Customer Reviews

Kaplan GRE Exam 2004

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

 

 

What distinguishes this book from Princeton, Barrons, ETS and others is the speed in which one can learn the various strategies of GRE test taking. I found the vocabulary and root word lists as well as the paper practice tests also invaluable, but understanding GRE test strategies is of paramount importance. I had not taken a test in decades, and I had only a month to prepare. Furthermore I squandered most of this month away, so it came down to cramming in the last week. After several false starts with the other books, I stuck with Kaplan because it looked like it would be the only one I could get through in the limited time that I had. In that short period, I believe Kaplan improved my verbal and quantitative score by a total of 100 or 200 points.

Although I found the book to be superb, I did find the CD very much lacking. The scored computer adaptive test (CAT) completely failed to predict my eventual score on the GRE, which I took yesterday. In the verbal portion, the Kaplan CAT predicted I would receive 470; the GRE scored me at 630. In the quantitative portion, Kaplan predicted 660; the GRE scored me at 800. I took the Kaplan practice CAT the day before the GRE, and after taking about five or six paper practice exams. And no cramming was done after taking the Kaplan CAT. Upon investigating my wrong answers in the Kaplan CAT, I found at least one question defective (failed to provide needed information) and another with an answer explanation that was not consistent with the question. There may have been others. Fortunately the Kaplan CAT grossly underestimated my scores, but after taking the practice exam I was left very uneasy going into the GRE. If you have any difficulty with lack of confidence whatsoever, even at times, I would strongly advise you to avoid taking the Kaplan CAT as it might negatively affect your mental preparedness for the GRE.

But Kaplan the book is great and deserves 5 stars. Use this book if you don't have much time to prepare.

I bought this book, along with the Verbal and Quantitative specific books by Kaplan. The bottom line is, don't buy this book if you plan to buy the other two. If you don't plan to do an in-dept study or if the test is coming up soon, then go with this book. Just remember that there is nothing in this book that is not explained in greater detail in the Verbal and Quantitative books.

By the way, I got scores of 590 verbal and 760 quantitative by using the other two books. I barely touched this one and only studied for about 12 hours per week for 4 weeks. I spent most of my time memorizing the 2000 most common GRE words listed in the Verbal book (there are only about 200 words in the general GRE book).

First, you might note the 5 stars and assume I'm trying to inflate Kaplan's reputation, or even work for Kaplan.

Let me start by saying I think Kaplan's operation is more or less a scam, preying on those who lack the confidence and guidance to study on their own. I nearly fell into the trap, and cancelled my approximately $1000 Kaplan course the last second.

That decision led me to get 90th percentiles in both Math and Verbal, w/a combined score of 1360.

This review is written for those who want to know how to do that, and aren't standardized test wizzes. Although I made my position clear on Kaplan's overpriced course, make no mistake: the Kaplan Book + CDROM is *very good* -- I could NOT have achieved my score without it. My prep schedule includes:

-the Kaplan GRE Book (Quantitative and Verbal Sections). I wanted to get a feel for the test and not dive into problems. Kaplan does an excellent job showing you math techniques that work again and again, such as "doing the same thing to both sides" and backsolving (plugging in). This technique works for half the problems on the real thing.

-I proceeded to the Kaplan practice tests (in the booklet). After this, I got a pretty good feel for the types of questions.

-I moved onto the CD, which has 6 full practice tests (both Quantitative AND Verbal), and 3 full adaptive CATs. The CATs predicted me at a little BELOW what I got on the real GRE, so don't fret if you're seeing 400's, especially on the verbal (got a 610 on the real verbal, which is 90th+ percentile).

-After exhausting the Kaplan book and CD, an equally high-quality and INDISPENSIBLE prep tool was ETS's PowerPrep software (www.gre.org). Like Kaplan's CD, it has a practice section full of exercises, plus two additional CATs. Also like Kaplan, it UNDERESTIMATED my scores, putting my quantitative at 720 and verbal at 550 -- on the real one, Q was 750 and V was 610.

-After these two materials, I felt mentally prepared for the test. Whether you want to fish around for more materials is personal preference. I personally am not the greatest standardized test taker, so I used (lightly) other sources like princetonreview.com, California's Berkeley GRE Prep (do a google search), and the prep materials on GRE's own website.

If you follow these steps, you WILL see results. To gauge for error, here's a little background about me:

I'm a 4th year Computer Science student -- being in engineering, I've had extensive math, but that does NOT mean I would automatically do well on quantitative. GRE Quantitative is VERY different from "school math" and it takes practice, practice, practice.

For the verbal, I practiced all the question types using the sources above, as well as Kaplan's word list on the CD-ROM and book. It definitely helped, but what unfortunately ended up helping more was growing up in the U.S. and simply speaking English -- which I think is unfair for foreign test takers. Again, practice practice practice.

BOTTOM LINE: if you're in a comparable position as me, i.e. in school or not out of school for too long, the above strategy is golden. However, I know a lot of you are "coming back after 30 years" and the like -- a different preparation strategy is necessary to refresh math concepts and test taking skills. GRE.org has an excellent math review for that.

Good luck in tackling these mindless tests that us academics must endure. Remember, you're better prepared than most.

Andy

Kaplan's guide to preparing for the GRE contains all of the necessary elements to aid you in your quest to be better prepared for this standardized test. The book itself is very helpful, but the CD is absolutely indispensable. Not only does it contain many practice questions, practice tests, and exercises to help you hone your test-taking skills, it also has a feature which lets you personalize a program of study based on your individual needs. With this great tool, you won't have to spend time studying in areas you're already strong in, and can devote that time to areas you're weak in. It even allows you to customize your plan based on how much time you have to prepare for the test. While the booklet itself will also prove to be a useful aid, the CD is worth its weight in gold.

Two minor problems with this guide. A frequent complaint about Kaplan's guides is that they contain too much corny humor. The humor and cartoons in the book and CD are childish and unamusing, and become downright annoying after a while. Also, the software, while very good in content, is not very well made. Sometimes, it won't run on my computer. Other times, it just locks up.

Despite these shortcomings, this is an excellent resource for GRE preparation. It helped me immensely. At an affordable price, everything you need is right here.

Do not buy this book. Go for the Barron's book. It has a huge 3500 word list and detailed mathematics review section. Plus 5 full length tests. The kaplan book has only ONE test. Use the ETS software (2 tests) and Sheppard GRE/SAT word games (do a google search). Stay away from this book. Just not worth it!

I just recieved Kaplan's GRE book, and while the book itself seems to be very helpful, the CD is only for Windows users - in other words it doesn't work for anybody who owns a Macintosh computer. ... I want to let future Mac users who are considering this book know about this, as it might influence their decision to buy the book and CD.

I used the Barrons and Kaplan study guides to prepare for the GRE. Of the two I greatly preferred the Barrons. I felt the Kaplan questions, practice tests and overall quality of the material was inferior to Barrons. However, one could do much worse than use the Kaplan's guide, as I went through quite a few of the GRE books that are available at the library and bookstore, and in comparison to many others, Kaplans appears to be decent. Being in engineering, I stressed the math section and essay section and did not really take advantage of the verbal portions of the study guides, so I really cannot comment on if Barrons or Kaplans is better for that portion of the test. For the math section, it felt weaker than the Barron's, and the questions and practice exams seemed easier. For the essay, Kaplan's was ok with the sample essays, however a lot of example essays are also available through the downloadable sample test software off of the GRE website, and I thought those were better.

Overall I was very pleased. I'm a computer programmer so I was looking for Quantitative help and the Kaplan GRE did help. It was especially good with tricks that helped solute the problems more quickly.

I did think the math portion was a little lacking, but with the Kaplan GRE and the PowerPrep software from GRE organization (freeware). I did much better on the test.

If you plan on taking the GRE, you owe it to yourself to get this book and download the PowerPrep. It will make a difference.

The previous reviews of this book are across the board, with most people either loving it or hating it. I found the text to be extremely helpful in studying for the test, and more importantly earning a good score on the GRE. I spent a lot of time with this book, as well as the software that is downloadable from the ETS website for free. The combination of these two resources helped me score a 1220 on the verbal/math sections, and a 6.0 on the writing section. Well worth the effort. The book presents very effective strategies for studying for the test, important subject matter, as well as tips on how to take the test (which don't necessarily have anything to do with knowledge of the test subject matter). If you spend the necessary time with this book, study your flash cards, and memorize the test day tips, you WILL see results. This Fall I am off to the University of Madison-Wisconsin on a full-ride RA position. The Kaplan GRE book was one of many pieces that put the puzzle together.

I was very disappointed in this book. I took an initial practice and scored terribly. After studying the entire book, I took another practice with the same terrible score. My quantitative score was a 240! The lowest is 200! I had myself so stressed out about the GRE that I started to consider other alternatives to my preferred graduate program. I am an honor's student with a 3.93 GPA and am a member of my university's honors college. I was cursing the GRE for being a stumbling block for me. When I took the real test, I hit my target and scored 300 points better than the practice score. Unbelieveable. I am so angry at all of the unneccessary anxiety that I put myself through. So, my advice would be don't put too much stock into your practice scores. Also, the CD is frustrating. A lot of the information is basic and you wish that you could skim through it. However, once you're in a tutuorial, you have to sit and listen to it and it can be slow and boring. It didn't like my computer much and crashed often. The book was very general and basic. I bought some "cram" for the GRE books and got more information from them and better practice questions and explanations. I don't recommend this book. Good luck.