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MGMAT 5 math books vs. MGMAT Foundations of GMAT Math

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MGMAT 5 math books vs. MGMAT Foundations of GMAT Math

by Bens4vcobra » Thu Jul 15, 2010 8:59 am
Hello,

I am early on in my prep and started out studying quant concepts. I am just about to finish the MGMAT Math Review book. My question is how does this book compare (or work with) the other 5 MGMAT math books? The math review book covers everything that the other 5 books do. Does anybody know the difference? The begining of the MGMAT Math Review says it works as a "supplement to the 5 foundational books" but what does that mean? I am debating on purchasing the other 5 books but I'm concerned it will all be things I've already done and could be a waste of time/money.
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by ianperez7 » Mon Jul 19, 2010 2:51 pm
The foundations book is basically an intro into some of the basic math covered in the other five books. I just finished going through all six of them. I'm glad I went through the review book first because it got me into the groove, but it definitely isn't even necessary. The five other books is what you really need. You will notice that some of the material in the other books is pure overlap (a very small fraction), BUT the other books expand on all those topics as well as introduce many other topics. Not a waste of money at all!
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by Bens4vcobra » Tue Jul 20, 2010 5:25 am
ianperez7 wrote:The foundations book is basically an intro into some of the basic math covered in the other five books. I just finished going through all six of them. I'm glad I went through the review book first because it got me into the groove, but it definitely isn't even necessary. The five other books is what you really need. You will notice that some of the material in the other books is pure overlap (a very small fraction), BUT the other books expand on all those topics as well as introduce many other topics. Not a waste of money at all!
Thanks, I'm think I'm going to purchase the 5 MGMAT Quant books now. Is there a particular order that I should use going through each one?
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by ianperez7 » Tue Jul 20, 2010 10:28 am
I don't think the order you do the book in matters very much. I went in order, but there weren't very many things that I felt were necessary from an earlier book as prior knowledge for one of the later books... the exception is factoring quadratics. It's in the review book, and also covered a little more in book #1, I think. That will be very useful throughout all the math books. Good luck on your prep!
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by piyushk » Mon Jul 26, 2010 7:21 pm
How much time do you guys plan to spend on each book? Considering this as a self-study, how to track it?

Thanks, Piyush
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by ianperez7 » Mon Jul 26, 2010 8:45 pm
Tough question to answer. The books vary in length and some have more advanced topic sections than others, plus it will depend on your strengths/weaknesses, how many of the exercises and OG questions you do, and how long you spend reviewing the solutions. That said, my target was less than 7 days per book, spending somewhere between 1 and 10 hours per day studying, with an average near 5-6 hr/day. You may find it takes you less time than that; I went over everything in great detail, did every problem set and OG question, and spent lots of time reviewing the answer explanations. Hope this helps.
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by piyushk » Mon Jul 26, 2010 9:15 pm
ianperez7 wrote:Tough question to answer. The books vary in length and some have more advanced topic sections than others, plus it will depend on your strengths/weaknesses, how many of the exercises and OG questions you do, and how long you spend reviewing the solutions. That said, my target was less than 7 days per book, spending somewhere between 1 and 10 hours per day studying, with an average near 5-6 hr/day. You may find it takes you less time than that; I went over everything in great detail, did every problem set and OG question, and spent lots of time reviewing the answer explanations. Hope this helps.
ianperez7

Thanks for ur prompt response.

Yes, i agree that time would depend from person to person. But now I have something to gauge myself against.
Could you please elaborate on the use of OG book along with these guides? I had thought to go through the OG book, after completing all the sets. :roll:

Thanks,
Piyush
Last edited by piyushk on Mon Jul 26, 2010 9:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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by bond0007 » Mon Jul 26, 2010 9:16 pm
as someone who is partially retaded i really liked the Foundations book a lot, it helped me understand the math so much better. Remember though that book is about 500-600 level problems so its great for the Foundation lol
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by ianperez7 » Mon Jul 26, 2010 11:17 pm
piyushk wrote: Could you please elaborate on the use of OG book along with these guides?
Each of the MGMAT math books is organized by topic via chapters and then split into two sections: general and advanced. The final chapter in the general and advanced section of each book is a question list from the OG 12 ed. and quant 1st and 2nd. It is simply a list of question numbers, so you have to actually buy the books, but the lists are specifically helpful if you want to sit down and practice with easy circle & cylinders questions or advanced combinatorics questions, for example.

You certainly don't have to do the OG with the MGMAT books; each chapter has it's own problem set at the end for practice, but keep in mind that many of the problems aren't necessarily GMAT-like - they are meant primarily to help you practice the material, I assume.
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by piyushk » Tue Jul 27, 2010 12:20 am
ianperez7 wrote:
piyushk wrote: Could you please elaborate on the use of OG book along with these guides?
Each of the MGMAT math books is organized by topic via chapters and then split into two sections: general and advanced. The final chapter in the general and advanced section of each book is a question list from the OG 12 ed. and quant 1st and 2nd. It is simply a list of question numbers, so you have to actually buy the books, but the lists are specifically helpful if you want to sit down and practice with easy circle & cylinders questions or advanced combinatorics questions, for example.

You certainly don't have to do the OG with the MGMAT books; each chapter has it's own problem set at the end for practice, but keep in mind that many of the problems aren't necessarily GMAT-like - they are meant primarily to help you practice the material, I assume.
Thanks ianperez7. I appreciate your help.
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by Bens4vcobra » Tue Jul 27, 2010 5:46 am
bond0007 wrote:as someone who is partially retaded i really liked the Foundations book a lot, it helped me understand the math so much better. Remember though that book is about 500-600 level problems so its great for the Foundation lol
I wouldn't even say it's 500-600 level. Most of the problems aren't even in a GMAT format. But I'm like you, I needed the refresher. The fact that the questions were easy was a good thing for me because it reinforced the concepts. I've started the MGMAT Word Translations book, and I'm having somewhat of a tough go because the questions are more complicated that what I was used to. I quickly learned that solving two variable Quant problems are a piece of cake, and likely not what I'll see come test day. The MGMAT is big on creating charts to organize and simplify the information. I was not used to doing this because frankly, it wasn't necessary on easier problems. I've found the chart method to be somewhat cumbersome and time consuming but I'm determined to trust it.
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by piyushk » Tue Jul 27, 2010 10:28 am
Bens4vcobra wrote: I've found the chart method to be somewhat cumbersome and time consuming but I'm determined to trust it.
Could you please tell more abt the chart method? I'm completely lost over here.
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by Bens4vcobra » Wed Jul 28, 2010 5:56 am
piyushk wrote:
Bens4vcobra wrote: I've found the chart method to be somewhat cumbersome and time consuming but I'm determined to trust it.
Could you please tell more abt the chart method? I'm completely lost over here.

If you use the MGMAT Word Translations book, you'll quickly know what I'm talking about. MGMAT urges students to create charts to keep track of multiple variables, units of measurement and given values. This helps to organize the information the problem gives you, as well as creating a clearer path to the solution. This method is helpful on the more complicated problems. I woudn't necessarily recommend it for the easier ones, because like I said above, it can be time consuming. It's definitely recommended for age problems when you have three variables and aren't given one of the values, or a way to solve for one of the values (using simple substitution). It those cases, the chart method is pretty much a must.
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by piyushk » Wed Jul 28, 2010 6:13 am
Bens4vcobra wrote:
piyushk wrote:
Bens4vcobra wrote: I've found the chart method to be somewhat cumbersome and time consuming but I'm determined to trust it.
Could you please tell more abt the chart method? I'm completely lost over here.

If you use the MGMAT Word Translations book, you'll quickly know what I'm talking about. MGMAT urges students to create charts to keep track of multiple variables, units of measurement and given values. This helps to organize the information the problem gives you, as well as creating a clearer path to the solution. This method is helpful on the more complicated problems. I woudn't necessarily recommend it for the easier ones, because like I said above, it can be time consuming. It's definitely recommended for age problems when you have three variables and aren't given one of the values, or a way to solve for one of the values (using simple substitution). It those cases, the chart method is pretty much a must.
Thanks for the response.
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by Bens4vcobra » Wed Jul 28, 2010 8:41 am
No problem.
"It takes no ability to give effort. Toughness is not God-given; it's a choice. The discipline to execute is a habit." - Nick Saban
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