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193 of 196 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Get this collection and an Official Guide 12ed and you are set, November 28, 2009
This review is from: Manhattan GMAT Set of 8 Strategy Guides, Fourth Edition (Manhattan GMAT Strategy Guides) (Paperback)
If you are just starting out with GMAT prep - get this bundle; it's a good deal for the Manhattan GMAT Guides (separately they cost close to $150). These books don't emphasize tricks or easy ways to 700+ score, instead they methodically cover areas tested, and should be pretty much all you will need (besides the Official Guides - see below for links). If this is above your budget, then would recommend you pick the best of the pack:
- Number Properties Guide (condensed overview of Arithmetic and strategies for saving time/solving questions more effectively)
- Word Translations Guide (includes some of the hardest topics - probability, combinations, and statistics)
- Sentence Correction (best book out there and closely followed by PowerScore SC)
- Critical Reasoning (only second to PowerScore CR but by a slim margin)
- Reading Comprehension (there are no other dedicated RC books on market really)
Between these 5 books you should have 80-90% of the GMAT covered and the rest could be picked up from the remaining books and practice with the Official Guides. You can throw in a Kaplan Premier as well - a good intro to GMAT book with 6 free GMAT Tets. It is a good starter book to get your feet wet, but definitely not a must.
To make the most use out of the MGMAT guides, you will need the Official Guide 12th and also OG Verbal 2ed and OG Quant 2nd are recommended. The guides refer to these 3 books for additional practice questions. If you own previous versions of the Official Guide books, you can use those too with a translation table available from MGMAT's website.
*** Each book comes with access to 6 online gmat tests and additional question banks. Don't spend money on these as they are pricey ($45 for 6 tests on the MGMAT website).
Also, if you are new to the GMAT, download 2 official practice tests from [...]and take one of them before you start prepping to get your level - very helpful to track your progress along the way but don't waste these tests - they use real retired gmat questions and though it is possible to recycle them (there are close to 900 questions in the banks), would recommend you use something less valuable for your practice such as MGMAT tests included with these books).
One more thing, don't rush into questions and tests - you will only hurt your self confidence, instead methodically cover each math and verbal topic and only after you are done with each of the sections move on to take the tests (take math only after you are done with math and verbal only after done with verbal). Final word of advice - the main mistake (esp in verbal) is not following strategies. Whichever books or strategies you use (they are all pretty similar between MGMAT, PowerScore, and Kaplan) - follow them EXACTLY. These people are getting big bucks to develop methods to improve score and maximize performance - don't try to be smarter and change things around. Unless you are scoring 750+, I would follow each step of the strategy to the "T". If the book says to read the CR question twice, then that's what you do even though it may seem that it is faster to read it once - trust me, there is a reason why you read it twice. If you want to get 700+ and not worry about the GMAT, stick to the strategies and keep creativity low.
Hopefully this will get you started. For more details on each of the guides, see my reviews of each of the individual books
BB - Founder of GMAT Club.
P.S. Let me know if you have any questions about GMAT Books - I reply to comments and appreciate any feedback (especially negative and suggestions for improvement).
Good luck on your GMAT.
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24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Highly Recommended for anyone serious about doing well on the GMAT, September 16, 2010
This review is from: Manhattan GMAT Set of 8 Strategy Guides, Fourth Edition (Manhattan GMAT Strategy Guides) (Paperback)
When I first started studying for the GMAT, I had not heard of Manhatten GMAT, though I was impressed with the positive feedback they received on Amazon. Only a few weeks into studying I now understand why they have received such positive feedback. I have tasted their Koolaid and highly recommend using their entire suite of tools for all things GMAT related...
Manhatten has come very close to perfecting the art of studying for the GMAT. Their strategy guides provide the most comprehensive, easy to understand GMAT roadmap on the market. I highly recommend purchasing the entire study guide if you are just beginning your studies, or purchase any of their 8 strategy guides if you need targeted practice in a specific area on the GMAT.
Who should use these guides:
Anyone who is serious about getting a good score on the GMAT AND has the time to invest in getting that great score. Manhatten GMAT's philosophy is to teach students to "do more with more" rather than to "do more with less". This is a great concept for anyone who has the time to invest in learning the test and for those with the desire to score well above average.
Who shouldn't buy these guides:
Those who don't have time to invest and just need a basic understanding of the test. Manhatten really caters to those who are trying to get above a 600 (if not above a 700) on the GMAT. If you are a last minute studier or don't have the desire to ace the test, then I would recommend going with either Kaplan or just the Official Guides provided by the test makers.
Bottom Line:
Manhatten GMAT provides the most comprehensive, in depth coverage of the GMAT. These books, which are accompanied by access to their online practice center (and 6 practice exams), are worth the premium compared to other study material.
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51 of 60 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Solid prep - covers all topics of the GMAT, August 21, 2010
This review is from: Manhattan GMAT Set of 8 Strategy Guides, Fourth Edition (Manhattan GMAT Strategy Guides) (Paperback)
I self studied and scored a 770 on the GMAT. Here is my analysis of MGMAT's Set of 8 Strategy Guides:
===== OVERVIEW =====
After reviewing all of the 8 guides by Manhattan GMAT, I can safely say that this is probably the most comprehensive tool out there for GMAT hopefuls. This set of books has its deficiencies (you can check out a more detailed analysis of each of these books by searching through my reviews), but as a whole and compared to what's available on the market, you'll likely be covered on the theoretical side of your preparation for the GMAT.
However, I must warn you: as advertised on every Manhattan GMAT book, this series challenges you to do more on your preparation. While "more prep" translates into a higher score, it also means that you'll need to commit quite a bit of your time if you want to go from cover to cover and also practice all the recommended problems from the Official Guides. Just so you can get an idea of the work in front of you:
*The five quant guides have a combined "in action" problem count of over 580 ("in action" problems are largely similar to Problem Solving questions, with the difference that most of them do not contain answer choices)
*Each of the 8 guides comes with access to an online database of 25 practice problems (so add 200)
*They reference the Official Guides for practice, with a total of around 1500 problems!
A simple addition of these numbers (and I am not counting the questions you'll see in the three verbal guides) and you'll probably get a sense of the huge workload involved when prepping for the GMAT! But the rewards are worth it: I can guarantee you that even someone starting out with a 400 will easily reach a 650 by using these guides properly.
If you're just starting out, I suggest you go online and download the GMATprep free software from the website of the makers of the test. This software contains two tests: take the first one and see how you do. If you get a score that's more than 200 points below your target, then consider buying this whole bundle plus the three Official Guides. If you seem to be doing pretty well, I think it's best to invest in the guides that specifically address your problem areas. However, I would recommend you buy the Number Properties GMAT Strategy Guide, 4th Edition (Manhattan GMAT Preparation Guides), Word Translations GMAT Preparation Guide, 4th Edition (Manhattan GMAT Preparation Guides) and Sentence Correction GMAT Preparation Guide, 4th Edition (Manhattan GMAT Preparation Guides) guides no matter what. These three guides were the only ones that I awarded 5 stars to (with the rest getting largely 4 stars), simply because they are the best I've reviewed on their respective topics.
===== PROS =====
*Access to a lot of practice questions and 6 online tests (some of the best in the industry)
*Three of these guides (see above) are top notch and should be a part of any test taker's repertoire
*Handy The Official Guide for GMAT Review, 12th Edition lists breaking down the problems according to the topics tested in each question
*Detailed explanations and solid theoretical review for all the problems in the boom (whether they're just examples or practice)
===== CONS =====
*Be careful on the amount of time you devote to studying from these books! Going from cover to cover will be time consuming, so these books are not recommended for someone who needs to take the test in a short period of time (at least not all of them)
*Data Sufficiency could have been better covered in the five quant guides. The lack of practice DS is a minus. However, this is not an issue exclusive to Manhattan GMAT: all the guides that I have reviewed so far have comparatively small DS sections
*Some other resources are a bit better than the corresponding book from this bundle (see the The PowerScore GMAT Critical Reasoning Bible: A Comprehensive System for Attacking the GMAT Critical Reasoning Questions). However, since it's cheaper to buy the whole lot that to buy each book individually, it's still a good investment
===== BOTTOM LINE =====
Thorough, comprehensive, packed with practice problems. Despite the occasional slip up, these books are well worth your time - that is, if you can afford to dedicate that much!
About me: Dana Jinaru, 770 GMAT scorer, expert at Beat The GMAT - a community serving 1.5 million+ MBA applicants each year
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