This book is great, it has a lot of excercises but be sure to have enough time to study, at least 2 months, before the exam.

Most of the exercises are of equal or high complexity as the actual exam.

This is the book to study from.

This particular GRE review book is actually quite difficult to use and does not, I believe prepare you for actual GRE questions.
1. The anylytical or Logic portion of the book (Soon to become obsolete) is ridiculously easy, I scored 800 each time on all the tests in the book, and found they had no helpful strategies in the logic section. While I scored a 760 in Analytical, I did not find anything in this book remotely challenging when it came to test day...

2. The Verbal section of the book does have a helpful vocabulary list, however, their one word definitions are not always entirely accurate in defining these words, thus on test day, you may come up against a word with two meanings such as Purchase (traction or to buy) or Slip (used by potters, or to fall, or an undergarment) and only know one. In addition, their questions for the reading interpretation are somewhat vague and really open to interpretation.
3. Math is my weak point. The math section was thorough enough it seemed to me, but there were several errors.

The other complaint I have regarding this book is the unusual percentile scoring which seems to have very little rhyme or reason. While it appears logical, it scores your test very differently than an actual CAT exam would- despite it being on the computer. The book bases your score on number of questions answered correctly, where as the CAT bases it on the weight of the questions you answer correctly...Based on the scores I got from this book I would have had a 1630, when in reality I scored 1860.

There are several GRE prep books out there. i would recommend you choose a company that focuses on Test Preparation (ie Princeton Review and Kaplan and a few others) to find a more reliable prepatory course....Taking the test is stressful enough without this confusing document.

The book has a good number of analytical questions (they are a bit more difficult than those you would see on the CAT). but it helps to go through these kind of questions as it makes the CAT analytical questions seem easier and you are able to do them faster. The math review section is helpful in refreshing basic math concepts. The Barrons word list is much better than the word list in this book. The main drawback is that the CD is worthless. The questions in the book have just been copied onto the CD.

Overall it may be helpful. Best of luck!

I took the GRE for the first time in November 2004. I used books like Princeton Review and Peterson's material put out by ETS. I used these books to study mostly on my weak area, math.

I decided to take the test again in December 2005. I only studied math and used the GRE Prep Course book. It was hard at first. The book was different than the rest -- it actually had hard math problems in small print on 300 pages, instead of large print baby problems like in the Princeton Review. I've never done well in math, but your book made sense. It made the other prep books seem like they were written to make you have to take the test twice.

Anyway, when the date to the test came around, I felt prepared. I got up at 4 AM on the morning of the test to drive 2 hrs. to the testing site. On my way, my car started to have problems. I called my mechanic uncle and he said the car wouldn't make it. I was passing the airport, so I pulled into a rental car place, rented a car and got myself there with minutes to spare. Two hours late, I got my scores: 240 points higher on my math!

Your book works,

Thank you,

Leah

This book is definitely worth the money and time it will take to cover it. With this book, you can pretty much completely prepare for the GRE and it WILL help your score.

Some things to watch for are the errors in the math section. There are a few cases where the wrong answer is attributed to the correct letter and there were a few that the problem was simply worked out incorrectly. Also, I was not too impressed with the way this book approached the Verbal section... it implies that you should memorize a list of 4000 words. Even if I had the time to do this, I would not. Memorizing huge lists is not an effective way to study.

In all, this book is a great way to approach studying for the GRE, but allow yourself about a month to absorb all of the material.

The book was fair for the math part. If you want to learn about arithmetic or algebra and have not had much background in it, I would recommend going to another book that breaks things down even more. The authors attempt to be through with their explanations, but for those of us who have not had much experience with the basics, one will need more supplementation. The price I see has gone down on this book. The software is fine. The online part is a scam. I attempted to get online with the site the book said to use, and it doesn't work any longer. They don't tell you that when you purchase the book. I paid top dollar for this book when it was originally $39. They now use some second-hand non-American company (in India perhaps?) that anybody can get online with. The questions are full of typos and don't even make sense. Why say that you have an online review as part of your advertising when you truly don't anymore? I think the publisher ought to be ashamed of themselves in that regard.

I had both the Kaplan and Princeton Review books. But the Nova GRE prep was by far the most thorough guide. Warning...this book is not for the weak...there's not a whole lot of white space in it. While princeton review is great if you want quick strategies, I think the Nova is best for those who really have the time to study for the GRE. Also in terms of difficulty, the problem sets in nova are more complex I think.. and the math is a bit more challenging, compared to the Kaplan and Princeton Review books. I only wish I had started with and focused completely on the nova prep guide. I felt like I had wasted my time on the other two books because of the name. The other two have good stuff, but I'm saying if you really want to drill yourself and if you've been away from math and words for very long, go with the nova...it will get you up to speed if you take the time to go through it. there are a couple of mistakes here and there in the book but not enough to detract from the overall value. Man I wish I started on Nova sooner!!!

The author puts too much of his opinion in the reading comprehension section. Answers are vague and i questioned whether I should learn why HE justifies his answers. Perhaps a different answer would be correct on the GRE! He comes off as pompous and sexist and the author's voice should not come through at all in an instruction book.

This is a good book for Quantitative Section.This improved my Quant score.
But dont prepare Verbal from this book.Its a kinda mess.
Still it is a good one for Math.