Kaplan GRE 2011 Premier with CD-ROM (Kaplan Gre Exam Premier Live) [Paperback]

 (121 customer reviews)

After a month and a half of studying with Cracking the GRE with DVD, 2011 Edition (Graduate School Test Preparation) and this Kaplan book, I took the GRE today and can say that between the two I was extremely well-prepared. I began with Princeton and reviewed all the material in that book, including the practice tests, and then moved onto Kaplan, subsequently reviewing all the Kaplan material and using the DVD quizzes and tests as well. Here are my thoughts on the positives and negatives of the Kaplan GRE Premiere 2011 book (with CD) compared to the Princeton Review Cracking the GRE 2011 (with DVD) book:

Positives:

- Reading Comprehension: Kaplan's material on Reading Comprehension is fantastic. Kaplan lays out their strategy for you and then beats it in your head over and over with example after example to get you...Read more

So, i was frustrated with kaplan in the beginning because the CD wasn't working on my windows 7 computer. Don't waste your time calling kaplan's customer service because from what i've read in online forums, they don't know how to deal with it. However, i came across a thread on microsoft's website about the MCI drivers the CD asks for and here's a way to get around it: Install the CD on your computer, remove it from your computer and restart your computer in safe mode ( hit the F8 key while the black screen is on just before the windows logo appears) and just select the safe mode option. I know some people with vista who select the 'safe mode with command prompt' but i discovered that selecting just the "safe mode" option works perfectly. Once your computer is started, insert the CD and click on the icon and viola!, it should work like a charm. I have a HP windows 7 laptop and it worked wonderfully.

The CD has 6 quantitative test and about the same amount of verbal tests...Read more

Buyer beware! When you try to use the Kaplan software from their CD you get an error about MCI drivers. Google it. There are no solutions. Windows 7 or Vista and you have a CD that doesn't work.

Kaplan's customer service email is below:

Thank you for contacting Kaplan's Books and Software division. I am sorry to inform you that the CD that comes with the book is not compatible with Windows Vista. Unfortunately, we don't have any Windows Vista compatible CD-ROM. We suggest utilizing any available windows based operating system such as 98, 2000, XP. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you.

Please let us know if you have any other questions.

Best of luck with your studies!

Regards,

Kaplan Book Support
Email removed for privacy