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Practice tests ...

by II » Sun Feb 17, 2008 9:01 am
Hi All,

I firmly believe that "practice tests" should take a key part of any study plan.
I have my GMAT exam scheduled for the 3rd April, and am planning to complete 1 practice test every week, leading upto the the actual exam.
This means I will have completed 7 practice tests before taking the real thing.
2 of these will be the GMATPrep tests (downloadable from mba.com) ... as these are supposed to be the closest to the real thing.
I will be using the practice tests to basically setup my study plan for the upcoming week's study. So if I take an practice exam today, I will use the analysis of the results to help me plan my study plan for the coming week ... ensuring that I hone in on my weak areas.

I am planning to use the ManhattanGMAT CAT tests for the other 4 tests. Are these the best ones to take (other than the GMAT Prep tests), or should I be looking at other practice tests (from PR, Kaplan, or others ?)

P.S. I completed my first CAT today (untimed) from ManhattanGMAT to get a feel for the exam. Scored 560 (57%) ... Q 34 (41% - with a lot of prep) V 33 (69% ... with little/no prep).
This was untimed ... so is a bit exaggerated. The purpose for me was to just get a very initial feel, and will take the next test under timed conditions.
Thanks.
II
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by beatthegmat » Sun Feb 17, 2008 8:33 pm
I also like the PR and Kaplan practice tests.
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by frantastic » Sun Feb 17, 2008 9:18 pm
Definitely PR. Kaplan is reputed to be the least like the real tests, so I don't know about those.
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by II » Mon Feb 18, 2008 12:08 am
Thanks guys. Will try and look at the PR practice tests ... but havent heard much good things about Kaplan.
I think the ManhattanGMAT and the GMATPrep should put me in good stead, right ?

Thanks.
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by beatthegmat » Mon Feb 18, 2008 8:33 pm
I think that the Kaplan tests are good practice but they are hard and I'm skeptical about the scoring algorithm. However, I found a lot of value in those tests during my prep.
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by AleksandrM » Thu Feb 21, 2008 10:52 am
What do people think about the MGMAT practice CATs? How do they compare to the Kaplan, PR, and the actual GMAT? I am going to buy an MGMAT text for word problems, which gives me access to 6 practice tests. I was curious whether I should stick to PR, Kaplan and MBA practice CATs, or should I give one of the Manhattan tests a try to change things up a little bit.
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by beatthegmat » Thu Feb 21, 2008 7:59 pm
AleksandrM wrote:What do people think about the MGMAT practice CATs? How do they compare to the Kaplan, PR, and the actual GMAT? I am going to buy an MGMAT text for word problems, which gives me access to 6 practice tests. I was curious whether I should stick to PR, Kaplan and MBA practice CATs, or should I give one of the Manhattan tests a try to change things up a little bit.
I have heard really great things about the MGMAT practice tests.
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by Stacey Koprince » Sat Feb 23, 2008 2:06 pm
Please please please don't take a practice test a week. That's NOT the best use of your time.

The practice tests should be used to test yourself on whether you learned what you were trying to learn between tests. Take a test, study it extensively to learn your strengths and weaknesses across question type, content area, difficulty level, and timing (don't forget about that last one!). Cross-check that with the stuff you know comes up frequently on the test (how do you know? ask here, look in your books, etc). Then set up a 2-3 week study plan. THEN take another practice test.

If you are analyzing your test thoroughly, you can easily come up with 2-3 weeks worth of stuff for a study plan. Deal with whatever you need to deal with from the last test before you test yourself again. But DON'T just take a bunch of tests over and over without targeted study in betwee. You'll get a little better, yes, but you won't maximize your score.

As you get closer to the test, you may need to up the frequency. I tell my students to take 2 tests in the final 2 weeks - one exactly 2 weeks before and one exactly 1 week before. (Note: don't take one in the few days leading up to the official test. You'll just tire yourself out.)
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by II » Sat Feb 23, 2008 4:53 pm
Stacy ... you comments make total sense. It all boils down to "quality" Versus "Quantity".
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