Best GMAT prep books?

[Thingywingy]

Are you studying for the GMAT? What is the best prep book? The official guide? Kaplan? Princeton? Barrons?

[MarkS]

Just get any book out of the library.

It's not worth spending money on.

Tip: If you are in Lakewood, log on to the Ocean County Library's site and search for and reserve the books you want to get delivered to the Lakewood branch. While going into the Lakewood branch they may only have 1 or 2 old books, reserving online you have a much bigger selection.

I'm sure you can do this in other cities too.

[dhalpern1]

Are you studying for the GMAT? What is the best prep book? The official guide? Kaplan? Princeton? Barrons?

Manhattan GMAT is known as a good brand.

[AJK]

Manhattan GMAT is known as a good brand.

Heard the same from someone who got a 790.

[MarkS]

Heard the same from someone who got a 790.

No need to get that high even if you're trying to get into an Ivy League School. Even less of a need to score that high to go to an average college.

It doesn't make it onto your resume, so find out what your school requires to get in and aim for that. I overstudied and turns out I wasted time getting points that didn't do anything for me.

[AJK]

No need to get that high even if you're trying to get into an Ivy League School.

Tell that to Harvard.

Even less of a need to score that high to go to an average college.

Why would one want to get an MBA from an average college when he can get from an Ivy league with a scholarship?

[MarkS]

Tell that to Harvard.

Why would one want to get an MBA from an average college when he can get from an Ivy league with a scholarship?

You still don't need that high. I'll quote from some blog

Harvard GMAT Stats
Over the last several years, I've seen mean and median GMAT scores for HBS between about 690 and 720. At the moment, HBS acknowledges that the middle 50% of admitted students score between 700 and 740. The Harvard profile at BusinessWeek.com notes that the middle 80% scores between 680 and 750.
As is the case with most schools, these are just guidelines. If nothing else, they tell you that a large number (if not a large fraction!) of students are getting in with sub-700 GMAT scores...though, presumably, those students have other qualities that move them to the top of the pile!
Anecdotally, I've heard of applicants gaining admission to HBS with GMAT scores as low as 580, but I certainly wouldn't advise you to expect the same outcome. The 700+ isn't necessary, but it's extremely helpful.

It's true that you want to aim higher for Ivy League, but if you plan on not going to Harvard for whatever reason, and are going for an average college, you usually don't need high  scores.
The mean GMAT score is in the mid 500's.

[AJK]

Whether or not one needs to get a 790 is a different question from the question of whether or not one should shoot for getting a 790.

[MarkS]

Whether or not one needs to get a 790 is a different question from the question of whether or not one should shoot for getting a 790.

So my whole point is that I disagree with that. If you only need a 550, and you aim for a 790, you are overstudying and wasting your time.

[dhalpern1]

When you study you dont aim for the lower score, you should study hard and aim for 800 knowing that 700 is good too.

[dhalpern1]

So my whole point is that I disagree with that. If you only need a 550, and you aim for a 790, you are overstudying and wasting your time.

I think i couldnt disagree more(respectfully). Getting into a good school with a 550-600 is wayyyyy to infrequent to bank on. If you look at the US world and news report, you need well into the 600's for a top 50 school and borderline 700 and above for the best ones.

[AJK]

So my whole point is that I disagree with that. If you only need a 550, and you aim for a 790, you are overstudying and wasting your time.

Interesting approach and not one I'd subscribe to.

You leave no buffer for error. Shoot for a 550 and then, well, if you mess up, you're down to a 500, whereas if you shoot for a 800...

When you study you dont aim for the lower score, you should study hard and aim for 800 knowing that 700 is good too.

I'd agree.

[puddles]

Does anyone have any prep books they would want to lend/sell?

[churnbabychurn]

If your looking for ~550 there is no need to study at all for most...Even if your weak with math, the English is easy.

[AFM]

What is your take on the Kaplan prep course? Waste of money and just study yourself?

[Thingywingy]

Some friends who have taken courses have found a big benifit in having some kind of structure to their studying. Without the course they found it very difficult to keep to thei goals and get it done.