Earning an GMBA and becoming a successful business owner or working for a Fortune 500 company is the dream of millions of people, but it’s a dream that requires a person to pass the Graduate Management Admission Test, otherwise known as the GMAT. And believe us when we say that this test isn’t one that a person can wander into and take on a whim. A low score GMAT score can effectively end a person’s application to a first-rate school. Therefore, prospective test-takers need to do everything they can do to ensure that they get the highest score possible. It’s the primary reason why we’ve decided to review the best GMAT prep books available.

Quick Summary of the Best GMAT Prep Books

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Best Overall: Manhattan GMAT Strategy Guides

Manhattan Prep isn’t a company that’s been around very long, with it only being in operation for about 2 decades now. However, even though they’re newcomers into this field, they’ve already managed to establish themselves as one of the best prep course publishes known for delivering quality learning materials.

They have published courses and learning materials for SAT and LSAT prep, and GRE prep. And with these materials, they are now offering one of the best GMAT prep courses currently available. Prep materials that will help the student do better on their test. And the higher the student can score on this test, the better off they will be.

This set contains ten Manhattan GMAT strategy guides that are designed to provide the reader with the information they need and to be clear and comprehensive while it does it. In this bundle, the student will get five quantitative, four verbal and one strategy guide that will help them navigate the GMAT.

It also includes more than two hundred additional free practice questions, an essay section, and topical sets of practice questions along with detailed answer explanations. And if all of that wasn’t enough, the student also has access to nine online question banks that will help them extend their knowledge base. All of this makes this the best prep course for students who are serious about taking and passing their GMAT.

What we liked about it
  • It’s an easy-to-use and comprehensive prep guide.

Best Value: GMAT Official Guide 3-Book Bundle

The students who do the best on the GMAT are the ones who are willing to put into the work. Although just about anyone taking this test is willing to put into at least 20-hours of prep work, the students that achieve the best are the ones that put in 50+ hours of prep work.

And for students who are willing to put into that amount of preparation, they need guides that will help them organize their time so they achieve their best results. Fortunately, this set of three books does provide the material in an easy to consume manner so students can get on with their studying and get the best results possible.

In this set, consumers will find the GMAT Official Guide, The GMAT Verbal Review, and The GMAT Official Guide Quantitative Review. In these books, students will find 1,700 real-life questions pulled from past exams that not only give the student the information they need but also presents a road map to success. That’s over 200 more questions that have been found in previous versions of these books.

It also should be noted that with the purchase of these books, the consumer is not only getting access to the best materials in print form, but they’re also getting access to an online information bank of additional questions–although we do have to say that the website isn’t always as reliable as it should be.

What we liked about it
  • These are good and reasonably priced.

Best Affordable: Manhattan Prep GMAT Advanced Quant

Ask anyone who has taken the GMAT what’s the most difficult part of the test and they probably say that it’s the Quantitative Section—otherwise known as Quant. This is a section that not only tests the content of basic mat concepts such as arithmetic, algebra, and geometry but also tests the test-takers analytical knowledge of them.

Test takers have to deal with two different types of questions in this section and those two types are data sufficiency and problem-solving. As a result, the test taker has to be able to think on their feet and remember those high-school math skills clearly. That might seem like an easy task, but it overlooks the fact that many of use are quite rusty with our high school math.

Fortunately, for anyone who’s intending on taking the GMAT, this guide is ready to help them get a better score on this section of the test. Although students who are not trying to get top scores on their test need not purchase this book, it is a good supplemental guide to go along with an overall study guide so that the student can achieve top marks.

Inside of this book, students will find chapters on the advanced principles of problem-solving, pattern recognition, hybrid problems, visual solutions, data sufficiency principles and a whole lot more. Any student who wants to get top scores on the GMAT is going to want to pick up a copy of this book.

What we liked about it
  • It provides the analytical skill preparation that test-takers absolutely need.

Best For Grammar Review: Manhattan Prep GMAT Sentence Correction

Another section that gives GMAT test-takers some trouble is the grammar section of the test. Even though this section of the test isn’t particularly difficult, it is for students who haven’t had a chance to practice their sentence structure or grammatical skills. Fortunately, this book gives the student the information they need to take this section of the test and do well on it.

Unlike other study guides for the GMAT that try to provide the student with an overview of the entire test, this guide is only intended to help with this one section. That means that its focus might be too narrow for some students, but for students who only feel like they have the other sections of the test covered, it can provide a great deal of useful information.

Some of the sections that can be found in this guide include sections on grammar and meaning, sentence structure, parallelism, modifiers, verbs, pronouns, idioms, comparisons, and a whole lot more. This guide will allow students to reexamine their grammatical skills and sentence structure so it’s up to par with standards. This means that when it’s time for the student to take this test, they will score better on this section than they would’ve had if they hadn’t used this guide. And because this book is set up to be easy to read and digest, students will find that it greatly reduces their studying time as well.

What we liked about it
  • It provides good information on sentence correction and grammatical rules.

A Guide To Preparing For The GMAT

Once the student has decided they want to take the GMAT exam, they are going to want to do the best they can do on the test. That’s because everyone who takes the test knows that the higher the score they can achieve on their test, the more likely they’re going to be accepted into an esteemed business school. To help our readers achieve the result of obtaining the highest score possible on this test, we’ve decided to go ahead and write this guide. In this guide, consumers will find everything they need to know to study properly and achieve a stellar score on this test. With those lofty objectives in mind, let’s begin.

Step One: Purchase The Best GMAT Prep Books

Of course, as we’ve tried to outline with our reviews, the first step towards getting a high score on this test is to start with the best study materials available. That generally means that most students are going to want to buy the best GMAT all-in-one prep book that will help them cover the entirety of the test.

However, if the student feels that they have deficits in some parts of the test over others, they might not just want to get a general study guide, but they will also most likely want to get a guide that focuses on a particular section. For example, if the student feels that grammar is their weakness, then they should get a book that focuses on grammar and sentence structure, and if math is their deficiency, then they should get a book that deals with the advanced quant section of the test.

Step Two: Give Yourself Sufficient Study Time

The next thing that the student is going to want to do is to give themselves sufficient study time. Not only daily but also in the time before the test. As a general rule, the student isn’t going to want to cram for the test because that produces the poorest results. Study after study has proven that students who cram for their tests fail to retain their study material and end up doing worse on their tests than students who set aside an allotted amount of time before the test. That means 2-3 hours of study and practice per night. And the student should start this studying, not one, two or even three months before the test, but six months before the test. That will assure that they get the best results, learn the material they need to learn and perform as well as they can for the test.

Step Three: Study In The Proper Way

The next thing the student is going to want to consider is how they study. And yes, there is a proper and improper way to study for any test. Generally speaking, the student is going to want to make sure that they study and review each section of the test individually. The student shouldn’t hope through the material from one section to the next and then back again. Many students like to begin with a review of their basic math skills and then work from there on to other sections. They should also make sure that they study using proper time management skills that prepare them for the time limit of the GMAT. They will then want to make sure that they look over questions that have been used in actual exams, so they can get an idea of the process. And finally, they should make sure to go over questions and answers that are found in GMAT prep books. This will ensure that they’re as well prepared as they should be.

Some Additional Test Taking Tips

The above three steps will ensure that the student is well prepared for the test. This section is designed to wrap things up. In this section, we will give students some additional tips that will help them feel rested, alert, and ready for the test. If the student follows the below tips they will make sure that they are ready to score the highest score they can on one of the most difficult tests they are likely to take. With that said, let’s get started with this section, so we can conclude this guide.

  • Make sure to get at least 8-hours of sleep the night before the test.
  • Make sure to eat a nutritious breakfast high in protein.
  • Avoid high sugar foods before taking the test.
  • A cup of coffee can increase alertness before the test.