Barron's is worthless. I began my prep with Barrons and basically wasted the first month of my prep. It is horrid. The info isn't good. The Critical Reasoning strategy is a joke. The reading comp is way too easy and will give you a false sense of confidence. The math is hit or miss. I would only use Barrons if I had exhausted every other possible source for math questions and even then I would only use Barrons for extra math questions.

I found that their verbal is pretty tough actually. I did the 2008 Diagnostic Test #1 (in the book), and didn't do too well. I thought the RC was tough. I'll take the second test and see if I get the same results.

What about their strategy and explanation of the material? Worth looking at? Or SKIP and move on to other books I have?

LeDan09 wrote:I found that their verbal is pretty tough actually. I did the 2008 Diagnostic Test #1 (in the book), and didn't do too well. I thought the RC was tough. I'll take the second test and see if I get the same results.

What about their strategy and explanation of the material? Worth looking at? Or SKIP and move on to other books I have?

What other books do you have?

I have the Official Guides (which Im going to use at the very end of my review) as well as the OG Math and OG Verbal.
I also have The Princeton Review - Cracking the GMAT (Already done) and just bought the 1012 Princeton Review Questions.
I also bought the Kaplan Math Workbook.
Finally, I had signed up for a Kaplan Course, and therefore have access to Kaplan's Online Bank of questions and exams (as well as their coursebook).

Im seriously thinking of buying the MGMAT 8 Books, going through them, and then doing the Kaplan Math Workbook, the OG Math, The OG Verbal and then knocking out Practice Tests (as many as I can from MGMAT, PR, KAPLAN and OG).

Is this plan feasible? And drop Barron's? Thank you for your insight on the Barron's.

A couple of things. Can you get your money back from Kaplan? I think you would be better served to take a course with Veritas or Manhattan GMAT. If you are going to take a course with Kaplan, see if you can take the Kaplan Advanced course, otherwise, I think the other two companies I mentioned have a better reputation on the board. I took a course with Veritas so I can attest to the quality of their courses.

In terms of books, I wouldn't buy any more books until after the class is over and you can analyze weaknesses. I think you should go through the Kaplan work book and all the materials they give you for verbal.

Can't get a refund on Kaplan's course, unfortunately, and I don't think I can do Kaplan Advanced because I won't be able to score 600+ on their Diagnostic Test.

Although I have a selection at hand to choose from, I feel very compelled to buying the 8 MGMAT books as everyone is praising them.

Id rather study those than the Barron's.