Practice Tests vs. Real GMAT

[jmdgirish]

Hi,

Could you please help with some practice tests - websites/links/soft copies.
I will be eternally grateful.

My email address is malik.girish@gmail.com

Many Thanks.

-Girish Malik

[stalion529]

Hello everyone.

Actual GMAT 2007 : 540

Last Three Months:
Kaplan Diagnostic 600
GmatPrep: 580
Paper Tests (580-715)
Kaplan CAT 650
GMATPREP 700
GMATPREP 680

ACTUAL 12/13/2008: 700
what A RUSH!

[Shereen GMAT-Scared]

Hey Girish,

let me give you a quick crash course on how to prepare for GMAT,
1) register for it, give yourself about three months (average) to prepare. Once you register, you will be able to download two practice tests and some practice questions.
2) Get the following books (must have's):
- OG 11
- Manhattan GMAT SC
- Kaplan Premier prep
- Kaplan 800
3) depending on your score in one of the GMAT practice tests, you should have a study plan. I can help you come up with one. Take the test and let me know how much you scored. Now, it is better to go online and have a bit of knowledge about GMAT and its details (i.e. how many questions, how many sections, timing, ... etc)
- I have bought many books, some of which were a complete waste of money, so I can help you a great deal in picking up the right type of books, again you must tell me what you need to brush up on the most in order for me to help you.
You can buy many practice tests online from Kaplan and other websites such as 800 score and power prep. I personally prefer Kaplan. I have downloaded the two practice tests and have 8 Kaplan tests, also once you buy Manhattan GMAT you are eligible for 6 practice tests. I believe the more tests you do the better you get. So I have taken 4 so far and looking forward to finish about 10 more.
let me know how does it go

Best Regards,
Shereen

[Shereen GMAT-Scared]

Hey Stalion,

CONGRATULATIONS WOHOOOOOO
Could you share with us how you got to the 700 figure? I would love to get your feedback on my study plan.

what a score

[Shereen GMAT-Scared]

oops sorry Stalion, the smily was supposed to be
not

[jmdgirish]

Hi Shereen.

Been low on finances so took a friend's advice and I bought the Kaplan 800 and OG11. i did those and then also did the Manhattan GMAT SC guide. Also I did the verbal section from OG10(i had a softcopy). I gave the GMATPrep 1 exam yesterday. I got 710 but here is the concern :
1. In Quant I could answer only 31 questions, so 6 unanswered, got 16 right 15 wrong.
2. In verbal , i answered all, got 41 right and 2 wrong but I must admit , some questions I had seen earlier so that helped save on time.

Quant I believe needs real practise here.
Kindly advise.

-Thanks,
Girish

[stalion529]

Hi,
I recommend:

OG11
BOTH SMALLER OG books, one for quant, and one for verbal
KAPLAN QUIZ BANK
Paper Tests (Although they dont provide explanations, you can google them)

[maverick08]

PowerPrep 1 - 770 (51M, 41V) (CRs were repeated)
PowerPrep 2 - 740 (51M, 38V) (CRs were repeated). Score declined, because the day was one of my worst days.
First Attempt
GMATPrep 1 - 730 (50M, 37V) (CRs were repeated). Couldn't complete the paper. Did only first 37 questions. Left other 4. I wanted to see the penalty that GMAC charges for leaving the question(s).
GMATPrep 2 - 680 (50M, 32V) - It was my worst day. I was not feeling well. Headache was not allowing me to focus on the exam.

Second Attempt
GMATPrep 1 - 730 (51M, 38V) - Couldn't understand the reason for the Score 730, though combined score in GMATPrep was 87, which is less than the combined score in the second attempt.
GMATPrep 2 - 690 (49M, 34V) - Again, this was a bad day for me. I was unable to concentrate, because of heavy disturbances just outside my house. But I was, somehow, happy with the score, because I knew that on the D-Day, I will score a 700+.

Real GMAT: 610 (48M, 26V) - A Shock!!

I found Real GMAT English lot tougher than GMATPrep. SCs were horrible. My debrief is at:
http://www.urch.com/forums/just-fini...help-guys.html (610 - 48M, 26V (Second Attempt) - Need Help guys!)

Please see if you guys can suggest something.

[cesar82]

maverick, have you done the OG 11 prior to the GMAT PREP and POWERPREP?

As you know questions are repeated; if you are good on the OG Q's then naturally you'll get a 700+ score in Preps; I believe that for a person who has completed OG, the PREP scores cannot be considered a good benchmark; UNLESS you score a 760+ conistently (in prep)

Having said that there are several gems in the prep software q's and I suggest you fo thru dedicated GMAT PREp forums/questions and exhaust them.

Maybe you made some errors in the test itself which you may not repeat again.. but to judge that why don't you give some tough prep tests like Kaplan and Manhattan? If you get a 650 in Kaplan or a 700+ in Manhatan you are good to go!

[maverick08]

Casar82, I think you are correct. I need to get a good score in Kaplan and other tough CATs to guarantee a good score in Real GMAT.

The reason I screwed up in Verbal was that I found it real tough.

Thanks for your suggestion!