Best Practice Tests?

II · Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2007 4:37 pm Post subject: GMAT Practice Tests

Hi All,
I have just started my preparation for the GMAT which I plan to take in Feb 08.
Firstly I am focussing on brushing up my knowledge on all the basics ... currently going through the "Cracking the GMAT" book by Kaplan.
My plan is to take a practice test to get an indication on the score I am likely to achieve as well as an idea of where my weakest points are, so that I can structure and plan my studies going forward.
My concern is around the various numbers of practice tests out there (Princeton, Kaplan, Manhattan, etc), and the same people taking tests from different providers, but getting very different scores.
It appears that the best indication is obtained from taking the GMATPrep test which has been created by GMAC using real questions from previous tests.
Is this correct ? Any thoughts on this.

I just want to avoid taking tests where the scores dont give an accurate indication of my scoring potential on the real GMAT.

Thanks in advance.
Best.
II

Stacey Koprince · Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2007 4:56 pm Post subject:

It is absolutely the case that GMATPrep is the most like the actual test. Unfortunately, you only get two "clean" tests; after that, you can see questions you've already seen before. Overall, it's a good idea to take about 4-5 tests throughout your study period.

The official GMAT has a standard deviation of about 30 points. GMATPrep's standard deviation hasn't been published, but it is probably close to but not quite as good (the algorithm is the same, but the question pool is substantially smaller), so let's call that 40 points.

Our (ManhattanGMAT's) practice tests have a standard deviation of about 50 points - not as good as the real thing, obviously, but close. (This is calculated by gathering our students' results on the official test and matching those results to the students' results on their individual practice tests.) I'm not aware of any other companies that have posted standard deviations for their tests - you could check their web sites or call to see.

heudorferk · Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2008 3:09 pm Post subject:

II--
I think you raise an interesting point though: should GMAT test takers use a practice test as a diagnosis or a prognosis?

I posit that there's little value in trying to it as a prognosis (a forecast of your eventual outcome on the real GMAT). No forecast is going to be entirely accurate; even if it were, what good does that do you? If anything, it might tempt you to rest on your laurels or stress out unnecessarily. Presumably, if you're serious about the GMAT, you're going to spend as much time as possible preparin.

Instead, you should use your practice tests to diagnose the areas in which you need the most review. Use them to identify your strengths and weaknesses and plan your studying accordingly.

Good luck on the GMAT!

mukul · Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2008 1:24 pm Post subject:

kaplan is best!! scores are lower...but who cares...the test is gud...i wud simply aim for an avg score of 650 on the tests!!

To see my score on kaplan follow my blog link!

aim-wsc · Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2008 12:16 am Post subject:

nadontheway · Posted: Sat Feb 23, 2008 6:44 am Post subject:

Hey Guys,

where can i get the free full practice test for Princeton and Power Prep? Can't find them.... Confused

jimmy23 · Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2008 11:53 pm Post subject:

I am new and having much information please reply me which one is best.

luckybrandy

I have two quick questions:

First, I was wondering if the Manhattan Computer Adaptive Practice Exams http://www.manhattangmat.com/storeitemshow.cfm?ItemID=81&catid=4, was the practice test be referred to in this poll???

Second, I noticed that the site states that you get the same 6 exams for free if you purchase any one of the Manhattan study guides. Does anyone know if you still get one year unlimited access to these exams if you get them with the purchase of a guide, as opposed to purchased separately?

Thank you in advance Very Happy

Leonard C · Posted: Wed Apr 09, 2008 5:31 am Post subject:

I think we should define what we mean by "best". I think if you mean which test will give you a good idea of what score you will get, then in my view it is MGMAT.

However, if by "best" you mean which test has questions which are comparable to the actual GMAT, then I would say Kaplan. I love the MGMAT Sentence Correction book but I did not think much of their test. Their verbal test is good, but their quant test is not very good in my opinion. Questions were too verbose, big focus on combinatorics (which the actual GMAT doesn't focus on), and computationally longer.

robk100 · Posted: Wed Apr 09, 2008 7:29 am Post subject: Kaplan practice tests

I've been scoring very consistently on the Kaplan practice tests so it's scary because I'm not seeing improvement. Always a high score in math and a relatively low score in verbal. Do you guys think Kaplan underestimates the verbal score, math score, or both? Is the verbal a lot harder on Kaplan than on the real GMAT? I hope so..... let me know what you guys think.

dubc1982 · Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2008 2:01 pm Post subject:

When you say Manhattan GMAT, which company is it because I've seen two? There's one with blue covered books and one with red covered books.

mansihp · Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 7:16 am Post subject:

hey,
i've tried Kaplan n Princeton and i found Kaplan q's were slightly tougher...can someone provide me with Manhattan tests please...i tried searching it online but in vain...i m planning to write my test in July 1st week..probably 1st July

mim3 · Posted: Sun May 11, 2008 1:24 pm Post subject: Re: Best Practice Tests?

jmaynardj · Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 7:39 am Post subject:

I voted other. I have only experienced the Kaplan and the MBA.com tests and taking the MBA.com test felt like more what an adaptive test would feel like. Does anybody know if the online test that Kaplan gives free with the book is adaptive. It certainly did not feel that way as the questions did not get harder, but varied from hard to easy with each question.

Taking the mba.com test last night I thought I was doing terribly. In fact I ended up getting 25 wrong on the test, which is 15 more than I had gotten wrong on the Kaplan written or online test. But I scored a 700 which was higher than I scored on the Kaplan tests.

Does anybody know if the Princeton or the Manhattan tests are adaptive and good reflections of the actual test? I am at the point where just doing problems is important, but I want to get the real feel of the test and feel that stress that I will feel on test day.

Thanks.

chet steadman · Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 9:25 am Post subject: