Beat The GMAT

ao1058 · Mon Oct 12, 2009 5:33 pm

I have used both PR and MGMAT.

I honestly feel that the MGMAT CAT tests are entirely different from PR. I can score 600+ on PR but I can't come close to that with MGMAT. The quant questions on MGMAT seem to be longer and more drawn out, and on a completely different level of difficulty.

I am honestly nervous considering that most users who have vote are reporting MGMAT as a better source of practice...which I am taking as a closer measure of score.

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Perminology · Mon Oct 26, 2009 7:30 am

I just completed the Power Prep 30 practice test. I don't know the year of release of this but this practice test is NOT a good indicator of your overall performance at all. I am by no means a 700+ GMAT student, but this test made blaring calculation errors. For instance, 80% of 30,000 is 25,000!

I knew that this test must have been old, because I saw a lot of questions from OG 11 on it. I remember some of the CR questions from it and again, more errors! I was so sure that the test was wrong that I checked OG 11 and sure enough, the test had the exact question from the book wrong. No wonder ETS no longer has the rights to the GMAT. DO NOT waste your time on the Power Prep 30 practice test.

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MBABound_2010 · Fri Nov 13, 2009 5:17 pm

Hi

I guess I need some enlightment here. The GMAT Prep, is that the one you can download for free from mba.com (the 2 free practice tests)? Can you go back to download 2 more tests to find that they are different questions or do the 2 tests have the standard same questions? I'm hoping every time you download, the questions are different but we know life isn't that convenient!

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Lucky Y · Tue Nov 24, 2009 12:56 pm

It seems that Kaplan CAT tests are harder.

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msf995 · Wed Dec 02, 2009 12:21 am

Dec. 5 - Free Kaplan Live GMAT Practice Test

Question: Do you get a full breakdown of your score if you do this free practice test? Is it recommended. I was thinking of doing it on Saturday. Do your essays get marked as well?

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sapna83 · Wed Dec 02, 2009 1:53 pm

I have been using Kaplan so far but I am not too happy. I found some of the question a bit misleading and not too logical.
I was thinking to try Manhattan GMAT but I heard that Manhattan GMAT CAT tends to score a bit higher than the real test. Has anyone experienced so?
Also, can anyone suggest me free prep tests/questions or very cheap ones?

Thanks a lot!

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suganthamuthan · Thu Dec 03, 2009 11:08 am

Hi All ,

Where do i get the practice tests of Kaplan and Manhattan ? Do they come along with their respective books ? Please advice .
and Can there be a real interpretation of the scoring in GMAT ? How is it calculated ?
Thanks in advance

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kellygreen · Sat Dec 26, 2009 8:06 pm

I guess I'm a little biased, since I've only tried Kaplan of the named tests, but I've found the tests at Winning Prep to be really helpful. There are a couple of free samples and a free trial of the other content I'm using now.

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rahul.s · Sun Dec 27, 2009 7:32 am

Hi,

I have been preparing for the GMAT for a month now. I haven't taken a diagnostic test yet, but I want to. Which one should I begin with? Any suggestions?

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shaishav · Sun Dec 27, 2009 12:30 pm

Hi ,

You can begin with Princeton. I found it apt though the maths part is easier than the actual GMAT. If you want to practice difficult QA go with Manhattan. Kaplan tests on the internet are also pretty good but the ones you get on CD are a lot harder than actual level. All the best!

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rahul.s · Sun Dec 27, 2009 8:42 pm

Hi Shaishav,

Thank you for the prompt reply. I think I'll take a Princeton test today itself Smile

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Asterion · Sat Jan 16, 2010 7:35 am

Sorry to come across as slightly cheap, but which are the free tests one can get legally apart from the official GMAT Prep?

Also, has the installer of the official GMAT Prep changed over time?

I have one copied off a friend in 2005 and now I downloaded one from the official website. Will they be the same?

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osirus0830 · Sat Jan 16, 2010 10:09 pm

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osirus0830 · Sat Jan 16, 2010 10:21 pm

I have taken prep test from almost every company and I just finished a GMAT prep test today so I will weigh in on this discussion.

I believe that the best prep tests, in terms of explaining answers and predicting your score is Manhattan GMAT. However, I would say that the best test in simulating the difficulty of the GMAT is Kaplan (their scoring system is just really off in my opinion).

Anyone that reads my posts knows that I feel that Manhattan GMAT provides the best practice materials. I think their CATs are good and provide the best explanations, but there is one major drawback to them in my opinion. The company takes the stance that they would rather over prepare you than underprepare you. With their CATs they will make certain questions ridiculously difficult and you may miss questions on certain topics that you are actually strong in. For example, I missed about 4 overlapping sets problems on Manhattan GMAT CATs but on the GMAT prep and in the official guide, I always get these problems right. I think when analyzing the results of the Manhattan CATs if you feel that you are strong in a certain area, and you miss that question on their CATs, just ignore it and don't waste valuable study time on an area of strength just because they made the question ridiculously difficult and you missed it. Also, if you ask them about this they will tow the company line and say that nothing is wrong with their verbal, but their verbal is off. Their sentence correction is great but their reading comp is easier and their Critical reasoning does not mimic the logic of the GMAT.

One thing you have to realize with all of these tests, is that they are testing you based on how they teach the materials and based on the topics they cover. If they do not cover a topic, you will not see that topic on one of their test. For example, you will not see a permutation and combination problem on a Kaplan test because they do not teach it in their books. Your best bet is to take multiple tests from multiple test prep companies. If you are choosing one though, go with Manhattan GMAT.

That's my two cents.

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