Although I bought this book late in my review schedule, I still was able to make the most out of it. The questions I answered were fairly easy but it helps you get familiar with the types of questions on the GMAT.

I only applied to one program and thanks to this book, it has helped me achieve the score I needed to get accepted!

The Official Guide for GMAT Review was the only book I bought to prepare for the GMAT, I also paid the subscription fee to use an online service with CAT (Computer Adaptive Tests) and with tips on how to work particularly on the writing section (the two essays). These two were good enough to provide me with the familiarity of the test I needed, and to get a score that will not prevent me from applying to any MBA program.

The guide has a review of all the things they are going to test you on during the test. First you can take a diagnostic test that will let you know which sections you should focus on improving more, and which ones you are quite good at. The diagnostic test results are separated by question TYPE so you don't waste time once you have the results.

The guide then offers you a good review of each question type, and the things being measured. For quantitative sections, it lets you know the math you are expected to be able to do, and how to approach the problems. It also shows you where many people fail to answer correctly by pointing out some common mistakes. This is particularly useful for the Data Sufficiency part since most of us don't usually have to answer this kind of question ever in our life.

This book is quite good at offering you what it should, familiarity with the questions you will be asked during the test so you know what to work on. The main purpose of this guide is for you to be able to use your time wisely during the test, and not waste time (or get an answer wrong) because you are not quite sure what the question is looking for. The guide shows you the specific wording used in the test, and how this wording should point out to you what to focus on, which is useful when answering questions based on reading passages. Another useful thing was getting familiar with the sentence correction questions, cause there are some quite repetitive things that will help you discard wrong choices right away, thus saving you time.

Overall, this is the best guide for you to save time during the test without hurting your chances to get a great score.

Just in the early stages of going through the book but it's a very useful book with questions that are quite challenging and helpful.

Most people will not need to purchase several GMAT books at $30+ each to succeed. Nevertheless, I believe that many people would benefit from having other books that focus more on skills and strategies to complement this one. My most important point is this: other books will no doubt be useful in some way; however, this one is a MUST, it is the "cornerstone" for further preparation.

One thing to note about this book: it will NOT teach you the fundamentals of math or correct grammar or critical reading, etc. It is more accurate to think of this book as a collection of practice questions which assume you already have those skills. In other words, if you need to brush up on these things, get out the old math textbooks from college and the old grammar and syntax books from high school.

Another thing about this book: It keeps the test's "goals" in perspective. Though many of its questions are difficult, the GMAT is not filled with impenetrable journal passages or advanced calculus; the test is trying to determine your grasp of the fundamentals of math, numbers, logic, and communication. Spending serious time with this book helped me think the way the test "thinks".

Finally, download the free Test Prep software from www.mba.com. The software is formatted EXACTLY like the test, and it was invaluable in my preparation. The practice software was a bit easier than the real thing, so keep that in mind. For example, Practice Test 1 I got a 700, Practice Test 2 730, and Practice Test 1 again (reinstalled) 710.

My score: 700 Analytical-45 Verbal-40

Good luck!

I did the self diagnostic portion of the book and also did one of the practice exams. When I found out the results I spent a week(2 hours a day) reviewing the material and the questions. A week later, my score went up 50 points! If I would had started studying earlier, there is no doubt my score would have been a shocker!

I ordered this book being skeptical about the quality though it was described as "like new". But these people were true to their words and its really like a new book at great price and I got book within 5 days. Awesome deal for me. Thanks!

There is plenty of practice and the answer explanations are pretty decent. In regards to the sections where they help you prepare for the different parts of the test, those are pretty horrible and lacking content. Luckily I had studied for the LSAT and had used the Powerscore Bibles, so I had a strong grasp for critical reasoning and reading comp, but where I needed some guidance was in the sentence correction. Because I was disappointed in this series of books I turned back to the Powerscore series (Sentence Correction Powerscore Bible). EXCELLENT. I really have a better understanding of what the GMAT will be testing and how to study for that. My Verbal score has improved drastically.

I echo the other reviewers who point out various typographical errors- I'd think the GMAC would be embarrassed to print this. I only want to briefly warn anyone that thinks of buying this book to PREPARE FOR THE GMAT that they will be disappointed. Yes there are wonderful reviews of math concepts and verbal analysis, however the sample test and practice problems will mislead you to how well prepared you think you are. For example, of the over 220 practice math problems I got over 90% of them correct, however I did not score even in the top 70% on the test. Similar results for verbal. I am severely disappointed since I actually have a strong math background but have been out of school for many years. The review was good but the questions are not similar in difficulty or mechanics as the ones I got on the actual test. If you are buying a bunch of books then get this one for the practice however if you are choosing only one book I recommend you try one other than this one.

good packaging, book in good condition but i got the book 1 and half weeks after the order. The slowest shipping ever experienced...

I think this guide is comprehensive but a little too easier than the actually test.

Haven't taken the GMAT yet, but I have to review this book because it kind of sucks and it's frustrating. I have found more than several misprints, and just some weird information in there that just isn't right. I bought this because I wanted at least a feel for what I am going to be up against when I take the actual GMAT, but I can't believe how there are misprints and inaccuracies in this book. How will people be truly prepared, if that's the case?!

The math review is helpful, but there is little to no advice when it comes to the sections regarding data sufficiency and sentence correction. One of the tips for sentence correction just tells you to read! Books, newspaper, whatever, because they generally use correct grammar. What?! Seriously, GMAC?

I use the problems in this book for drill, in tandem with the Princeton Review books for strategies. I think that's the best way to go. I sure hope the 12th edition has improved on the misprints and whatnot... buyer beware!

This book took a little longer than expected to receive, but is an over-all good buy.

There are lot of sample questions but GMAT is CAT, and this book doesn't help you to understand which question are more difficult

Shipped very fast. The book is the official guide to GMAT with full explanations for each questions. But because I bought separate books for Verbal, Math and this, I expected this one to have full test sets rather than still just separate sections like the other two books. But overall it's a book you need for this test.

Best prep book I used for the GMAT. I stumbled on it 1 week prior to taking the test, and wish I would have used it from the beginning.

If you are serious about taking the Gmat and getting a good score, you absolutely must buy this book along with the other two official supplements. Between the three books, you will have access to over 1,000 problems that have been retired from the Gmat and are 100% representative of what you are going to see come test day.

My scores:

Powerprep 1 (Official software) - 700 - no studying
Princeton 1 - 630
Kaplan 1 - 560
Kaplan 2 - 600
Kaplan 3 - 580
Powerprep 2 - 730
Actual Gmat - 750

I am 100% certain that using all three books is what raised my score those last 50 points. On test day I was the only one at the center and I got to know the receptionist pretty well. She told me that she sees hundreds of these scores a year and the ones who get 700+ all have one thing in common - they have all done every problem in all three books.

My advice: spend the money on all three. Work every problem, noting which ones are hard and which you get wrong. When you are done, go back and work the hard/incorrect problems again. Then, when you are done, start over from page one. You effort will be rewarded on test day.

Make sure you check couple other books (not from creators of GMAT exam as this one is). This book is too official- it doesn't reveal any extra tricks you need to succeed.

This textbook is good primary to practice on questions as it has many of them.

I had limited time to study for the GMAT and figured I would get the official book (along with the Princeton Crash Course book). The example questions in this book are more what like you will see on the GMAT, but I found that the online practice tests were closest to the real thing.

The review section in this book will confuse you even if you know the material, and does not cover anything but background so it was pretty worthless. There were also errors in this book (which I was surprised because it is from the GMAC jerks).

I would get this book as the questions are pretty difficult and good for practice.

The book is useful because it has questions that were asked in the previous tests and it gives you an idea of what type of questions to expect.

In plus, there are so many questions you don't feel like you are wasting your time!

This is a book that you should pick up somewhat early during you preparation, since it can only help you with accuracy but not with timing. So use this book to improve your understanding of all possible approaches to problem-solving (direct solving/elimination/trial-error etc) and then move on to time-based section tests and full-length tests.

What's good about it:
1. The difficulty level and the types of problems are very close to the actual test questions.
2. Good for practice - difficulty level increases towards the end of every chapter.
3. Good supplement for the Official guide 11
4. The solution explanations are very detailed and well-written - please make it a point to read the solutions carefully if you are following this book, read explanations even for the answers you got right - this would ensure that your line of reasoning was correct.

What's not so great about it:
1. CERTAINLY NOT A SUBSTITUTE OR ALTERNATIVE TO OG11 and KAPLAN 800 (if you are targetting above 700 scores)
2. Difficulty level is not very high - so do not rely on this book entirely and do not become complacent if you manage to master all problems in this book.

Good luck :)

I thought the book might take 3 or 4 business days, but got the book on second business day. Happy with the shipping.

Official Guide, as the name suggests, is an official collection of retired GMAT questions, published by GMAC, who own GMAT. Here, I will review this book and its importance in the overall preparation.

First, I was short on time in preparing for GMAT and applying in time. So, I didn't had time to go over all the material and guides available in this universe, and then compare and review them.

Second, before you start your preparation, or make your plan, you need to understand what GMAT is and what it measures. Then try to understand how much time and effort you will need to achieve a good score, for the school(s) you are applying to.

- OG will certainly help you to understand what is GMAT, what it measures and how the different sections test your those capabilities.
- The Diagnostic Test, taken under strict examination conditions, will measure your current performance and identify the areas you need to focus.
- The Verbal and Quant sections of OG are mainly a collection of past GMAT questions, their answers, and explanatory solutions.
- There is very little theory/concepts and very generic strategies. However, do read them carefully.

Once you identify the areas you need to focus on, find the guides with concepts, fundamentals, and tips and tricks. Do your research by reading reviews, and consulting your peers who have used them in past. Every guide is different and have different difficulty levels. What works for one may not work for another.

For Sentence Correction, I will recommend Sentence Correction GMAT Preparation Guide (Manhattan GMAT Preparation Guides). For other sections, I used an old, borrowed edition of Nova's GMAT Prep Course (with Online Course). Unfortunately, I cannot comment about Kaplan, Princeton, Veritas etc since my aim was to get a good score and not compare all these guides. (I spent 3 weeks overall and got a very decent score)

Coming back to OG, here is what I recommend:
- Do all the questions.
- Do all the questions, at least three times. By doing so, you can master a lot of concepts and calculations.
- Do not get discouraged if you get low scores on simulated tests of the other study guides. Actual GMAT level is closest to this OG. Other guides' sample exams have a hidden marketing motive too. They want you to buy their books or take their course. So, their questions' level may not be same as that of actual GMAT. In fact, I found some of them very difficult. (Won't take names, but I took those online free sample exams from those famous names in Study Guides & preps)
- If you have time, get GMAC's Verbal and Quant supplements to practice more & more.

At last, it's all about speed & accuracy. Best of Luck!

This book begins by stating that it is virtually all you will need in order to score well on the GMAT. I went through the book backwards and forwards - again and again and again. Mind you, I have an MBA from a very good school already and am well able to study and master material. Upon taking the GMAT for my PhD program, the test had nothing even remotely similar to what this book prepared me for. Certainly, there are basic math principles involved, but the overall format and question types in this book didn't at all resemble what I was tested over on the actual GMAT. Outside of that, I was amazed at the number of grammatical errors in the book, especially as it is an 11th edition. Many of the exercises have incorrect verbiage and/or signage as it relates to math problems. If you are getting prepared to take the GMAT, you had better not leave it to this product.

This book is very good for people who wuold like to start their preparation for the GMAT. You have enough exercices and and a useful section (explanations) about math, algebra and geometry.
After, if you need a more brilliant preparation you need to practice on GMAT 800.
I'm Italian and when I started to read GMAT 800 (by KEPLAN) I found it harder (contents and language).

I wasnt totally happy w/ this book. As other readers have posted there are countless errors in the math sections. For example on page 335 of the 11th edition they say (xr)^2 = x^(2r). This is hard to look over as a typo - as are other errors.

There are also no full-length exams in this book. I mean, come-on, why are the GMAC guys such tight-wads with their questions. I dont really like they way they run the show...

This book should be the first one you buy during your GMAT prep as it contains retired GMAT questions from past exams - this gives you a much better feel for the types of questions you are likely to encounter on the day. There are plenty of questions to practice with in both the quant and verbal sections - although beware that if you are also purchasing the old exams from the [...] that some of these will be replicated.

The real weakness with this book is with the level of detail in reviews. Particularly in the maths section, it does assume a level of knowledge and some topics are not well covered at all (e.g. combinations, permutations). If, like me, you are someone who has not touched high-school maths in 10 years, then it may be worth purchasing a couple of specific maths review books to aid you in this section.

The only other flaw is the lack of time practice available with this book, but it can be mitigated by downloading the free GmatPrep software [...] or by purchasing the old paper exams from the same website. If you cluster the maths and english sections, it will give you a very good feel for how to manage your time on the day.

I had only a few months to prepare for the GMAT, and bought this book, the Princeton Review, Kaplan, as well as the old tests and diagnostic tools on the MBA website. These all helped me to get a score of 710 on the first go. The official GMAT tools are much better to rely on, but the others are a good source of additional practice questions.

Math section has many typo's (more than 10 for sure), use google to find the corrections. Apart from that its good.

GMAT has changed a lot over the last 3 years and the materials in this book are no longer as useful as they once was. Most of the questions in this book are over 10 years old and they share approximately 90% of the questions with the 10th edition.

The result is the difficulty level and types of questions contained in this book are no longer fully reflective of the questions one will receive in the real GMAT. If you need proof, download GMAT Prep (just google it) from the providers of the GMAT and you will see the GMAT Prep questions are substantially different and more difficult than the questions from these guides.

The 1400 questions contained in these guides, however, are still somewhat useful, particularly if you are shooting for a lower end (450-620) score range.

If anything, GMAT Prep, which is provided free by the makers of GMAT, is a far better reflection of the real GMAT. Although GMAT Prep does not provide solutions (only answers) to the problems, it contains hundreds of questions in its data bank which will help you prepare for the tougher GMAT problems.

The product was in excellent condition, fairly fast delivered,no issues at all,would use again without doubt!

I used the Kaplan guide and the official GMAT study guide to prepare for the GMAT. I first went throught the Kaplan guide cover to cover. I found the math review to be very helpful, and some of the test taking tips were useful. However, once I began reviewing the official GMAT study guide it became apparent that the practice questions in the Kaplan quide weren't quite accurate reflections of what the actual questions would look like. Practicing questions is the key to success in taking the GMAT. I've read some reviews in which people say you should only study the harder questions in the official review guide if you are finding the questions too easy, but I disagree. The key to doing well is to understand how the question writers try to trip you up, and you can only get to this point by practicing as many questions as possible. I went through every question in the GMAT study guide and by the end I could really begin to anticipate what the question writers were looking for. I ended up getting a 740. To summarize: the math review and some of the tips in the Kaplan guide are somewhat helpful, but I wouldn't waste much time on their practice questions. The practice questions in the official guide are indespensable - complete every one and review your incorrect answers and you will do well. I noticed a few reviews where people dismissed the value of the official GMAT guide because one or two questions had incorrect answers. They are nuts to devalue the book because it has a couple typos. Trust me - this book is the key to doing well.

I used this book more than any other study resource, and I took no prep course. I scored 770 (49Q 48V). Obviously I can't say for sure what would have happened without this book, but I feel it helped.

The majority of the questions tend to be on the easy side, with only a small percentage of hard questions. I recommend going over the harder questions with a fine-toothed comb, you will need to know them cold.

Good delivery service.
My book arrived in the date AMAZON promised.
No problem to deliver to another countries.

Thanks

As a primary resource for preparing for the GMAT this book is invaluable. The questions are organized from easy to difficult and separated in to topics to help you find weaknesses. That said, there are a few minor mistakes in the book that can lead to hours of confusion. Those mistakes can be found at

http://www.gmatix.com/blogging/index.php?x=25

Other than that the book suffers from to few questions. This is not a good comprehensive study plan, just the best first step.

I think this was a great first book to look at if you're planning to do the GMAT, though I wish there was a little more explanation with the statistical answers. Otherwise it's an easy guide.

Unless you are one of the lucky few who don't need formal instruction to prepare for standardized tests, you can not use this GMAT book as your only resource. But, if you are using other instruction or practice materials the Official Guide is great for testing the accuracy of the strategies you've learned.

It's true that this guide will not tell you how to test better, but some people have left reviews saying there aren't any explanations. I don't understand why they're saying that though, because I thought one of the best features of the GMAT Review is that it explains every single answer in both the quant and verbal sections very clearly. There are some typos, but it's not like you can't figure what they meant to say. Some people have also said that random questions they tried from the book were too easy. I wonder what sections they tried, because at least in the quant portion the questions become increasingly difficult. So the first 50 questions are pretty easy, but the last 25 are much harder.

Just as a side note, I took the 7 week Veritas GMAT prep course and scored a 630 on the test right when I finished the class. But afterward I spent the next month testing the strategies in this Offical Guide and improved my score to a 700. So I would definitely say it's helpful.

I've been working with this book for about a month, and I'm very pleased with the progress I've made thus far. Reviewing questions in order of difficulty has allowed me to slowly build my skill level- I'm feeling much more confident than I once was about taking the GMAT. The only thing this book is missing is extended explanations of some of the concepts commonly used in questions.

It is ofcourse a must buy because it comes from the makers of the test.
But then this is not exhaustive. Atleast it doesn't look exhaustive to me. Moreover, the level for Problem Solving looks really low to me in this book.

The books are great, and the service is too! Thanks for saving our school a ton of money over the last year.

The official guide, along with the quantitative review is good for extra problems. The overall math review in both books is not that great. So if you are in need of a good math review I would turn the Ez-solutions gmat series.

This is the best book to start the GMAT Studies. With the Official Guide you will be able to cover all important GMAT topics.

Can't believe there are so many typos and mathematical mistakes in this OFFICIAL guide. If you have a weak mathematics background, you will be definitely confused or misled.

I love this book. People are saying that the questions in this one and the verbal and math supplements books are the same so I went to Barnes and compared the reading comp sections and all passages were different. So...I don't know if they're comparing with the 10th edition or they're on something. If you're studying for the GMAT, at least get this book. It has a gang of questions from actual exams which is great for the verbal section because I would think verbal questions are harder to mimic than math questions.

AT LEAST PURCHASE THIS BOOK OR THE SUPPLEMENTS.

Manhattan books seem good too. I'll be ordering them within this month.

This book stinks. It has a VERY limited review of the concepts covered in the math section of the GMAT and absolutely no strategies on how to get a high score on the test.

If you're rusty in high school level math, you're going need a serious review, which this book does not provide.

This book is mearly a catelog of old GMAT questions for the user to practice with.

I went through this book, the Kaplan book, and the Princeton Review. This is by far the best of the 3. It has the most review questions and doesn't try to teach you any garbage strategies, just how to do the questions. The one shortfall is that the answer explanations are sometimes not in depth enough.

I just want to give some advice before you buy the book.
First, The problems are way too easy compared to Kaplan. I bought Kaplan Before buying this review, and the problems overall are way harder in Kaplan.

Second, If you don't know what the GMAT is all about, I highly recommend the Official Guide. After you finish this book go on an do Kaplan, and I will guarantee you a good score in your GMAT.

Having spent 30 minutes studying out of the Math review section, I found considerable errors similar to others who posted. I've found 7 in 20 pages. Come on.
The errors go beyond having "x2" instead of x^2. The errors go to basic concepts that if a trusting reader were to follow, the test-taker would be in trouble. Sometimes the diagrams don't match the word descriptions. In the review of coordinate geometry, the equations given and the graph representation are way off. If you don't have your high school notes handy or are a little more than rusty, this could hurt you.
While I'm sure the rest of the book is helpful, I am giving this 1-star because it smacks of laziness and it's kind of insulting. It's troubling to think that these mistakes are acceptable for an organization that administers a major graduate admissions test. We wouldn't get into B-schools with errors like these.
To the GMAC: take notes from the LSAC, and leave the test review to the pros.

The first copy I got of this book had a lot of typos in it. For example, one of the values in a math problem read "28" instead of "2^8".

There was another math example where they printed "=" instead of "-", which made the explanation incoherent.

I was feed up when they misprinted the Pythagorean Theorem: a2 + b^2 = c^2 instead of a^2 + b^2 = c^2.

I thought to myself, if I'm catching all these typos, I wonder which ones am I missing. Luckily, I was able to exchange my copy for a typo free copy. There were 6 copies of this book on the shelf at my local Barnes & Nobles, 5 of them contained typos like my first copy. So beware...

Great service! Recieved the book faster than expected. Great communication and service!! Will buy from again.

This book is even better than I supposed. And it was delivered even earlier, that is nice :)

For a more detailed review please refer to user Youssef J. Habbouche's review. I'm only going to include what I he hasn't.

I'm actually giving this book 3.5/5 stars. Reason is because as the official prep book by GMAC, I think the number of typos and errors are unacceptable. For example #20 of the Problem Solving section:

20. Of the five coordinates associated with points A, B, C, D, E on the number line above (diagram included in text), which has the greatest absolute value?


(A) A = -2
(B) B = -1
(C) C = 0
(D) D = 1
(E) E = 2
Quick glance at the options and you know there are 2 possible answers A and E. Answer according to text is A. There are other errors and typos like this scattered across the pages of this book. If you have a keen eye they shouldn't be too hard to pick out. Although it can be quite frustrating since the last thing one needs while preping for a test like this is to start second guessing one's ability.

Overall it's a very good prep material especially because some of the questions in the book did show up on the actual test. If the errors and typos are a minor thing to you, this book is the way to go. Using other books as supplement might also help. Good luck!