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Any thoughts? Dropped a lot in my GMAT prep score

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Any thoughts? Dropped a lot in my GMAT prep score

by ssp » Fri Aug 20, 2010 8:48 pm
Hi Friends --

I could use your opinion.

I took two Manhattan GMAT tests the first week in August and the second week in August and received a 700 on both. This last Sunday, I took my first GMAT prep exam and scored a 740 (Q48-V44) although I did see some verbal repeats. I took my second GMAT prep test yesterday night and scored a 650! I just tanked in Math (Q39-V40). The only difference between the two tests was that I practiced the writing section last night. Do you think that could really contribute to such a significant decrease in my score? Any thoughts? I am really nervous about this score decrease because my test is scheduled for this coming Thursday.

Please let me know what you think. Do you think I should take additional tests every day from now until the test to increase my test taking stamina? Do you think I should postpone my test? Thanks in advance for you insight!
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by adi_800 » Sat Aug 21, 2010 1:19 am
Giving awa might take d score down..
you should consider when you gave all d exams..
morn/night/mid day..
btw...it is nt advisable to give exam in d nite..wen u might not be at your 100%..
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by Victory_GMAT » Sun Aug 22, 2010 1:34 pm
ssp wrote:Hi Friends --

I could use your opinion.

I took two Manhattan GMAT tests the first week in August and the second week in August and received a 700 on both. This last Sunday, I took my first GMAT prep exam and scored a 740 (Q48-V44) although I did see some verbal repeats. I took my second GMAT prep test yesterday night and scored a 650! I just tanked in Math (Q39-V40). The only difference between the two tests was that I practiced the writing section last night. Do you think that could really contribute to such a significant decrease in my score? Any thoughts? I am really nervous about this score decrease because my test is scheduled for this coming Thursday.

Please let me know what you think. Do you think I should take additional tests every day from now until the test to increase my test taking stamina? Do you think I should postpone my test? Thanks in advance for you insight!
Something is definitely unusual with GMATPrep because if one is scoring 800 with other companies such as MGMAT or Veristas then GMATPrep will give you 650 or 670. Also the scoring algorthim of Quant part and Verbal part is LINKED. Means last questions of Quant such as question number 35, 36 and 37 will affect the difficulty level of question number 1 in Verbal part. I wish if someone who constantly scored 700+ in GMATPrep can post some useful things which we may be missing.
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by technologista » Sun Aug 22, 2010 2:00 pm
I suspect you'll do fine, as long as your verbal remains fairly high. It sounds like you're in a far better position than I was a week before the test.

Practice only the toughest math problems. Fix any weak areas you might have on verbal.

Take a couple more MGMATs for practice. Skip the MGMAT verbal if you're short on time, it's easier than the actual GMAT, and the score you get on it isn't indicative of how you'll really do.

And most importantly, relax. Looks like you're on your way to a great score. Stay positive.
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by hardik.jadeja » Mon Aug 23, 2010 3:01 am
Victory_GMAT wrote: Something is definitely unusual with GMATPrep because if one is scoring 800 with other companies such as MGMAT or Veristas then GMATPrep will give you 650 or 670. Also the scoring algorthim of Quant part and Verbal part is LINKED. Means last questions of Quant such as question number 35, 36 and 37 will affect the difficulty level of question number 1 in Verbal part. I wish if someone who constantly scored 700+ in GMATPrep can post some useful things which we may be missing.
I do not think there is anything unusual with GMATPrep.. First thing you need to understand is that whatever scoring algorithm is followed by the GMATPrep is the same one followed by GMAT.. If you are scoring 800 in MGMAT and Veritas but only 650 in GMATPrep, then shouldnt suspect GMATPrep scoring algorithm, you should suspect MGMAT and Veritas scoring algorithms.

This is my personal opinion.. I have given most of the free Prep CATs available in the market.. I felt that Quant section in Veritas, Kaplan, The Princeton Review, PowerPrep and Knewton is not at all upto GMAT standards.. Platinum GMAT and MGMAT qunat is difficult than GMAT. Many of the 3rd party CATs are not adaptive in nature.. In MGMAT CATs, you can see how the scoring algorithm works.. MGMAT scoring algorithm may not same as GMATPrep, but I feel other than GMATPrep, MGMAT is the best third party GMAT CAT available in the market.. But this does not mean that if you are scoring 700 in MGMAT consistently, then it will guarantee you 700 in GMAT.

Coming back to GMATPrep.. I felt that difficulty levels of GMATPrep and GMAT were similar. Among all the available GMAT CATs in market, GMATPrep resembled the actual GMAT the most. I gave 18 Prep CATs in total. (Veritas, Knewton, The Princeton Review, Platinum GMAT, MGMAT, GMATPrep, 800Score, PowerPrep, Kaplan) I was scoring in the range of 750-770 in GMATPrep. But since I knew answers to 3-4 questions in each GMATPrep CATs, I knew my score range is 730-760. I got 730 in actual GMAT.

Remember no CAT can forecast your exact GMAT score, not even GMATPrep.. If your average score is 720 in GMATPrep, then you can expect any score between 690-750 in GMAT. Always consider a difference of +/- 30 points, no matter which CAT you are using. One more thing you must consider when you are trying to gauge your score - those of you who are regular users of online GMAT forums such as this one may know answers to lot of questions from different Prep CATs as many of prep CAT questions are already discussed here. In such a scenario, you can expect to get inflated score in your prep CATs. Be sure that you don't overestimate your scoring ability based on these inflated scores. One more thing, if you see a big fluctuation in you scores, for example 650 in GMATPrep 1 and 750 in GMATPrep 2, then it is really hard to gauge your correct score as you could get any score between 630 and 780. As you can see there is huge gap between the upper and the lower limit.. but if standard deviation of your prep CAT scores is less, then it is much more safe to gauge your true score.

Here is my debrief: https://www.beatthegmat.com/730-q50-v40- ... 64440.html
You can download my PrepCAT analysis and know how I felt about different Prep CATs.

Hope that helps..
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by kal750gmat » Tue Aug 24, 2010 11:13 pm
GMATPrep was incredibly accurate with predicting my score. I scored a 730 on my first CAT and 770 on my second. My final score was right in the middle.

On the other hand, the CATs from the prep courses I took consistently ended up giving me lower scores (600 range). I definitely think something is off with the algorithm, but I think it has more to do with the Quant than the Verbal. I've scored in the 99th percentile in Verbal consistently. But the Quant fluctuates a lot between the different companies' exams.

If you noticed a drop in your quant score on GMATPrep, it's very possible that the AWA tired you out. However, the questions in GMATPrep are written very different than what you'll find on MGMAT CATs. For starters, the questions on GMATPrep tend to be shorter and more succinct. I also noticed GMATPrep focuses more on simple number properties questions while MGMAT questions are multi-step. Make sure you bone up on the basics. The actual test questions on the real GMAT are closer in style to the questions on the GMATPrep than on the MGMAT.
Check out my GMAT videos at www.youtube.com/gmatwalkthrough!
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