Best Books for GMAT Quant

Below are mentioned some of the best books for GMAT Quant section preparation. All the books are mentioned with their pros and cons so that you can make an accurate unbiased decision and start preparing for the exam.

The Official Guide For GMAT Quantitative Review

This is one of the best GMAT quantitative prep books coming from GMAC itself. The official book comprises three bundles with a detailed description of the exam structure, score, and questions. It also contains all the realistic past year questions from the GMAT paper. The three books in the bundle are GMAT Review 2018 Guide, GMAT Quantitative Review 2018 Guide, and GMAT Verbal Review 2018 Guide. All these books cover all the topics of the examination. While you purchase the book, it also allows you access to an online question bank that contains more than 1500 questions with answer explanations.

Price: Rs. 1,196

Official Guide for GMAT Quantitative Review: Check PDF

1. The guide contains realistic test questions from past year’s GMAT papers. This will give you an insight into the questions asked in the examination.
2. Access to the online questions gives you the feel of the test day. It familiarizes you with the paper pattern and how the test appears on the screen.
3. The questions given are organized on the basis of the level of difficulty.

CONS:

1. The biggest drawback of the guide is that it does not contain any information regarding the test-taking strategy.
2. The questions in the book are mostly easy and medium ones. If you’re looking to get a 700+ GMAT score, you might be better served with other materials.
3. Some of the answer explanations (particularly in the quant and sentence correction sections) can be too simplistic or confusing.

GMAT Advanced Quant By Manhattan Prep

Manhattan GMAT quant books are recommended for building a good foundation of concepts used in each section of the examination. The Manhattan book is geared at students who are already scoring at the 70th percentile in the diagnostic tests. It provides techniques for approaching the most difficult GMAT math problems.

These GMAT prep books come with a year-long subscription to web materials and practice tests. The sections included are Problem Solving Principles, Problem Solving Strategies & Tactics, Data Sufficiency Principles, Data Sufficiency Strategy & Tactics, Pattern Questions, Common Terms & Quadratic Templates, Visual Solutions, Hybrid Problems, and a chapter called “Workout Sets,” which contains practice problems.

The book is designed to build a deep base of content knowledge and test-taking strategies to strengthen your performance, knowledge, skills, and strategic thinking.

Price: Rs. 1,334

GMAT Advanced Quant By Manhattan Prep: Check PDF

PROS:

1. The books come with the fundamental concepts behind the questions to build a deep understanding of the concepts behind the question.
2. The series of the book gives you access to six full-length, computer adaptive practice tests that accurately simulate test-day conditions.
3. The books also come with test-taking strategies that correlate directly to the content covered in the examination.
4. The concepts come up with illustrated examples for both Problem solving and data sufficiency sections.
5. It’s a cheap supplemental to your other practice books.

 CONS:

1. The level of questions asked is mostly difficult. So, it is not for those who wish to score 650+ in the examination.
2. It takes a lot of time to complete this series of books. This is a very comprehensive test prep set and requires a significant time investment to really see an improvement.

Princeton Review GMAT Premium Prep, 2021

Another great GMAT Math book PDF to consider is from the Princeton Review. It aims at increasing the GMAT score by offering descriptive subject coverage, a review of the quant topics, bulleted summaries for reference, numerous video tutorials for explanations. For practice, it has 6 full-length practice tests along with score reports and answers keys, has diagnostic tests, and 180+ practice questions. It houses many strategies to deal with the GMAT quant section. 

Price: Rs. 1,019.

Veritas Preparation Guides

The Veritas complete GMAT Preparation guide consists of 15 guides comprising 8 for the Quant section, 6 for the verbal section, AWA, and test simulation booklet. The package also includes access to the online resources which includes hundreds of free practice questions and one full-length adaptive practice test. The online resources include in-depth guides to 14 of the world’s top business schools. Each of the books is clearly named and contains specific, clear strategies for tackling the types of questions covered. Candidates can look for the GMAT math book in downloadable format. 

Price: Rs. 23, 606 (for full set)

PROS:

1. The Veritas preparation guide comes with practice questions and access to an online guide that contains more online questions and full-length tests.
2. The Veritas preparation books are clearly written and offer in-depth knowledge of each topic.
3. The quality of questions is unique and difficult.
4. Most of them are fresh questions; you probably have not seen them on forums.

CONS:

1. The Veritas Prep course set online comes with just one full-length adaptive practice test. By contrast, Manhattan Prep offers six.
2. These books are extremely expensive.

Kaplan GMAT Math Workbook

Kaplan GMAT Math book PDF is one of the best books known for building basic concepts and laying the foundation for all concepts used in the quant section. The book contains all the questions on both the sections, word problem, and data sufficiency asked in the Quantitative section of the book.

Price: Rs. 882

PROS:

1. The book gives a fairly comprehensive review of the basic math concepts needed for the GMAT.
2. The structure of the book is designed in such a way that it starts from the basics and ends at the complex problems. It is also based on the previous skills learned.
3. There are different sections for the Word problems and data sufficiency questions in the quantitative section of the paper.

CONS:

1. Many important topics like Statistics, Probability, and Permutation, and Combinations are not covered.
2. The questions given are not GMAT questions, but rather are designed to ensure that the material is mastered.

Total GMAT Math By Jeff Seckmaan

Total GMAT Math is a book specially designed for the GMAT Quantitative section. The book contains tutorials based on every question of the GMAT Quant section. There are forty sections that review different question types, followed by a drill section with exercises to make sure you can apply what you’ve just learned. There are over 500 exercises in the book and over 300 GMAT practice questions. Of those 300 questions, 100 are “challenge questions” designed to simulate the hardest questions you may see on the test.

PROS:

1. There are more than 300 questions based on the Quantitative section which builds your knowledge and helps you practice.
2. There are even more (500+) exercises that aren’t GMAT style, but still, build up your math knowledge. These include drills that are targeted at building the underlying skills you need for the exam.
3. It covers all the topics asked in the GMAT Quant section. The questions come with good answer explanations, complete with diagrams, and solid strategy suggestions.

CONS:

1. The book is a little expensive.
2. No summary sheets are provided.

The choice of a good book for the GMAT varies from person to person. It depends on various factors like time constraints, prior knowledge, and the targeted score. One must completely analyze all the factors mentioned before selecting a good book for the test,