Kaplan Ultimate Practice Test - London

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Kaplan Ultimate Practice Test - London

by leog2006 » Tue May 26, 2009 4:27 pm
Hi, I'm in London. Has anyone taken the Kaplan Ultimate Practice Test? What was your experience? How much time before the real thing should I leave if I sign up for a Kaplan UPT? The snag is that Kaplan London say I must sign up for a classroom course in order to take the UPT. I cannot sign up for the UPT on its own. Since the classrom course cost £1000, I want to make sure it will be worth it.

Any comments people?

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by mike22629 » Wed May 27, 2009 6:17 am
Never taken the Ultimate Practice Test so I can not comment on them, but I will say that Kaplan Practice Tests that come with the CD absolutely suck. I would be very surprised if the "Ultimate Practice Test" were much better. Nothing can compare to GMAT Prep. Just my opinion, but I would not spend that type of money.

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by leog2006 » Wed May 27, 2009 6:44 am
Why does Kaplan tests suck? I have heard lots of positive things about them. I havent tried the Kaplan CD yet. Am curious to know your experience. GMAT Prep is good but has limited number of tests.

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by DanaJ » Wed May 27, 2009 7:21 am
The idea that Kaplan tests are not very good indicators of your performance is actually wide-spread, but it's not my personal opinion. I believe that Kaplan tests tend to be more academic, i.e. focus on straightforward math problems. On test day, you'll likely see a lot of word problems too!

Most people score below their real score on Kaplan for a simple reason: the problems they offer appeal to the academic-math-lovers such as myself. On the other hand, someone who has been out of school for a while (like most test takers) will have a hard time with those babies.

In the end, it's up to you if you want to pay 1000 pounds for that test, but IMHO it's not worth it. Keep in mind one thing: just simulating test conditions is not enough by a long shot! While Kaplan math questions are pretty decent, their verbal is... not exactly GMAT-style. The only book with questions that come close to the official ones was the Powerscore CR Bible. But if you believe that you'd benefit from attending their classes, go ahead! I personally wouldn't spend that much money on GMAT preparation....

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by wgrau » Wed May 27, 2009 11:01 am
The only reason they call it the "Ultimate" practice test is because it is taken at a GMAT testing facility. It is just another Kaplan test, that in my opinion, is not reflective of the real test in both types of questions as well as scoring. See my post on a related topic

https://www.beatthegmat.com/what-is-up-w ... 34393.html

If you only goal is to experience test-taking conditions, just sign up for the GMAT itself. Much less $.

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by leog2006 » Wed May 27, 2009 12:09 pm
Thank you very much fellow GMATers for all your comments! :D

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by 4score20 » Wed May 27, 2009 2:46 pm
I've heard that Kaplan tests tend to be lower than actual results.