How to perceive Kaplan and Manhatten scores vs. GMATPrep

[timtim]

Hi,

I have been studying for GMAT for a long time now and I'm seeing a significant difference between my scores in Kaplan and MGMAT simulation vs. GMATPrep. My goal score is 730 and I have mannaged to reach it only on GMATPrep 1 after a reset (and significant time that elapsed). More than the general score, it is important that I will have a quant score of 45 of higher, as I understand this is the quant threshold to into some of the top schools.

Over a few months, I have taken 9 CATs, in this order:

Kaplan CAT 1 600 (Q40, V35) - The very first one
Manhatten CAT 1 590 (Q35, V35)
Manhatten CAT 2 630 (Q39, V37)
Manhatten CAT 3 650 (Q39, V39)
GMATPrep 1 540 (Q32, V33) - screwed up the timing in this one
Kaplan CAT 2 590 (Q42, V31)
Kaplan CAT 3 630 (Q38, V42)
GMATPrep 1 (reset) - 730 (Q45, V45)
Manhatten CAT 4 640 (Q37, V39)

My actual GMAT test is in a week and a half. Quant is my weakness and I have been studying that exclusively for a long time now. I read in various places that Manhatten quant questions are harder than the actual GMAT. I also read that you should take your practice scores with a pinch of salt, because they only consider the people that took this specific test.
What should I make of these scores?

Thanks,
timtim

[David@VeritasPrep]

It is not that the M- GMAT questions are harder it is just that the test can score tougher than the GMAT itself.

However, your GMATPrep 1 RESET score is very different than your other CAT scores. I am suspicious of this one high score.

You need another reliable test score here. An official GMATPrep score would be the best.

Have you taken GMATPrep 2 test? If you have you can purchase the GMATPrep Exam Pack 1 add-on and get tests 3 and 4.

If you need an additional free test that has proved to very reliable in terms of matching up with the official GMATPrep try the FREE Veritas Prep practice test.

[timtim]

Thanks, I didn't know there are GMATPrep 3 and 4, I might get them.

I've just done GMAT Prep 2 and the result was wasn't very happy with the result: 670 (Q37, V44).
This strange as I have answered only 12 quant questions incorrectly in that one. In my previous attempt (Q45), I answered 17 questions incorrectly. But I think this time there were more wrong answers in the begining than there were in the end. I answered the first four questions incorrectly.
In my previous attempt, I answered questions 31-33 and 36-37 incorrectly, but most of the questions in the begining were correct.

That's a valuable lesson about the way the test works.
Timtim

P.S - I have to say I felt much better about GMAT Prep 2 than GMAT Prep 1. The questions felt harder, but I also felt I solved them correctly (which turned out to be true for most of them, but didn't really help my score this time).

[David@VeritasPrep]

Verbal 44 is a really good score. Okay a great score.

Your Quant score seems to be a bit inconsistent. A 45 is very different from a 37.

This combined with missing the first 4 questions and the impact that this had on your score indicates to me that you may be missing questions that you should be getting right - i.e. "easier questions."

The reason why it can be bad to miss several questions so early, and the reason why it is often tough on your score if you miss several in a row is that these questions may include some questions that are a lower level of difficulty.

You can afford to miss more questions so long as the questions you are missing are at a higher level of difficulty. The key is simply to not miss "easy" questions.

For more on this you might want to read https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2012/12/ ... n-the-gmat

[VivianKerr]

Did you see a lot of repeat Q's on the GMAT Prep 1 reset? I have to say, the 730 is really unusual-looking at your other scores.

I have to say, personally I don't put a huge amount of faith in Kaplan's tests, but I do find MGMAT's exams to be challenging and on par with the toughest GMAT questions.

My guess is that if you were to walk into the GMAT today, you'd probably be looking at a score in the low-to-mid 600's assuming all goes well with the pacing. I'd take GMAT Prep 2 next -- that will give you the best idea of where you're at realistically right now.

BUT keep in mind, this is a LOT of CATs, and if we ignore the GMAT Prep 1 reset, your score range has only ranged from 590-650 over your entire study period. Are you sure you're using these CATs as effectively as you can to adjust your study plan to pinpoint and effectively target your weaknesses? The best use of a CAT is a diagnostic score -- IMO, the "score" they churn out at the end is essentially useless. I treat them as "ballpark" scores only. And depending on what your target score is, I usually suggest students take the GMAT once their practice test scores are at least 20+ points above that target score. There's always more pressure on Test Day, so if you know you need a safe 730, you need to be scoring 750 on practice tests, which is a REALLY high score. Assuming the GMAT Prep 1 was a reset, that puts you still about 100 points away.

Anyway, tangent aside, you're using great material with the OG and MGMAT. Go for the GMAT Prep 2 (I could totally be wrong and you could get a 730 on it, which would be amazing!) -- but maybe beforehand try to get a bit realistic with yourself about how you can essentially jump 100 points? A 730 is do-able, but I'm guessing you might need to move your focus away from CATs and back to revving up your strategies and knowledge of the most advanced concepts. Have you looked at MGMAT Advanced GMAT Quant? It's an awesome book!

Good luck!

[timtim]

Dear Vivian,

Thanks for your reply. As I wrote above, I've done GMAT Prep 2 and got 670 (Q37, V44).
I didn't remember any quant questions from GMAT Prep 1 and didn't go over the test once I finished it (that was intentional, I went over the rest of the CATs).

I postponed my GMAT by a little bit in order to try to improve my score. I'm confident that if I get a high result on verbal (which seems likely), I can cross 700. I can definately do quant questions correctly, even 700-800 ones, but my intuition isn't good enough to do them quickly.
Another major hurdle is that sometimes I do get the easier questions wrong. I hope I can solve that as well, with more practice.

timtim