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People planning to take the GMAT to apply to MBA programs often wonder, “Is the GMAT Official Guide enough for preparing for the GMAT?” The Official Guide is published by the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), the creator of the GMAT. So, it certainly seems to be a good GMAT prep resource. But is the Official Guide the only resource you need, or even necessary at all?
In this article, I’ll answer those questions by considering what’s needed for preparing for the GMAT and whether the Official Guide provides it. I’ll also discuss other types of GMAT prep resources you can use and some key aspects of effective GMAT preparation.
Here are the topics we’ll cover:
- What Does the GMAT Official Guide Contain?
- What Is Necessary for Effective GMAT Preparation?
- Does the GMAT Official Guide Have Everything I Need for GMAT Preparation?
- How to Determine Whether the GMAT Official Guide Is Enough for Your Prep
- If the Official Guide Is Not Enough, What Prep Resources Should I Use?
- How to Use the GMAT Official Guide
- Is It Necessary to Buy the GMAT Official Guide?
- Is the GMAT Official Guide Available Online?
- What Is the Latest Edition of the GMAT Official Guide?
- Which GMAT Guide Is Best?
- Key Takeaways
- What’s Next?
Let’s begin by discussing the details of the GMAT Official Guide and its companion resources, the Official Guide Quantitative Review, the Official Guide Verbal Review, and Official Guide Data Insights Review.
What Does the GMAT Official Guide Contain?
The GMAT Official Guide contains the following:
- Descriptive information about the GMAT and its sections
- Some tips on how to prepare for the GMAT
- A review chapter that briefly discusses the math concepts involved in GMAT Quant questions
- Some reference sheets for reviewing commonly used math formulas and concepts
- Sets of Quant practice questions, with brief discussions of how to answer questions of those types and answer explanations
- A review chapter that briefly discusses GMAT Verbal concepts and strategies
- Sets of Critical Reasoning and Reading Comprehension practice questions, with brief discussions of how to answer questions of those types and answer explanations
- A review chapter that briefly discusses the concepts, strategies, and question types involved in the GMAT Data Insights section
- Sets of Data Insights practice questions, with brief discussions of how to answer questions of those types and answer explanations
That list may seem pretty extensive. However, the Official Guide is made up mostly of around 1,000 retired GMAT questions with explanations. Along with them is a relatively small amount of information on the GMAT and the topics it involves.
The Official Guide Quantitative Review, the Official Guide Verbal Review, and the Official Guide Data Insights Review provide information like that provided in the main GMAT Official Guide along with around 150+ Quant, 200+ Verbal, and 200+ Data Insights questions, respectively.
All these resources include access to an online question bank that contains all questions in the guides, plus additional questions.
KEY FACT:
The GMAT Official Guide provides mostly practice questions along with some information on the GMAT.
Now that we know what the guides contain, let’s discuss what is necessary for effective GMAT preparation.
What Is Necessary for Effective GMAT Preparation?
To score high on the GMAT, we need the following:
- Knowledge of the key concepts involved in GMAT Quant, Verbal, and Data Insights questions
- Strategies for answering GMAT questions efficiently and correctly
- Strong GMAT Quant and Verbal skills
So, effective GMAT preparation has to result in our having all of the above.
Thus, to prepare effectively for the GMAT, we need resources that will help us learn the key concepts and strategies. Also, the resources have to provide the practice questions we need for developing strong Quant and Verbal skills.
KEY FACT:
Mastery of the GMAT requires knowledge of key concepts, strategies for answering GMAT questions, and strong Quant and Verbal skills.
So, the question becomes, “Does the GMAT Official Guide provide the concepts, strategies, and practice questions needed for preparing effectively for the GMAT?” Let’s discuss the answer to that question.
Does the GMAT Official Guide Have Everything I Need for GMAT Preparation?
As we’ve discussed, the GMAT Official Guide and the other guides are made up mostly of practice questions and explanations. So, regarding whether the Official Guide is enough for your GMAT test prep, the answer is probably not. Let’s discuss why.
The Information the Official Guide Provides Is Limited
The information on GMAT concepts provided by the Official Guide is pretty limited. Similarly, the discussion of GMAT strategies in the Official Guide is limited. So, you won’t get all the knowledge you need for mastering the GMAT from the Official Guide. Also, while there are around 2,000 questions in the 4 guides, those questions don’t involve every concept that GMAT questions may test.
Meanwhile, the explanations for the questions in the Official Guide aren’t very good. Also, many of them involve answering questions in ways that basically nobody taking the GMAT would ever use.
KEY FACT:
The Official Guide provides only limited information on GMAT concepts and strategies.
The Official Guide Isn’t Set Up to Support Optimal Practice
Effective GMAT practice is not just any practice. Effective GMAT practice involves working on one topic at a time to develop strong skills in each topic. It may also involve using strategies specifically designed to drive up your GMAT score. For instance, TTP students practice using the TTP Streaks Method, which involves getting questions correct in long streaks.
The thing is, the questions in the Official Guide aren’t categorized into the many topics that GMAT students normally study. Also, in some topics, the Official Guide doesn’t have many questions. So, the Official Guide is not set up to support thorough, topic-focused practice. Meanwhile, only a fraction of the practice questions in the Official Guide are relatively high in difficulty. So, students aiming for high GMAT scores won’t get much relevant practice using only Official Guide questions.
KEY FACT:
The questions in the Official Guide aren’t categorized into the many topics that GMAT students normally focus on, and only a fraction of the questions are of high difficulty.
So, we can see why the Official Guide probably doesn’t have everything you need for preparing for the GMAT. However, “probably” doesn’t mean “definitely.” The Official Guide may have everything you need, depending on your situation. So, let’s discuss how to determine whether you can get by with just the OG.
How to Determine Whether the GMAT Official Guide Is Enough for Your Prep
We’ve seen that the GMAT Official Guide and other guides contain mostly practice questions, don’t provide much else, and may not support the practice you need for mastering the GMAT. So, how could the Official Guide be sufficient for anyone’s GMAT prep? Well, it could be sufficient if you already have most of the knowledge you need and you don’t need to do a huge amount of practice to achieve your score goal. In other words, the Official Guide may be enough if you’re already close to ready to achieve your score goal.
So, how can you determine whether you’re close to ready to achieve your GMAT score goal? One way is to use one of the free official practice tests on mba.com, the official site of the GMAT, to do a diagnostic evaluation.
TTP PRO TIP:
To determine how close you are to achieving your GMAT score goal, you can use one of the official practice tests available on mba.com.
How to Use an Official Practice Test to Determine Your GMAT Proficiency
To use an official GMAT practice test to determine whether you’re close to your goal, you can do the following.
Prepare some by learning about the GMAT and answering some GMAT practice questions of each type. Then, take an official practice test under conditions similar to those under which you’ll take the actual GMAT. In other words, take all 4 sections, and make the test experience as “GMAT-like” as possible. So, take only the specified break, and don’t do anything that you couldn’t do during the actual test.
If you take the practice test under realistic conditions, your score should pretty accurately reflect how you’d score on the real GMAT. So, if your score on the practice test is close to your GMAT score goal, say within 30 points of it, then you’re close to ready to achieve your score goal.
In that case, the Official Guide may be sufficient for your GMAT preparation. On the other hand, if your score is significantly further from your goal, then you’ll likely need other resources.
TTP PRO TIP:
To get accurate results when taking a practice test, make the test experience as “GMAT-like” as possible.
So, let’s discuss what resources you could use if you need more than the Official Guide to prepare.
If the Official Guide Is Not Enough, What Prep Resources Should I Use?
As we’ve discussed, preparing effectively for the GMAT involves learning concepts and strategies and doing topic-focused practice. So, the resources you use to prepare for the GMAT have to support those aspects of your preparation. Thus, your move is to find GMAT prep resources that include the following:
- A thorough treatment of each GMAT Quant topic
- GMAT Quant practice questions organized by topic and difficulty level with detailed answer explanations you can learn from
- Detailed discussions of GMAT Critical Reasoning and Reading Comprehension basics, question types, and strategies
- GMAT Verbal practice questions organized by topic and difficulty level with detailed answer explanations you can learn from
- An in-depth breakdown of each GMAT Data Insights question type
- GMAT Data Insights practice questions organized by type and difficulty level with detailed answer explanations you can learn from
- Tools to help you track your progress and uncover your weak areas, such as performance analytics and an error tracker
If you’re already very strong in some areas, you may not need everything in the above list. However, people preparing for the GMAT typically do best when they use prep resources that include all those elements. One resource that includes all of them is the Target Test Prep GMAT course, which you can check out for just $1 by signing up for a 5-day, full-access trial.
TTP PRO TIP:
Use a GMAT prep resource that includes a thorough treatment of each GMAT topic, questions organized by topic and difficulty level, and detailed answer explanations, as well as tools to track your progress.
So, if the Official Guide may not be sufficient, is there still a place for it in your GMAT prep? There may be. So, let’s discuss how to use the Official Guide optimally in your prep.
How to Use the GMAT Official Guide
For most people, it’s most effective to use the Official Guide toward the end of their GMAT preparation, to refine and strengthen their skills. The questions in the Official Guide are in broad categories. So, you can use the Official Guide for doing practice sets of mixed types of questions. By practicing that way, you can become accustomed to answering different types of questions one after the other, similarly to how you will when you take the GMAT.
For instance, for most of your Critical Reasoning practice, you may have answered questions that involve similar types of arguments. So, you can use the Official Guide to practice answering Critical Reasoning questions involving different types of arguments one after the other and get a different, more advanced type of practice.
For best results, you should use the Official Guide’s online question bank. The online question bank enables you to customize practice sets, is presented on a computer screen like the GMAT exam, and has questions in addition to the ones in the book. Also, since you’ll be using the online question bank, you can buy an ebook or Kindle version of the Official Guide, which is more portable than a big, paper book, and more ecologically friendly.
TTP PRO TIP:
For most people, it’s best to use the Official Guide toward the end of their GMAT prep, to refine and strengthen their skills.
Address Any Issues That Cause You to Miss Official Guide Questions
Any time you miss an Official Guide question, determine why you missed it and address the issue. The issue could involve a knowledge gap, a flawed strategy, or a flaw in execution. If it involves a knowledge gap or flawed strategy, you can return to your GMAT prep resources to fill the gap or learn a better strategy.
TTP PRO TIP:
To improve your performance, any time you miss an Official Guide question, determine why you missed it and address the issue.
Now that we know how to use the Official Guide, let’s answer some common questions about the guide.
Is It Necessary to Buy the GMAT Official Guide?
Depending on what resources you use and how your GMAT preparation goes, you may not need to buy the GMAT Official Guide. Some people achieve their GMAT score goals without using the Official Guide. Others find that using the Official Guide helps them to achieve their goals. So, the Official Guide is useful but not 100 percent necessary for effective GMAT preparation.
One way to determine whether you should use the Official Guide is to take an official practice test toward the end of your preparation. If your score on an official practice test indicates that you need more practice to achieve your score goal, then it may make sense to purchase the Official Guide.
TTP PRO TIP:
You can determine whether to buy the Official Guide by taking a practice test later in your preparation.
Is the GMAT Official Guide Available Online?
As we’ve touched on, the Official Guide is available in ebook and Kindle versions, which can be used online. Also, the Official Guide is accompanied by an online question bank that includes all the questions that appear in the Official Guide, along with some other questions, and can be used to create custom question sets.
To access the online question bank, you purchase the Official Guide, and then use an access code. (Note: An older or used Official Guide may not enable you to access the online question bank.)
KEY FACT:
The Official Guide is available in online versions and is accompanied by an online question bank.
What Is the Latest Edition of the GMAT Official Guide?
A new version of the Official Guide is published every year and is named to indicate its year of publication. So, generally, the way to get the latest edition of the GMAT Official Guide is simply to buy the edition with the current year in its name.
That said, the Official Guide doesn’t change much from year to year. So, if you have an older edition that is not more than around 5 years old, you can prepare just fine with that edition, though you may not be able to use it to access the online question bank.
KEY FACT:
The GMAT Official Guide doesn’t change much from year to year.
Which GMAT Guide Is Best?
As we’ve discussed, there are 4 Official Guides: the GMAT Official Guide, the Official Guide Quantitative Review, the Official Guide Verbal Review, and the Official Guide Data Insights Review. Which of those guides is best for you depends on what you want to achieve.
The GMAT Official Guide has all kinds of questions and has the most questions of all the guides. The Quantitative Review, the Verbal Review, and the Data Insights Review are good for focusing on Quant, Verbal, or Data Insights practice. Each guide comes in ebook or Kindle form and is accompanied by an online question bank.
TTP PRO TIP:
Which GMAT guide is best for you depends on what you’re seeking to accomplish.
Let’s wrap up with the key takeaways from what we’ve discussed.
Key Takeaways
Regarding whether the Official Guide is sufficient for GMAT preparation, here is what we’ve found:
- There are 4 Official Guides: the GMAT Official Guide, the Official Guide Quantitative Review, the Official Guide Verbal Review, and the Official Guide Data Insights Review.
- The Official Guides contain mostly practice questions and explanations along with some limited information about the GMAT.
- Official Guides come with access to an online question bank containing the questions the guides contain and some additional questions.
- Mastery of the GMAT requires knowledge of concepts and strategies and strong GMAT Quant and Verbal skills.
- Since they provide mainly practice questions, the Official Guides are not enough for most students preparing for the GMAT.
- To determine whether the Official Guide is enough for your GMAT prep, take an official practice test to see how close you are to your score goal.
- If you need a resource other than the Official Guide for your GMAT prep, find one that provides the information and practice you need to master the GMAT.
What’s Next?
To find out more about how to prepare for the GMAT effectively, you can read this post on how to master GMAT Quant and this one about how to master GMAT Verbal.
