The 13 Best GMAT Prep Books
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General GMAT Prep Books | GMAT Quantitative Books | GMAT Verbal Books | GMAT Integrated Reasoning and Analytical Writing Books
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Achieving a high score on the GMAT can help students get into top business schools across the U.S. Roughly half of MBA programs require applicants to take the GMAT. Admissions offices use these scores to help determine a student's readiness for the rigors of an advanced business education.
Read on for our picks for the best GMAT prep books, including general guides and resources focused on specific sections of the exam.
Why Use a GMAT Prep Book?
According to Kaplan, the average student should expect to spend about 120 hours preparing for the GMAT. The best GMAT prep books help students understand useful test-taking strategies, common question types they'll encounter on test day, and best practices that allow them to make good use of their study time.
Those who plan to invest a considerable amount of time into studying to raise their scores may find the following GMAT prep books particularly useful. Knowing the areas you need to improve in can help you select the right books and resources as you ready yourself for the GMAT.
Top GMAT Prep Books
Price Legend
$ = Under $10 | $$ = $10-$25 | $$$ = $26-$50 | $$$$ = Over $50
Top General GMAT Prep Books
"GMAT Official Guide 2022 Bundle"
This official GMAT prep book bundle — which contains a general exam guide and guides for the Verbal and Quantitative sections of the exam — is a must-have resource. The highly reviewed bundle offers over 1,900 practice questions and answer explanations. You'll learn the reasoning behind questions to build sound testing strategies and can even track your progress.
Test-takers hoping to save some money may instead opt for the cheaper book-only version of the official GMAT prep guide.
Manhattan Prep's "All the GMAT Bundle, 7th Edition"
This popular, albeit expensive, GMAT resource condenses content from the 10-book "Complete GMAT Strategy Guide Set" into just three books. Students can find a variety of strategies to help them on test day, along with hundreds of practice questions covering both the Quantitative and Verbal sections.
These GMAT prep books also come with scheduling tips, interactive video lessons, and six computer-adaptive GMAT practice tests.
Kaplan's "GMAT Prep Plus 2022-2023"
An effective solution for students who want to learn and hone proven test-taking strategies, this new GMAT prep book features over 350 practice questions prepared by experts. Users can take six online, computer-adaptive GMAT practice tests and review detailed answer explanations.
All strategies are student-tested. Kaplan even guarantees the book will raise your GMAT score or you get your money back.
Mometrix's "GMAT Prep Book 2022-2023"
Mometrix's newest GMAT prep book helps test-takers understand the most important concepts, vocabulary, and principles behind the writing, logical organization, math, and verbal portions of the exam. With this book, you'll get access to a full-length practice test and in-depth answer explanations.
You can also view online videos in which experts break down various elements of the GMAT.
"GMAT Official Advanced Questions"
Geared toward high scorers, this official GMAT prep book concentrates on only the most challenging questions from past exams. With this guide, you'll get 300 difficult GMAT practice problems with answer explanations.
Test-takers can also benefit from an online question bank and mobile app.
Top GMAT Quantitative Books
Manhattan Prep's "GMAT Foundations of Math, 7th Edition"
Students aiming to maximize their GMAT Quantitative performance can find instruction from experts who personally achieved scores in the 99th percentile. With this book, test-takers learn the foundational concepts behind GMAT math questions and key strategies for test day.
The popular guide also includes hundreds of practice problems and access to video tutorials.
Manhattan Prep's "GMAT Advanced Quant, 3rd Edition"
This go-to GMAT prep book assists students who want to put forth their best effort to achieve a perfect Quantitative section score. The guide features more than 250 of the most difficult GMAT math problems.
Test-takers who've already scored at least a 47 on Quant should find this detailed prep book especially beneficial.
Kaplan's "GMAT Math Workbook, 10th Edition"
This useful prep book offers an in-depth rundown of the GMAT's biggest math concepts, with over 300 practice problems. Test-takers learn how the Quantitative section is scored and critical strategies for problem-solving and data-based questions.
You'll also get drills in commonly tested topics like algebra, data analysis, and geometry, along with detailed answer explanations.
Top GMAT Verbal Books
PowerScore's "GMAT Critical Reasoning Bible, 2021 Edition"
Focused on the concepts behind various critical reasoning question types, this GMAT prep book helps test-takers understand argumentation. In the process, you'll learn to answer questions more quickly and maximize your GMAT score. The concepts you master will also serve you well with reading comprehension.
This highly reviewed GMAT prep book includes access to a website with additional tips and guidance for the exam.
Manhattan Prep's "GMAT Foundations of Verbal, 7th Edition"
Another popular prep book by Manhattan Prep, this guide outlines foundational Verbal concepts found on the GMAT. New English speakers often find the resource especially useful. Test-takers will benefit from online GMAT practice tests and interactive tutorials.
You'll also learn the basics of reading comprehension, critical reasoning, and sentence correction.
"The Critical Reader: The Complete GMAT Sentence Correction Guide"
Here, famed verbal and test prep expert Erica L. Meltzer shares her biggest tips and strategies for acing sentence correction questions on the GMAT Verbal section. Through drills and 150 practice questions, students learn how to identify different question types so they can determine the best ways to approach them.
This book teaches a plethora of key grammar points and is meant to be used in conjunction with the official GMAT Verbal guide.
Top GMAT Integrated Reasoning and Analytical Writing Books
Manhattan Prep's "GMAT Integrated Reasoning & Essay, 7th Edition"
Hardly any GMAT prep books specifically address the Integrated Reasoning (IR) and Analytical Writing portions of the GMAT. Fortunately, Manhattan Prep has created an in-depth guide that covers all the main points you'll need to know about these two sections.
In this book, test-takers learn crucial time-management and problem-solving strategies for the GMAT's IR and essay sections. Students can also access additional practice online.
Manhattan Review's "GMAT Analytical Writing Guide, 6th Edition"
One of the only comprehensive GMAT prep books out there focusing exclusively on the Analytical Writing section, this book covers everything you need to know to write an effective and compelling essay on test day. You'll learn the various argument types that appear on the GMAT and helpful strategies for crafting a cogent response.
Students also get to read plenty of sample essays along with critiques explaining what makes them strong or weak.
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