GMAT Strategy

Hi All,

Wanted to get you guys' opinion on this apparent discrepancy that I'm seeing in my scores.

I have taken the new and old gmat prep tests and scored: 720 (49q 39v), 730(49q 40v), 750(49q 42v), 770 (49q 47v)

I have taken 3 MGMAT scores so far and got 660 each time! Breakdown: 42q 38v, 45q 35v, 46q 35v.

Now I've heard that your MGMAT scores are usually with 40 +/- from what you might get on the actual GMAT..

What do I make of my scores? Should I go ahead and schedule the test or keep prepping until I see improvement in MGMAT scores? My target is 740.

any ideas anyone? anyone had similar experiences?

yes i am facing the same problem. Gave the GMAT Prep Mocks : 740 , 790 and 770. However, I ve only managed a 650 and 680 on the Manhattan and Kaplan respectively. My GMAT is in 10 days (targeting a ~ 750) and I'm pretty worried about the same thing.

I have noticed very VERY consistent scoring, but have not yet taken the GMATPrep:

11/14, MGMAT #1: 640
11/17, MGMAT #2: 640
11/19, MGMAT #3: 640
11/20, MGMAT #4: 660

A few factors seem to be at work here, topspin360. For starters, I suspect that you saw some repeated questions on your third and fourth attempts at the GMATPrep. Even if you didn't recognize them consciously, odds are good that you at least saved a little bit of time on those questions, and it probably helped your score somewhat. That 47V is probably inflated... though we'd all love to see you repeat that performance on the actual test!

I'm a fan of the MGMAT tests and I'm convinced that they're generally accurate, but it's impossible for any test-prep company to perfectly copy the style of the GMAT. MGMAT tests inevitably differ from the GMATPrep exams in a ton of subtle ways, and it isn't unusual for test-takers to perform disproportionately well--or disproportionately badly--on the MGMAT tests, depending on their specific strengths and weaknesses. I frequently see substantial gaps between students' MGMAT verbal scores and their GMATPrep verbal scores, so I'm not surprised to see the discrepancy in yours.

On the quant side, I think it's fair to say that the MGMAT quant questions tend to be, on average, somewhat wordier than GMATPrep questions. If you sometimes get stubborn on questions if you're struggling with the wording, then you might do substantially worse on MGMAT than on GMATPrep. Other students--especially if they've completed an MGMAT course and are comfortable with MGMAT's writing style--will do a little bit better on the MGMAT tests than on GMATPrep.

So don't stress TOO much about the MGMAT scores, topspin360. If I had to guess, I would imagine that your actual level is closest to those first two GMATPrep results.

I hope this helps!