The Official Guide for GMAT Review

I started GMAT Club - online MBA community; my GMAT score is 750 (49, 42), and here are my thoughts about this book:Strengths:1. 907 real GMAT questions retired from past tests2. Practice questions are organized by level of difficulty3. Practice questions follow actual GMAT test patterns (it's great to have one's ear trained, esp. in verbal)4. Contains a 100-question diagnostic testWeaknesses:1. Does not include any test-taking strategies2. Though it has a few short review sections for each area, they are weak and very unfriendly3. Questions are predominantly low to medium in difficulty which is often not representative of questions one encounters on the test4. There is a 66% overlap with the previous version (11th edition)Contents (number of questions per section):1. Diagnostic Test - 100 questions2. Problem Solving - 230 questions3. Data Sufficiency - 174 questions4. Reading Comprehension - 139 questions5. Critical Reasoning - 124 questions6. Sentence Correction - 140 questions* Why is this book valuable/must-have?The Official Guide is published by the creators of the GMAT and therefore it is the only source of actual GMAT questions representative of what you will see on the test.* Why is the book not sufficient by itself?This Guide contains only questions and lacks insightful information about the test, a math/verbal concept review section, or any test-taking strategies. To get up to speed, you will need to get a study guide such as Kaplan Premier Program or Princeton Review's Cracking the GMAT Cat.* How should this book be used?This book should NOT be used as a study-guide. It is a collection of questions - think of it as a way to practice your test-taking strategies but not a way to learn them.* What if I own a previous edition of this book?If you have the 11th edition, the only difference between the two is 300 new questions, or about 30%. Most test-takers agree that 300 new questions is not a compelling enough reason to own both editions, as the 11th edition offers enough practice. If you do need additional practice questions, get the Math or Verbal workbooks instead as they each have 300 questions.* What is a recommended study plan using The Official Guide?There are a number of approaches that work - here is one that most find reasonable:Step 1: Buy a GMAT Guide from Kaplan or Princeton Review. Get familiar with the test and brush up on fundamentals (math and grammar); also these books will give you a good base for test-taking and timing strategies.Step 2: Take a GMAT Prep (2 free tests downloadable from MBA.com) - but don't waste these; these are free but very valuable tests. Take 1 after you go through the Guidebooks and save the second one for later. These tests will be representative of your GMAT score (plus/minus 40 points).Step 3: (Optional - if you want a 650+ score) Get a specialized Math and/or Verbal workbook from Kaplan, the 8-book set form Manhattan GMAT and do a deep dive into the fundamentals - this is what will help you crack the test - solid knowledge of Math and Grammar.Step 4: By now you should have a good understanding of question patterns, strategies, and timing. Start working on the Official Guide and honing your skills - this is especially important for Critical Reasoning questions that have certain unspoken patterns and rules that only the Official Guide offers - work through the questions to train your ear. Keep in mind that these questions are on the easier side if you are aiming for 650+.

I feel that the Official GMAT Review is a necessary study guide when preparing for the GMAT. If you are going to get anything out of this book, try to understand how the test takers think in designing the questions and answers. I would also complement this book with other study material to get more detailed explanations and practice. I felt that the answer explanations for some of the problem solving questions can be too time consuming if you do the work the way they do it. Instead, I would study the math examples from the Kaplan or Ace the GMAT to find easier ways of doing the math problems.I strongly recommend that you download the two practice prep tests from the GMAT website [...] The scores you get on these two tests will be very similar to what you get on the actual GMAT. In fact, the score that I got on the second prep test was identical to the score that I got on the actual GMAT. Practice these prep tests over and over so you get an idea of how to pace yourself and what types of questions to expect. Try doing the entire prep test including the essay sections just like you are taking the actual GMAT. The GMAT is a long test and you might find yourself losing stamina towards the end. So practice the full prep tests until you feel comfortable doing the entire test. You may also want to switch out the two essays from each prep test with essays from the Official Guide. Although the math and verbal questions can change (especially when you start to get higher scores), the two essays questions remained the same. I only wish they had more prep tests to practice with.

I recently took my GMAT (first and only one) and had a score which exceeded my expectation. I purchased this book and the Kaplan guide. Between these two, we have a pretty good coverage. I used Kaplan for test strategy and this OG for actual problems. One thing I found useful was I would take 10-20 problems at a time and timed myself to see if I can average under 90 secs per problem. It's been 20 years since I finished high school (ha it's been that long!) so I rented a math review book from local library and it was a good refresh but Kaplan book also has a decent review section. Having said that it would help if you had a strong education background in math.Regarding the sample computer tests (two of them) that you get from [...], as the other reviewer said, please do not waste them. My two scores were 20 points apart and my actual score was right in the middle!Finally on AWA, if you care, there are some templates out there on some web sites and this is a good starting point, you don't have to copy it exactly but it will give you a good idea on how to structure your essays.Now that I am done, I have to figure out how to get rid of these books :-)

This was a handy book. I did well on GMAT on first attempt after working through the practice questions. I'm certain my score was improved by refreshing my memory on how to do the math section.

I bought this book to go along with my GMAT study plan through Beat the GMAT and GMAT Club. The questions are challenging however you should get a different book to help teach the concepts. Some of the Math instructions simply have example problems. I'd rather learn the "why" over memorizing the "how".GMAC offers online courses (some free) which use this book as well. So it is a must-have for studying.I've only been studying for a little over a week, but so far I am pleased. I will follow-up later if my opinion changes.

Well as book title says it is official guide and it has more than 800 retired real GMAT questions, its good book to start your GMAT preparation.Number of Question in each sections areProblem Solving : 230Data Sufficiency : 174Reading Comprehension : 139Critical Reasoning : 124Sentence Correction : 140And there is one Diagnostic Test as well so 100 more questions.Please Note if you already have The Official Guide for GMAT Review 11 then there are only 200 questions are different in this editions.Following points about this book.1. This gives you real taste of real GMAT questions.2. But this book is not for building your basics or concepts for that you should buy some other book such as  Manhattan GMAT, Set of 8 Strategy Guides .3. Along with this book try OG verbal and OG quantitative.4. Problem in this book comes with clear explanation why one choice is right and why others are wrong.I find the paper quality of this book is not very good paper are very thin.Overall if you are serious about GMAT this is best place to start, and you need lots of practice. Manhattan GMAT, Set of 8 Strategy Guides

Great~

Essential if you're taking the GMAT - all past questions. However, do not use this in isolation - it's not sufficient. You also need some content guides (like Manhattan GMAT)

Hi friends,I am preparing for GMAT and i was wondering for a good book.This is a very good book.i'll recommend this book only if u know the basics of algebra.It has all the test based questions with answers.Cheers!!!!!

Very concise and easy to understand. The tests allow you to grade yourself. ALthough the real test might slightly differ, it teaches you everything you need to know to crack the GMAT.