The Official Guide for GMAT Review

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 own Austin GMAT Review, a GMAT test prep company in Austin; my GMAT score is in the 99th percentile. My instructors and students use this book as a reference. Here is our collective assessment.WE LIKE THE QUESTIONS: Like previous editions, the 12th edition of The Official Guide for GMAT Review (OG12) contains hundreds of actual questions from past GMAT tests. The questions cover all areas of the GMAT and provide tremendous insight into what the GMAT is after. We are slightly disappointed that OG12 dropped some great questions on prime numbers and factorization that were included in OG11, but overall we find that as a source of practice questions, the OG12 surpasses any third-party material that we have come across.WE DO NOT LIKE THE ANSWER EXPLANATIONS: Though not incorrect, the answer explanations do not necessarily help the reader learn how to answer a question within two minutes, the average time per question allowed by the GMAT. We consider this to be a very serious flaw. Consider, for example, Question 10 on page 21, and its answer on page 50. Reading the explanation alone can consume more than five minutes (unless you read 10-variable math equations and their solution like an English novel). But wait! You are supposed to solve the entire problem in two minutes! There has to be a better approach, and actually there is. It would be nice if the GMAC addressed this deficiency in the next edition.A CAVEAT ON THE SO-CALLED DIAGNOSTIC TEST (pages 20-44): If you are just starting on GMAT preparation, you might want to skip the Diagnostic Test at the beginning of this book. The questions are tough, and the results may leave you feeling demoralized. You would be better off circling back to the Diagnostic after you have gone through the other 700+ questions in the book.BOTTOM LINE: As a source of excellent GMAT questions, this book is hard to beat. Buy it for the questions, but be prepared to be disappointed with the explanations.

If you are going to take GMAT and have only 30-40 days to study only 3 hours per day, but no more, Official Guide for GMAT Review is the book you should follow. You can supplement your studies with two other books by the same publisher if you have 15 more days to study 3 hours per day for each of the following books: The Official Guide for GMAT Verbal Review, 2nd Edition & GMAT Quantitative ReviewThere are bunch of other guides that can help you prepare for GMAT; however, above are the most comprehensive ones that busy professionals should follow, I believe. If you have more time than stated herein above however, I strongly recommend you to start studying with one of the other publications available. This will enable you to get accustomed to the test, GMAT, before using those three valuable products. It may also be better to look for the most recent editions of these books as the published revise them annually, if I am not mistaken.

My GMAT review instructor recommended this book, as it is... well... the Official Guide published by the test makers. It was a great companion for the class, as it has a TON of practice and the questions get significantly harder as you work your way through each section. I agree with the other reviewers, there is no test strategy here, but once you know the strategy (from a class or from a book like Princeton Review, which I also have), this is a great practice resource. My one qualm is that the book is quite heavy (significantly heavier than Princeton Review)... carrying it to class was annoying, but definitely worth it.If you are looking for hundreds of practice problems from real (retired) GMATS, this is the book for you. If you are looking for test taking strategies, look elsewhere.