Are Manhatten CAT tests easier than most?

Question

I purchased the Manhatten Quiz Bank and just finished taking a Manhatten CAT. My overall and quant scores were much higher than my last 5 CATs with Knewton, gogmat, and 800score. Is Manhatten easier than these other CAT providers or easier than most CAT providers?

sanjuro9 · Answer

from my personal experience and from what i have observed on this board, MGMAT tests are very close predictor of your real score (second only to official mba.com CAT).

good luck with your preparation.

brettr · Answer

Thanks. I guess than it's the other providers that are more difficult than the regular gmat perhaps.

bb · Answer

You can get free access to the 6 MGMAT tests with the purchase of any MGMAT Study Guide (not supplement).

brettr · Answer

My Knewton Quant is consistently 10-15 points lower than my Manhattan quant. Both claim to be the same level of difficultly as the real GMAT. While taking each test, I can tell Knewton quant problems are more difficult than Manhattan problems. One of them is wrong about matching the GMAT level of difficulty but which?

BM · Answer

Manhattan's tests usually have a reputation for being more difficult than the GMATPrep, particularly in math. I've read some opinions that Manhattan's math is the most challenging, while others (such as yourself) feel that Knewton's math presents more troubles. And then there's Kaplan with their tough scoring system. Beyond the GMATPrep, it's all a matter of taste.

It depends on what you mean by "wrong" here. Both are wrong in the sense that neither captures the true GMAT experience as well as the GMATPrep does. But if you mean which one is closer to the GMAT, then - again - it's a matter of opinion. Personally, I won't be so harsh as to say that one of them is wrong. Both attempt to mimic the test and strengthen your performance. And from this perspective, Manhattan and Knewton succeed. Perhaps they don't succeed with a grade 100 percent, but both do well enough for me to recommend them.

My apologies for providing such a dull and mushy answer, but that's probably the best you can expect (outside of your own personal experience, of course).

brettr · Answer

Thanks. Maybe than the upside is I will possibly get a higher GMAT quant score or at least the average of my Manhattan and Knewton scores.

novanative · Answer

I too agree that the Manhattan GMAT quant is like lifting weights, however that didn't translate to higher GMAT's in real life for me.

In my experience:

1. 680 (46Q, 36V) - took on 11/6/11
2. 700 (47Q, 39V) - took on 12/1/11
3. 660 (47Q, 33V) - took on 12/4/11
4. 700 (47Q, 38V) - took on 12/11/11
My real GMAT in late december was 640 (43Q, 34V). I took another mid November when I got a 640 (47Q, 32Q). These were good enough to get me into two schools I applied for (Maryland PT MBA; GW MBA) but put me in the 25th percentile for Georgetown Evening MBA (660 was the median last year, and they probably want it higher for this fall's incoming class).

After a waitlist from G-Town and an implication from their letter that I need to improve my GMAT, I had to brush off the GMAT books again, but I half anticipated this so I kept my math a bit fresh, since I was going to end up someplace this fall. I did run through the GMATPrep again, and I noticed some question overlap on the 2nd version and got a 700, but I took this with a grain of salt because who knows how much overlap there was.

5. 720 (44Q, 45V) - took just now, for whatever reason, my verbal appears to be on fire, but after a closer dissection of the MGMAT data, really, I only got an extra problem right or wrong in a couple areas and it knocked my math score down and vice versa for verbal. One guess right or wrong in one section or the other could've changed things up. Then again, I was impressed with my hot streak at the end of the verbal section, which was as hot as Ben Gordon's three point shooting streak that one night when he made 10 of 10 a few weeks ago.

***

At this point, I'm just throwing the GMAT scores in the trash, and hope this Friday kicks ass (because that's my test date). So I'm not taking GMAT Test #6.

I'm re-taking the test in hopes that a higher test score may be the ex factor to get into Georgetown with the 2nd rounders, but I'm also looking really in depth with the schools that have welcomed me with open arms. So, if I get accepted to Georgetown (and presumably with a higher GMAT), well, I'm accepting their offer because it's the top school.

Also, if I bomb the test on Friday, well, it's safe to say I probably am not getting in to Georgetown, so I guess that's pretty much all there is to it, but the other schools are strong in the DC area where I live, and I will be happy there too.

I'm going for broke baby and I'll just go out there to have fun on Friday, like George Mason and VCU did in the Dance!

***

On another note on real scores possibly being better than the practice ones 
Before my first GMAT, I couldn't get a quant score above 46 (the one I got for Manhattan right before my first GMAT in November). My quant on test day was 47 (my highest quant score to date at that time), and it probably was the case because a question or two swung my way. The 43 my second test was probably closer to my real ability.

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Are Manhatten CAT tests easier than most?

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