Best Books for GMAT Exam Preparation, Study Materials

Students must note that they should not fill their books with too many GMAT books. Do not get swayed away by attractive websites and book covers. It is always advisable to follow a limited number of resources and focus on multiple revisions, practice questions, and GMAT mock tests. These key points will help you determine the right GMAT prep books and resources to tackle the exam:

• A deluge of GMAT preparation material is on the market. Before buying any book, ensure you are thorough with the syllabus and the pattern of the GMAT 2025 exam. Once you go through a book, make sure that this book is in line with the exam syllabus and pattern. Do not buy books just because they look attractive.
• It is about solving complex questions and forming a GMAT preparation strategy to help you score well on all exam sections. It can be identifying the priority section that you will be solving first or related to time management. These skills will prove to be handy during exam time. You can also follow GMAT preparation tips given by experts to utilize your time effectively. 
• The GMAT exam is based on a specific pattern, so it is always essential you practice the right set of questions, which can help you score well on the exam.
• The GMAT preparation material and GMAT books must offer answer keys to help students understand the correct method to solve different questions. The answer keys should give detailed explanations about the correct answer so the aspirant can understand the concept behind it.

The following GMAT prep books will help you holistically cover the entire GMAT 2025 syllabus. It is advised that students appear for GMAT 2025 mock tests to track their progress. Moreover, it is extremely important to analyse your performance on these GMAT practice tests.

• GMAT Official Guide: Popularly called GMAT OG, it is the most important book for your GMAT preparation. This book must form the base of your preparation. Do not leave a single page of this book. GMAT OG contains nearly 1000 questions from past GMAT exams. This is as close as you can get to the GMAT before the actual test day. A detailed overview of the exam, detailed answers, essays, and an organized order of questions will help you score well on the GMAT. Ensure you complete this book at least twice during your GMAT preparation. You can get the GMAT Official Guide Bundle ebook and online question band at $81.99.
• Manhattan Prep Complete GMAT Strategy Guide Set: The Manhattan GMAT books cover every aspect of the GMAT exam. You have the option of buying these books in a bundle or individually. Apart from the books, one also gets one-year access to practice tests and web material. These GMAT books will help you strengthen your skill set to perform excellently. The study materials and guides offered by Manhattan are considered the best GMAT preparation materials by reviewers.
• Additionally, the practice tests included with the books help you prepare for the actual test. Practice questions also come with a detailed explanation for the answers. You must aim to combine the GMAT Official Guide and Manhattan GMAT guides to cover the entire syllabus holistically. Once you have completed these, you should proceed to other GMAT books and resources.
• GMAT Official Advanced Questions: Once you have completed the GMAT Official Guide and Manhattan GMAT books, you should move on to the GMAT Official Advanced Questions. It has hard GMAT questions from past GMAT exams. This book will help you familiarise yourself with the tough GMAT questions. Note that if you keep on answering the questions correctly, the level of questions gets tougher on the GMAT (with an obvious increase in the score). Hence, a candidate needs to practice hard GMAT questions. You can get the GMAT official advanced questions ebook and online question bank at $29.99.
• Kaplan GMAT Prep Plus: The biggest advantage of studying from the Kaplan guide is that it provides the perfect content required for the exam and excludes the concepts that can be distracting. The Kaplan GMAT Verbal Workbook helps you develop advanced strategies to tackle verbal questions. In addition, the Kaplan GMAT Math Workbook will help you build strong basics in the quantitative section. This book provides a helping hand to those struggling with quant. The study material by Kaplan is consistently regarded as the best GMAT study book by reviewers.
• Veritas Prep Complete GMAT Course Set: For those looking to enhance their knowledge in each topic, the Veritas Prep GMAT Set is recommended. It covers each topic in detail, and the books are written nicely. Furthermore, the practice questions in the books are not unique but also challenging. One of the drawbacks of this set is that it comes with only one online full-length practice test, whereas other publishers offer many more practice tests. Veritas offers hundreds of practice questions online, which can help the aspirants increase their scores.

Popular GMAT Online Resources for Preparation

Apart from the prep books, you can also download GMAT preparation materials free of charge from various reputable online forums. Otherwise, you can join various forums, such as the official GMAT forum, and post your query there; experts will answer it. There are numerous (free and paid) online GMAT tests that you can take to enhance your skills. With little effort, you can get free GMAT prep material that can also be useful. We recommend that you take help from the following online resources:

• • Beat The GMAT
  • GMAT Club Forum
  • Thursday with Ron
  • Magoosh YouTube channel

No amount of books or GMAT prep material will be fruitful until you adopt an extensive study plan, rigorous training sessions, and discipline, which are key to achieving a high GMAT score.

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