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Most of you know by now that GMAC has released the latest version of GMATPrep Software 2.0 along with an additional set of 404 questions called GMATPrep Question Pack 1.

GMATPrep Software 2.0:

1. The tests and the database of questions in GMATPrep 2.0 are identical to the old GMATPrep software. I took each of the tests once and I have seen all of those questions as part of the old GMATPrep software.

2. The Integrated Reasoning section has been added on as part of the test change beginning June 2012.

3. When you take the new GMATPrep tests, please review the questions right after finishing the exam. The new software provides a review screen just like the old software. However, it only allows you to review them once, meaning if you exit the exam screen, you no longer have the ability to review the questions you were administered during the exam. This is unlike the old software, which allowed you to resume the review process if you were to launch the test at a later time. This is a backward step in my opinion.

4. The software allows you to save your score(scaled score, percentiles, etc.) from your earlier attempts on GMATPrep tests. This is a useful tool for keeping track of your progress on subsequent attempts. Of course, your score would be somewhat biased by the fact that there may be some repetition of questions.

5. I noticed that the order of questions administered in GMATPrep 2.0 is different, by that I mean that the same question that appeared at Question#24 in say Test 1 of the old software, now appears at say Question#3 of Test 1. At the moment I am not sure what to make of it.

6. Based on the first two attempts, I did notice that the number of difficult questions that I received was higher than in the old software. I don't know what to make of this either. In any case, it doesn't really impact how one should go about preparing for the test.


GMATPrep Question Pack 1:

1. The GMATPrep 2.0 software allows you to buy an additional set of 404 questions(200 Quant, 180 Verbal, 24 Integrated Reasoning) for $24.99. In my opinion, this is the most valuable part of the software. I would recommend all students to buy this set of questions irrespective of whether they are taking the test now or after the changes in June 2012.

2. I scanned the entire set of 200 Quantitative questions(100 Problem Solving and 100 Data Sufficiency) and every single one of them is a new question and does not exist in any of the Official GMAT publications. The test writers say this on the website as well. However, many of these questions have been floating around the internet for a long time and many can be found on this forum as well.

3. The questions are divided equally in to three difficulty levels: Easy, Medium, and Hard. Students can choose to practice with any number of questions from any category, and any difficulty. You can also use the Study mode(gives you explanation right after you submit the answer) or Exam mode(you answer one question after another).

4. The question pool in GMATPrep Question Pack 1 is entirely for practice and does not provide any kind of score or equivalent percentile. It only gives you the number of questions incorrect, time spent, and difficulty level of the question.

5. The test writers provide explanations to all of questions in the GMATPrep Question Pack 1.

Note: All observations based on the Quantitative section of the software.

I will be creating video explanations for the GMATPrep Question Pack 1 shortly.

Original blog post: Review: GMATPrep 2.0 and GMATPrep Question Pack 1

Cheers,
Dabral

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Free Video Explanations: OFFICIAL GUIDE GMAT 13, 12, 11, 10; QUANT REVIEW 2nd, 1st.