I've taken the first two Manhattan GMAT tests, and I'm starting to become extremely stressed about quantitative. I'm good with Verbal. Looking at the review of my answers, I'm getting tons of 700-800 level questions. Frankly, I cannot do these questions. I can barely even understand the explanations, much less do them on my own. Why is it that I can miss a 600-700 level question, then MGMAT gives me two 700-800 level ones. Is this how the real GMAT works? Obviously if I couldn't do the 600-700 one I certainly can't do the 700-800 level one. Would you all say that MGMAT quantitative is harder than the actual GMAT?
BREAKING: Target Test Prep releases Brand New 2026 On Demand GMAT prep course
Redeem
Featured Course
Target Test Prep GMAT OnDemand
Scott Woodbury-Stewart’s private virtual classroom — 400 hours of master-class video lessons for the GMAT Focus Edition.
- 715+ score guarantee — highest in the industry (99th percentile)
- 52 chapters · 1,500+ lessons · 4,000+ practice questions
- 400 hours of video · 1,500+ instructor-led HD smartboard lessons
- 300,000+ students accepted to Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Booth & Sloan & more
- 24/7 live support + weekly Zoom office hours with GMAT instructors
- TTP AI Assist — 24/7 AI-powered virtual tutor for instant help
- 1,200+ flashcards + AI-powered study assistant & daily calendar
- OnDemand, LiveTeach & GMAT Bootcamp formats available
- Also: GRE, SAT Math & Executive Assessment courses
- MBA Admissions Consulting now available
- 🏆 2025 EdTech Breakthrough Award: Test Prep Solution Provider of the Year
- 200,000+ students served
- 5-day free trial — $0 to start, no auto-billing, cancel anytime
★★★★★
5.0
(559 reviews)
130-pt guarantee
$0 to start
then $127/mo
Manhattan GMAT Practice Tests
Source: Beat The GMAT — GMAT Strategy |
Based on my experience, I would say, Certainly YES
MGMAT is designed to be harder than the real GMAT and they claim to be so.
But it is better to solve them so that the real test is just a breeze
MGMAT is designed to be harder than the real GMAT and they claim to be so.
But it is better to solve them so that the real test is just a breeze
I worked with a PR tutor, but once I finished the PR CATs, I bought the 6 MGMAT CATs. He mentioned to me a few times while we were going over our practice tests that something seemed off about the scoring on MGMAT tests. Often, I would get a 500-600 question right and jump up to a 700-800 question. Or, I'd get a 700-800 question wrong and jump down to a 300-500. He said it seemed strange and drastic jumps like that wouldn't happen on the real exam -- it's more incremental.
ETA: I seem to remember some MGMAT experts around this forum indicating that the questions are often broken down much more specifically, in increments of 10 points (ie, a 730-740 level question) but all you the user sees is 700-800. So it's possible to get a string of 700-800 level questions wrong in a row because you're moving from 780-790 to 770-780 to 760-770... etc.
ETA: I seem to remember some MGMAT experts around this forum indicating that the questions are often broken down much more specifically, in increments of 10 points (ie, a 730-740 level question) but all you the user sees is 700-800. So it's possible to get a string of 700-800 level questions wrong in a row because you're moving from 780-790 to 770-780 to 760-770... etc.
Last edited by myohmy on Wed Aug 05, 2009 2:12 pm, edited 2 times in total.
I find nearly all the MGMAT Quant stuff hard and really can't distinguish between a 600 question and a 750 question the way I can on GMATPrep, so I don't even try. The point for me is to learn sth from it not to focus too closely on the scores.
MGMAT, i find, really gets you to know the fundamentals thoroughly. You will also learn a ton of strange but really cool rules about numbers e.g. why an expression like x^3 - x is divisible by 6 (it is a product of three consecutive numbers...) I wish I had used theor stuff before I took the test... But I'm sure my retake will be a different experience after MGMAT...
But I will say this much: If you are doing MGMAT tests w/o going thru MGMAT materials it is probably like torture... So I'd suggest buying one of their quant books (number properties) and then retaking one of their tests and see how you feel...
Good Luck!
MGMAT, i find, really gets you to know the fundamentals thoroughly. You will also learn a ton of strange but really cool rules about numbers e.g. why an expression like x^3 - x is divisible by 6 (it is a product of three consecutive numbers...) I wish I had used theor stuff before I took the test... But I'm sure my retake will be a different experience after MGMAT...
But I will say this much: If you are doing MGMAT tests w/o going thru MGMAT materials it is probably like torture... So I'd suggest buying one of their quant books (number properties) and then retaking one of their tests and see how you feel...
Good Luck!
myohmy- That's interesting that you say MGMAT may be moving up incrementally. That would make more sense.
zuleron - I am doing the MGMAT tests without using their materials. I just can't bring myself to buy any more books and have yet another book that I'm sifting through. I've already gone through the entire OG, plus the OG Quantitative Review, the Princeton Review book, and some others. Not another book to read through!! lol. I actually feel like after doing MGMAT quantitative sections, I'm getting better because the problems are so hard. At this point I don't even care how accurate my overall MGMAT score is compared to the real GMAT, I just need to know how accurate their quantitative is to the GMAT quantitative.
zuleron - I am doing the MGMAT tests without using their materials. I just can't bring myself to buy any more books and have yet another book that I'm sifting through. I've already gone through the entire OG, plus the OG Quantitative Review, the Princeton Review book, and some others. Not another book to read through!! lol. I actually feel like after doing MGMAT quantitative sections, I'm getting better because the problems are so hard. At this point I don't even care how accurate my overall MGMAT score is compared to the real GMAT, I just need to know how accurate their quantitative is to the GMAT quantitative.
Well from my experiences with the MGMAT exams, I can definitely tell the difference between their 600-700 questions and their 700-800.
I think their 600-700 questions are more like 650-750 on GMATPrep. Their 700+ questions are usually extremely difficult, I would guess 750-850(if you could get an 850).
As a couple previous posters have said, their tests definitely prepare you well for the real thing.
Good luck with your real exam!
I think their 600-700 questions are more like 650-750 on GMATPrep. Their 700+ questions are usually extremely difficult, I would guess 750-850(if you could get an 850).
As a couple previous posters have said, their tests definitely prepare you well for the real thing.
Good luck with your real exam!
The first MGMAT test I did was w/o seeing any of their materials and I nearly lost my mind!... actually I DID lose my mind coz I didn't finish the test coz I thought it was INSANE.
I got MGMAT's quant stuff and you're right it's a bitch to go thru it all but I am almost done and I have done 2 more MGMAT CATs and it is a different experience... It's not easy by any stretch but it is not so foreign... The first MGMAT was like taking a hard test in Greek... now it feels like I'm taking a hard test in English...
As far as the scores go, don't rely on anything except GMATPrep. Use MGMAT to teach you stuff coz the stuff on MGMAT is waaaaaay harder than OG stuff. So don't lose heart if you are getting crushed by MGMAT Quant... The real thing WON'T be nearly as hard... unless you're scoring 780 or sth....
I got MGMAT's quant stuff and you're right it's a bitch to go thru it all but I am almost done and I have done 2 more MGMAT CATs and it is a different experience... It's not easy by any stretch but it is not so foreign... The first MGMAT was like taking a hard test in Greek... now it feels like I'm taking a hard test in English...
As far as the scores go, don't rely on anything except GMATPrep. Use MGMAT to teach you stuff coz the stuff on MGMAT is waaaaaay harder than OG stuff. So don't lose heart if you are getting crushed by MGMAT Quant... The real thing WON'T be nearly as hard... unless you're scoring 780 or sth....
kate2093 wrote:myohmy- That's interesting that you say MGMAT may be moving up incrementally. That would make more sense.
zuleron - I am doing the MGMAT tests without using their materials. I just can't bring myself to buy any more books and have yet another book that I'm sifting through. I've already gone through the entire OG, plus the OG Quantitative Review, the Princeton Review book, and some others. Not another book to read through!! lol. I actually feel like after doing MGMAT quantitative sections, I'm getting better because the problems are so hard. At this point I don't even care how accurate my overall MGMAT score is compared to the real GMAT, I just need to know how accurate their quantitative is to the GMAT quantitative.
Thanks you guys! I agree the 600-700 aren't that bad on MGMAT. I'm getting most of them correct (to my amazement) but I've yet to get one 700-800 one right. I hate data sufficiency! But I shall persevere.... 
So I just finished taking Manhattan GMAT free practice exam - I got a 210 - wtf?
Just yesterday I finshed working through all of the OG 11th edition and I'm using the flash cards from this site. I'm very discouraged about this score. I know I'm very weak in quant, but I feel confident in verbal.
Opinions, suggestions, complaints?
Just yesterday I finshed working through all of the OG 11th edition and I'm using the flash cards from this site. I'm very discouraged about this score. I know I'm very weak in quant, but I feel confident in verbal.
Opinions, suggestions, complaints?
Are you asking if I intended on getting a 210? No, I intended on getting a minimum of 500. I'm wondering if MGMAT's free practice test are structured to be that difficult so students sign up for their classes? I did not find MGMAT's questions to anything like the OG questions.
If anything this has turned me away from using MGMAT's test books.
If anything this has turned me away from using MGMAT's test books.
Kate,
I signed up for the Manhattan Gmat course and found the materials GREAT. Quite honestly, I think the info is definitely a lot, but once you start to remember all of the rules and ways of solving the problem, it makes a world of a difference.
However, my MGMAT CAT scores are a different story:
600, 640, 620, 640 were my MGMAT CAT score. Then, 2 days ago I took my first GMAT PREP CAT and got a 690! I thought the math was SIGNIFICANTLY easier- so much so that I was afraid I must have done terribly to be getting the easier questions. My quant score went from a 43 to a 47. There's really no way that i jumped from a 640 to 690 within a week, so Im guessing the MGMAT questions are much harder or I just got extremely lucky while guessing..
I signed up for the Manhattan Gmat course and found the materials GREAT. Quite honestly, I think the info is definitely a lot, but once you start to remember all of the rules and ways of solving the problem, it makes a world of a difference.
However, my MGMAT CAT scores are a different story:
600, 640, 620, 640 were my MGMAT CAT score. Then, 2 days ago I took my first GMAT PREP CAT and got a 690! I thought the math was SIGNIFICANTLY easier- so much so that I was afraid I must have done terribly to be getting the easier questions. My quant score went from a 43 to a 47. There's really no way that i jumped from a 640 to 690 within a week, so Im guessing the MGMAT questions are much harder or I just got extremely lucky while guessing..
Yeah, that's what I'm saying!
I got a 450 on Kaplan before I even prepared.
Yes, I did get many wrong as I had to guess due to time.
I'm discouraged by this, yet it has given me more fuel to perform well.
I got a 450 on Kaplan before I even prepared.
Yes, I did get many wrong as I had to guess due to time.
I'm discouraged by this, yet it has given me more fuel to perform well.
