Customer Reviews

Kaplan MAT, 2009-2010 Edition

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I followed the recommendations of this book, used the supplied study guides, took the practice tests, and received a score in the 99th percentile when I took the actual test. I suppose that says it all.

I am so glad that I purchased this book in preparing for the MAT. Going through the book as recommended, not only refreshed and expanded my knowledge base, but the sample tests gave me a timing and ease for the actual MAT test taking. Some of the actual test questions were familiar after studying Kaplan's book.

The thing about the MAT is that it really is like Jeopardy, you have to mentally reverse words and meanings, and most of all, you have to be able to spit out random useless facts very quickly. You never know what questions you're gonna get, so studying for the MAT might seem impossible, but it really isn't a good idea just to walk into the testing center without totally knowing what you're in for, and this book should give you a good idea.
Bottom line - I'm not sure if the information in this book enabled me to answer more questions correctly (Some of the review stuff came in handy, Greek gods, atomic symbols, historical figures, vocabulary...), but taking the practice tests was great for - well, practice. Before purchasing this book, I had taken that official Pearson practice test (which costs 30 bucks to access, and you can only take it once!), and done well, but had taken twice as long as would be allowed on the actual test. After only a few days of studying/practice, this book gave me the mental exercise I needed in order to spit out those analogies, not just correctly, but quickly. So when the time came for the real thing, I had ten or so minutes left at the end to check my work. This, I attribute to this book.
That said, I should note that I found the practice tests in this book to be considerably HARDER than the official Pearson practice test and the real test itself. I cannot quite say how it was harder, but it was. However, I'd say that this is a good thing - may as well practice on the real brain-stretchers, and it really put me at ease while taking the real test, because it felt easy in comparison.
My only major complaint is the percentile tables featured in the book (that are supposed to help you get a better idea of how well you did on the practice tests, because raw score doesn't tell you much) are confusing. The table is supposed to help you convert your raw score into a percentile, but the raw scores on the table only go up to 100, but there are 120 questions on each test. The book explains that on the real test, 20 of the 120 questions are experimental, and don't count, but the book's practice tests/percentile table doesn't take this into account, so I wasn't sure what percentile I was in. I found this extremely frustrating.
However, all's well that ends well - on the real test, I placed in the 96th percentile.
Further advice general advice: chances are, you have the choice to do the GRE instead. If you are good at doing math in your head, then go for the GRE. But if you're like me, and stink at math and/or have already died on the quantitative section of the GRE, AND just so happen to be pretty good at Jeopardy, then the MAT is probably a good route.

I would highly recommend this study guide for anyone taking the MAT. The writers of the book are very thorough about breaking down each part of the test to help you understand what to expect. There are sample quizzes for each section as well as 7 full-length tests at the end. The writers also include a section with plenty of study lists that are very helpful. I ended up scoring in the 70th percentile for my area of study as a result of this book.

The book has a lot of information but in my case when I took my test I hardly saw anything I was told to look out for in the book. I felt the same way when I took my first practice test as when I took the actual test, lost and unsure of my performance. The study lists contained in the book were very helpful I just felt like the practice tests were not comparable with the actual test.

My first issue was the practice tests, there was no way to allow for the 20 questions that do not count so you score could vary up to 20 points in either direction. My suggestion would be to select 20 random questions and exclude those from the score. This in theory can give you a more accurate score but YMMV. The second issue was the actual test seemed not to follow the books description of getting progressively harder questions as you took the test. They seemed to be very random with very easy questions next to difficult questions. the trick questions that dealt with word and letter play didn't even appear in my test but there are numerous ones that are abundantly clear in the practice tests. Of course this may be a result of the randomly selected set of questions I got.

The bottom line is that I did well on my test scoring in the 80th percentile which is the high end of the average scores for the masters program I am perusing. If you have the opportunity and money, (30 bucks per practice test), purchase a computer based practice test so you are familiar with the computer based test format before taking the actual test. FYI, the score you receive at the end of the test is a scaled score so you really have no clue what you actually got till you get your result in the mail.

Good luck!

I was using the Kaplan MAT study guide from my local library and found it to be an excellent resource! So much so I decided to buy my own copy so that I could write in it and put it to good use. I am extrememly satisfied with this manual and highly recommend it to anyone needing that additional study help. I plan on taking the MAT exam in a few months and I feel fully capable of scoring high after using this book.

This book helped me score above the 70% and I only studied half of the book due to time constraints. I found questions on the test that were EXACT to the practice ones in the book. If you want to pass, buy this book!

If you're preparing to take the MAT, I recommend this book! I had to take the MAT to get into a school counseling program, and knew nothing about this test! However, it very adequately prepared me and I got well above the required score for my program. This made my comfort level on test day increase dramatically, and to be honest... some of the practice questions from the book were on the actual test!

I also purchased
Barron's How to Prepare for the MAT: Miller Analogies Test, 9th Edition
MAT w/ CD-ROM (REA) -- The Best Test Preparation for the Miller Analogy Test: 5th Edition (Test Preps)

I used all three to get a feel for them, and focused primarily on Kaplan. My reasons:
1. The introduction suggests thinking of the test as a fun game rather than a deadly serious performance. A small but warming detail.
2. This book had around 200 pages of review material, more than Barron's, less than REA. Amount seemed appropriate.
3. This book was by far the EASIEST TO READ, due to the font selected. I feel strongly that this is a supportive factor for the rather tedious task of absorbing lists of facts.

I feel confident that the material review, and taking a few of the practice tests, did increase my score. For what it's worth, I scored in the 99th percentile, which is typical for me on this type of test. However, my last test like this was 25 years ago.

This book would be very beneficial if you had time to study all of the study lists in the books. I looked at it a few times and only days before the test and I found it helpful. I noticed some questions on the MATs that I knew because I looked at the book. It also provided me with information about how the questions are set up (I would not have known this otherwise). I would suggest it!