GMAT Strategy

shadowsjc wrote:I've only taken MGMAT and GMATPrep tests, so my answer will be biased. However, I think the MGMAT tests were very helpful - their explanations were easy to follow. I also liked the fact that they could write down what types of questions you were getting wrong so you could focus your studying on them.

Best part is that you get 6 free CAT tests for free when you buy one of their subject books for about $20 - a great investment IMO

I entirely agree. The other thing I really liked about MGMAT was that the questions were extremely hard and it can be tough to find those types of questions.

The GMAT prep tests, obviously, are very realistic and tough, but the lack of explanations is really maddening.

as an aside, which tutoring service do you guys think is the best for someone who is starting to study for the exam? i have heard that some people start with princeton review then take manhattan gmat for the tougher questions. do you guys have any thoughts on this strategy? i know it costs a lot of money to do this but i guess that is the sacrifice for a good score.

as an aside, which tutoring service do you guys think is the best for someone who is starting to study for the exam?

Just my 2 cents:

1) Get the Manhattan gmat quant strategy guides(5 in total),Manhattan gmat SC Verbal guide/RC guide, Powerscore gmat CR bible
2) OG 11 or 12
3) GMAT PREP EXAMS taking it over and over again and getting yourself familiar with the question types.You can find the solution to almost all gmat prep questions on this site(may take some time to search) In addition visit this site and Manhattan gmat site for more gmat prep questions. GMAT prep is the closest to the real deal and have no doubts about it.
4) For additional practice Manhattan gmat exams (5 in total) which u get for free if u buy even one of their startegy guides

To answer your question I would defnitely suggest you to start off with just Manhattan gmat quant strategy guides(www.manhattangmat.com) as they cover the basics also.

Regards,
CR

As far as the difficulty level goes Kaplan are the toughest especially the Verbal section.
Also the sectional tests that they provide are very good practice.

GMAT prep is the ultimate one though, keep on practicing on that same software until you reach 750, believe me there wont be much difference between your actual score and the mock score.

kanhaiya wrote:As far as the difficulty level goes Kaplan are the toughest especially the Verbal section.
Also the sectional tests that they provide are very good practice.

GMAT prep is the ultimate one though, keep on practicing on that same software until you reach 750, believe me there wont be much difference between your actual score and the mock score.

I want to respectively disagree. I think that the Kaplan verbal section was not realistic. In addition to there being typos in Gmat Premier's Sentence Correction questions, the scores in my study group for verbal with Kaplan have been WAY lower than those of GMAT prep.

In general, I have found that Kaplan's GMAT score is way too low but the content difficulty is too easy.

I would recommend PowerScore and Platinum's GMAT practice test.

I have used both PR and MGMAT.

I honestly feel that the MGMAT CAT tests are entirely different from PR. I can score 600+ on PR but I can't come close to that with MGMAT. The quant questions on MGMAT seem to be longer and more drawn out, and on a completely different level of difficulty.

I am honestly nervous considering that most users who have vote are reporting MGMAT as a better source of practice...which I am taking as a closer measure of score.

I just completed the Power Prep 30 practice test. I don't know the year of release of this but this practice test is NOT a good indicator of your overall performance at all. I am by no means a 700+ GMAT student, but this test made blaring calculation errors. For instance, 80% of 30,000 is 25,000!

I knew that this test must have been old, because I saw a lot of questions from OG 11 on it. I remember some of the CR questions from it and again, more errors! I was so sure that the test was wrong that I checked OG 11 and sure enough, the test had the exact question from the book wrong. No wonder ETS no longer has the rights to the GMAT. DO NOT waste your time on the Power Prep 30 practice test.

Hi

I guess I need some enlightment here. The GMAT Prep, is that the one you can download for free from mba.com (the 2 free practice tests)? Can you go back to download 2 more tests to find that they are different questions or do the 2 tests have the standard same questions? I'm hoping every time you download, the questions are different but we know life isn't that convenient!

It seems that Kaplan CAT tests are harder.

Dec. 5 - Free Kaplan Live GMAT Practice Test

Question: Do you get a full breakdown of your score if you do this free practice test? Is it recommended. I was thinking of doing it on Saturday. Do your essays get marked as well?

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!