Practice Tests vs. Real GMAT

[steve_shekhar]

DEMON,

I have GMAT on 9th oct. i fared very bad in KAP test just 590...though i realised that i bovine mastication do better with little caution. can u gimmie some advise based upon thy experience?

how close was the test to OG? and to KAP. some where in between?

if Official Guide is 10 and KAP is 15 where is ACTUAL GMAT? 12.5???


Steve.

[DEMON]

Steve,

With a 590 on Kap you'll score high 600's if you can handle the pressure whilst writing this torturous exam. The admissions council seems to be testing your ability to perform under the gun. I think that Kaplan makes there tests considerably harder than the actual exam to motivate students to study. The Official Guide is good practice and helps you learn the necessary concepts, however I caution you NOT to rely on the actual exam to be anywhere near as easy as the GMAT.

My advice....

I think half the battle is learning the scoring algorithim that GMAC uses and then adjusting your strategy accordingly. Also make sure that you take at least 12-15 practice exams. Try the Princeton and Arco Gold exams, they'lll help to build your confidence and give an excellent indication of where you stand. Peace out and good luck...

PS. Don't freaking run out of time and make the stupid *** mistake I made on the verbal section.

[supersoulfighter]

the link for the 800score tests is only for the sample gmat section...does anyone know where i can get all the tests to download? please help...i have my gmat in 6 days and i've only done 5 tests so far..was averaging 560...now im hitting 640 and need 700...please reply sos.

[nalinig]

Kaplan - 560, 640, 600, 590
Princeton - 670
PP - 740, 770 ( half the questions were repeats of Official Guide or paper tests )
Paper tests - 700 - 740

actual GMAT - 780 -( V48, Q50)

[andy_deb]

Real GMAT : on 27th Dec '04.

Prep : Day 1 on 23rd Nov '04.

Tests :
KAPLAN : 610 (78th percentile)

This score is a real turn off. I desperately need to push this score up, and with a 6 day week work schedule, I have to squeaze in a prep schedule in some way. ADVICE people!!!

[Tatu]

Hi Guys
My name is Tatu and i am a software consultant working for Accenture in Bangalore India.I need your(all) suggestion on ideally how much you need to prepare for GMAT.(in HRS or weeks).
I have been preparing for past 10 weeks with almost 24 hrs a week.But still iam not able to score more than 620 on my practice tests.
I took kaplan(540)..ETS(620). So do you Guys think that i should take some more time and take all the tests.Iam targetting score around 700-720.My weakness is reading comprehension and DS.

[mahaveloramaro]

Hello y'all: thanks for the many advices. I want to make you aware of an undocumented feature of GMAT test.

I took the AWA without problem. I had 5 minutes break between the AWA and the Quant. I took the Quant. without problem. Went for another 5 minutes break. Because the test site was over crowded, I have had to stay in line to wait for my turn to use a uni-sex bathroom...so my break became about 15 to 20 minutes. When I went back to resume the test at the Verbal section, I had like 50 minutes only!

It appears as if the computer computed all breaks against my time. Result: Q=40; V=23; GMAT=590.

Has this happened to anyone else? If I were not taking a break at all, would the computer add 10 minutes (2 times 5 minutes) to my overall GMAT time? In which section would the time be added: verbal I assume?

Thanks for giving your opinion on this. M. Rama Ro

[alok_nayak]

Kaplan 2005 Paper Test 670

Arco book Paper Test

Diagnostic 640

Test 1 650

Test 2 700

Test 3 670



PP1(One week before the test) 710

Test 4 720

Test 5 720



PP2(One day before the test) 710

GMAT 720

[frgmat]

Hi,

Kaplan diagnostic 620
Kaplan CAT 1 590
Arco 670-690
PowerPrep1 610
Princeton 620
Princeton3 730
Kaplan CAT 2 560
Paper Terst 620-640
PowerPrep2 690

over a one month period.

Real GMAT Today: (12/3/2004): 680
Thanks to everyone in this forum.
It helped me to keep up with the motivation.
I am convinced that I could perform a better score (>700) at
a second test.
But 680 is good enough for the MBAs that I am targeting.

To all soon-to-be GMAT test takers: Powerprep CAT is one of the best
way to measure your real score.
And for the Real GMAT: questions are easier than what you might
fear, but in fact, your real enemy is stress, not Gmat.

[andy_deb]

Took the GMAT on 27th Dec at Bangalore, India.

Actual GMAT : - 760 (Q 51 99%, V 41 93%)

Other scores, in order, latest first : -

Princeton CD test 4 : - 720 (After completing OG)
Princeton CD test 3 : - 730
Kaplan CD test 4 : - 630
Kaplan CD test 3 : - 660
IMS MaxGMAT CD test 1 : - 690 (Never use these, irrelevant)
Kaplan CD test 2 : - 660
Princeton CD test 2 : - 710
Powerprep CD test 2 : - 770 (After 10 % OG)
Powerprep CD test 1 : - 740 (Before OG)
Kaplan book - paper test : - 710
Kaplan CD diagnostic : - 710
Kaplan CD test 1 : - 610

Total preparation time : - 5 weeks.

Satisfied with the outcome!!! Thanks a ton to this website!!!