Practice Tests vs. Real GMAT

[Hmmmmm]

Hello everyone,

I read this thread to gauge the general trend of how reflective practice scores were, so I thought I'd give my own two cents worth now that I'm done with the test.

I had about two and a half or three weeks to prepare, while working as well, so I think I've done a pretty decent job, here are my scores, if they're of any use:

Kaplan CAT 1: 700
Kaplan CAT 2: 690
Kaplan CAT 3: 670

GMATPrep 1: 770 (Q:50, V: 43)
GMATPrep 2: 750 (Q: 50, V: 41)

Actual GMAT (today): 720 (Q: 43, V: 49)

I'm just wondering if schools tend to look at the score as a whole or individual sections as well - I'm just concerned that my below par performance on the Quantitative might be a disadvantage?

[freston]

You got a 720! I wouldn't worry about it. I took the GMAT the day before you did and I probably had the exact same questions. Wow, that quant section was miserable! I'm usually good at math but I felt dumb while taking the test.

[Hmmmmm]

Originally Posted by freston

You got a 720! I wouldn't worry about it. I took the GMAT the day before you did and I probably had the exact same questions. Wow, that quant section was miserable! I'm usually good at math but I felt dumb while taking the test.

Yeah, the quant section was a bit tougher than I had expected. Strangely it said that the 43 I got was 70th percentile, which was what concerned me. Are those figures accurate?

[freston]

Yes. Here are some tables which show the asymmetrical raw score-to-percentile rankings for verbal and quantitative: The GMAT Scoring Scale

The GMAT is taken by a lot of people outside America. They may not be great at the verbal section but, damn, can they do math!

[breezestorm]

Kaplan diagnostic 600
GMATPrep1 600 45/28
Kaplan Test1 540 34/24
PowerPrep1 630 44/34
GMAT Prep2 610 44/30
PowerPrep2 620 44/30
Actual Exam 460 29/25 (1st attempt)

Kaplan CAT 1 540 34/22
Kaplan CAT 2 540 30/30
Manhattan GMAT 1 590 42/31
Manhattan GMAT 2 590 38/34
Actual Exam 550 41/25 (2nd attempt)

[Hmmmmm]

Originally Posted by freston

Yes. Here are some tables which show the asymmetrical raw score-to-percentile rankings for verbal and quantitative: The GMAT Scoring Scale

The GMAT is taken by a lot of people outside America. They may not be great at the verbal section but, damn, can they do math!

I'm outside America, myself. I've never as much as set foot on North American soil. I was scoring higher on the Quant during the practice tests though, which was why I was a bit surprised.

[okGMAT]

GMATPrep1: 560 (38Q, 29V) 2/15/2008 (rushed verbal for tutoring lesson; 30 mins remaining)
OnlnKapCat: 580 (36Q, 36V) 2/16/2008
GMATPrep1: 620 (36Q, 38V) 2/19/2008 (retake; concentrated on verbal)
GMATPrep2: 620 (40Q, 35v) 2/29/2008 Day before exam

GMAT Score: 580 (31Q, 40V)

Math was way harder than the GMATPrep. I'm a little disappointed. Oh well.

My exam is 3/01/08 at 8am. I'm hoping 600+, I'll update tomorrow after the test.

[joshstillman]

710 Power Prep
650, 600 Manhattan GMAT

[Brutzel1]

Everyone here is talking about their practise exam scores, can someone tell me how I can get access to those tests?
Of course I know the 2 you can get at mba.com, but I cant find the rest.
Can anyone help?

[Hmmmmm]

Originally Posted by Brutzel1

Everyone here is talking about their practise exam scores, can someone tell me how I can get access to those tests?
Of course I know the 2 you can get at mba.com, but I cant find the rest.
Can anyone help?

I only got those two off the internet. I did a further 3 from Kaplan, which were off the CD-ROM that came with the text book (there are 4 in total, but I didn't trouble myself with doing the last one). Kaplan's tests were a bit tougher and I think the scoring algorithm isn't particularly sound, the GMATPrep ones are considerably more reflective of the questions you get. There's another software called PowerPrep, which is free, I think; I didn't really bother with it, because I didn't have the time to do any more tests. You might want to try a google search for PowerPrep - I think it's a GMAC software as well.