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Product Description
Kaplan GMAT 2009 Premier Program features: * NEW! Essential math basics review section with practice drills * Full-length practice test * Diagnostic test to target areas for score improvement* Proven score-raising strategies* Hundreds of additional practice questions * Detailed answer explanations
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Customer Reviews: - Simulated CAT GMAT
So what exactly is adaptive about Kaplan's version of the CAT GMAT? Kaplan gave me one impossibly hard math question after the next despite my previous wrong answers. I have taken the GMAT CAT on MBA.com and did just fine - not the case with Kaplan version. On the mba.com version the questions were reasonable yet the Kaplan test seems to give one 800 level question after the next. I completely ran out of time trying to answer these over-complicated questions. (Not to mention that they short you 5 minutes on the math section! what's that about??!)
Also I think Kaplan's examples of "good" analytical writing are terrible. They are full of assumptions and poor/undesirable grammar (e.g. contractions and excessive uses of semicolons).
Later: I just took the GMAT and did well - 110 points better than I was scoring on any of the three Kaplan practice exams I took! Thanks for the panic attack, Kaplan!...more info - Errors upon errors
The 2009 premier edition kaplan gmat book is absolutely pathetic. Its strong sell point is the cd-rom with 4 additional practice tests. HA!! Just to let you know their software does not work. It states you need to install some sort of MCI drivers and upon questioning their customer support they said it was a microsoft problem, not theirs. Furthermore in the cd-rom disclaimer they give more reason not purchase the book:
"KAPLAN DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE FUNCTIONS CONTAINED IN THE SOFTWARE WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS, OR THAT THE OPERATION OF THE SOFTWARE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERRORFREE, OR THAT DEFECTS IN THE SOFTWARE WILL BE CORRECTED. KAPLAN DOES NOT WARRANT OR MAKE ANY CORRECTNESS, ACCURACY, RELIABILITY OR OTHERWISE. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES, INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE, SHALL KAPLAN BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMANGES...."
This disclaimer continues, but basically it goes to show you that the stuck a label on a piece of plastic, called a cd-rom, know the thing doesn't work, and say it has 4 additional practice exams on it to hike the price of the book.
Finally, I must have counted over 20 misprints, and outright wrong answers. DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK!!!!! DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY!!!...more info - Great Book for current GMAT
I recommend This book for reviewing the current 2009 GMAT. Material makes it possible to teach yourself and brush up on all subjects included in the tests. Also includes a disk so you can take practice tests.
...more info - Kaplan GMAT 2009
Re: Kaplan GMAT Premier Program 2009 Edition
It's amazing to me that a company of the stature of Kaplan would have so many errors in a book intended to train for a test. It's hard to have confidence in their services.
Here are some of the numerous errors I found in the math section of this book.
The math section is a pathetic study guide. The errors are so numerous, that it's hard to know when it's right. See below - and this is only as far as I got. I will return this poor "study guide" and request my money back.
I contacted Kaplan; they said they would have an errata sheet posted early Sept 2008; it's now mid-Sept, and no errata sheet is posted.
I'll try another publisher.
Page 272, prob 10, error in first line; fist x-intercept missing (3/2)
Page 279, prob 6; 8x-2 should be 8x-3
Page 289, prob 4; units are meters in the sketch and inches in answers
Page 322, prob 7; missing "+" sign in equation
Page 323, prob 4; indicates use of calculator, but GMAT instructions say no calculators are allowed
Page 326, prob 6; solution includes "y" in solution; there is no "y"
Page 328, prob 10; equation has both plus and minus signs, (x-+5)
Page 285, 30-60-90 example shows 1:1:sqrt2; should be 1:2:sqrt3
Page 299, prob 2; Greek letter for pi is "p" in answer E; confusing
Page 300, prob 3; Greek letter for pi is called "p"; confusing
Page 300, prob 4; Greek letter for pi is called "p"; confusing
Page 301, prob 5; missing info: need to tell me that A in on line OB
Page 305, prob 5; angle CDE and DEC are both 45 deg, but not drawn equal...more info - Good Reviewing Tool
The best part of this is the CD that comes with it. You get access to several different test/quizzes. The book is also in an easy to read format and it does what it says increases your score. I recommend this to anyone who plans on taking the GMAT....more info - MUST HAVE!!
I didn't take any prep courses (too expensive). Instead I bought this book and the Princeton Review. I studied both books for 2 months straight (averaging 10-15 hours a week) before the GMAT exam.
I like the Kaplan book better because the CD-ROM was invaluable to getting used to taking computer adaptive tests. The Kaplan book was valuable in the amount of practice questions in the book (I don't believe in the tips & strategies as much since I only had 2mos of cramming).
The Princeton book is good for in book questions, the Kaplan book is good for CD-ROM and online campanion. Buy both and you should be set. BTW, I scored a 680 with a 5.5 on the essays on my first and only attempt ;-)...more info - Great book!
Others had recommended this book, and from my experiences, it didn't disappoint. I like the intro sections for each chapter and the problems have thorough explanations. I highly recommend this book to anyone who's serious about the GMAT....more info - No Book after 3 weeks but I got a refund
Well I ordered this book on Feb. 9 and by March 9 had still not received my purchase. So I called the customer service number in the confirmation number the company had sent me, spoke with someone immediately and explained to them my situation. The woman was very nice and gave me the option of whether or not I wanted to be shipped another book or a refund, I chose to have then reship the item to me and she told me that would be fine. The only real problem I had with this company, is that instead of calling me back I got an e-mail a few days later informing me that they were out of the item I had purchased and I would be issued a refund. Although the customer service was excellent, I do not think I will be ordering from this merchant again....more info - Terrible Math Content
Excessive is an understatement. After using this book for review I can safely say avoid at all costs for math content review. There are many omissions, = where - should be, p in place of [pi] randomly in questions and answers, faulty assumptions in the answers that were not provided in questions.
I would rejoice for Kaplan when I made it through a single page turn without finding a SERIOUS error.
Not only do they need a new editor, they need a content creator with better than 25% accuracy....more info - Good but sloppy
I have not yet taken the GMAT, so I may have different views after I have, but right now my feelings about the 2009 Kaplan GMAT prep book are definitely mixed. In general, the book seems well organized. It has fairly extensive math review material, and I like that there are practice questions for each math topic. I also think the web site access that comes with the book is a nice bonus. However, I have found NUMEROUS typos and errors throughout the book; mistakes include missing numbers or wrong signs in questions and answers, and also some wrong information in the content sections. I have enough trouble with arithmetic without my study book confusing me further with errors. Another gripe: why hasn't Kaplan gotten with the program and made the CD-ROM compatible with the Mac? It's ridiculous (of course, the official GMAT practice tests that you can download/get online are also PC-only)....more info - Errors and Malfunctions
This book is littered with errors throughout it,and most importantly THE CD DOESN'T WORK ON VISTA!!! Terrible waste of money! I recommend just using the official books put out by GMAC....more info - Poor Service
Book took way too long to be shipped and FURTHERMORE, the books is advertised as including the the Kaplan Premier Program CD-ROM. Not only did my package NOT include the CD---the sender told me that after the fact via email AFTER the package had already been shipped, ie nearly two weeks after I actually ordered the book. Amazing. Totally disappointing. ...more info - Honest Review of GMAT Books!
After going through all the GMAT books, here is my honest opinion about some of the most popular GMAT books:
Official Guide:
Pros - Excellent source of GMAT questions. Very well organized with real test like questions.
Cons - No review of any math content or test-taking strategies. Not enough explanations of practice questions.
Overall, the Official Guide is a must have for all test-takers. It will give you a good idea about the type of questions to expect on the GMAT; however, if you need more than just a bank of questions, you need to look at some other source.
Kaplan:
Pros - Good for additional practice questions as a supplement
Cons - Review of math content is not thorough but just the very basics. Not enough explanation of test taking strategies. Full of guessing techniques with no real mathematical solutions. Not good enough explanations of practice questions. Unrealistic questions.
Princeton:
Pros - Good for additional practice questions as a supplement
Cons - Review of math content is not thorough but just the very basics. Not enough explanation of test taking strategies. Full of guessing techniques with no real mathematical solutions. Not good enough explanations of practice questions. Weird sense of humor.
Barrons:
Pros - Good math review. Big list of questions. Good test taking strategies. Very well organized. This is by far the best of the all-in-one kinds of books.
Cons - Although the book has a good math review, it doesn't go deep enough into each concept. Not enough explanations to practice questions. Does not have a good section for logical reasoning (permutation, combination, probability, etc) questions, which is one of the most important question-type. Does not break down the concepts/questions step by step.
EZ Solutions Series of Books:
Pros - Thorough math review from A to Z. Effective test taking strategies. Abundant solved examples. Numerous practice exercises. Great practice question bank in basic and advanced workbooks.
As with most books, you are expected to already have a good knowledge about the various match concepts, but with these books, you can literally start from scratch and reach the most advanced level of the GMAT.
Cons - To get the best result from these books, you have to invest in buying several books (set of 9 books), but if you compare the cost and benefits, the benefits outweigh the cost, or you can buy a few not all. Missing the verbal section. This is not a good option if you are looking for a mediocre score or just looking for a very basic brush-up. Recommended for serious test takers only.
Some of the other books has no real content; whereas, there are some other books that I haven't yet had an opportunity to review, but may be some of them are good supplementary aids.
I hope my review will help some of you in making the right decision. ...more info - Plenty of practice but many errors
There is nothing more frustrating then spending hours studying only to find errors in the material you are studying. I do not suggest buying this book. I even found errors online in their practice exams. One I called to complain I got an answering system and no reply to my emails. Very dissapointed....more info - Better math editor needed
There are excessive math errors in the book. Several times they use the same figure (ex. Triangle) with the exact same measures (congruent triangles) to show how the two figures are different. How can they be different when the 3 sides and the 3 angles are identical? One time they say find the "equation with and -5". Nothing between the two words.
They tend to introduce new concepts in the practice problems and then don't explain them in the answer explanations.
The english portion was OK....more info - Quality Assistance for GMAT
While I have not taken the GMAT yet, this book seems to do a good job of preparing me for the format and types of questions that will be on the test. It not only provides the answers, but a detailed explanation of each answer and what makes it correct.
The online practice tests are great for simulating what I expect to be a realistic examination environment....more info - Good GMAT strategies, unrealistic practice questions
The Kaplan book has many test taking strategies that are helpful on the actual GMAT exam. The two most useful strategies Kaplan goes over, is how to plug in real numbers into variables to get the correct answer and how to work from the answer choices to find the correct answer. Furthermore, the videos on the CD are helpful in getting a GMAT exam candidate up to speed on how to tackle this exam.
On the negative side, this book has many errors in its math problems and unrealistic questions. Using the Kaplan problems will lead you down the wrong path and will waste valuable study time. The math section is also a major problem. The math section goes over very basic concepts, with nothing to help the reader jump to the intermediate math on the test.
I would recommend using the Kaplan book only for strategy and would work the problems in the Official GMAT guide. The GMAT guide also has very limited math prep. For my GMAT Math prep I used several Algebra DVDs I found in the public library - I wish these were available when I was in school. Good luck everyone....more info - Dont trust the tests!
Like many here, I bought the Kaplan book primarily for the four additional practice tests included on the CD-rom. My scores were:
Gmat Prep 1 (Official Gmat prep software) - 700 - no studying
Princeton Review Online Test - 630 - after 1 week
Kaplan 1 - 560 - after 2 weeks
Kaplan 2 - 600 - after 3 weeks
Kaplan 3 - 580 - after 4 weeks
Gmat Prep 2 - 730 - after 5 weeks and 5 days prior to actual exam
Unofficial Gmat Score - 750
Don't bother studying the problems in this book. They are generally harder than the questions you will get on the actual Gmat. Its great if you want to learn additional math skills but I only wanted to learn math for the Gmat. Use the 3 official guides published by GMAC - they are much more representative of the problems that you will actually encounter.
That all being said, I would advise getting the book just for the tests. They are great for learning the pacing and format that the test will be in and knowing that is half the battle. Whatever you do, though, don't trust the scores. The rumors that the Kaplan tests will score you 100-150 points lower than the actual exam are 100% true!...more info - Very good for strategies
I bought this book for GMAT when I was done with Official guide but in retrospect, I think that if you are a new-bie in the world of GMAT and especially looking for crucial strategies to attempt different sections of GMAT, this book will be really helpful.
I found it really cool for strategies regarding RC and CR sections of GMAT verbal.
You can refer to this book and side by side you can solve the questions from Official Guide of GMAC (OG 11).
Besides that, this book has lots of sectional questions which are good (although not exactly like GMAT). Plus it comes with a CD which has 4 full GMAT mocks and sectional tests for all the sections of GMAT Quant and Verbal.
Best of luck!...more info - GMAT Study Guide
This guide is just as described, the information is extremely helpful in studying for the GMAT, in addition to other resources that comes from the CD-ROM. ...more info - Great explanations but many mistakes.
Very handy with the hints and tips and study notes, but there are a few typos and mistakes in the book, which can get really annoying when you think you have gotten a question right, you look at the answer and it says it is wrong because Kaplan made a mistake.
Also why do some of the answers tell you to use a calculator? or check with a calculator, the whole point of the book is to learn with out the use of a calculator
But i would recommend buying the book, because it is a great layout, plan and the questions in the study notes are so helpful. ...more info - Good review for GMAT
This book is good to review before taking the GMAT. However, I suggest concentrating on the tests that you are given links to once you register for the GMAT. Those tests are exactly how the real test will look. The tests that come on the cd with this book are not exactly the same. ...more info
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