Kaplan GMAT Prep Materials

Kaplan GMAT Prep

Kaplan GMAT Prep materials are another great study option to look into. Kaplan has long been a respected preparation aide for those readying themselves for the GMAT. One of the top sellers is the Kaplan GMAT Premier Program. This is Kaplan's equivalent of the GMAC Official Guide and Princeton Review's Cracking the GMAT.

Overall, the Kaplan Premier Program follows the same general format as the other GMAT prep books. It breaks down each section on the GMAT, highlighting the different problem types and the best strategies to deal with them. Kaplan also has a good review section in the back of the book, broken into easy, medium and hard sections. Although, those looking for a more detailed review would do well to look into Cracking the GMAT.

The Premier Program contains hundreds of practice problems and access to six full length practice tests, and a DVD with more practice material.

The one detractor from Kaplan GMAT Prep materials is the difficulty of the problems (remember, the Official Guide is the only prep book with actual GMAT problems). Kaplan's problems are unrealistically difficult to the point that people routinely score 100 points less on Kaplan practice tests than they do on the GMAT or GMAC PREP sofware. So, it is not advisable to use the Kaplan book as your exam date approaches (you should only be using the Official Guide at that point) as the Premier Program is not an accurate predictor of what you will encounter on the GMAT.

However, this is not to say Kaplan should not be an option. For those with strong math skills, Kaplan can be seen as an early warmup- like swinging the heavy bat before stepping up to the plate. Furthermore, the difficulty of the problems does not change the fact that Kaplan strategies are sound, and highly beneficial for anyone. Depending on your math skills at the beginning of your GMAT study, the Kaplan book can be a great supplement to the Official Guide. For those with weaker quant skills, it would be prudent to look into Cracking the GMAT (the Official Guide should be your first purchase) and then consider Kaplan if you feel you want to tackle something more challenging.

For those who prefer to learn in a classroom setting, Kaplan does offer GMAT Prep Courses in the classroom and online. For more information and class dates, check the Kaplan website.

For many people, Kaplan GMAT Prep materials will be highly beneficial. To get a better grasp of whether this book may be on the difficult side for your learning needs, check out some GMAT forums and read about other people's experiences with the material.

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