Need book suggestions for questions practice (not strategies) ..

[ahmadka]

Before going on, just want to say this: Yes, I HAVE read the suggestions suggested ..

 

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Hi guys ... I'm prepping for GRE and am currently confused regarding which book or resource to use for practicing accurate questions ...

 

I know there are many books out there, but most don't have good reviews according to Magoosh ..

 

Manhattan 5 LB book :: Is generally recommended, but sadly that isn't available in my country ..

 

Princeton Review book :: I have it .. Strategies are good but questions are too easy so I don't trust them ..

 

Official GRE book :: Covers all concepts, but has very few questions for practice ..

 

Lastly, I'm aware that there are free prep exams from numerous books, software, etc., but I want to save those for the end when I'm done prepping first ..

 

So I'm looking for book suggestions .. I need a book which has a significant amount of Math problems which resemble actual GRE questions fairly well, and are also outside of any 'prep exam', as I want to save those for the end ..

Edited September 27, 2014 by ahmadka

[lyrehc]

I felt that the GRE for Dummies book had the best practice questions, but it could fit into the "prep exam" category.  

[ahmadka]

I don't think GRE for Dummies is such a mainstream book, is it ? ... I've never had any mentions or recommendations of it ..

 

Rated C at Magoosh .. Link

 

 

Now, I’m not this curmudgeon (GRE-speak for ‘grouch’), who just spends his day lambasting GRE books. I really want for there to be good GRE books on the market, one’s with questions that are reflective of what you’ll actually see test day, books that you can incorporate into part of your study routine. But GRE for Dummies is the exact opposite of such a book. Do not waste your time and money, and worse, risk your future on this travesty of a GRE book.

Edited September 28, 2014 by ahmadka

[ahmadka]

Would appreciate if someone can give me some valuable advice ..

[jujubea]

Have you seen that ETS just came out with a book of ACTUAL practice questions?  

Looks like it came out in August.

I ordered an electronic copy - I'll let you know if it's any good - probably crack it open today.

[jujubea]

Have you seen that ETS just came out with a book of ACTUAL practice questions?  

Looks like it came out in August.

I ordered an electronic copy - I'll let you know if it's any good - probably crack it open today.

 

Just for clarification, I meant the word "crack" in the sense that I'd look at it today... not hack-crack it open... Sorry to disappoint

[VulpesZerda]

Have you seen that ETS just came out with a book of ACTUAL practice questions?

Looks like it came out in August.

I ordered an electronic copy - I'll let you know if it's any good - probably crack it open today.

I have the paper copy of each the two new practice question books (one is verbal and one is quant). $15 each on Amazon. I went through the verbal very quickly but at least it provided never-before-seen practice questions from the makers of the test. I'm sure the quant will be useful as well!

[ahmadka]

150 questions isn't too much I guess ... Where do you find more questions from ?

[jujubea]

How do you blow through questions so quickly!

That's maybe what I get in in a week - a very very good week! 

Edited September 30, 2014 by jujubea

[VulpesZerda]

150 questions isn't too much I guess ... Where do you find more questions from ?

 

I don't feel the need for too many more questions right now since I'm so close to the test - I've just been taking full practice exams. I have the 5lb book... Maybe I can mail it to you since I'll never get to it lol

How do you blow through questions so quickly!

That's maybe what I get in in a week - a very very good week!

I have a work-study that entails little to no work. 15 hours a week of doing homework and GRE studying :-)

[jujubea]

 

I don't feel the need for too many more questions right now since I'm so close to the test - I've just been taking full practice exams. I have the 5lb book... Maybe I can mail it to you since I'll never get to it lol

I have a work-study that entails little to no work. 15 hours a week of doing homework and GRE studying :-)

 

Aha... lucky you!

 

When are you taking the test? Mine's Friday!

[VulpesZerda]

When are you taking the test? Mine's Friday!

 

Good luck! Mine's next Saturday. 

[jujubea]

You too! Thanks.

 

The ETS book is alright - I do like that it seems to go a little more deeply and differently into some of the math concepts than does Kaplan material.

Haven't done much with the verbal book yet.

[Crucial BBQ]

Would appreciate if someone can give me some valuable advice ..

I took the GRE more than once.  If you want a book, the absolute best is the official guide from ETS, hands down.  Not only are their example and practice questions taken directly from past tests, they also very in difficulty from easy to hard.  To add, while the Official Guide from ETS does not "teach" you how to game the GRE their explanations to what types of problems are being asked and why they say the correct answer is the correct answer is pure gold. 

 

Nearly all of the "how to take the GRE" books get their information directly from ETS yet their example and practice problems are way to effin' easy when compared to the actual questions asked on the GRE.  You might as well just go with the real deal.  

 

If you peruse the ETS website and/or through their Official Guide, one word pops up continuously throughout:  comprehension.  You need to comprehend how ETS writes their questions as much as you need to comprehend what is being asked.  Sadly, all of those "how to" books only focus only focus on comprehending the question and how to spot the tricks and traps employed by ETS.  Ironically, ETS does the same although it takes solid reading comprehension skills to begin with in order to pick out the instances where ETS is saying Wink, wink.  Here is the trick to solve this type of question.  You are welcome.  

 

You know, when comparing my Official Guide to say something like Crackin' The GRE it now seems obvious that Crackin' and its ilk are not designed for those who want, or need, to score high on the GRE.  It seems more geared towards those who only need decent scores (50th percentile), are probably "afraid" of math, more than likely Humanities majors; hence all the focus on how to take the GRE.  ETS spends tons of money and research towards crafting the perfect GRE questions.  The "how to" books simply try to mimic those questions but cannot capture the nuances that make GRE questions truly difficult.  Only ETS can do that and why some would avoid learning how ETS reasons their own questions is beyond me. 

 

Besides the Official Guide, the only other resource that is relevant is Magoosh and maybe Manhattan.  They are the only test prep, perhaps outside of Manhattan, who really seem to grasp what is going on with the GRE.  

 

As an aside:  my Calc II prof once told the class that it is better to work through one problem numerous times than to work through numerous problems one time each.  The logic being that by working one problem numerous times you begin to see and understand the pattern and approach.  You do not need to work hundreds of GRE problems.  

Edited October 2, 2014 by Crucial BBQ

[jujubea]

[...]

 

As an aside:  my Calc II prof once told the class that it is better to work through one problem numerous times than to work through numerous problems one time each.  The logic being that by working one problem numerous times you begin to see and understand the pattern and approach.  You do not need to work hundreds of GRE problems.  

 

Your whole post was great so I don't mean to only single out this piece, but - thank you! I have been so frustrated with the prep materials I invested in because they cover one type of problem, one time ... This is not conducive to re-learning, or learning flat out. 

 

Remember the days of real math class in grade school? You repeat, the same, freaking, question types, over, and over, and over, until you essentially have enough patterned data for your brain to really figure it out and *click*!  

Can't do that with one question, one explanation, and move on. 

 

Math is like a language in this way: you can memorize all the vocabulary, and even a few strict grammar rules, but unless you, by yourself, can put it all together and reformulate it and deconstruct it, creatively, you're not going to get too far. Saying and learning and repeating only one sentence-example of a grammar rule is similar to doing only one example of a given type of math problem in my opinion... 

 

Now I'm gonna go back and look through my ETS books a little more closely for those winks you mentioned.

[ahmadka]

I downloaded the Magoosh ebook and printed it to make it into a book (I can't study directly from ebooks - old fashioned I guess) .. Went through it .. The concepts seemed to be spot on, but the ebook is very very short, almost like a 'sample' of something bigger (ironically, that's probably true considering their paid services) ... I've managed to find the Manhattan math books and am going through the first 3 of them to see if I like them or not .. Again the concepts are good but very few questions to practice on ... I want to get the Manhattan 5lb book *so bad*, but sadly its not available in my country, and importing it takes the cost to $100 or so, considering its weight

[kimchijajonshim]

If it's in your budget, buy the Magoosh Premium online set for $100 USD. I think they have 560 or so math practice questions. I only had 3 weeks to study and the Magoosh plan was BY FAR the best investment I made (perhaps just as helpful was the ETS PowerPrep stuff, but it's available for free online). They helped me raise my math score about 10 points in 3 weeks.

 

If you're starting from scratch and need really, really in-depth math lessons, you might want to invest in something more substantive. But if you already have a strong foundation in math (probably so if you're going for Comp Sci) and just need a refresher and practice, I think Magoosh is phenomenal. They have a few hours of video lessons, with topic overviews, helpful explanations, and a lot of very useful shortcuts, tips, and strategies.

 

The practice problems are great. They're substantively harder than what's on the actual test. The only issue I found is that sometimes the Magoosh people try to be very clever with trick questions I never saw in any ETS official material (maybe more common on the old test), testing whether you can spot the trick rather than whether or not you can set the problem up properly. But broadly if you can handle the Magoosh questions, you'll be overprepared for the real thing.

 

The only drawback would be that can make "practice tests" out of the Magoosh questions, but really I don't think it's an issue. The Magoosh questions underestimated my score by 5+ points because they're harder than what's on the test. They're fantastic training, but not a very accurate gauge of your ability. Just work through the questions, try to understand them, and you're golden.

Edited October 13, 2014 by kimchijajonshim