A Note on GMAT
Books
We strongly advise all prospective MBA applicants
to purchase at least 2 books on the GMAT (Graduate
Management Admissions Test). First, we recommend an
official guide from ETS (Educational Testing Service),
the test's author. There is a difference between the
official questions you will be asked on the exam and
the practice questions contained in all other books.
Secondly, we recommend an "unofficial" guide
since there is indeed a way to study for this test
and materially improve your score. The better unofficial
guides contain many time-proven test-taking strategies
as well as excellent explanations for the correct answers
to the practice problems. You will greatly increase
your chances of receiving a higher test score if you
are armed with GMAT test-taking strategies and actual
questions from previous exams.
The GMAT is Now
a Computer Adaptive Test
Since the GMAT test has changed its format, we believe
you should also change your testing strategy and practice
the test in its computer adaptive test format. Unfortunately,
the very effective Powerprep Software from ETS (the
GMAT test's administrator) is out of print and no longer
available. You will not be able to practice the official
questions on CD-ROM until you register for the exam
and ETS mails a CD with official questions to your
home. Bear in mind that these are a small subset of
questions from the Official Guide for the GMAT Review (described
immediately below) and your test results may be skewed.
To allow yourself maximum time to prepare for the Computer
Adaptive Test, we recommend that your unofficial GMAT
guide contain a CD-ROM.
You
can click here to explore our free section of GMAT
tips and practice questions and answers.
The Official Guide for GMAT Review
(10th Ed)
 Buy
this book from Amazon.com
This 2001 edition is the only book
on the market that has actual questions from prior
tests. This book, along
with an "unofficial" GMAT strategy test-taking
book will be all that you should need. Be sure to download
the Powerprep software free from ETS. It is a great
compliment to this book and features a subset of actual
GMAT questions from previous exams in a computer adaptive
format. You can click
here to download this software.
GMAT with CD-ROM (5th Edition) by Kaplan
Test Prep
 Buy this book from Amazon.com
We have received a lot of favorable feedback from
our MBA admissions clients on this book this past year,
and hence we have decided to add it to our review.
The book is helpful and contains many good study tips.
The CD-ROM is what makes this a good buy, however,
due to the extensive test questions and diagnostic
tools. While there is a large group of people who like
the Kaplan questions because they claim they are more
difficult than the ETS official questions, we still
prefer the official ETS questions and simply recommend
augmenting, not substituting the Kaplan questions for
the real GMAT questions in the ETS book described above.
Cracking the GMAT 2003 (CD
ROM version) by Geoff
Martz
 Buy
this book from Amazon.com
We like this CD ROM because it
contains 4 practice tests (note: the 2001 edition
only contains 3 practice
tests) and provides instant scoring. Additionally,
the test-taking strategies are very insightful and
are designed to help you eliminate the "decoy" answers
ETS wants you to incorrectly choose. Process of elimination
techniques are also very well explained in this guide.
We should warn you, however, that we found the practice
questions to be much easier than those administered
by ETS for the real test as well as the practice questions
contained in the Kaplan guide. As a result, we would
like to take this opportunity to reiterate our strong
belief that you will be best served by also reviewing
an official GMAT guide published by Educational Testing
Service. This product has long been a favorite amongst
our business school admissions clients.
The Unofficial Guide to the
GMAT CAT 2000 by
Karl Weber
 Buy
this book from Amazon.com
This book contains some good tips for raising your
test score. It also contains plenty of unofficial questions
and answer explanations. A CD is included that contains
some great software. While there are a few errors in
the book itself, the software alone makes this guide
a great purchase.
Peterson's GMAT Success 2000 by
Janet Schaeffer
 Buy
this book from Amazon.com
Peterson's has been writing exam books for quite some
time now and the reason they are still around is that
they are very good at it and we receive a lot of positive
feedback from our clients on this book series each
year. This guide even includes a 9 week and 18 week
program if you want a pacing schedule. Good test-taking
strategies and excellent answer explanations to their
questions are present throughout the publication.
The GMAT for Dummies (3rd Ed) by
Suzee Vlk
 Buy
this book from Amazon.com
If you like the for Dummies books,
you will not be disappointed. This book is a definite
help, but the
GMAT test is now computerized and the third edition
does not adequately address the test’s new format.
Peterson's Logic and Reading
Review for the GRE, GMAT, LSAT, and MCAT by
Edward J. Rozmiarek
 Buy
this book from Amazon.com
This is quite simply the best book on the market that
we have seen for the logic and reading review section
of the exam. Although our relatively rapid review of
the book did uncover a few errors and the book is not
specifically written for MBA applicants, we still believe
that this guide can help you improve your analytical
thinking and reading comprehension and, hence, your
verbal GMAT score.
Crash Course for the GMAT by
Cathryn Still
 Buy
this book from Amazon.com
This book is rather extensive but concise with a good
explanation section. The test-taking strategies are
very similar to the Cracking the GMAT 2001 described
above. This book is more optimal, however, if you only
have a week or less to prepare for the exam.
Cliffs Computer-Adaptive Graduate
Management Admissions Test by
Jerry Bobrow, et. al.
 Buy
this book from Amazon.com
Good explanations are provided for the questions and
answers. Test-taking strategies are discussed. This
book is optimal, however, only for those test takers
who have one week or less to prepare for the exam.
In a head-to-head comparison, we slightly prefer Crash
Course for the GMAT which is discussed immediately
prior to this review although we have received significant
positive feedback on this book from our business school
admissions clients.
Back to top
|
