New Advanced GMAT Quant Book by MGMAT

[petera]

Hi guys, I was just wondering if you could give more info on this new book. I have already purchased it and am currently waiting for it to come in.

I should also disclose that I've taken the GMAT twice and scored a 650 and a 660 so I thought this book would help me get over the 700 mark.

[StaceyKoprince]

Can you tell me your quant subscore for the test? In general, the Advanced material is appropriate for those at the 75th to 80th percentile or higher (quant only) who are looking to push into the 90th+ percentile. If you are not quite at that level yet, then be aware that there may be some things you need to know that aren't explained in that book (and you'd have to go to the appropriate Strategy Guide - our 5 main books - in order to address that issue or topic).

The book comes out at the end of the month (I think the 31st is the official publication date). We'll be having some announcements and details on our blog as we get closer to the actual date.

[petera]

Hi Stacey,

Thanks for getting back to me. I scored a 46 Q (75%) but the two previous times I've taken the GMAT, I have had major issues falling asleep the night before and only managed about 3 hours of sleep on both occasions. I was scoring 730-750 on GMAT Prep also with Quant of 48-50.

I have also gone through all 5 MGMAT Quant Guides 3 times now, solved all OG 12 questions with MGMAT explanations, which are absolutely amazing (far superior to OG explanations), and watched all of Ron's Town-hall videos.

[aritra.banerjee]

Hi Stacey,

I am really interested in pickup up this book, but I wanted to make sure that it would be the best use of my time. I am a GMAT re-taker, having scored 690 Q43 V41 in my latest attempt and targeting a 740 this time. I've posted on my situation earlier and I am following your advice.

In a nutshell, over the past 2 months, I have reached a reasonable success rate on the OG12 problems and I do score consistently above 45 on the MGMAT Quant section, but I still struggle with timing on the 700-800 level questions (yes, I am working on your tips on timing and it I have seen improvements). I have just about 4 weeks left for my GMAT and I am taking at least one GMAT Club test a day (they are pretty tough).

With this background, do you think it worth the time going through this book?

Also, like all other Manhattan books is there an ibook version of this book for the ipad? I couldn't find it on the ibook store.

As always, I would really appreciate your feedback here.

Thanks,
Aritra

[StaceyKoprince]

petera - your score puts you in the right range for this book. It also sounds like you may be having some stress management issues - it would be a good idea to address those as well. As you've learned, it's really hard to do well when you haven't gotten much sleep.

These two articles might have some ideas to help you:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/stress-tips.cfm
http://www.manhattangmat.com/strategy-series-stress.cfm

aritra - first, stop taking a test every day.

CAT exams are really good for (a) figuring out where you're scoring right now, (b) practicing stamina, and (c) analyzing your strengths and weaknesses. The actual act of just taking the exam is NOT so useful for improving - it's a very inefficient way to learn. It's what you do with the test results / between tests that helps you to improve.

Your official test quant score is a little low for this book, but if you have been scoring 45+ on practice CATs taken under real conditions (normal timing, with the essays before, not a bunch of repeated questions / questions you've seen before, etc), then that's okay. Also, because you describe struggling with the timing, my guess is that your ability is higher than that 43 from your official test but the timing and solution process are messing you up - in which case, this is exactly the book that you want. It's all about developing good solution processes, learning more efficient ways to do problems, going back over your work to figure out how to avoid mistakes (which also mess up your timing sometimes, etc.

If you're taking the test in 4 weeks and you do want to use this book, get it right away. I think it takes at least 4 weeks to really internalize and be able to use the material given in the book.

I've just sent off an email to ask about electronic versions - I'll let you know.

[aritra.banerjee]

Thank you so much for your reply Stacey. Really appreciated!

I still don't believe my official quant score! I did go ahead and order the book (so please don't bother with the ibook question), in fact I did so over the weekend and with expedited shipping, this means that I've already covered Part I - I have a feeling that I've hit the jackpot with this book, the traps listed are exactly what I've been falling for so far. So yes, this is an awesome book and I hope it translates into something tangible on the real GMAT.

Well the GMAT Club tests are not exactly CATs, they're a bunch of 37 questions which are at the 700-800 level and laden with traps - so I do get to learn a lot here. I've also been following your advice on analyzing tests - I spend a considerable time documenting errors (and the ones I get correct) and problems that I take too long to solve. However, with the 15 workout sections I see on the advanced quant book, I will now need to split my attention between the GMAT Club tests and the workout section practice questions. All in all, I have my work cut out!

[StaceyKoprince]

Great, I'm glad it's working out for you! For others reading, yes, we will have the book available in various electronic forms, including Kindle, iPad, and others. That'll probably take about 2-4 weeks.

Good luck with your study!

[aish.2010]

Does the MGMA tests comes free with the purchase of this book. Can these books be shipped to Chennai, India or do you provide a link for downloading the ebook. I prefer an ebook with the 6 MGMAT tests online access. Witing for the reply. I got 44 in real GMAT last time , aiming for atleast a 49 next time, will it help.

Thanks a lot

[StaceyKoprince]

I don't think the tests come with the purchase of the Adv Quant book, no, but send an email to the below email address to make sure:

studentservices@manhattangmat.com

If you want a hard copy of the book, check our list of international bookstores here (there are two in Chennai):
http://www.manhattangmat.com/intl-book-stores.cfm

For the e-book, you would buy it according to whatever platform you have. If you have a Kindle, buy it from Amazon. If you have an iPad, go to the Apple store, etc.