Customer Reviews

Kaplan GRE Exam, 2007 Edition: Premier Program (Kaplan GRE Premier Program (W/CD))

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I, like many people, bought this book along with a plethora of other GRE prep books (Barrons, Arco, ETS) hoping that a combination of all these books would help me attain the high score I wanted. I figured if one book did a poor job covering one aspect, the others would pick up the slack.

Kaplan's GRE prep book was poor in all aspects of covering the material on the exam. First of all, this book essentially gives few to no facts, just tips and tricks on how to approach problems. Trust me, without reviewing the material, tips and tricks will get you nowhere fast.

Kaplan also does a poor job preparing you on the verbal section, in particular. Whereas Barrons contains an extremely useful 3000 word list, Kaplans has a pathetic 300 word list contained at the end of the book, most of which aren't even that difficult. Truthfully, if you want to do well on the verbal, you need to beef up your vocabulary. Its that simple. Barrons succeeds wonderfully here, as there is no shortcut to doing well on the verbal but hard work and memorization. The math prep. section was somewhat useful (at least there were some facts), but it was ultimately lacking when compared to the far more comprehensive Barrons mathematics review.

My biggest gripe of all with this book is the scant amount of practice problems! If you're a serious studier, you need to practice the math and verbal problems. Most prep books offer a ton of problems, but Kaplan only has a few per question type. It seems Kaplan missed the point here. I don't want more tricks, I need more practice!

The one saving grace for this book is its software. Sure, it isn't great (its actually very cheesy - seems directed at middle school kids rather than adults) but there are 3 practice tests and some practice problems. The tests are great nor are they at accurate (if you need a computer practice test, download the powerprep software on the gre website), but at least its practice. Its actually a terrible indication of what your actual score will be (I scored a 520 on the math section on one of their practice exams, even though I got a 730 on the real test.)

My advise: save your money on this one and pass. Despite having bought so many GRE prep books (about 8), I really only used Barrons because it was the most comprehensive. Go for Barrons instead, you won't be disappointed.

This book stood out to me for my students because it offered online tools in addition to a CD-ROM with quizzes and practice tests. I've invested in actual Kaplan courses before for students, however, and think that I had my hopes up very high about what was available online. The online diagnostic was disappointing in that the analysis it provided was only correct/incorrect answers and the amount of time spent on each question; clearly not enough to let a student know where they stand in strengths and weaknesses. Otherwise, the text is full of great strategies (one has to break his old habits first) and the practice tests online and on the CD-ROM are great for getting used to the CAT as compared to paper tests. GRE test preparation books are certainly great for structured studying so I dont think that people should expect anything more from them.

I bought this book as I prepared to the take the GRE again. I have yet to take it, and so I don't know how helpful this book will be, but so far it does not seem to be as thorough or polished as the Barrons Guide. The Barrons Guide gives you a much longer list of vocabularly, goes over all of the math (including the more difficult quesitons) in full detail, and I think it is a bit more difficult. The GRE Kaplan CD pales next to its much better LSAT CD which had a much more friendly user interface. This cd merely directs you to select quizes from a drop down menu... couldn't you at least have created a simple GUI for this program?

Still, if you want some additional prep, this books seems to
be alright. But I would definitely go for the Barrons Guide first, mainly for its wonderful vocabulary list (3000 words I believe).

Overall I enthusiastically endorse the Kaplan book/CD. It must be supplemented with other sources though. My story:

I studied intensely for about 5 1/2 weeks. Ideally, I would have had a full 8 weeks to study (preferably at a less intense pace). I lost 3 whole weekends to studying, and if I had a more demanding job that prevented me from studying at work I would've been screwed. So plan on 2 months to study.

For materials, I went with Kaplan's 2007 'Premier Program w/CD' , Kaplan's 500-word Vocab Flipbook, Barron's 2007 GRE book (no CD), and ETS' GRE PowerPrep Software. I recommend both Kaplan resources - the full program and CD are good and feature superior answer explanation. The 500-page vocab flipbook is INDISPENSIBLE!!! This book makes studying words very easy anywhere (forget loose flashcards or making them). I had many words from this book on the test. Strategy: when you study words, go through 20-25 at a time. Repeat the same set 3-5 times in one sitting. Next time, do this with a new set... you'll memorize easier this way. I successfully memorized ~375 words, but with 2 months you could get all 500 in. Whatever you do, make sure that you AT LEAST know the 100 'Top GRE Words' listed in the back of the Kaplan Premier Program (these are a subset of the 500 in the flip-book).

Lots of people like the Barron's book. I didn't - first off, the pages are made of very cheap paper that is hard to look at (text bleeds through, is a nasty brownish color). Text & figures are all crammed very closely into dense columns. The Kaplan book features premium stark-white paper that does not bleed through, and the pages are manageable - not too much info staring back at you like Barron's. The math section of Barron's is rough - far too comprehensive. People like the 3,500 vocab list - but c'mon, you're not going to need to study that many words unless your an english majThe book is cheap (like $15 on Amazon) so buy it yourself if you're curious and want a 2nd source. I did use some of the practice math problems and a few verbal problems, but in the end I abandoned Barron's because it was altogether too much.

The CD that comes with Kaplan is decent - contains 6 timed practice quantitative sets, 6 timed proactive verbal sets, and 3 full CAT's. The practice sets are good to use - but they do rush you (only give you 30 mins for 30 problems). On the real GRE, you get 45 mins for 28 problems. Kaplan does this to teach you pacing, but while I was always able to always finish a timed verbal practice set I was never able to finish a timed math practice set on the Kaplan CD. The CAT is timed like the real GRE.

In addition to Kaplan CD, you *MUST* download and use ETS' GRE Powerprep software. The interface looks 99% like the GRE (only the colors are different) and the questions are the same dry questions you'll get on the GRE. There are many untimed practice sets - take them ALL. There are also 2 CAT's - I took both. Also in the software is an ETS "Math Review", which you can print out and put into a binder. Definitely use this - it will familiarize you with ETS's style greatly and highly compliment Kaplan's math review.

[...]

Scores: In the beginning, I got a '61%' on Kaplan's 'Diagnostic Test'. A week later I got a mediocre CAT score on Kaplan's CD: 560 V, 460 Q. This taught me I needed to focus heavily on math, which I did. 3 weeks later I took an ETS CAT: 530 V, 590 Q. This was encouraging, and it told me that ETS scored easier on the math then Kaplan. The day before the test I took the 2nd ETS CAT (although I read NOT to study the day before, I couldn't help myself!). I got 500 V, 620 Q. The increased math score was really encouraging. My flagging verbal led me to focus on vocab for my remaining hours. I didn't study too much/too hard during the last 24 hrs though (you want to relax a bit). I scheduled my test at 1pm because I am NOT a morning person!

Final real GRE score: 550 V, 640 Q. I was elated!! This was much higher than I expected, and placed me in the correct league for the program I am applying for. I know if I had another 3 weeks I could've broken into the 1300's, but oh well.

Note - I completed the essays in my 1st two practice CAT's, but just drew up an outline on the last test. I still don't know my essay scores, but I anticipate at least a 4.5 (maybe 5?). Check out ETS's sample essays/explanations in Powerprep, as well ask Kaplan's sample essays. Assuming you're a good writer, just practice making keen observations about GRE argument topics and effectively/quicky brainstorming ideas for the issues topic. As long as you can draw up a good outline that includes logical points you're all set.

Good luck! I wrote such a long-winded account as I plan to re-post this on other GRE forums I lurked on prior to my D-Day!

I am unimpressed with Kaplan overall. They don't give you a very good in depth review - all they do is give you strategy. I agree that strategy is very necessary but it won't help you if you don't know your vocabulary and don't know enough about the basics of math.

This book is just not thorough enough. The CD is okay for basic review, but unless you're already good at math and have your vocab down, you need another book to actually teach you HOW to do the math as well as a serious review of vocab.

I highly recommend Barron's book.
1) For vocab, their wordlist is great (though perhaps to a dauntingly comprenisve extent). I also recommend "Words for Smart Test Takers." It's a steal at around $11 and has great verbal exercises.
2) For math, Barron's is by far the most superior book that exists. It is extremely dense but leaves no stone unturned. If you are in dire need of help with quantitative, take a look at my review of the Barron's book where I outline a study guide.

I'm a 'forty-something' and I found this book to be very helpful as a review of middle school math. The majority of the test questions came from 9th grade geometry and 7th and 8th grade algebra. This book helped me relearn all that I had forgotten over the past 30+ years.
I also found the verbal review helpful. Although I considered myself to hold a reasonably extensive vocabulary, I studied the root words section rather carefully. I saw some of the exact same words on the test, so the review did help me.
Now, if you are young, remember middle school math and have a reasonable grasp of the English language, then you don't need a study guide at all. I used the CAT practice exams that came on the CD and could score in the 1,100 range. The minimum score is 1,000 for the schools where I am applying for my doctorate, so I was a bit worried that I might not do well enough.
When I finished the test yesterday, my preliminary score was over 1,200 and I know that I guessed at the last 4 or 5 questions in each section, so I'm satisfied with that. It would seem that the results on the sample CAT exams are somewhat accurate even though other reviewers of this book disagree.
One note about the test itself, it is rather grueling! I was there for three hours and felt completely wrung out by the end. I attribute most of that to my advanced age the and the extremely long period of time since my last testing experience.
Good luck to all of you!

the math strategy leaves a bit to be desired (it's on the skimpy side), but the formulas in the back of the book are good and useful to know. the verbal is pretty good, but you should supplement the vocab list w/ barron's top 300 words and PR's word lists in their respective GRE books. the practice tests are pretty good, though, especially on the CD. the verbal is pretty accurate (i got a similar score on the real test as i got here), but the math is harder than the real test. the CD is what makes this book really solid in my opinion, 3 CATs, plus 12 sections of practice.

This is the second time that I have taken the GRE. I used Kaplan's GRE prep program each time and made basically the same high score each time. I liked the CD program from a few years ago much better. That one actually had short videos with exercises where you would learn Kaplan's strategies. In this new version, you just have to read the strategies in the book and understand them on your own. If you are not someone who learns well that way, this program may be a struggle. The CD is very basic, with only verbal sections, math sections, and full tests. Still, I like Kaplan's ideas and they have been successful for me both times. Therefore, I would be remiss to not recommend it.

These GRE study guides are all overrated... I first purchased an Arco study guide for the GRE and it helped me brush up on my rusty math skills and didn't really do anything else. So I then purchased Kaplan in hopes of finding better practice tests and a little more help on the verbal section. Kaplan didn't do much for this either, although the book does provide a list some "hit" words (not very many though). Also, the math that Kaplan has on its practice tests are significantly harder (and scored in a much tougher fashion) than the actual ETS GRE exam and I found this needlessly discouraging and frustrating.
The best advice I would give to future GRE test-takers would be to use the actual ETS practice tests and practice questions that are on the CD-ROM that ETS provides. I also memorized every word in the Princeton Review's "Word Smart for the GRE" and that was a TREMENDOUS help. I ended up scoring: V 670, Q 590
Good luck!

I bought this book and started using it about 6 weeks before my GRE test, which was today. I hadn't taken a standardized test in the past 10 years, but I managed to pull off an above average score in both the Verbal and Quantitative sections. I would say the only negative thing about the book and included software, is the the way the software practice problems are presented. It would be great to see software that would emulate the actual screens of the GRE and behavior of a computer-adaptive test more closely as well as provide scores for all the practice problems, not just the full tests. I think Kaplan pushes you do perform better by setting the bar on their tests much higher than the actual GRE. If you combine this with the free POWERPREP software from the ETS website, I truly believe that you will be more than adequately prepared for the GRE. Good luck!