Difference between 2005 and 2006 GMAT?

August 9, 2005 7:01 PM

If someone is planning to take the GMAT in October 2005, should he or she buy a Kaplan 2006 prep book or an out-of-print 2005 book? Is there a significant difference between editions?

Is there anything that would appear on the 2005 test that would not be covered in the 2006 prep book (Kaplan or otherwise)?

posted by arco to education (4 comments total)

I used a 2002 prep book (and CD) for an Oct. 2003 test. You are mostly doing examples of the types of problems you will have on the test (and timing yourself), so there is probably no real determent to using an older version. I didn't notice a difference when I took the test and I did fairly well, considering I gave myself 2 weeks to study and moved the day before I took the test. The hardest thing about the test (for me) was the testing facility and made me wear headphones - totally distracted me. Good luck.
posted by blackkar at 5:27 AM on August 10, 2005

Usually, major test changes are pretty well publicized. Download the practice test from GMAC, check the question types against the ones in the book you're looking at. I highly recommend the Princeton Review book; by the time you're done with it, you'll be ready for it, and have no more respect for it than you would a TV psychic.

I know a couple of people that took the Kaplan classes and really regret it. They're great in that you're out of the house, forced to do practice problems, but a trip to the library is a lot cheaper.
posted by idlemind at 6:20 AM on August 10, 2005

In counterpoint, I found my Kaplan GMAT prep invaluable: hunkering down at a cubicle in simulated test sessions was the best prep I could get. Re 2005 vs. 2006, if ETS hasn't announced big changes, the older books should be fine.
posted by werty at 7:43 AM on August 10, 2005

The ONLY prep tests that are any good at all are actual old tests. All the rest suck. Be sure before you buy that what's inside is the real stuff.

The other stuff is so badly written and thought out that the harder you think, the fuzzier it gets. With the real stuff, which is always very well done, the harder you think, the clearer it gets.

There's no difference between 2005 and 2006. Save your money.
posted by KRS at 12:44 PM on August 10, 2005