<p>My daughter is contemplating taking the GMAT. Specifically, she's wondering how to prepare for it. Have any of you used a test-prep service to prepare for the GMAT? Is that the way to go? There seem to be several companies (Kaplan, Princeton Review, Manhattan) that offer a variety of options -- large classes, small group insturction, live online instruction, and self- directed online instruction.</p>
<p>Any thoughts or recommendations will be appreciated.</p>
<p>A live class would have been worthless to me. I'm sure it depends on the person though. I chose to buy books instead. In order to learn that way I had to make sure that i was disciplined enough to put in the necessary hours (which will also be necessary in business school).</p>
<p>My personal recommendation for books is to start with problems from the official GMAT guide and complete them ALL prior to taking the actual GMAT.</p>
<p>One wouldn't want to do all of those problems in one stretch so pace yourself with that book and study other things concurrently. I recommend starting with the Princeton Review book. Use the strategies from that book and complete all of it's problems. Hopefully, when you are done with that book you will be about halfway through the Official GMAT guide problems. Then, begin (and eventually finish) the Kaplan 800. IMO, those are the only 3 books you need.</p>
<p>Also, throughout the studying process, the test taker will want to take practice tests (free on GMAT's website and I believe Kaplan and Princeton Review will provide some if u bought the books). This is very important because the test taker will want to get the pacing down.</p>
<p>Also, there are message boards that specifically deal with GMAT studying which are good for some info.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info, VectorWega.</p>
<p>depends on how disciplined she is and what her learning style is. It also depends on how far out of school she is or if she is still in school. Students in school usually have a routine to study and are not burdened with a regular job. I was 5 years out of school when I took the GMAT and went with a Princeton Review class... it was about 5 students and was really served more as a an opportunity for me to study for something (such as doing the homework after work to prep for the class). Also Princeton has a really good online site that allows you to test and do sections which i'm sure Kaplan does as well. I really needed the motivation to study every week.</p>
<p>A lot of people on other MBA boards like Manhattan the best. The classroom settings are offered in limited large cities though, but you can take their online courses.</p>