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A review guide for the GMAT, prepared by the creators of standardized exams, features previously administered exams for practice tests and more.
Product Description

The Official Guide for GMAT Review, 12th Edition is the only book on the market written by the creators of the GMAT exam. Inside you’ll find more than 800 actual GMAT questions from previous tests with answers and detailed explanations. There’s also a grammar review, math review, actual essay topics, sample responses, and scoring information insights into the GMAT exam that debunk test-taking myths. Plus, use the diagnostic section to pinpoint your skill level and focus on the areas where you need the most help.

Top Myths About the GMAT®

Myth – If I don’t score in the 90th percentile, I won’t get into any school I choose.

Fact – Very few people get very high scores.

Fewer than 50 of the more than 200,000 people taking the GMAT test each year get a perfect score of 800. Thus, while you may be exceptionally capable, the odds are against your achieving a perfect score. Also, the GMAT test is just one piece of your application packet. Admissions officers use GMAT scores in conjunction with undergraduate records, application essays, interviews, letters of recommendation, and other information when deciding whom to accept into their programs.

Myth – Getting an easier question means I answered the last one wrong.

Fact – Getting an easier question does not necessarily mean you got the previous question wrong.

To ensure that everyone receives the same content, the test selects a specific number of questions of each type. The test may call for your next question to be a relatively hard problem-solving item involving arithmetic operations. But, if there are no more relatively difficult problem-solving items involving arithmetic, you might be given an easier item.

Most people are not skilled at estimating item difficulty, so don’t worry when taking the test or waste valuable time trying to determine the difficulty of the questions you are answering.

Myth – You need very advanced math skills to get a high GMAT score.

Fact – The math skills questions on the GMAT test are quite basic.

The GMAT test only requires basic quantitative analytic skills. You should review the math skills (algebra, geometry, basic arithmetic) presented in both The Official Guide for GMAT® Quantitative Review, 2nd Edition, and in The Official Guide for GMAT® Review, 12th Edition, but the required skill level is low. The difficulty of GMAT Quantitative questions stems from the logic and analysis used to solve the problems and not the underlying math skills.

Myth – It is more important to respond correctly to the test questions than it is to finish the test.

Fact – There is a severe penalty for not completing the GMAT test.

If you are stumped by a question, give it your best guess and move on. If you guess incorrectly, the computer program will likely give you an easier question, which you are likely to answer correctly, and the computer will rapidly return to giving you questions matched to your ability. If you don’t finish the test, your score will be reduced greatly. Failing to answer five verbal questions, for example, could reduce your score from the 91st percentile to the 77th percentile. Pacing is important.

Myth –The first 10 questions are critical and you should invest the most time on those.

Fact – All questions count.

It is true that the computer-adaptive testing algorithm uses the first 10 questions to obtain an initial estimate of your ability; however, that is only an initial estimate. As you continue to answer questions, the algorithm self-corrects by computing an updated estimate on the basis of all the questions you have answered, and then administers items that are closely matched to this new estimate of your ability. Your final score is based on all your responses and considers the difficulty of all the questions you answered. Taking additional time on the first 10 questions will not game the system and can hurt your ability to finish the test.

Myth – I need to speak US English in order to do well on the GMAT.

Fact- Essay grading is not affected by dialect of English. Questions on the GMAT are evaluated to ensure they are fair for all examinees, whether in the US or around the world.

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 "Must have for all GMAT takers!!" 2010-09-03
By Subhakam Misra
Excellent questions, great variety to practice from and great value for money.

CONS: Answer explanations for verbal are not very clear.
Should utilize this book frequently to practice for GMAT.

Definitely recommend!!




 "GMAT Review" 2010-08-27
By MG
Just started going thru this book - but so far very good explainations of answers to questions.
This is a real help.


 "a must-have for GMAT preparation" 2010-08-22
By Yang Zhenzi (Philadelphia, PA USA)
you definitely need to read this book more than 3 times before taking the test~


 "A Necessary Study Guide" 2010-08-17
By Andrew Kirchner
I feel that the Official GMAT Review is a necessary study guide when preparing for the GMAT. If you are going to get anything out of this book, try to understand how the test takers think in designing the questions and answers. I would also complement this book with other study material to get more detailed explanations and practice. I felt that the answer explanations for some of the problem solving questions can be too time consuming if you do the work the way they do it. Instead, I would study the math examples from the Kaplan or Ace the GMAT to find easier ways of doing the math problems.

I strongly recommend that you download the two practice prep tests from the GMAT website [...] The scores you get on these two tests will be very similar to what you get on the actual GMAT. In fact, the score that I got on the second prep test was identical to the score that I got on the actual GMAT. Practice these prep tests over and over so you get an idea of how to pace yourself and what types of questions to expect. Try doing the entire prep test including the essay sections just like you are taking the actual GMAT. The GMAT is a long test and you might find yourself losing stamina towards the end. So practice the full prep tests until you feel comfortable doing the entire test. You may also want to switch out the two essays from each prep test with essays from the Official Guide. Although the math and verbal questions can change (especially when you start to get higher scores), the two essays questions remained the same. I only wish they had more prep tests to practice with.




 "GMAT Prep Book" 2010-08-03
By Victoria Harris (Charlotte, NC)
I bought this book to prepare to take my first GMAT and it was pretty good. The diagnostic test is helpful when first assessing what level you are at and the questions have a section where the answer and reason for the answer are given. This book was very helpful!


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