GRE Prep Course (with Software) Book

Average Rating:

The Quantitative lessons were the most helpful to me, as they provided in-depth reviews of all the concepts that are likely to be encountered in the exam, with practice problems for each concept. The logic sections were also very helpful, especially when it came to practicing how to concisely jot down the conditions of a problem and how to draw the right kinds of diagrams quickly. Finally, the verbal section provided a good review, including a list of 4000 important vocab words. Unfortunately, the vocab definitions provided were extremely brief, and I found it necessary to turn to another study guide for more extensive definitions.

Overall, though I didn't manage an 800-800-800 like some reviewers who used this book (I wish I could have gotten that score!), I did very well (well enough to feel no inclination to take the test again). I found that the only factor that lowered my scores at all was the fact that I had trouble finishing all the questions on the quantitative and analytical secitons within the time limits (damn those time limits! damn them to hell!). I was much better off for having studied with this book and I would recommend it to anyone, although I'm sure that most study guides are fairly equivalent. What really makes the biggest difference is the time and effort you're willing to devote to studying this or any other guide.

Some things to watch for are the errors in the math section. There are a few cases where the wrong answer is attributed to the correct letter and there were a few that the problem was simply worked out incorrectly. Also, I was not too impressed with the way this book approached the Verbal section... it implies that you should memorize a list of 4000 words. Even if I had the time to do this, I would not. Memorizing huge lists is not an effective way to study.

In all, this book is a great way to approach studying for the GRE, but allow yourself about a month to absorb all of the material.