GMAT Strategy

I have been using Kaplan so far but I am not too happy. I found some of the question a bit misleading and not too logical.
I was thinking to try Manhattan GMAT but I heard that Manhattan GMAT CAT tends to score a bit higher than the real test. Has anyone experienced so?
Also, can anyone suggest me free prep tests/questions or very cheap ones?

Thanks a lot!

Hi All ,


Where do i get the practice tests of Kaplan and Manhattan ? Do they come along with their respective books ? Please advice .
and Can there be a real interpretation of the scoring in GMAT ? How is it calculated ?
Thanks in advance

I guess I'm a little biased, since I've only tried Kaplan of the named tests, but I've found the tests at Winning Prep to be really helpful. There are a couple of free samples and a free trial of the other content I'm using now.

Hi,

I have been preparing for the GMAT for a month now. I haven't taken a diagnostic test yet, but I want to. Which one should I begin with? Any suggestions?

Hi ,

You can begin with Princeton. I found it apt though the maths part is easier than the actual GMAT. If you want to practice difficult QA go with Manhattan. Kaplan tests on the internet are also pretty good but the ones you get on CD are a lot harder than actual level. All the best!

Hi Shaishav,

Thank you for the prompt reply. I think I'll take a Princeton test today itself

Sorry to come across as slightly cheap, but which are the free tests one can get legally apart from the official GMAT Prep?

Also, has the installer of the official GMAT Prep changed over time?

I have one copied off a friend in 2005 and now I downloaded one from the official website. Will they be the same?

Asterion wrote:Sorry to come across as slightly cheap, but which are the free tests one can get legally apart from the official GMAT Prep?

Also, has the installer of the official GMAT Prep changed over time?

I have one copied off a friend in 2005 and now I downloaded one from the official website. Will they be the same?

Almost all of the prep companies offer a free online test. You can find one from veritas, kaplan, manhattan gmat, and princeton review. Odds are after you begin your prep you will find that you need a book to help with sentence correction. If you purchase the Manhattan GMAT guide or any Manhattan GMAT guide you get access to all of their CATs (6 total for free).

I have taken prep test from almost every company and I just finished a GMAT prep test today so I will weigh in on this discussion.

I believe that the best prep tests, in terms of explaining answers and predicting your score is Manhattan GMAT. However, I would say that the best test in simulating the difficulty of the GMAT is Kaplan (their scoring system is just really off in my opinion).

Anyone that reads my posts knows that I feel that Manhattan GMAT provides the best practice materials. I think their CATs are good and provide the best explanations, but there is one major drawback to them in my opinion. The company takes the stance that they would rather over prepare you than underprepare you. With their CATs they will make certain questions ridiculously difficult and you may miss questions on certain topics that you are actually strong in. For example, I missed about 4 overlapping sets problems on Manhattan GMAT CATs but on the GMAT prep and in the official guide, I always get these problems right. I think when analyzing the results of the Manhattan CATs if you feel that you are strong in a certain area, and you miss that question on their CATs, just ignore it and don't waste valuable study time on an area of strength just because they made the question ridiculously difficult and you missed it. Also, if you ask them about this they will tow the company line and say that nothing is wrong with their verbal, but their verbal is off. Their sentence correction is great but their reading comp is easier and their Critical reasoning does not mimic the logic of the GMAT.

One thing you have to realize with all of these tests, is that they are testing you based on how they teach the materials and based on the topics they cover. If they do not cover a topic, you will not see that topic on one of their test. For example, you will not see a permutation and combination problem on a Kaplan test because they do not teach it in their books. Your best bet is to take multiple tests from multiple test prep companies. If you are choosing one though, go with Manhattan GMAT.

That's my two cents.

Would the scores be greatly different if i took different tests?

i took a test from mba.com and got a 400 without studying

i took a test from MGMAT after a week of studying and got 520.

i am now going to take a test from PR

Should this be around 500 also?

Noles579 wrote:Would the scores be greatly different if i took different tests?

i took a test from mba.com and got a 400 without studying

i took a test from MGMAT after a week of studying and got 520.

i am now going to take a test from PR

Should this be around 500 also?

They shouldn't vary that much.

"I score on my GMATPrep between 610-640, so I'm not sure how much stock to put into the Manhattan score. I agree with other posters in regards to the insightful question explanations, but I think their scoring strategy is a bit off. Where the GMATPrep beings to level out, I find the Manhattan CAT tends to keep adjusting.

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to think I'd be about to score a 750 on the GMAT, but I think there Manhattan GMAT CAT tends to score a bit higher. Has anyone else noticed this in their scores as well?"


Hey, just wanted to shoot a quick response to this post: I've definitely found something similar going on, though my score difference isn't that dramatic. GMAT Prep software sees me scoring somewhere in the high 600s (680-690) whereas I'm consistently scoring 700+ on Manhattan GMAT's software.

I LOVE ManhattanGMAT's questions and answer explanations. I'd kiss the feet of their designers and question writers. And, beyond using the GMAT OG's, I'm only really using MGMAT because I love the freedom and flexibility of their self-study package.

Nevertheless, here's something that I do notice when I review my exams: if I get 4 questions in a row wrong on either the Quant or Verbal sections, the question difficulty does not decline all that much. Strangely, I'll still get four questions in a row in what MGMAT describes as the "600-700 range" or "700-800 range" without much give. Now, for me, it seems like once per test, or once per section, I will get 3-4 difficult questions wrong. It's hard for me to imagine that on the real GMAT, the same algorithm would hold true: I recognize that difficulty changes don't come immediately, but I figured that, after getting 10% of all questions incorrect on a given section, my potential score would plummet a bit too.

Anyone from MGMAT care to reply?

The only issue I've had with MGMAT is that their verbal isn't indicative of the verbal on the actual exam. Other than that, the quant is excellent and they give great analysis for each question.

osirus0830 wrote:The only issue I've had with MGMAT is that their verbal isn't indicative of the verbal on the actual exam. Other than that, the quant is excellent and they give great analysis for each question.

When you say MGMAT verbal isnt indicative of real GMAT , do you mean to say MGMAT verbal is very easy? Can you please elaborate your opinion about MGMAT verbal

Basically, their logic is wrong. Their sentence correction is great and accurate, but their reading comprehension is easier (well, the passages are easier to read and understand than official passages). The logic with the CR is just wrong. I would recommend going through the powerscore critical reasoning guide to get the logic that is exact to the logic you will find on the actual exam.