GMAT Strategy

BTG Community,

It seems like this community is nearly unanimous when it comes to Kaplan CATs providing low-balls of a test takers real GMAT score. Here are my Kaplan results thus far:

CAT 1: 680 (50Q, 34V)
CAT 2: 690 (49Q, 34V)
CAT 3: 660 (44Q, 38V)
CAT 4: 670 (43Q, 40V)

Needless to say, based on the almost complete agreement of this forum, I am feeling good about my test day prospects since I have over a month left to study (and trust me, I study); however, my Kaplan scores and the Kaplan scores of others posted on this board got me thinking- has anyone ever scored 700+ on a Kaplan practice CAT? I've read my share of posts and I don't believe I've ever come across it. I've seen countless 630 - 680 Kaplan CATs and then a 700+ real thing, but I'm pretty sure I haven't seen any Kaplan CATs above a 700.

If you've done it, please post and let me know. I'm curious about it.

On a related note: I think it's appropriate for Kaplan to low-ball your score (if it is in fact true). It causes your to prep much harder than if you would if you thought you were a stud from day one. I read the study materials of a company called STC when I studied for the series 7 and series 66 exams, and they did the same thing. The practice tests were brutal and I thought I was a loser, but when I took the exam I knocked it out of the park! Personally, I think it's appropriate for test prep companies to do just that. My two cents

Yes, 700+ is possible on Kaplan exams... I remember seeing one guy's practice exam results and he had recorded multiple 700+ scores, I believe as high at 770...

Hey,

I've got a 730 on Kaplan Cat (48Q 48 V) so it is definitely possible. I have also heard from several sources that Kaplan CATs low ball your score. I don't know whether this is true or not but this definitely nothing to put your faith in. Don't assume that you'll magically get X amount of points higher. Stick your guns and keep pushing yourself as much as possible. I made the mistake of relying on this and ended up with a 680 on the real thing. I'm going to take it again soon after a break and we'll see how it goes.

-PP

I got a 700 on my Kaplan Online CAT 2 with Q:54, V:30 recently (about 2 weeks ago).

It's a psychological thing. Some ppl thinks it helps to not be overconfident.

Does anyone know if the 'Kaplan Tests' 1-4 that everyone is talking about (with the tougher scoring) is the same as the Kaplan CAT's offered as part of the Kaplan GMAT course? Or how they otherwise compare?

Having scored high 700+ Kaplan scores I was confident going into the actual GMAT test given the sheer quantity of comments about Kaplan being "harder" than the real thing. Unfortunately, I came out significantly lower in the actual test.

Kaplan questions are quite represntative of the real test but the scoring doesn't feel as representative.

MGMAT verbal questions are easier to eliminate than the actual test and the MGMAT quant questions are significantly wordier. Nevertheless, MGMAT seems to (weirdly) be a more accurate indicator of your projected GMAT score.

Well I sure hope Kaplan's CATs *are* a good predictor. My scores have been as follows: 690 on the intitial diagnostic, 750 on the first CAT with a big verbal scew (54 verbal 46 quant), and then a more balanced 790 (55 verbal, 52 quant). Are these scores accurate? What's the highest score on a subsection, 60?

Hi there,

Hopefully I can help with your concerns on the Kaplan CATs.

Our GMAT classroom courses and any comprehensive online courses offered by Kaplan that include online CATs have the most accurate and up to date scoring and CAT questions available, and we continually test and assess our scoring to ensure its validity. Based upon our validity studies, and the tens of thousands of students we have prepared for the GMAT, we are confident in the predictive nature of our CATs.

If you are unable to take a prep course of some type, and you just purchase a book, you have been, until this year, more limited in your access to our most up-to-date CATs. If you are taking CATs on a CDROM, keep in mind that a CD is more static and less able to be updated frequently. The CDROM version of our CATs does include a more dated, less accurate scoring algorithm, which tends to under-estimate your score.

Our publishing division which distributes our retail books is working to correct that. The newest GMAT retail book, 2009 Premier, DOES include an option to do your CATs online, which WILL have the up-to-date, most accurate scoring, which I highly recommend if you are NOT taking a course with us.

Any of our CATs will provide you with a good feel of your strengths and weaknesses and what you need to work on, as well as provide you with practice in test-like conditions.

Finally, it’s also important to keep in mind that no one practice test score should be considered strictly indicative of how you will do on test day. If you are still studying and prepping, your ability level and score will likely continue to improve between any one practice test and test day. Plus many students find that on test day, when they know it is a real, official test, they may be in a different mindset, and may find that they are more focused and outperform even their best practice test scores. Practice tests should be taken as a study tool to learn from and develop your skills, rather than solely for the score.

Congrats on your scores so far, it definitely sounds like you should do well on test day!

Cat 1: 600
Cat 2: 660
Cat 3: 620
Cat 4: 770

Im still studying. Will report back with the official GMAT results in a month or so.