Practice Tests vs. Real GMAT

[donkey_man_88]

I like the Advanced Course. I'm not sure what the regular course is about, but I do know that the teacher shares more "advanced" info in the advanced course (from what the teacher said). You also get 2 hours of free tutoring with the advanced course.

[Hokie]

I agree that the algorithm is harder for Kaplan, and I do think a lot of the questions are "easier" because they are not quite as complex -- however, the Kaplan questions seem to test harder concepts earlier and more across the board... who knows what is best?

Here is a link to help with figuring out the marks you need to hit: GMAT Score Calculator.

I took my ULT Practice test at the center on Monday. Scored 690 which had me feeling great until I mocked 40 quant questions from the med-hard in the OG and missed 18. Timing was fine. Lots of careless mistakes, but a few concept issues... going to do another set of 40 today; we will see how that goes. Starting to wonder if I should delay my test, but I think my app timeline is too tight for that.

How is everyone else doing?

@ aristocrat -- I wanted to take the Advanced, but couldn't do it bc of time. I would suggest that version bc i think that the students will have better questions to share with the class. I had a lot of people just trying for the 600 mark in my class, and they didn't exactly "push" the level of understanding. However, all Kaplan students have access to the Advanced material, so you can review that if you take the regular class.

@ ralph303 -- thanks - working on practice sets. Did you take Kaplan as well? Just wondering if you could provide Kaplan scores --> Real score example for us... also, what error ratio did you have on practice questions before the test?

@ donkey_man_88 -- how did you get a section score on Kaplan? I have just seen percentages... Also, how are your CATs going?

[sajjad_er]

Very disappointed...
Test1 from mba.com: 590
Paper based test 28, 53 .. all 7 exams ranged from 610-710.

Actual test: 530!!!!! Q:39 and V:28 ... what went wrong?? what should I do now?

[Hokie]

Took my GMAT yesterday. This was one of my biggest questions going into the test (what is the correlation between practice and real scores?), so I thought I'd briefly weigh in.

Real Score: 700 (44Q, 41V)
Kaplan Diag: 570 (10/08)
Kaplan CAT 1: 610 (10/17)
...CAT 2: 700 (10/19)
...CAT 5: 630 (10/26)
...CAT 6: 680 (11/1)
...ULT: 690 (11/3)
...CAT 8: 610 (11/8)

Disclaimers: I had a really rocky test day (lost 2 minutes before even starting the quant section, and never quite recovered). Then my expected failure in the quant section pretty much ruined the verbal section (my strong area) for me. Basically, I feel that I should have scored a lot better than a 700, and, for those Kaplan kids, expect to gain points on test day. However, I have noticed that there was a big swing in my test scores when I was tired or distracted - just ensure that doesn't happen to you.

Good luck! : )

[donkey_man_88]

Congrats man! Excellent score. I've heard that there is a "strong correlation" between someone's top Kaplan score and the actual GMAT score.

[TaTum]

Originally Posted by Hokie

Took my GMAT yesterday. This was one of my biggest questions going into the test (what is the correlation between practice and real scores?), so I thought I'd briefly weigh in.

Real Score: 700 (44Q, 41V)
Kaplan Diag: 570 (10/08)
Kaplan CAT 1: 610 (10/17)
...CAT 2: 700 (10/19)
...CAT 5: 630 (10/26)
...CAT 6: 680 (11/1)
...ULT: 690 (11/3)
...CAT 8: 610 (11/8)

Disclaimers: I had a really rocky test day (lost 2 minutes before even starting the quant section, and never quite recovered). Then my expected failure in the quant section pretty much ruined the verbal section (my strong area) for me. Basically, I feel that I should have scored a lot better than a 700, and, for those Kaplan kids, expect to gain points on test day. However, I have noticed that there was a big swing in my test scores when I was tired or distracted - just ensure that doesn't happen to you.

Good luck! : )

Hey, congratulations! You got a great score, which I think will help open a door to many leading MBA programs. I am a test taker who want the same score as you yet struggle with Verbal Section. My problem is that I don't have CATs to practice, since I have done GMAT Prep and Manhattan GMAT many times. My goal is to improve my Verbal from 29-30 to at least 35 level.

Do you think KAPTEST is worth enough to try? Where can I purchase it? Online?

Please help enlighten me.

[gOOters]

Kaplan CAT (CD): 540, 550, 550, 550

Real Exam: 690

[iccotdis]

I was expecting a score of above 700 but I ended up with this,
Real GMAT: 670 (AWA 6.0, Quant: 48, Verbal: 34 )

I followed Manhattan GMAT and I found their tests quite good.

Manhattan GMAT 1: 640
Manhattan GMAT 2: 710
Manhattan GMAT 3: 700
Manhattan GMAT 4: 520 (left the quant part halfway)
Manhattan GMAT 5: 720
Manhattan GMAT 6: 740

GMATPrep1: 680 (before the actual prep)
GMATPrep2: 740 (The final test I gave five days before the actual one)

In the actual GMAT, I found it very difficult to concentrate at the end. Due to some mysterious reason, I felt fatigued and tense.

I thought about giving the test again, but decided against it. I have just graduated and I am actually trying for the MSc. Program in Finance in European Universities, so 670 may be sufficient. Moreover, my GPA 4.87/5.00 and good recos and essay should be sufficient.

I will try to cross the 700 mark when I appear for my next GMAT (for MBA in 2014)

NOTE: I will advise all to prepare for atleast 3-4 months. one and half month isn't sufficient to cross 700 for most. Even if you master the subjects, the duration of the test may become daunting. Condition yourself to face the test and stay healthy and fit.

[iyermama]

REAL GMAT 590 (FIRST ATTEMPT)

GMAT PREP 570 Q41 V28
Princeton Review 560 Q39 V28
Kaplan CAT 1 550 Q31 V32
Kaplan CAT 2 550 Q32 V30
Manhattan GMAT free test 540 Q35 V30
Kaplan CAT 3 480 Q24 V24
Manhattan GMAT CAT 1 620 Q42 V33
Manhattan GMAT CAT 2 620 Q38 V36
Manhattan GMAT CAT 3 630 Q42 V34
GMAT PREP 660 Q45 V36
Manhattan GMAT CAT 4 560 Q40 V 28
Manhattan GMAT CAT 5 620 Q42 V33
Manhattan GMAT CAT 6 640 Q43 V34
GMATPREP 680 Q45 V39

REAL GMAT 660 Q42 V38

Overall, I feel Manhattan GMAT has been the best tool, and it was well worth the 40$ I spent for it!! The last time I had dealt with Maths was in High School, and so for me maths had always been a cause for much apprehension. Manhattan GMAT helped me overcome that fear with their lucid explanations and a test pattern that most closely mimics the real deal. Kaplan, was a nightmare, I guess, Kaplan quant is clearly not meant for average blokes like me, as for the verbal, the less said the better!
For those who are gearing up to take a shot.... all the best .. stay cool and do not panic, if I could cross 650, I m sure you all will be able to cross 700 easily!!

[ekvall]

Could someone confirm that the algorithm of my GMATPrep isn't completely out of whack? I know it sounds like a little ridiculous, but I'm consistently getting Q48s on quant with as many as 13 problems. I am of course happy-as-can-be about it, I just don't want to show up on the day and have my score be like 100 points lower.

If it is working properly, then it goes to show that the first 10 questions are soooo important. You can literally get the last 10 questions wrong and still score a Q48.