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Rating: 
Summary: Another CD Fan
Review: After being out of school for over 20 years, I decided to take the advice offered on this page in order to focus my preparation. I only used two study aids -- PowerPrep & this book. Like the other reviewers, I found the most value from the CD with its practice tests and explanations of correct answers. The CD lessons and book were marginal.
Over the course of three weeks, I tried to take a balanced approach by taking only two mini (category-based) tests an evening. On the weekends, I would take a simulated GMAT. As noted in the other reviews, these tests are far more challenging than the PowerPrep test. I had to keep reminding myself of that in order not to get too discouraged. I took the test today and the extra effort was rewarded with a 710.
Rating: 
Summary: The worst CD imaginable
Review: I got this book solely for the 4 CAT tests as I knew that Princeton and the Official Guide are the best for theory, strategies, and exercises. The CD was horrible. On 2 of the tests it gave me 30 minutes for one of the sections instead of 75 (it starts with 75 and then on question 6 you are left with 20 minutes having worked for 5-10 minutes! One of the tests ran OK but it didn't save my answers, so I couldn't come back and review it! Finally when I started the 4th test, a message appeared saying that the test bank is exhausted so there may be repetitions and the score will probably be biased. AS of the content, the theory is simply bad, the Math Section is difficult (which is OK) but the verbal is as far from the real GMAT questions as you can get (vague texts, unnecessarily long sentences and stupid questions). My test scores ranged from 560-700, obviously because I had so little time on 2 of them! Oh, and I forgot to mention the cheesy toddler-level presentations of the CD with stupid music and pictures! I am done with Kaplan! I don't recommend it, unless you just want to try everything on the market.
Rating: 
Summary: The CD is worth it
Review: I just took my GMAT and would like to share my experiences with the study aids that I had used. I had bought the usual ETS guide, the Kaplan 2004 with CD Rom, ARCO GMAT 2005 with CD Rom and, to try out something different, Ace the GMAT by Brandon Royal. I'll discuss two of the books I used.
1) The Kaplan CD (the irritating toddler level presentation of the CD apart) has the toughest CAT exams. The tests are tough and designed to discourage you.
I got 640,580, 600 and 620 in the 4 CAT's, but thanks to previous reviewers of the CD, I didn't lose heart since I knew that my score would be better on the real GMAT.
I got a reasonable 710 on the real test.
But do practice with these CAT's...the real GMAT is not easy. Practicing with tough questions will really help you think faster over time and not freak out when you see a particularly weird question on the real test.
Also, the mini tests and the diagnostics do not give you enough time to finish them..but they are still some of the best questions to practice on.
The book however, is not as good as the CD. ARCO does a better job of explaining the strategies and answers.
2) Ace the GMAT, by Brandon Royal : This book is great for verbal practice as it breaks down Sentence Correction and Critical Reasoning into "problem types' and is very very comprehensive. When I started preparing for the GMAT two months before I was due to take the test, I had no idea about the verbal content.
My native language is not English and I had never really learned english grammar at school. I can say that it's this book which put my fears to rest and showed me step by step, that even tricky grammar can be mastered in a short while....at least enough to do well on the GMAT. I got a 96th percentile on verbal and I attribute this score to this book.
The other great feature about this book is the Analytical Writing portion.
The essay structures are simple and can be easily reproduced and make scoring a 5.0 or better easy on the real test.
Rating:
Summary: Like Training at Altitude
Review: I'm a GMAT tutor with 10+ years of successful students. Here's what I suggest for the GMAT: 1. Use the Kaplan CD (as cheesy as the presentation is, the tests are very good). I've read the complaints below that the prep tests from Kaplan are too hard, and I have to disagree with the point being made by these students. The only way, on a computer-adaptive test, to increase your score is to test using HARDER, not easier problems. I may kick ass at medium level questions, but unless I want a medium level score, practicing at a lower level hurts rather than helps. 2. Ignore the Kaplan book. Use The Princeton Review books (either Cracking the GMAT or GMAT Workouts for Math and Verbal) for tricks and psychology. Try the Official Guide for extra problems and basic review issues (but use as much of the Princeton psychology as you can -- the official guide encourages you to do the problems straight, and that's a huge waste of time). 3. Take as many practice tests as you can. That means Kaplan, Princeton Review, PowerPrep. Barrons, Petersons, and Dummies are all awful. Don't bother with their instruction or their tests. 4. Check out your local library. Many public libraries have crazy collections of old, out of print Official Guides, chock full o paper-and-pencil tests going back a good 20 years. By all means, use these -- they're a goldmine of practice questions. Good luck!
Rating: 
Summary: Good introduction to the GMAT, but unrealistic!
Review: Kaplan's "GMAT" book is good for getting into the right state of mind needed to succeed in the test and learning the powerful strategies for solving the hard questions. The strategies are similar (if not identical) to the strategies given in the Princeton Review book, though the latter explains some of the techniques better (and there lies the strength of the Princeton Review). The CD-ROM is the heart of the bargain. Packed with hundreds of questions and explanations, this CD provides countless hours of invaluable practice. In fact, the CDs of other companies I checked out don't begin to compare to Kaplan's. Nevertheless, there are two things you need to know in advance so that you won't be disheartened once you start working on the CD: The first is Kaplan's motto - "no pain no gain". Once you begin solving tests you'll discover that they are painfully difficult. The level of the tests' questions sometimes rises above the level of the real GMAT questions, but only sometimes. Bear in mind that the actual test is very hard and is made to challenge everyone, therefore it's mandatory not to be intimidated and to experience as many hard questions as possible. The second important thing is to remember that the test scores they supply are no way near the actual results you will eventually get on test day, probably because they use a different score calculating method from the one ETS uses. The reason for this might be rooted in the book and CD makers' possible goal - though not state out loud - to draw you to enroll in one of their preparation courses. Take my word for it, after seeing results for your first scored test - you WILL want to sign in immediately. Remember to take it in perspective. To sum it all up, keep in mind that as long as you make progress and keep on getting better results in adaptive tests from different sources you're on the road to success.
Rating:
Summary: Dissapointing CD, mediocre book
Review: Personally, I think it is the best book out there today. Loved the 2001 edition: it had nice paper - white and thick, very nice for side notes. The book was very well organized and quite condenced - 350 pages. At the end it has a powerful Math review with the most useful formulae; that was one of my favorite sections. The Software is also the best of what I have seen: it is easy to use, helpful, interactive, and funny, which was very helpful to me in those cold winter nights as I was crunching math and verbal. There are about 4 tests on the CD, but you can really take them 6 or 8 times and still see new questions. (maybe my memory is bad?). NOTE: The Tests that are on the CD are not scored the same way as the Official GMAT; you will be about 100 points off (below) from your final GMAT score, so do not let this fact distress you. CD includes 4 full length practice tests, 9 verbal practice tests, 15 math review lessons, 9 math practice tests, quizes, a games, and a great fun interface. Book Score: 5/5
Test Simulator: 4/5 (not representative, but tough is good). --Bogdan
Rating:
Summary: Princeton book is much better
Review: The 2004 Princeton review book has MUCH better tips and tricks for taking the GMAT. Their review is more in-depth and straightforward than the Kaplan book. I went through the Kaplan book first and often found it confusing or not going far enough with their explanations. Then, I went through the Princeton book and was surprised at how everything seemed much more useful. The CD in the Kaplan book is nice because it helps you to get your timing on questions down, but overall, the Princeton book is much better.
Rating:
Summary: dont worry about the scores
Review: The material of the book is of a tough level and should be only done for practice. I scored 620, 630, 640 and 700 on the Kaplan tests and 740 on the real test. The good thing about Kaplan is that the questions are real tough and one has to master these tough questions to get a high score. The bad part is that the low scores a person gets can lower ones confidence. Good thing that I had read reviews after taking few of the tests and that had made me feel better... Overall the ETS book is the closest to the real GMAT although the tests in ETS are somewhat simpler....I had taken those tests too long back and had scored 690, 710 so dont really bother....another piece of advise - on the real day take the questions one by one no matter how u think u r performing....i had thought i had screwed my exam big time and was expecting a 660-670 when i actually saw 740...there are a lot of experimental questions and the better u r doing the more the chances that the experimental questions would be having ambigous answers...All the best!!
Rating:
Summary: good source of practical knowledge
Review: The verbal section was thorough, thoughtfull, and very well organized. It really helped me to tackle corresponding questions on actual GMAT test. I'd especially recommend reading verbal section of the book to not native English speakers. The review of math was not regorous but good. I'd say that in order to answer math section, you need to have fundamental knowledge and some creativity, and the book seemed to address math in a straightforward manner. However, I'd strongly suggest those students who once passed Powerprep test and relaxed to review Kaplan math section. Both Kaplan and actual GMAT maths are much harder than that on Powerprep test. CD was very helpful. I'd recommend to pass all practice tests and simulations on it. Don't get frustrated by annoying introes and interface - just click Escape several times and get to real practice. One thing with the book is that instructions and some explanations are written in such childish and conspiratorial language as the one, I remember, my grand-mother was using when she had told me tales at night :) I believe the authors should address this issue in the next edition. Overall impression of the book and CD - good.
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