Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good prep material in combination with other sources, November 9, 2009
I ordered this book, the Kaplan GRE math review book, and the Kaplan GRE vocab flashcards, and I also separately (off Amazon) purchased the Princeton GRE review book. I got these materials at the end of July and did not start studying hard (about 3 hours a day) until 6 weeks before the test, but the combination of these materials prepared me well. The Kaplan offers a decent variety of questions and a good overview of vocab/math, but I preferred the Princeton book better, to be honest. It was more accessible, and the math review was VERY basic, which was just what I needed. Coupled with the Kaplan math review book, I feel like my sources gave me a very good overview of skills I needed to know. The great thing about Kaplan is the online companion, which provides helpful quizzes, study plans, and 4 full-length tests, three of which are CATs. The answers to all these quizzes and tests are fully explained, so they helped me a great deal.
As far as verbal sections are concerned, the cards and books seemed clear and helpful, but as the verbal section of any test has always been my strong point, I did not really study verbal very much. The cards do provide 500 "standard" GRE words, and I have to admit that I saw about 7-10 of them on today's test (yup, I took it this afternoon). If you are worried about vocab (and the GRE really amounts to a big vocab test), I would invest in the cards. Likewise, if you are worried about the essays, I would invest in the Princeton book, which has an excellent, step-by-step approach to writing solid essays.
The most important thing, though, is practice. These materials will help you review concepts, but practice is key for getting a handle on test pacing (and effective pacing has everything to do with good score, as you are penalized for unanswered questions). I did get somewhat flustered during today's Quant section, but using the various strategies I learned from these resources, I still managed to get a 630 in Quant (which is a triumph for this English major, especially since my poor pacing forced me to guess on the last 13 questions). I got an 800 in Verbal, and I do think the practice drills and tests helped my pacing. I don't know my AWA scores yet, but I completed them with a few minutes to spare. While no particular combination of study materials will guarantee good GRE score, I found that these particular resources worked well for me!
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21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Feel somewhat short changed, June 17, 2009
The Not So Good:
The GRE Premier Live Online edition 2010 that I have is a little frustrating. I found that the instructions, starting with the "Quick Start Guide", actually left you groping aroung on the internet trying to find the web pages they are referring to. I think someone who was too familiar with their process wrote it so that started off on the wrong foot. In addition, I am not one who likes to provide information on the internet and Kaplan uses the fact that you have already bought their product as leverage to collect your information.
In addition to these issues the online service gives a maximum of 3 months to use the service that "comes" with the book. With a family, including three young children, I am not sure I whether or not I will really get all of the use from it by Septmber. There is always something good to be said about just getting in and diog it, but I don't need a push from a vendors product that I have already purchased.
The Good:
Once I found the diagnostic test I think it was very worthwhile.. boy do I need some vocabulary work. In addition, the book (and website) does a good job on a question by question basis explaining what you did wrong (unfortunately on vocab issues it is appratent when you read the question!). I definitely have started getting more comfortable with the test as I have read through how the test is generated, scored, and the reasoning as to why Kaplan's philosophy can yield good results.
I haven't taken the test yet and have just started with the Kaplan book, overall I think it will work well. I would rather have a CD with a number of practice tests that I can run at any time or have longer access to the website service though. I gave it 3 stars because I think the product isn't necessarily bad, but left me with that "ripped off" feeling when dealing with the "Not So Good" things I explained above.
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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Not reliable, August 5, 2009
I used Kaplan's ASVAB book and the GRE Exam 2010 Online book, and both have similar problems.
1. Kaplan is VERY bad at explaining new concepts. If you're just looking for review and feel comfortable in your math skills, this book is probably fine. But if you're hazy on geometry and algebra, you will probably just be confused and frustrated using Kaplan, because they do things like teach you how to use a concept, then have an "example" problem where the concept isn't even used.
2. The online guide sucks. I got this book because it said it had 5 practice tests online, but once you register the book, it tells you that a new practice test is only available every month. Not only can you not take multiple practice tests within a month (which would be useful if you don't have months and months to study for the GRE), but the online tools are only good for three months. Essentially, there are only 3 practice tests available to you, and given how ridiculously complicated the online segments are, even those are hard to use.
3. Kaplan has the worst practice questions EVER. With both ASVAB and GRE, Kaplan uses real questions taken from the tests, but forgets key parts of the questions, making them unsolvable. For instance, Question 25 from the math section of the book's practice test is missing key information, so you're basically guessing on questions that would NEVER be composed that way on the real GRE.
This book is a frustrating waste of time, whether you're trying to learn new information or just review. Their practice questions aren't reliable, and the online component is practically impossible to use. Go with Princeton. They're not great, but they're cheaper and much easier to use.
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