MBA: The Cost of Studying for the GMAT
My new night time reading
$1,500: the cost of the Kaplan Classroom GMAT prep class. How daunting is that when you decide to head back to school to get your MBA and know you need to prep for the GMAT? That is what I was faced with when I embarked on this 7-month journey. Luckily with some digging and help from some friends I have found how to study for the GMAT on the cheap…
- Ask friends for their old books. The GMAT books aren’t cheap at $40+, so find out who among your Facebook friends just took the test and ask for their old books. Studying is studying and the questions haven’t changed much, so any year should work.
- Make Half Price Books your friend for text books. I knew I needed to relearn Algebra and Geometry and found used State of Texas-approved text books for $8 each. They work great because, like text books should, they build on what you have learned in the previous chapter and have selected answers in the back to check yourself. Translation: they work.
- Check the local colleges for GMAT/GRE prep classes. In my case, the University of Texas-Dallas has a GMAT/GRE prep class for $250 for 18 sessions with a book and materials included — a steal in comparison to the big guys. They use it to recruit you to their campus, you get a great prep class out of it and a dry run at what the campus feels like.
- Use your local library for a free, quiet place to study. Starbucks works but you also feel the obligation to buy coffee and people watch the Hipsters, libraries are free and designed to be quiet, so I use mine.
Algebra text book for $8
Geometry text book for $8
So there you have it, my guide to studying for the GMAT without breaking the bank. If you have any other ideas/suggestions, let me know in the comments below.
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Dude, if you needed to relearn math I would’ve tutored you. All I need is a $150 deposit and then a $200 class fee.
Oh, also, I’ll need you to provide $100 for books and materials.
Now you tell me this? We could have met at Vitek’s in Waco.
In all honesty, the math section wasn’t that hard. They aren’t asking about logarithms or anything very complicated. Lets face it, they don’t really expect business people to do math, that’s why they’re doing business stuff.
Seriously though, the GMAT website has example math problems that i felt were a bit harder than the ones on the test itself.
This may sound crazy, but the GMAT English section is actually a simpler version of the LSAT. While it may be overkill, if you find an old LSAT book and study that, you will dominate the GMAT English section. I took both tests about three years ago. And don’t do Kaplan, huge waste of money.
Good stuff, and good to know! I imagine there isn’t too much you can do with English — write it, understand it, correct — so it makes sense that they are similar.