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540 to 640 in one week? Is this possible?

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540 to 640 in one week? Is this possible?

by pathaniaus » Mon Jul 20, 2009 6:25 am
Hey guys,

I took a practice test from MGMAT 8 days ago and got a 540. I took another practice today from MGMAT and got a 640.
I'm happy that I improved obviously, but at the the same time I have to be wary on whether this is a true reflection on my score.

Have you guys seen such improvements in such a short amount of time??


Thanks,

Udai
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by VP_Jim » Mon Jul 20, 2009 9:19 am
Just playing devil's advocate here...

The real GMAT has a margin of error of 30 points, so let's say that a practice exam - which is just a guess as to how the real GMAT works - has a margin of error of 50 points.

Let's say that you underachieved by 50 points last week, and overachieved by 50 points this week. So, both of those scores are within the margin of error. Your true score is probably somewhere in the middle. Whenever you look at a score from a practice test, imagine it as a 100 point range rather than a true score.

That said, I *have* seen people go up 100 points in a week so it's certainly possible - I just don't want you getting overconfident until you've gotten mid-600 results on a couple more practice tests.
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by myohmy » Mon Jul 20, 2009 10:31 am
Depends. Was 540 the first time you'd ever taken any GMAT practice exam? My first practice test, I got a 480 -- I just was unfamiliar with the GMAT format. One week later, I got a 650.

However, you'd need more scores to tell if the 640 is a true outlier.
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