GMAT Strategy

After 6 months of rigorous studying, mainly using MGMAT, I was averaging about a 670 on my practice tests, and my last two practice scores were 700 and 710 -- all on MGMATs software. I took the real GMAT today, and scored a 570. Needless to say I was shocked and seriously saddened by my score. I now either have to wait another year to apply to my desired evening program, or go to a school with a lower ranking, as I'm fairly certain a 570 will keep me from getting into my top choice.

The weird thing is that I felt great about the test before I saw my score. The Quant seemed easier than the MGMATs Quant, and the Verbal seemed harder, but manageable. Overall I felt like the real GMAT was easier than the MGMAT practice tests I had taken.

Has anyone else had a similar experience? Can anyone give me any advice? My plan is to take some GMATPrep and Kaplan tests before retaking the real thing, and to continue using MGMAT practice tests, as I like their explanations and software, but I'll ignore the overall scores.

I've seen some posts that state the standard deviation on MGMAT tests is close to that of the real GMAT, and that supposedly the scores should be a fairly accurate indication of what you will get on the real thing -- but what I'm really interested in is if anyone else has had an experience similar to mine, or if I'm just an outlier that completely choked on test day.

Yeah..even I experienced the same...
Last MGMAT I scored 720 and the avg around 670. In the actual GMAT I got only 560.
Planning for a retake.

Hey RHINO,

I'm curious to know if you tried an official GMAT Prep test in addition to the MGMAT tests. You said you were "mainly" using MGMAT, so maybe you tried a GMAT Prep somewhere during your studies?

I used some GMATPrep and Kaplan software for mini tests on specific subjects. The GMATPrep stuff seemed too easy, and the Kaplan questions didn't give me very much time per question -- so I wasn't thrilled about either. Plus the software is really cumbersome fpr both, and the explanations were't that great. Other than that, I surfed the web for tough problems and used the Beat the GMAT flashcards. I never took a full length practice test with anyone other than MGMAT.

Sizanka, what is your plan of attack?

Advice from anyone is appreciated.

No matter which practice tests you use for practice problems, the only test you should rely on to assess your scoring level is the GMATPrep official tests. I have taken more than 15 tests for my GMAT preparation and I had a very hard time analyzing my scores from different prep companies. They were markedly different in terms of question difficulties, scoring algorithm and of course answer explanations.

Please read my debrief at the following link, which contains a detailed explanation of my experience with all different kinds of practice tests.

https://www.beatthegmat.com/my-debrief-f ... 54581.html

What was your verbal score?

MGMAT CAT verbal questions are a bit different than actual GMAT questions. Here are a few differences:

1) Almost all the MGMAT CAT SC questions are setup to allow you to splice. There are certain questions on the GMAT where you cannot splice.

2) Some MGMAT CAT CR questions involve calculations. I have yet to see a CR question from GMAT, GMATPrep, or OG that involves calculations.

3) IMO, not all MGMCAT CAT CR answers are logically as sound as the GMATPrep/OG CR answers.

GMATPrep gives you the closest CAT preparation for the GMAT. Ensure you do the GMATPrep once or twice in the five days prior to writing the GMAT.

I do agree that GMAT prep gives you the "closest CAT preparation for" but the problem with gmatprep is that most of the questions are repeated from OG if you have throughly reviewed OG then I don't think your score is going to be the closest.

I read somewhere that Knewton CATs are closet to the actual gmat.

MGMAT tests are harder than GMAT Prep tests in my opinion. I believe scoring very high (760-800) on MGMAT is a lot harder than on GMAT Prep.

The quantitative part is filled with insanely hard questions, which are very hard to get right within two minutes. I took all the six MGMAT cat and I was never able to finish the quant section. The best I could do was to get to question #32 and guess the remaining questions.

In my opinion, the MGMAT verbal part has the same difficulty level as the GMAT Prep verbal part. Sentence Correction questions might be a bit easier if you have read the whole Sentence Correction book, because they test only the concepts explained in this book. But the Critical Reasoning questions are slightly harder simply because some of them make no sense.

The main difference between the MGMAT CATs and the GMAT prep CAT/Real GMAT CAT is that MGMAT CATs provide the option to pause the exam and do it untimed. Did you use this option? You should never pause your exam. You should take it with maximum pressure and try to mimic real conditions. (Do the AWA parts, use a laminated scratch paper booklet and a marker, use earplugs, and take only 8 minutes breaks between each section) The GMAT Prep CATs force you to finish each section within 75 minutes, even tough you can take breaks by ending the exam.

Except for the difficuly level of the quantitative section (the questions are too though but this is good training), I think MGMAT tests mimic the real GMAT pretty well. They even mimic the slightly easier questions at the end of the quantitative section, and the fact that the last questions of the verbal section are never Reading Comprehension ones.

Here are my scores:
MGMAT CAT 1: 700 Q47,V38 (I was not sharp and I had to pause to finish the maths section so this score is not accurate at all)
MGMAT CAT 2: 620 Q36,V38 (I did my best to mimic real conditions)
MGMAT CAT 3: 680 Q46,V36
MGMAT CAT 4: 710 Q46,V41
MGMAT CAT 5: 740 Q47,V45
MGMAT CAT 6: 750 Q48,V45
GMAT Prep CAT 1: 760 Q49,V44
GMAT Prep CAT 2: 760 Q49,V44
GMAT Prep CAT 1 (retake): 760 Q49,V44

So, my answer is no, MGMAT CATs do not inflate scores.

Very well said and it certainly boosted my confidence, in my past two tests and I cam consitently scoring to close 700 and i have my actual Gmat in less than 2 weeks. your posted has boosted my confidence that I am on the right track

Thanks all, for the great responses.

akahuja143, not to burst your bubble, but there are two people on this thread who were scoring above 700 on MGMAT tests and got under 600 on the real GMAT, and one peron who thinks that the real GMAT is similar to or easier than the real GMAT -- why would this thread boost you your confidence? not trying to bring you down, but it seems like you're being selective here -- i dont follow the logic.

That being said, Davy03, I've heard other people with opinions similar to yours, and I too felt like the MGMAT tests were harder than the real GMAT -- but for some reason I scored 710 on my last MGMAT and 570 on the real thing. I'm so perplexed. And to answer your question, I didn't use the pause button on any of my practice tests. I simulated the real test down the tee (always wrote the essays and took breaks after essays and quant that were no longer than 8 minutes).

gmattester123, I think my verbal score was something like 37. Lowest I've ever gotten. I felt like two of the reading comp passages were more verbose and technical than anything I've seen on a MGMAT practice test, and there were also questions in the verbal section that asked you to "finish the sentence", which I didn't see in any of my prep material. It's pretty straightforward and similar to CR, so I don't think it's an excuse, but I was surprised to see 3 or 4 of those questions.

Becnil, thanks so much for sharing your experience in such a thorough fashion. I'm not sure I can gear up for another 3 months of intense studying -- hopefully my first real GMAT experience was a fluke and with a little more prep I can score above a 650.

Let's keep the opinions/chatter flowing!

Rhino, I think your experience with MGMAT vs. the real test is a fairly common one. I've worked with dozens of students who took a Manhattan course or relied heavily on MGMAT books for self-study, and virtually all of them scored higher on MGMAT tests than on the real thing. The same people write the curriculum and practice tests for MGMAT, and it makes sense that their methods work wonders on their practice tests. On average, people in this situation seem to score about 40-60 points higher on MGMAT, but a few people have an even bigger gap... you're definitely not alone.

I completely agree that MGMAT's software is great, and their tests are as good as any out there besides GMATPrep. But there are plenty of differences, especially on the verbal. Gmattester123 is absolutely correct, in my opinion--the SC questions are very limited and overly formulaic, the CR are often nonsensical, and the RC doesn't really feel like the real thing, either. The math questions are, on average, too wordy and complicated, even though they're generally pretty good. So depending on your specific strengths and weaknesses, your results on MGMAT might be much more skewed than those of other students--you might have really gotten used to the MGMAT style in the worst possible way.

Your practice test scores suggest that you're completely capable of nailing the GMAT, though-if you can get into the 700s on MGMAT, I'll bet anything that you can eventually get there on the real thing. I strongly recommend sticking with official material (GMATPrep + OGs + verbal/quant review), especially on the verbal. If you need extra RC/CR practice, pick up some official LSAT books. The Official LSAT Superprep is my personal favorite because the explanations are so thorough, but any official LSAT book will do you some good.

(Incidentally, a tutor friend of mine used to work for Knewton, and he has mostly very bad things to say about their materials. Pure hearsay, but interesting.)

Hang in there, Rhino! I'll bet that bad luck also played a role in your score, and if you stay focused on the official stuff, you should be able to get up to 650 and hopefully beyond.

It's true that MGMAT CATs only test concepts explained in their books. So don't think you are ready to crush any real GMAT questions within two minutes because you finished all MGMAT books and CATs!

In my opinion you have to expect questions you have never seen before. You cannot be prepared for any type of questions. Don't freak out because a weird question appears on the screen. You have to remain calm and composed whatever the GMAT is throwing at you. Most of the maths content I learned with MGMAT was almost useless when I took my last GMAT Prep CAT. But this is good training to become or to remain sharp. In my opinion, when a question appears, the best thing to do is just to remain "in the zone" and do it. Just think of solving it, do not try to assess its difficulty and do not think that maybe you are not enough prepared because you have never seen anything like it before.

Pressure of the real test could also be part of your problem. When you will retake the real GMAT, before getting "in the zone", I believe thinking that you can always retake it can help alleviate pressure. I heard stories of people crying because they got a 500 or 600. Come on, this is just a test! (Besides 600 is not a bad score) Even if you got a 300, it will not affect your life, there are a lot of more important things.

Hi Davy03,

I guess your exam was today .. how did it go?

Hi!

It did not go so well. I only got 710. I know 710 is not so bad, but I was truly disappointed. I am already planning to retake next month, because I feel my level is really above 710. Even without training, I know I can score higher.

The verbal section was ok (42) but I did a lot of mistakes during the quantitative part (only 44!). I knew I was doing bad because the hard questions arrived way later than usual.

I think I screwed up the maths because the other students made me crazy, they were not simply typing over the keyboard, they were hammering it! Damn I hate them! And they were 400-500 scorers! I mean if you are going to score low, at least you should not bother 700 scorers! At the end of the exam, I was neither happy nor depressed, I was just mad. Next time, I will try to get the last GMAT session of the day, that way I will be sure nobody will be typing while I do the maths section. There was no noise during the verbal part, so I quickly got in the zone.

Here are my scores:

MGMAT CAT 1: 700 Q47,V38
MGMAT CAT 2: 620 Q36,V38
MGMAT CAT 3: 680 Q46,V36
MGMAT CAT 4: 710 Q46,V41
MGMAT CAT 5: 740 Q47,V45
MGMAT CAT 6: 750 Q48,V45
GMAT Prep CAT 1: 760 Q49,V44
GMAT Prep CAT 2: 760 Q49,V44
GMAT Prep CAT 1 (retake): 760 Q49,V44

GMAT Prep CAT 2 (retake): 710 Q50,V36: I really felt good during the maths section. I got only 36 in the verbal part, but when I reviewed my incorrect answers, I felt that there was nothing I could have done, because most of my mistakes were sentence corrections questions that are hard for non native speakers. (Idioms I did not know) I also got only 3 reading comprehension passages. I always got 4 before. Reading comprehension questions have become my favorite type of question. I did not miss a single RC question during my 4 GMAT Prep CATs.

Actual GMAT : 710 Q44,V42: I got 50 in maths two days before the exam, so getting 44 was obviously disappointing. If you hate noise as I do, you should really make sure to be the last student to take the exam.

RHINO wrote:I used some GMATPrep and Kaplan software for mini tests on specific subjects. The GMATPrep stuff seemed too easy, and the Kaplan questions didn't give me very much time per question -- so I wasn't thrilled about either. Plus the software is really cumbersome fpr both, and the explanations were't that great. Other than that, I surfed the web for tough problems and used the Beat the GMAT flashcards. I never took a full length practice test with anyone other than MGMAT.

Sizanka, what is your plan of attack?

Advice from anyone is appreciated.

GMATPrep seemed too easy? I do fairly well on the GMAT, and I don't find GMATPrep too easy.