Kaplan GMAT 2005 with CD-ROM (Kaplan GMAT (Book & CD-Rom)) [Paperback]

Kaplan Publishing (Author)

Book Description

Series: Kaplan GMAT Premier Program (w/CD) | Publication Date: June 29, 2004

Nearly 200,000 M.B.A aspirants tke the GMAT annually to gain admission to business school, a growing number year after year. This year, even more students are expected to take the GMAT to make themselves more competitive in the job marketplace. Special features for Kaplan GMAT 2004 with CD-ROM includes:; Hundreds of realistic practice questions; Four sample GMAT CATs (Computer Adamptive Tests); A CD-ROM with interactive lessons, practice questions, a personalised study plan, and more Since 1997, when the GMAT became available exclusively on computer, Kaplan has offered innovative computer-adaptive test-taking strategies.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Kaplan is the educational division of The Washington Post Company, which also publishes Newsweek. Kaplan offers courses in London and at 185 centres throughout the world.

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Kaplan Publishing; Bk&CD-Rom edition (June 29, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743251687
• ISBN-13: 978-0743251686
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 8.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #939,084 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #95 in Books > Education & Reference > Education > Test Guides - Graduate & Professional > Graduate Preparation

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

73 of 75 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Kaplan GMAT book is a MUST-HAVE!, September 18, 2004

By 

Vineeth Subramanyam "Author, Everyday Cooking... (Chicago, IL, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kaplan GMAT 2005 with CD-ROM (Kaplan GMAT (Book & CD-Rom)) (Paperback)

My review refers to an earlier edition of the Kaplan book, but should give you a good idea for what you'll get when you buy this book. The Kaplan GMAT book and the Official Guide for GMAT Review are two books you absolutely must get to be well prepared for the test.

The lessons & tips included in the Kaplan book are a good way to get familiarized with the test. I also like the approach described in the book to attack CR questions in Verbal and the idioms and other tips for SC. The diagonistic test gives the much needed jolt by highlighting areas that you must concentrate on. The real value of this book is in the 4 CAT tests and practice sections included in the CD-ROM. The tests are much harder than the actual GMAT. Your actual GMAT score will likely be up to 100 points higher than your Kaplan score.

My recommendation is to use the OG to practice questions a day before attempting a practice test from Kaplan or the ETS Powerprep tests. You'll be amazed at how your score will actually improve on a test when you do some prep work with the OG the night before.

Here are my scores from various tests:
Kaplan - 670, 620, 640, 610
Powerprep - 770, 720
Princeton Review - 700, 690 (took only 2 tests, the CD was defective)
Actual GMAT - 720/97% (Q49/90%, V39/89%)

The Quant sections of the Kaplan tests are not exactly easy - so it was a good introduction to GMAT Quant. On the Verbal side, I definitely owe my score to OG - the explanations really helped me understand where I was going wrong, and I did not commit those mistakes again. I neglected Quant since this was more of a strength in my case, but I could have obviously done better than 90% in the actual test. Nevertheless, I'm happy with my score.

Finally, the most important thing to remember is to stay calm on test day. A good test center makes a big difference - e.g., my test center gave us complementary noise-canceling headsets that helped immensely during the test.

Good luck!

54 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kaplan GMAT, February 5, 2005

By 

P. Egerton (Sonoma County, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Kaplan GMAT 2005 with CD-ROM (Kaplan GMAT (Book & CD-Rom)) (Paperback)

Before deciding whether or not to sign up for one of the $1K prep classes, I read the previous reviews for GMAT prep products. These tests were described as the most difficult available so I decided to try to save the thousand bucks and buy this book instead.

I prepped for about 2 weeks with Kaplan (for an hour each week night) and took the full length CAT tests on the weekends in between. The final week took the two PowerPrep tests since they were rumored to be more reflective of the tester's score on the actual GMAT (and they were). Below are my scores in order.

660 (Princeton Review -cold turkey before deciding if I wanted to apply to business school)

600 (Kaplan CAT 1)
600 (Kaplan CAT 2)
640 (Kaplan CAT 3)

720 (PowerPrep 1)
720 (PowerPrep 2 -I never previewed any of the PowerPrep material since the same questions are used on the tests so -you'll probably score falsely high if you do)

720 (Actual GMAT)

I was skeptical (and a little apprehensive) that the Kaplan tests were actually that much harder than the real GMAT tests as the reviews have suggested, but it looks as if they really are. I would recommend this book as long as your ego can take the scores you'll get on the Kaplan CATs. I'm glad I spent $25 and not $1,000.

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars CD is of value, but tests waaaaaaaaay too hard, December 18, 2004

By 

S. Anaokar - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Kaplan GMAT 2005 with CD-ROM (Kaplan GMAT (Book & CD-Rom)) (Paperback)

I've never written one of these before, but since the ones posted were so helpful for me, I felt that I must throw my two cents in.

I purchased three guides before the GMAT: 1) Kaplan 2005, 2) Princeton Review 2005, and 3) The Official GMAT Guide. Here are my thoughts on each:

1) Kaplan: Buy it for the CD, especially the quant. The book itself has some useful test-taking techniques (like backsolving or plugging numbers) and the 100 most tested math topics is nice, but for the most part, there's nothing ground-breaking.

The CD is where the value is. Overall, the tests are extremely difficult. The first CD test I took I scored a 570 - not nearly where I wanted to be (around 700). However, after reading other people's difficulties with the CD test on Amazon, I worried less. Still, it's great practice, especially for tough quant questions. The GMAT is a tough test, and the quant part is particularly tricky, especially with the tight time limit. Learning the pace of the test through Kaplan will safely get you through the GMAT. The verbal section is less useful - the reading comp passages are confusing and explainations of answers are useless.

2) PR - Again, book has some useful test techniques, but buy it for the CD. PR is the opposite of Kaplan - Quant is way too easy and not very useful, unless you are still getting up to speed on math basics. The verbal part is close to the actual GMAT and is very helpful.

3) OG - BUY IT! 1400 real GMAT questions! However, don't crack the book open until you exhaust the Powerprep software, since the software takes all of its questions from the book. You want to simulate the test as closely as possible, and the last thing you want to do is start with questions you already know the answer to.

Some notes about the actual GMAT -

1) Quant section is tough, probably just a bit easier than Kaplan quant. Powerprep does not adequately prepare you for the difficult questions you face on the GMAT. On Powerprep, you may see a few hard ones spread through the test. On the GMAT, they come one right after the other. That's why Kaplan can be so valuable.

2) Your verbal score appears to have a greater influence over your composite score. I'm not entirely sure why, but it does. Your overall percentile score will be much more aligned to you verbal than math score. That doesn't mean ignore the math, but keep it in mind.

3) Take all of your breaks. In fact, I even took breaks during the test if I finished a section early (e.g. finished the first essay in 20 minutes, left the room for 10). It helps you get your mind straight and can reduce fatigue.

My scoring progression:

Kaplan: 570, 610 (only took the quant portion of the last two tests, so no overall score)

PR: 700, 740

Powerprep: 640, 730

Actual: 720 (much better than I expected)

Good luck to everyone out there. The process sucks, I know, but just get through it. And remember, this isn't college, where the SAT can make or break you. Work experience, essays, and recommendations come way in first, then GMAT (HBS didn't require the GMAT for admission until the late 90s which shows just how critical it views the test!).