Is Manhattan 5lb enough for GRE prep if I’m aiming for 320+?

Question

Mohit C · Accepted Answer

The Manhattan 5lb book is great for GRE practice if you're aiming for a 320+ score, but it shouldn&rsquo;t be your only resource. It&rsquo;s excellent for Quant drills, especially if you want to build stamina and sharpen fundamentals through repetition.
That said, the questions don&rsquo;t always match the tone and trap style of the actual GRE. You&rsquo;ll get volume, not precision. If your goal is 320 or above, you&rsquo;ll need to mix in official ETS material, especially for Verbal, where the Manhattan 5lb questions often feel simpler and less twisted than the real thing.
The best way to use the 5lb book is for building accuracy and strengthening weak areas. But for test-day readiness, always do at least 2&ndash;3 official GRE practice tests to get used to timing, adaptive difficulty, and phrasing.

Supriya J · Answer

The 5lb book feels like a gym for GRE Quant, you&rsquo;ll get stronger, but it won&rsquo;t teach you how to win the actual match.
It&rsquo;s amazing for practice volume, especially in math. Solving 20&ndash;30 questions a day helped me develop consistency. But when I switched to ETS questions, I noticed a gap in logic and wording. Real GRE problems are subtler&mdash;especially in Verbal.
Another thing: the Manhattan book doesn&rsquo;t train you for the test format. No adaptive difficulty, no pacing under pressure. If you&rsquo;re aiming for 320+, start with the 5lb for skill-building, but finish strong with PowerPrep mocks and the Official Guide.
Also, don&rsquo;t rely on it for vocabulary. Use a dedicated word list like Magoosh&rsquo;s or GregMat&rsquo;s to actually improve verbal accuracy. That mix is what made the difference for me.
For more details you can read this blog on "How to Prepare for GRE: Step-by-Step Guide"