Publisher: Kaplan Publishing
ISBN: 1625231326
Language: English
Category: Books,Test Preparation,Graduate School,
Always study with the most up-to-date prep! Look for GRE Premier 2017, ISBN 978-1-5062-0322-5, on sale June 7, 2016.
Always study with the most up-to-date prep! Look for GRE Premier 2017, ISBN 978-1-5062-0322-5, on sale June 7, 2016. GRE Premier 2016 with 6 Practice Tests Epub
I'm a long-time GRE tutor, and I review GRE books to help self-studiers with their prep. Kaplan's latest version of their GRE prep guide, like its previous versions, is a basic primer for the test, but not what I'd recommend. I think it is inferior to its competition in several important ways.
1. First, this book is a one-size-fits-all book. But kind of like a one-size-fits all hat, it's not going to work as well for people who are below or above average. If you're starting from a high or low point, this may not work well for you: high scorers need more depth; lower scorers need more technique options.
2. Practice question realism is poor, especially for verbal questions. It's so important to practice with questions that capture the nuances and complexities of the real GRE. Kaplan, like most companies, doesn't duplicate these nuances well. In general, these questions are simpler and easier than real questions. So even if this book included access to a million Kaplan computer tests, I would avoid it.
3. The book does not adequately cover all the concepts the GRE will present. I am surprised to see there is still no treatment of logic or "critical reasoning" verbal questions, and that not all math concepts are covered. Again, bad for you if you want a competitive score.
4. The level of depth for math concepts will, in my opinion, not get people to competency in many cases, let alone mastery.
5. The techniques offered for math are fine, but verbal techniques are fairly fluffy - they may work on Kaplan-written questions, but I don't think for many they'll work well on more difficult ETS GRE questions.
The thing that gets me worked up about this book is not that it's mediocre.
1. First, this book is a one-size-fits-all book. But kind of like a one-size-fits all hat, it's not going to work as well for people who are below or above average. If you're starting from a high or low point, this may not work well for you: high scorers need more depth; lower scorers need more technique options.
2. Practice question realism is poor, especially for verbal questions. It's so important to practice with questions that capture the nuances and complexities of the real GRE. Kaplan, like most companies, doesn't duplicate these nuances well. In general, these questions are simpler and easier than real questions. So even if this book included access to a million Kaplan computer tests, I would avoid it.
3. The book does not adequately cover all the concepts the GRE will present. I am surprised to see there is still no treatment of logic or "critical reasoning" verbal questions, and that not all math concepts are covered. Again, bad for you if you want a competitive score.
4. The level of depth for math concepts will, in my opinion, not get people to competency in many cases, let alone mastery.
5. The techniques offered for math are fine, but verbal techniques are fairly fluffy - they may work on Kaplan-written questions, but I don't think for many they'll work well on more difficult ETS GRE questions.
The thing that gets me worked up about this book is not that it's mediocre.
I have GRE score of 323 and I am one of the founding members of the GRE Prep Club online community. Here is what I think about this book:
~~~ PROS~~~
1. Great Value for Money: The combined package, i.e. the book + CD + Online Materials, form a very exhaustive library of GRE Questions created and Compiled by Kaplan.
2. Its greatest merit lies in its Chapters on AWA Sections. The topics and responses are discussed in great detail. There is an immaculate Foundation and Content review chapter under the AWA section as well, which is probably the best feature of this product. It also discusses the pacing strategy (writing the essay within 30 min) and nuances of Scoring.
3. The Foundation and Content Review Chapters under both, Quant and Verbal sections are very detailed and beginner friendly. The theoretical coverage on the topics is fairly detailed.
4. The answers to the practice questions, in the book, are very detailed and insightful.
5. Practice test are of paramount importance for test prep. The six tests equip the user to perform SWOT analysis and monitor progress from time to time. The test analysis report is a lifesaver!
~~~ CONS ~~~
1. Difficulty level of questions, specifically in the Quantitative section, could have been better. The practice test set questions are not at par with the Questions by ETS.
2. The section named: “Kaplan Method of Problem solving” has a much better alternative that can be found in the book by ETS. Since ETS books contain actual GRE questions hence it is much more effective to emulate problem solving strategies presented in the Book by ETS.
3. The questions on the Tests by Kaplan seem to lack the quality that we have come to Expect from ETS and Manhattan.
~~~ PROS~~~
1. Great Value for Money: The combined package, i.e. the book + CD + Online Materials, form a very exhaustive library of GRE Questions created and Compiled by Kaplan.
2. Its greatest merit lies in its Chapters on AWA Sections. The topics and responses are discussed in great detail. There is an immaculate Foundation and Content review chapter under the AWA section as well, which is probably the best feature of this product. It also discusses the pacing strategy (writing the essay within 30 min) and nuances of Scoring.
3. The Foundation and Content Review Chapters under both, Quant and Verbal sections are very detailed and beginner friendly. The theoretical coverage on the topics is fairly detailed.
4. The answers to the practice questions, in the book, are very detailed and insightful.
5. Practice test are of paramount importance for test prep. The six tests equip the user to perform SWOT analysis and monitor progress from time to time. The test analysis report is a lifesaver!
~~~ CONS ~~~
1. Difficulty level of questions, specifically in the Quantitative section, could have been better. The practice test set questions are not at par with the Questions by ETS.
2. The section named: “Kaplan Method of Problem solving” has a much better alternative that can be found in the book by ETS. Since ETS books contain actual GRE questions hence it is much more effective to emulate problem solving strategies presented in the Book by ETS.
3. The questions on the Tests by Kaplan seem to lack the quality that we have come to Expect from ETS and Manhattan.
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