Combinatorics & Probability (Veritas Prep GMAT Series)

 (7 customer reviews)

I self studied and scored a 770 on the GMAT. Here are my thoughts on the Veritas Prep Combinatorics & Probability book:

===== OVERVIEW =====

If there's one quant topic that scares the vast majority of GMAT test takers, it's combinatorics. This is because very few of us have been exposed to these special counting problems, often made even more difficult by mixing in bits of probability theory. The fact that they are rarely featured in depth in most GMAT prep guides is also a reason why combinatorics and probability questions are feared by students. The Veritas Prep Combinatorics and Probability book is however an exception, since it provides a detailed theoretical review of the topics and consistent practice.

The book starts out with the most basic concepts about counting principles and builds up to more complex topics such as circle arrangements. It also contains 13 drills and 82 GMAT-style problems, out of which 13 are Data Sufficiency. This is...Read more

I am a GMAT math tutor and a high scorer. I wanted to hone my skills in combinatorics and probability so I can offer my clients the best advice and this book was quite efficient. This is one of the few books out there that has such a detailed treatment of combinatorics and probability tailored to GMAT. It is light years ahead of the sketchy treatment on the same topic offered in the Manhattan GMAT guide "Word Translations".

Book content:

- the first 33 pages discuss examples of typical GMAT permutations and combinations: basic, with repetitions of elements, with selection from a larger
pool, with identical elements, with restrictions etc.

- the next 22 pages cover probabilities: exclusive, complementary, independent, dependent, "simultaneous events", binomial probability, "at least" and "at
most" questions, pairs questions etc.

- the last 100+ pages contain GMAT type questions with clear detailed solutions: 82 questions of which...Read more

I was a bit skeptical in spending almost $20 on one subset of math problems, but given my lack of exposure to these types of questions, I took the plunge. What I found was that this book easily transitioned from basic properties of combinatorics to more complicated problems while explaining each step along the way. I would venture to say that many of us don't use functions such as permutations on a day-to-day basis, but this book provided the skills to answer these questions. While before the book, I was lost in solving these problems, I now feel confident in being to find the solution to most. The books provides ways to identify each problem (i.e. combination, permutation with restrictions,etc) and gives formulas to solve them as quickly as possible. I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking to improve their quantitative score on the GMAT.