Top 3 GMAT study guides/tools

[FSUnole]

I don't wanna buy lots of study guides for the GMAT. If everyone could just list their top 3 GMAT study tools/guides (including practice tests) that would be excellent.

Right now I'm thinking

Kaplan w/ CD
Kaplan 800
Official Guide (OG)

[seenapanalli]

OG,
Kaplan 800,
TM Forum

[littleprincess]

I'm still studying for my GMAT and currently enrolled in a Kaplan course. So, I'm trying to use all the books available in the Center's Library.

What I really find helpful in my studies are the ff:



Official Guide

Kaplan 800 - A must for CR. It discusses in depth the types of CR questions that is not seen in Kaplan 2005.

Forums : Testmagic & Scoretop - Both have a large pool of tools available. It was only a week after I enrolled, I came upon these two.

[walletless]

I would say:

Strategies: Kaplan Score higher w/ CD
Math difficult problems: Kaplan Quantitative workout
OG for practice

Forums: TM and Pagalguy.com (I like scoretop but the tough problems are paid subscription service).

[ketank]

OG11
GMATPrep
Kaplan

[p001]

Its difficult to list just 3 resources, but here you go

1. OG
2. GMATPrep
3. Forums

[larbgai]

Manhattan Guides. I personally like to have an understanding of fundamentals. This helps me adapt to the question at hand. However, if you think you can adapt the fundamentals from doing lots of problems, PR and Kaplan have better "beat the test" strategies.

Manhattan will give you best background if you have been away from math for a while, though.

[v-rap]

On side note -

I suggest not to take veritas prep course. I have taken it and felt I lost 42 hrs of prep time. I literaly wasted time traveling and attending the class. What they do is solve the problems in the book,which I can sit at home and do it. No strategy is thought, all 99% percentile tutors are ancient and they don't even know about CAT properly. They hail from paper exam era. Not sure even they got 99% percentile.

I suggest have a good self study plan and do it yourself, spend as much money possible on books than sending $1500 on training. Get varity - PR, Kaplan and Manhattan (SC is very good) , Veritas compared to Manhattan - Veritas is way behind in structure and material. They need to upgrade there instructors and material both. And FYI - Instructor being 99 percentile does not mean they are good. Every 99 percentile candidate cannot be good teacher. They mostly have a hectic job, they come to teach for heck of it and they are not dedicated.

To add more Veritas exams are phatetic. They have 4 of 800 exams and 2 gmat prep exams (which are free - I dont know why they count as 2 of 15 exams they offer-dumb), 5 of there own, 2 thomoson. Which are never updated. The training material is same from past 4 years. Instructor carry the books which are torn and they look like from late 70's.

If I would get back my time and redo the whole preparation - I would buy
a) OC 11
b) Manhattan SC and CR - Browse thru math from Kaplan and Manhattan in book store (BN or borders) after going thru OC11. Pick another varity
c) May be buy Kaplan 800 if I had time to study.
d) Buy good exams - I would suggest Manhattan and flirt little with Kaplan exams.
e) Give as many exams as possible

And get over with GMAT.

Anyway that is my two cents, I think I went little tangent on the topic. However it will help when someone who wants to analyze.

- V