Some Resources for GMAT Prep

Last week I appeared on GMAT and scored a decent 760(q 49, V 44).As suggested by some of my friends,in the below paragraphs, I would be sharing my experiences and the materials I used for preparation.

I would try to breakup this article into some frequently asked questions.

How Much Time do One need for GMAT preparation :

Though it depends on person to person,an average person who has got decent reading habits(if you love spending time amidst this information jungle called Internet,I am talking about you only :)) needs anything between one and half months to three months depending upon how much time one can take out from his daily schedule.Normally 2-3 hrs a day for 2 Months should be enough. This much time I spent on my preparations.

Best way to assess the time required for GMAT prep is to get yourself involved into it. one week into this and you'll get an idea of the time required. Now is the time you should book a GMAT date based on your assessment. Yeah,you heard it right,book a date first,it helps you avoid procrastination. If you dont book a date,then you are not serious about the preparations.

Which materials should one have in his kitty before embarking on this journey :

Well,on internet you'll find too many resources and most of the time its very confusing as to which one to use. Based on my experiences,these should be enough :

Books :

(1) GMAT Official Guide -12th Edition:
This should be your Geeta,Ramayan,kuran or Bible, whatever you would like to call it.
Most authentic source of retired GMAT questions with the explanations by none other
than the writers of the test.Can be purchased with any book store. I bought it only on the landmark website .

(2) GMAT official Verbal Review :
When you fall short of practice questions,additional questions can be found in
this book.However,if you are pressed for time,you may like to skip this.

(3) Manhattan GMAT Sentence Correction Guide :
The quintessential GMAT sc guide. Can't overstress its importance. Go get it,that's all I have to say. For an older version of the book click here. However,for newer improved version you can always order it on the ManhattanGmat official website. On the purchase of this book you get 6 CAT(Computer Adaptive Tests) which will prove to be an invaluable tool in this journey. They have added some advanced chapters in the new edition which I found very useful. Plus the new edition is in synch with the 12th edition of OG (Official Guide) whereas the older one refers to the 10th Edition OG.

(4) Powerscore GMAT critical reasoning bible :
One of the few good books available in the market on critical reasoning. Though
critical reasoning questions are based on common sense but when you ascend higher levels of difficulty in the CR preparation,you need additional resources and then this books comes into picture. A little voluminous than its competitors (eg Manhattan CR guide) its worth its length. The book may seem boring and stressing on very trivial things initially but in later chapters one realises the importance
of this triviality.Be patient with this book.Can be downloaded from here .

(5) Kaplan GMAT 800 :
A very good book for those aspiring higher percentiles. But a word of caution,dont jump into the book at the start of preparation.This book is more helpful when you are aware of the structure and nuances of the GMAT questions. I did the mistake of starting my prep with this book only and hence had to reread it later.The verbal part of this book can be downloaded here.However,you can always purchase the full book from any book store on online.

GMAT CAT softwares :

Its very important to keep judging your preparation from time to time with the help of various tests. These are the ones I found useful -

(1) Official GMAT prep Software :
By none other than the GMAC,the owners of GMAT. This contains two free tests available for free download from mba.com. These are the two best tests in the market and hence use them judiciously. Dont waste them just for diagnostic purposes.

(2) Manhattan CATs :
On the purchase of any book from Manhattan these tests are available for free. Closer to the real GMAT than any other CATs available in the market.

(3) Kaplan Tests :
Whenever,you feel you have got you preparation under controle,just take one of them and you'll soon hit the ground :) . Best tool available to keep you on your toes. But stop taking them atleast 15 days before the actual GMAT as its notorious low scores can hamper your confidence badly.

(4) Some GMAT practice Sets :
I got them from a friend of mine.Since these are not adaptive sets,better take them as sprint tests when you need to assess individual verbal sections,. Can be downloaded from here.

(5) princeton and 800 Score tests : If you need further testing material,use these .

The above all tests can be downloaded from the torrent I have shared in this esnips folder.Its a bulky thing (4.4 gb),so download only the ones you think is necessary.


When armed with these ,you are all set and prepared for a battle called GMAT :). In the next part I shall try to enlist how I approached the preparation. But as I believe,everyone is unique in his abilities and hence the strategies adopted may be different from person to person. So if you wish to,you can start your preparation with this much only.
(To be Contd..)