Customer Reviews

Kaplan GRE & GMAT Exams Math Workbook, Third Edition

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

My quant score killed me the first time I took the test--57 percentile. I had thought I was prepared with the general Kaplan GMAT book with CD-ROM. Wrong.

For the quant-challenged, there are two general prep strategies. One, you can dish out a couple grand for Kaplan tutoring. Personally, I recommend the following three-book approach, assuming you have time. Get the ARCO GRE-GMAT Math Review. It is basic, but trust me, if you don't know/review the basics cold, you are done. This book would also be a fine starting point for people who would score less than 57%, so don't let that put you off. The section on word problems was particularly helpful. Each topical area (such as factoring) has practice problems, and each section (such as Algebra) has a practice test to reinforce what you are reviewing (or learning).

The second book I recommend is the Kaplan GRE-GMAT Math Workbook. It will take you the next step, assuming that you know the basic math and getting more into how to manipulate certain figures and math concepts to get the answer you need. Test taking strategy is also addressed in this book, which it is not in the ARCO. There are far more practice problems in the Kaplan than in the ARCO, and they are divided into "Basic", "Intermediate" and "Advanced."

I used only these two books, and my quant score went from 57 percentile to 96 percentile. I reviewed for two weeks, one book a week, about 4 hours per day.

I called this a three-book approach; the third book is one that I wish I had bought--GMAC's current edition of previous tests. Practicing in this book would probably have increased my confidence a bit more going into the test--I must admit that I did not fully trust Kaplan's problems to be truly representative of the real GMAT. Judging from my results, this mistrust was unfounded. I did use GMAC's PowerPrep software, which you get when you register for the GMAT. A big drawback with PowerPrep is that it uses the questions from a paper test, and just levers them into the CAT format. The questions don't really get harder if you answer them correctly (as of November 8, 2002). Use them for math practice, but keep in mind that the CAT is designed to challenge you by offering you harder and harder questions as long as you keep getting them right. Don't learn a time managment strategy on the paper tests and expect to use it on the CAT. Don't expect your CAT to be as easy as the paper tests.

I also got Kaplan's GMAT 800 at a local bookstore, and returned it two days later. After the other two books, I could not see that it was helping me much at all. I don't recommend that one. Not for math anyway--I am not addressing verbal anything in this review.

One final note--none of the books address probability, which exists on the GMAT in rudimentary form. I didn't need to know permutations or combinations either time I took the test, but that's not to say that you will not--I just don't know. I did need to know basic probability calculation, and that's not in any of the books above. So, spend an hour at the library and nail that down--it's not difficult.

This book provides an excellent review of most of the math concepts covered on the GRE. Each chapter begins by clearly explaining a concept, and continues by offering TONS of practice exercises and tests. Using this guide and the questions from "GRE: Practicing to take the General Test" by ETS, I was able to score 780 on the GRE Math.

One warning about this book: It does not address some of the more advanced concepts that may appear on the GRE CAT when you are scoring in the 700-800 range. For example, I encountered several questions about probability and statistics, two topics that I did not find in this guide.

The great thing about this book in comparison to the Kaplan GRE Exam 2003 is that it's not just about Kaplan test-taking strategies. Instead, the author goes to great lengths to make sure you are prepared to handle the vast majority of the actual math concepts found on the GRE.

Before I began reviewing for the GRE, I had not used many mathematical concepts since high school (almost 4 years ago). After reviewing with a General Test review book, I took a practice test and scored a 440 and almost gave up my dreams of going to grad school for clinical psychology. Fortunately, I bought the Kaplan GRE-GMAT Math Workbook.

The book consists of 5 main sections (arithmatic, algebra, word problems, and geometry) and a section that is geared toward sections specifically on the GRE or GMAT (like quatitative comparisons, data sufficiency, and graphs). Each of the main sections is divided into subsections, focusing on specific mathmatical concepts such as triangles, percentages, ratios, etc. Each subsection begins with approximately 3-5 pages of clear and useful tutorial on each of the topics. Following the tutorial section are many practice problems at beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels with explainations.

I especially recommend this book if you learn the best by applying your knowledge. General books seem to give a brief explanation, but very little practice. Because this book containes many, many practice problems that are similar to the problems on the actual GRE, it is a very good form of preparation. An extra bonus is that if you are pressed for time, you can probably finish it in a weekend if you are committed. Yesterday I took the GRE and scored a 620 on Quatitative and now have a good shot at going to grad school.

I got 99th percentile on my GMAT 750(49, 42) and i used 3 books: this one, Kaplan's book with CD and Verbal Workbook. I had access to PR book and PP, but I did only tests from those. I found Kaplan's materials of quality and difficulty. Some whine that Kaplan is too hard, but that's good - if you can handle Kaplan, you can handle old good GMAT.

My favorite things about this book:
- Very short and condensed math reviews - straight to the point
- No smart-aleck advice about some stupid tricks - only math review - exactly what I needed
- Fabulous problems that illustrate a lot of traps and multiple ways of solving them
- Starts with the basics - arithmetic, integers, primes, etc - the stuff that anybody can uses a review of. A lot of applicants underestimate how much they forgot the basics and skim/skip them. I would not do that, and that book does not either.
- Finally, the number of questions and quizzes in this book is impressive. I am giving a short summary of some of the sections of the book and number of quizzes and test questions. Quiz questions are math only; Test questions are GMAT-type questions.

Arithmetic
-Number operations (15 quiz questoins and 15 test questions)
-Number properties (15, 19)
-Averages (10, 19)
-Ratios (10, 24)
-Percents (25, 25)
-Powers and Roots (12, 17)

Algebra
-Level One (20, 26)
-Level Two (15, 15)

Word Problems
-Level One (10, 26)
-Level Two (37)
-Test (40)

Geometry
-Lines (6, 14)
-Triangles (16, 21)

-Quadrilaterals (15, 19)
-Circles (19, 13)
-Multiple Figures (4, 15)
-Solids (6, 8)

Data Sufficiency
-Test 1 (25)
-Test 2 (25)

CONS:
- I went through this book at least 3 times (helping others) and I found that solutions don't include some of the most genius ways to handle the problems. I think the authors of the questions went beyond themselves.
- No probability or combinations review, which would be very helpful. Get something. I bombed my probability question on the GMAT.

I bought this book to study for the GMAT. It's a great book to get your brain thinking in math terms again and I strongly recommend it, but if you want to do really well on the GMAT you'll need to study a beginning-level college algebra book in addition to this. There were problems on the GMAT that were not covered in this book, specifically X and Y axis problems. If you haven't done any serious math in a while then you need this book, but don't rely on it completely. Pick up that college algebra book and study it!! I got a 550 on the GMAT, mostly on the strength of my verbal scores. It was enough to get me into grad school but I wish I would have studied a beginning-level college algebra book.

I was about half-way through preparing to take the GRE when I decided that my Kaplan general 2004 book wasn't concise enough on the math section. My quant. scores on the practice tests were coming up at between 390 (nooooo!) and 470.

Then, I ordered the math workbook, worked through every single problem in the book, re-worked the ones I missed, and studied the flashcards I made of all of the necessary formulas. I took the GRE this morning, and I received a 750 on the math portion.

The book definitely helps to ingrain the concepts necessary into your head. I will warn you not to lose confidence if you have trouble working through a lot of the problems in the book. Many of the problems are really really hard, and they are the ones that will appear for those reaching the mid and upper 700's. So, my main complaint using the book is that I didn't think I could do well on the math portion when I couldn't solve a lot of the really hard questions in the book. If I had known that I had it in me, I wouldn't have had to worry so much about the exam. Use the ETS' powerprep software to compliment this book. Good Luck!

This book is perfect for reviewing for the GMAT, it is filled with many questions like you will see on the real GMAT exam. The book also highlights the differences for the GRE and the GMAT, and adds a couple of chapters for review specific to each exam.

I like this book because it breaks math down into very simple areas starting with math, algebra, and then a bit of geometry. Filled with many tutorials, questions, and tests you should feel confident when you go through this book.

Kaplan has a good way of breaking down information that is needed, letting you know what tricks and tips you need to be aware of. This book was real written, and can be used for those of us that do not have a math teacher readily handy for study. I highly recommend this book to anyone needing to brush up for each one of these exams.

This book worked wonders for my quantitative score of the GRE. Initially, without practice, I took a practice test and got a 420 (how depressing was that!) After going through this book and utilizing all the practice problems, I took the GRE and received a 620. Only problem is that the book does not give much aid in the advanced math problems you receive during the GRE as your score improves. I'm convinced I was doing much higher work than the low 600's but didn't know how to do them so my scored was lowered. Otherwise, a pretty fine book!

This book has simple, clear explanations of the math concepts it covers. You should buy this book if you have average intelligence and want to get an above-average score. On the other hand, if you are exceptionally intelligent and want a perfect or near-perfect score, then you will need more help than this book can offer. The high achievers will find that the book lacks sufficient practice for the most difficult skills. I also thought the practice problems didn't test in the same way as the real GRE. For example, the GRE relies heavily on mathematical shortcuts, and the book could do a lot better job incorporating these shortcuts into their difficult practice questions.

I bought this book for a through practice and am somewhat disappointed. Math concepts review is far from through, many word problems are written ambiguously, practice sets are not very diverse. Combinations, permutations and even elementary stat problems are completely absent. I would recommend this book for practice with some reservation.