Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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60 of 60 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Princeton Review much better, November 18, 2007
If you're considering buying this book for GRE prep, don't. Your money would be better spent on one of the Princeton Review books (or barron's, arco, whatever).
I originally bought the Kaplan GRE verbal workbook and, seeking additional practice, spent $40+ on the 2008 Premier program. About 40 of the 50 verbal questions in the new book were recycled. Why publish 2 books if one contains the same content as the other?
Worse yet, the text is riddled with typos, the math section contains mislabeled figures, and the explanations occasionally explain an answer different from that provided.
As for the CD, the math + verbal drills are not adaptive and thus don't offer a realistic testing experience. Princeton Review's CD contains adaptive drills as well as full length tests. I'd go with that.
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48 of 49 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great information, but no Mac compatibility, October 23, 2007
This was a very useful resource for me in preparing for the GRE. The tips and tricks, as well as the explanation of the test itself, came in very handy, and the practice questions were very useful. In addition, the "Common words" and "Kaplan's Math Hints" sections really helped me review the archaic or obscure sorts of things tested in the GRE. The website based test was pretty decent too, and gave me a better idea what to expect from the test per-se.
However, there's one major caveat: The software included is not remotely Mac compatible. Although the website works fine, the CD is basically a coaster for OS X users. You've still got the in-book practice tests and the one online one, but if you're really looking for practice tests, know that you might not have all of them that you're expecting.
So, if you're a PC user, I'd recommend picking up a copy. Mac users need to weigh the pro's and con's here. Regardless, as the guide says, the GRE is a game, and this book very nicely prepared me to jump through their hoops.
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85 of 97 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
New types of questions coming-- -- alert!, August 15, 2007
The computer administered GRE exam will be changing with the November 2007 administration, and the practice exams in the new 2008 edition of this book do not appear to include the new question types. That's defensible in one sense because for at least the first administration in November, the new questions will not count in the final score. However, the new questions may start to count with the next or subsequent administrations, provided GRE can "validate" the scoring for the new format questions. Thus, if you are thinking of taking the test after November, this book is not quite enough. You'll also need to go to the GRE website and examine the format of the new questions if you want to be fully prepared and avoid any unpleasant "surprises." (I'm also hoping that Kaplan will offer the new question types online at its website at the appropriate time.)
In case you were wondering, the new Verbal question type is a text completion question that requires the test taker to fill in two or three blanks within a passage from separate multiple-choice lists. Currently, the Verbal section contains text completion questions that require test takers to fill in one blank within a passage from a single multiple-choice list. The new Quantitative question type will be a numeric entry question that requires test takers to type their answer as a number in a box, or as a fraction in two boxes. Test takers can review sample questions and additional information about the new question types on the GRE website.
That said, this book is still quite useful, as the paramount element of this book is the wide-ranging vocabulary review. Kaplan has included a long list of vocabulary words that they feel crop up frequently on GRE exams. I unquestionably feel that reviewing the vocabulary part of the book that helped me come back with a few questions that I would not have known.
I also recommend going to the GRE's website and downloading the free PowerPrep software in addition to buying this book. It includes two full GRE tests and a few hundred practice problems, including the new type in verbal and in quantitative. Additionally, for the essay part of the examination, they include a few sample prompts and responses, so you can see the writing they grade highly.
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