Advanced GMAT Quant: GMAT Strategy Supplement

 (7 customer reviews)

Before I elaborate on the 'What the heck?' title of my review - skip to the 6th paragraph if you only want to read my review of the book as the first 5 paragraphs are me explaining, albeit in a more profound way, what you may already know about the GMAT; if you want to cut to the chase - it's a fantastic book but I deduct one star because it contains a few errors here and there.

So about the subject of the review - One of the most appropriate analogies that I have heard regarding the GMAT is that 'prepare for the GMAT as you would prepare for a boxing match' - you know you are fighting a very accomplished opponent , you do not have a clue about what kind of punches that opponent will throw at you but ,if you truly want to beat that opponent, you can very well prepare well enough to be able to anticipate what type of punches that opponent will throw at you and counter those punches when they do come.

I am a GMAT retaker - a quick summary of what my standing was...Read more

I purchased this book two weeks before my exam and subsequently scored a 750 (50Q/41V). I used the Kaplan Premiere and Kaplan 800 books for the initial portion of my study, as well as the GMAT Verbal and GMAT Quant Review books. While these books helped me get used to the format of the exam and even prepared me for difficult verbal questions, I found them to be too easy in the math sections. Even the Kaplan 800 was a breeze -- I could complete the entire book without missing a single quant question. The Manhattan GMAT Quant review, on the other hand, was a great challenge. The problems were thought provoking and significantly different from anything I had seen in my other books. If I had not completed this book before the exam, I would have been stumped on many of the more difficult quant questions and unable to solve them in under 2 mins. This book is an absolute MUST for anyone aiming for the 750-800 range.

I self studied and scored a 770 on the GMAT. Here are my thoughts on the Advanced GMAT Quant supplement:

===== OVERVIEW =====

This is the first advanced guide published by Manhattan GMAT so far. I was a bit skeptical of this book at first, since I personally believe the 5-book quant set is enough for any test taker, especially since they each have advanced sections. Why this book then? Well, here the emphasis is on something a bit different. Before anything, you should note that this book is called a "strategy supplement," a truly appropriate title for two reasons. First, the book clearly emphasizes strategy over theory and second, it is a supplement to the set of 5 quant guides published by the same company. The other well known advanced guide that's on the market is the Kaplan 800 book, but the two are markedly different. The questions in this new guide are considerably tougher, in my opinion, and can catch you off guard easily. The Advanced GMAT Quant...Read more