720 - 94th %, Q 47, V 42 (KAPLAN IS B.S.)

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720 - 94th %, Q 47, V 42 (KAPLAN IS B.S.)

by owenparker » Thu Sep 17, 2009 5:23 pm
Well, folks,

I was hoping to replicate my highest GMAT Prep score of 760, but it didn't work out that way. I worked through all of the Manhattan GMAT math books + Sentence Correction, 100% of OG Verbal and OG Quantitative, and 75% or so of OG 11.

PRACTICE TESTS:
700 - GMAT Prep 1a: (June 25th, 2009) (forgot to write down the Q & V scores)
580 - Kaplan CD Test 1: (July 17th, 2009) Q-35 / V-36 <---(BULLSH**)
640 - MGMAT 1: (July 18th, 2009) Q-42 / V-35
560 - Kaplan CD Test 2: (August 27th, 2009) Q-32 / V-35 <-(BULLSH**)
680 - MGMAT 2: (August 28th, 2009) Q-45 / V-37
730 - 800Score.com Test 1: (August 30th, 2009) Q-44 / V-45
710 - GMAT Prep 1b: (September 1st, 2009) Q-48 / V-40 (reinstalled GPrep)
670 - MGMAT 3: (September 9th, 2009) Q-45 / V-36
700 - MGMAT 4: (September 11th, 2009) Q-44 / V-40
700 - MGMAT 5: (September 13th, 2009) Q-47 / V-38
720 - MGMAT 6: (September 14th, 2009) Q-47 / V-41
760 - GMAT Prep 2: (September 15th, 2009) Q-49 / V-44

GMAT TEST***
720 - Q-47 / V-42 (September 17th, 2009)
My wife drove us two hours to the nearest testing facility. It's much different having to travel before taking your exam. I think it's crap that some people who live in big cities just get to waltz into their test room while others have to travel a long way to take the exam. This is one of the reasons why a lot of the top tier schools are beginning to accept the GRE.

MGMAT Rules, Kaplan SUCKS!
In any case, I think the MGMAT tests were extremely helpful in targeting my weak areas - I'd definitely use them if I was taking the test again.

Kaplan really blows.
I can't say this enough - it's like they want to make the questions so hard that you feel obliged to enroll in one of their crappy courses to improve your artificially deflated score. And the "Premier Program 2009" book I bought has a lot of "premier" quality errors. When I came across one and called customer service, they referred me to an online "errata" website correcting all the errors in the book. What a load of *#$&!!!

Sure, these ridiculously hard (and sometimes WRONG!) questions might be good for practicing, but why not just buy access to the 700-level questions that MGMAT offers? These guys know what they're doing.

ON TEST DAY
I drank half of a 5-hour energy shot before the exam, a protein shake, and some water. After the Math section, I did the same thing to keep me going through the verbal. That's the part the really boosted my score into the 700 range, I think - my Q47 was apparently a 78th percentile only! V42 is 95%, on the other hand.

Any thoughts?
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by gkumar » Thu Sep 17, 2009 7:35 pm
I agree. MGMAT is a lifesaver for Verbal! I will take the exam soon and I feel much more confident in that section than I did in the past.