Admissions Books

If you have been away from academia for awhile, this book is an excellent resource for math review. Nova really breaks it down with excellent explanations, examples, and practice problems. Here's what you will learn in the math section:

Substitution
Math Notes
Defined Functions
Number Theory
Geometry
Coordinate Geometry
Elimination Strategies
Inequalities
Fractions & Decimals
Equations
Averages
Ratio & Proportion
Exponents & Roots
Factoring
Algebraic Expressions
Percents
Graphs
Word Problems
Sequences & Series
Counting
Probability & Statistics
Summary of Math Properties
Data Sufficiency

This book is second to none when it comes to math review. However, you may consider the Princeton Review(PR) for Data Sufficiency. I haven't really used the book for the verbal portion as I am happy with the PR's version -- though it is a bit too easy. Currently, I am preparing with the OG, PR and Nova. This should be sufficient for a local university I am trying to 'apply to' (Whoa! Is that an idiom?:)). Best of luck!

I read some other reviews stating this book helped you. I don't know how you managed that, but cheers. There are more errors in this book than I have ever seen in a professionally published work. The answer descriptions are weak at best, and their relations to the questions asked are awkward and obscure. I made a special note to review this to warn off anyone considering the purchase. Stay away.

Perhaps the book itself is a nice enough book on preparing for the GMAT, but the software on the CD accompanying this book has to be the worst ever designed for testing. And the online course (while looking slick) is pretty much a rehash of the CD. An example that I have given below is pretty much symptomatic of the software design.

While doing one of the full-length tests, in the verbal section, I was answering the first reading comprehension section. After I spent about 2 minutes reading through the passage, I answered the first question. Instead of taking me to the next question about the same passage, it immediately took me to a completely new reading comprehension passage and asked me a question there! And this happened with all the reading comprehension passages. I am sure the GMAT is not a sissy test, but surely even ETS would not play with your mind by switching around passages like this.

For those in my situation (I already hold a graduate degree and had about 4 weeks to study for the GMAT): get the Kaplan guide (with accompanying CD) and perhaps the Barron's guide. That may be all you need. However, I sincerely think you need more computer-based questioning than the full-length practice tests that most of these moron testing guides give us.

I have been study for gmat quite some time now. I started with Princton, Kaplan, and the official but none of them helped in the math section. This book is the best at math subject. I also liked the reading comprehension explaination much better than Kaplan.

When I read reviews before purchasing this book, I was encouraged to buy it. But after reading it, I felt that first few sections are good and it looked that I was getting all answers correct but problems given are really too simple and not to the standard of GMAT. I wasted my time in reading this book. I wish I had not purchased this book. I read official guide combined with Kaplan and Princiton which helped me a lot. Now I am in doing MBA at Harvard.

I am a High School Counselor. This book is a part of my professional library. Good review of colleges, when used with other review books. You can never count on just one book.

We used a previous version of this book when my first child was applying to colleges in 2003, and found it helpful. The current edition was a disappointment because of obvious errors. In addition to the Stanford error, the Northwestern evaluation was completely illogical. After stating that Northwestern is "one of the most academically rigorous (schools)in the country,"with an "applicant pool that is easily among the best in the country," the book gives an academic rating of 77. That is the same rating given, for example, to St. Bonaventure University, which ranks high on the "lots of hard liquor" and "students almost never study" lists. It is interesting to note that three years ago, Northwestern topped the "best overall academic experience for undergraduates list" with an academic rating in the high 90's. It is now ranked more than 20 points lower. Since both reviews cannot possibly be correct, one is forced to conclude that the authors are either biased or careless. I was left feeling that I could not trust the data presented, and will be using a different book for reference when my second child applies to college.

Overall, this book is one of the better college guides out there - it's well-organized, clean, and very useful for students, parents, and teachers alike, and it's easy to read, and does elicit laughter and chuckles.

The fact that most of the information in this book was gathered from students really shows - if you can't make it to a college to visit, this book would help quite well in describing the overall atmosphere of the college, but it's a bit sparse on the academic details of the colleges.

There are, however, a couple of glaring errors/omissions - for some really odd reason, Stanford is listed as being a public university. Though this may seem like a minor problem, the fact remains that it's such a basic fact that the Princeton Review, with all its money and resources should not have overlooked.

Secondly, the University of California - Irvine has strangely been omitted from the book. However, the much less-renowned UC Riverside is actually still in the book - many of my fellow classmates were shocked not to see UC Irvine in the book - especially when considering the college's strengths in the sciences. It's also surprising since UCI was included in the previous editions of this book (The Best 357 Colleges).

I enjoyed browsing this book. My daughter is in the 'what's out there' stage. This book gives a brief, but excellent, overview of the covered colleges. The overview includes key stats and some of the flavor of the schools. I definitely recommend this book as a starting point.
Compared to other books-- similar format to "3?? Most Interesting Colleges," but this is the more interesting book. (Maybe I just think so because I got this one first and the other didn't add anything.) "Choosing the Right College: The Whole Truth about America's Top Schools" is more complete, but not as browsable. It is definitely worth getting for a more complete picture. The "Students' Guide to Colleges: The Definitive Guide to America's Top 100 Schools Written by the Real Experts--the Students Who Attend Them" is not worthwhile. Its reviews really don't give any clearer picture than the snippets in the "Best 361", except to make it painfully clear to a parent-reader that drinking is popular everywhere.

We used this book about four years ago and found it very helpful in providing the basic information about schools for our oldest son. So, when our youngest started pondering the college choice, we ordered this edition thinking it would again be helpful. Were we wrong!! This edition is very unreliable. I am sure that Stanford would be pleased to know that although the class of 2009 had 20,195 applicants with only 2,426 admissions, their selectivity rating is 89! And with a freshman class of 1,633 they have a total undergraduate enrollment of 1,858. This is an obvious error, but how many of the other schools, maybe not as well known, have been misrepresented by this guide? Princeton Review needs to send us a refund!

Delivered as expected.
Most of my GMAT taking friends recommended this book, so I hope it helps.

Apart from the brilliant name, there is nothing else in the book that's in the top leagues.
This book has a lot of errors in the verbal section (trust me, I know what I'm talking about; I had a V51). Some of the problems in the quant section are quite challenging though.

So overall, if you do need extra practice beyond the "Official Guide". I suggest you go for the Official Guide verbal and quant books rather than this one. Kaplan 800 is a waste of money, but can be of use for quant if you get it free.

if you haven't started studying for the gmat this book isn't for you. you should start w/the kaplan 2007 gmat book then move to this after you're done with that. the explanations are pretty good in this book. my only gripe is that some of the same exact questions that appear in their course book for the class ( i actually took a class) so i was doing the ssame questions twice. i don't mind the review but now i'm wondering where i can get some difficult questions that i haven't had exposure to. i'm going to move onto the official guide gmat book next.

I love this book, very transparent and organized by topic sections. First, you have to answer three to four questions, and the solution with detailed explanation is just two pages ahead. I really like it, it's a lot easier to begin to study with, than for example official guide or Princeton review which I consider more as a drill where questions are not as neatly organized as here(it's more test like)...Hope this helps!

I used this book to practice some more to the GMAT test. My especific problems for the GMAT test lies on the reading, vocabulary and structure of it, on spot that english is not my first language. The book improve my skills on it, and seems to satisfy the objectives above. I agree that the title is too optimist for the book (GMAT 800), but think of it as a complementary self-study course. To use the official guide is a must.

I agree with many (if not all) the reviews. Yes, it is depressing, yes, it can really help! If you have a student that borders the admissions criteria set by the most selective universities, then this book is for you (your student actually). I found it had great ideas but it is the student that must do the work. For most of these kids that will mean adding just "one more thing" to their already hectic, overachieving lives. As a parent, the best method is to take a few ideas and introduce the concepts at a young age (7-9th grades) to see what your child's interest is. Help your middle schoolers get started and set up a tracking system for them to help achieve success. If you have a student in 10th or higher, just introduce them to a few ideas and then have the book available for them to take it from there. Once a high achieving student has finished 9th grade, they will have filled their calendar with what is important to them, the book only serves as a confirmation of what they have chosen or helps them tweak their goals a bit. This book is NOT for the student who is not highly motivated for application to selective schools. It will only cause stress and pressure, a sure mix for failure.

I agree whole heartedly with the reviewer who called this book an eye opener. Until I read this it never even occurred to me, as manipulative and controlling a parent as I am, to even CONSIDER having my son take the SAT's in the 7th grade. Now I realize its a must, a virtual no brainer with no downside.

I have to say that this book soothed me by justifying all the neurotic anxiety driven behavior I attempted to engage in with my daughter. (And was talked out of and still regret not doing, it would have saved us some edgy days.)

You can say, as some reviewers have, that these and the author's books read better as parodies. But I tell ya, I value this book and it confirms my suspicions that there are people like this out there!! Nevertheless, some of her ideas, tips and suggestions are very good and I, for one, praise her for writing this, and will be looking for her web site.

A horrific look at the absurdity of the college application process. I feel sorry for any parent who would put their child through much of what this book suggests, and sorrier still for the children.

This book should be reserved for (parents of) children who are not yet in the seventh grade, are extremely bright, and are already ahead of their peers in terms of school curriculum. Too, parents must have in mind a large school system with many options at the child's disposal. Further, a good deal of disposable income would also be beneficial. Obviously, this does not sound like the typical family. If your family is like most, this book will only depress your socks off. You'll find that you've done nothing right in helping your child to prepare for college. Instead, may I offer a ray of hope? I would suggest giving the book "Cool Colleges" by Donald Asher a look. It offers many good ideas without making parents feel like they've steered their child in the wrong direction. It's full of hope and possibilities. Good luck!

Let me put it bluntly: there are two purposes for this book. First, it feeds on the frenzy of fanatical parents who are obsessed with getting their kids into selective colleges. The other purpose is to make money. Having worked with thousands of students & parents over the years, this book is the last thing needed this day and age! It "games" the system while totally avoiding what really matters: namely relationships and communication between parents & their kids. Sure, one can argue that colleges play "games" with students and manipulate admissions decisions to their own advantage. So, if parents want to "equal the playing field," then this book offers a few strategies...but don't be lulled into assuming the strategies will result in the desired outcomes! If parents want to be able to talk with their kids and help them become happy, well adjusted, and successful adults in the long-run, then I'd suggest spending your money on "Why Do They Act That Way" by David Walsh. It all goes back to an idea I learned in grad school: What you do now determines what happens to you.

I would recommend this for someone who is trying to get in the 600 score levels. The strategies explained in the book are not effective enough for me to get something higher than 700. You definitely need some other material in addition to this to score higher

Excellent Test Prep and compliments the Kaplan GMAT Test Prep. as well. Very good in giving clear examples of each Test section. This Test Prep book is obsolete since the new 2007 has been released. Still a great source for studying and practicing for the GMAT.

Studied for 3 days with this book (and did 50 practice problems) then decided I was ready for the GMAT. I simply read the chapters and did a few practice problems. Ended up doing EXTREMELY well on the english section and bad on the math section- even though my strengths have always been math and logic. I think the math section is a decent review but the english helped me the most. I know I can always study a few more days to get my math legs back, but without the english section in this book, I would have performed badly on the GMAT. PS I got it from the library and didn't pay a thing.

I bought the Princeton Review Cracking the GMAT with CD (2006 Edition) in January, and had been quite pleased with the book for most of the period I have owned it. However, as my review draws to an end (I'll be taking the test next month) I have found at least two errors in the book. As far as I am concerned, an instructional book of this genre should not have errors. I noticed a new psychological effect: taking practice tests, when my answer matches none of the five provided, I am now tempted to believe the question is wrong.

The two errors I found are both in the section named GMAT Practice Test: Answers and Explanations, in Math Bin 4. I did not use the "questions-only" section, preferring to cover up the right side of the page, then check the explanation after having attempted each question. But question 9 (page 473) has an obvious error, as does the answer to question 20 (page 482).

I think the Princeton Review approach is sound, and it is a very readable book. But I am sufficiently disappointed and offended by these errors that I want my money back.

This is a good place to start prepping for the test. Also, the CAT tests are fairly accurate. I got a 690, 700, and 730 on the CATs and got a 710 on the actual exam. But this book doesn't cover everything you need to hit 700+ on the test. Go to GMATClub.com and research how others have prepped for the test. I used PR, Kaplan, Veritas, Manhattan GMAT, etc.

I took the 2006 Kaplan DAT course and the booklet and the test are verbatim the same material. I bought this to have some more test questions and maybe learn something new from the 2008 edition. You might as well find a 2006 edition and save yourself some money.

This is an excellent product! It has 2 full length review tests. The book is broken into different sections which all give a decent explanation of the subject.

I received everything that I expected, in the time I expected. Everything worked out just fine.

Let's just say after purchasing this book, my score went from a 17 Academic and 21 PAT to a 15 and 19 respectively. Don't waste the money of time.

The science portion of this book was pretty comprehensive in "topics" however I found myself referring back to my text book many times for details, clarification and examples. I am "horrible" and "slow" with math and QR in this book did not help at all. Putting off the math section until week before the test earned me 15 on QR though I ended up making a "wild", not educated, guess in more than half of the questions (I am still proud I managed 15 :) I have taken the Kaplan course and did not find the class itself useful other than instructions in how to take the test(it is not worth $1000+)! However, their online subject tests (similar to 6-7 full length test with explanation) were pretty darn useful. I thought it prepared me well for the science section, and was surprised how easy the science section felt while taking the actual DAT (got me 22 in science avg). I havent tried the "Top-score Pro computerized DAT product, but many be you can get the same benefit for $50 for what it cost at their website. Kaplan's perceptual section threw me off in the folding dotted page section as the ones on the actual test had much smaller dots. For some reason, this really distracted me and threw me off. I am an average joe and a slow learner but was able to manage 19 academic (with 15 on QR) and 20 pat. LOL, applied many but didnt get in! Perhaps a bad year (avg of 3000 applicant per school, insane!!)? Dont lose hope guys, apply and apply again and you'll eventually get in! I think this rout will give you an opportunity to appreciate things more? Most people dont even have this opportunity! SMILE~

There was nothing unique about this book. I bought 4 different books to help me write my personal statement. They all said the same thing with the same insight. Talk about plagarism. They weren't word-for-word, but the gist was the same.

Save your money and buy only 1 book!

I have a biology and computer science background and was very nervous about my ability to write an impressive essay compared to other applicants with a background in english, history,and political science. I quickly identified with the essays of non traditional applicants, but also learned a great deal from the wit, charm, and literary styles of the other essays. I found the book to be invaluable in my application efforts. Thank you.

The book has its helpful points, but the overwhelming majority of the essays in this book are boring and don't stand out in too many ways, in my opinion. I'm having a hard time seeing why the various admissions officers chose to submit the essays in this book--probably because most applicants write boring essays, as even the admissions officers in this book will tell you. I also guess it's because the title of the book is "Essays That Worked," not "Essays That Are Impressive." And I'll bet the essays mainly "worked" because everything else in their admissions files was stellar and they were written in a decent fashion.

One of the essays I remember particularly well basically read like a laundry list of things that can easily be found ELSEWHERE in his application, which I specifically remember reading in just about every other book/advice about law school essays NOT to do. There don't seem to be many truly revealing essays (interesting life events), essays that grab at you or cultural essays--all of which, in my opinion, are the absolute best ones. The essays do tell you something about each person's character and most are well-written, which probably contributes to why they worked, but the way in which most of the authors acheived their ends is not exemplary. Their methods are plain, as if they are too scared to really open themselves up or talk about something very personal. I believe you can write much better essays than these.

Perhaps the most exemplary and interesting essay in terms of writing style, topic and revelations about the author is the last one in the "Essays About Character" section where a young woman wrote about, what I will call, her conflicts with her mother. Her essay is an example of what I mean by very interesting life events that reveal something about the authors in a much deeper way than the average essay does.

The most helpful parts of the book, for me, were the questions in the beginning about essays that were answered by admissions officers and the chart that shows how much estimated importance each of the top schools places on essays. It's truly eye-opening to see how much schools like Harvard and Yale value personal statements while schools like Duke and Boalt place the least amount of emphasis on it out of the top schools listed on the chart (I don't consider Indiana a top school, and their were rated as seeing essays the least important). I would, perhaps, buy the book just for this information and maybe to get an idea of how much better you can do on your essays...and also for the one stand-out essay I mentioned.

Even if you're not a minority, I believe the best essays I've read are the ones in the upcoming book by Evangeline Mitchell entitled "Profiles and Essays," a book that is basically targeted at African Americans. Not all the essays are about being Black--in fact, most aren't--so you can still get some good ideas and see good, race-neutral essays. The book is likely officially coming out this fall, but you can probably order a rough copy of it now at hopespromisepublishing.com as I did. The essays I've read in other books are, more or less, boring as well...although Richard Montauk's "How To Get Into Top Law Schools" and Willie Epps's "How To Get Into Harvard Law School" present SOME good essays.

I personally found it helpful to see what other applicants had written. The forty essays in this book are separated into seven categories. They are essays about: Character, the school and you, important changes, entering the legal profession, contemplative, crimes, and applicants with colorful backgrounds. I found about half of the essays to be of little help to me personally as they were more the result of an applicant's specific abilities than a good essay. For example, I did not find essays about being a congressman's son, growing up as a Native American, or living in Niger to be to helpful. It would also have been nice to know which essays worked at which schools. It mentions the schools on the cover but does not tell which essays went to each school. This would be especially helpful since some worked at Florida State and Tulane while others worked at Harvard and Stanford an obvious difference. Personally, I found How to get into the Top Law Schools to be more helpful but this is good as supplementary reading.

I am an educational counselor and received all four of the new "Essays That Worked" books recently. These newly revised editions are perfect for any applicant stumped by or anxious about writing a personal statement. The essays are inspiring, and the advice is frank and fresh. The authors did a great job of updating these classics, and I highly recommend them to anyone applying to college, law school, business school, or med school.

book is pretty helpful...the questions seem fairly easy, though. this is probably because my o-chem professors ROCK and my class has been quite rigorous...the mcat o-chem questions seem easy because I've had such a good o-chem education. the 1001 questions book is a decent review, though

The Exam Kracker series are great for testing your knowledge and reviewing for MCAT. I found these books to be indispensable. If you can not afford to buy it new, try craigslist to find a used copy. It will definitely improve your MCAT score.

The last comment from James Min is on the ball, however, although many of the questions ARE too easy..there are too easy for sum1 who has a solid foundation in OCHEM, like myself. However, with sum of teh questions that i got wrong, the explaniations were perfect in allowing me to understand and review sum of the things that I 4got. Example: What is the hydrogen defeciency of C1204h3Br1-

The formula for this problem is (2n+2) - x/2 where is the number of carbons and x is the number of hydrogen OR Halogen...My OCHEM prof never mentioned that we added the halogens to this equation! So overall I will give the book 4 stars

It does not deal sufficiently with reactions. The questions are too easy. I don't have a problem with the questions being in discrete forms since one needs solid understanding of the materials (through discrete questions) before being able to tackle passage based questions. But, after having gone through about 50% of the book so far, I don't feel like I've improved in my knowledge base in Ochem. If you need very very basic questions, this book is for you. I get the feeling this book was put together in a hasty manner with little thought invested in the quality of the questions. I would not recommend this book.

This book is a hasty review of Orgo, but it covers most of the MCAT material in relatively small number of pages. Although some diagrams are not very helpful, it tells you most of what you need. It is basically a good book if you are a time-pressed pre-med trying to take the MCAT in 2 months. If you have more time, I recommend reading over your orgo textbook once more and doing problem sets in various other MCAT preparation materials (the ones with only MCAT style problems). Hope this helps.

For that purpose you need to read more than one book and maybe take some classes. This book + CD performs beautifully for what it is intended for: practice, timing and get to know how the exam works. Nice, well done job with user friendly software. Some minor weakness around the following: *Only 3 completely different full exams *The array of questions in the practice tests is not as varied as in the real exam. *The actual exam has some more difficult questions, and curiously, easier ones too. *The tutorials are on the basic side. *Some bla bla bla too kidish. *Online add-ins non existent (would be a nice touch to partially actualize old software versions).

I've read some completely unjustified bad comments here, to those people: Separate what is your fault from the inherent quality of the book.

I would recommend this book to anyone. I recently took the GMAT CAT and scored 30 points higher on the actual test than I had been scoring on the practice tests! The book includes a CD ROM loaded with tips and information as well as GMAT sample tests. I am very confident that with the KAPLAN book my score was tremendously improved.

I tried the Kaplan prep guide and was very unimpressed with the quality of the CD. The Net result: I got a refund. Try ETS.

i never really read the book but the cd-rom was a very good compilation. the maths section was a little easy and their lessons were very basic but the reading comprehension and the critical reasoning sections were very helpful.the sentence correction section could have been more difficult though.Finally the tests were more difficult than they usually are in the gmat but they could have included a few more tests in the cd-rom format.Overall it is a software worth recommending to anyone sitting for the gmat,certainly one of the best, if not the best testprep material around.

The best thing about Kaplan's materials is that they are tougher than the real thing. Rather than getting a false sense of security entering the test, scoring low on the Kaplan tests will make you want to study harder to prepare for the real thing. We wouldn't recommend using just the Kaplan materials. Pick up the Official Guide to the GMAT to augment your studying. However, buying this book will put you on the right track to a stellar GMAT score.

The revised version of this book is awesome. Absolutely loved it.

This book is absolutely worthless. It contains a lot of errors. Spend your money elsewhere unless you like wasting money and time reading this silly book. There is no easy way to prepare for the MCAT. It takes a lot of work and preseverence. There are many other fine referenced materials out there. You can take a class but I would not recommend Princeton Review. bye, bye. peter nguyen,atl

I found the book helpful. As stated in the preface of the book, this should be used as a companion to other comprehensive text books. It saved me a lot of time. Index cards were absolutely great. I recommeded it.

The index card format is a good idea. The cards are no substitute for a more comprehensive subject review, but they may be useful for jogging your memory and for quick study sessions when you're on the go.

There are, however, several significant problems with the book. The book includes some facts that are unlikely to be tested on the MCAT, and worse, omits other facts that are covered on the test. In addition, just thumbing through the book, I have already found several typographical errors, and on closer insepection, I expect to find factual errors too. Finally, the cards are not organized in a logical manner; they're just thrown together in no particular order. This is not helpful if you want to focus on a particular subject area.

Unless you're VERY pressed for time, you will probably be best served by making your own index cards.

Now that I have just completed the April 15th MCAT, I can take a breather... but I would like to give a word of advice to those considering this book: Don't waste your money. In addition to poor editing and grade-school level explanations and definitions, I can honestly say that nearly 1 in 10 cards contained incorrect information. The stereochemistry graphics were ludicrous and thrown together in a very sloppy manner. The science practice questions in the back of this book were about as useful as Basketweaving 101 would be for the MCAT. Of all review materials I came across, the 2000 Kaplan Comprehensive MCAT Review and the Columbia Review MCAT Practice Tests were by far the most beneficial (I also own the Columbia Review Intensive MCAT Review book, which is a bit more detailed than Kaplan, and the Kaplan Practice tests). If you have the ability to get your hands on Kaplan's review cards from someone who is enrolled in the class, DO IT. Those cards are excellent but hard to come by. Good luck!