Does GMAT Club QBank/CATS include official GMAC mock questions? 2020

Question

Hi

I am looking to purchase the QBank/CATS provided by GMAT Club and am wondering if the QBank/CATS include updated official GMAC Mock questions?

If they do have these questions, is it possible to exclude these from the QBank/CATS so that when I write the GMAC mocks I will not see an inflated score?

Thanks

Carcass · Answer

The GC Tests do not contain and could not any kind of official question.

Regards

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi pepsi123,

You bring up a really good point about not wanting to see CAT/mock questions before you take a CAT. The most realistic CATs available are the 6 from GMAC, but seeing even a couple of 'repeat' questions (re: questions that you already answered at some point beforehand) during a Test can 'throw off' the Scoring Algorithm and impact your pacing, energy levels, fatigue, etc. (meaning that they would likely all appear to be better than they actually are).

At this point, it's also not clear whether your focus should be on working through a Quiz Bank or not. Before I can offer you any additional advice for your studies, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

Studies:
1) How long have you studied? How many hours do you typically study each week?
2) What study materials have you used so far?
3) On what dates did you take EACH of your CATs/mocks and how did you score on EACH (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?

Goals:
4) What is your overall goal score?
5) When are you planning to take the GMAT?
6) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

pepsi123 · Answer

Hi Rich

Studies:
1) How long have you studied? How many hours do you typically study each week?

I have been studying part time since March, averaging about 15 hours a week

2) What study materials have you used so far?

I used Veritas and have completed most of the content (excluding IR and AWA)

I am a native English speaker and struggle with Sentence Correction. I have completed the Manhattan Sentence correction book and watched all the GMAT Club videos on youtube regarding Sentence Correction

3) On what dates did you take EACH of your CATs/mocks and how did you score on EACH (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?

I have just written six Global Expert CATS as I was going a bit crazy not knowing where my score currently lay.

28/May/2020 680 Q47 V36

01/Jun/2020 660 Q44 V36

01/Jun/2020 670 Q46 V36

02/Jun/2020 630 Q44 V33

02/Jun/2020 730 Q45 V46

Yesterday I scored a increase of 100 in one CAT (V33 to V46 in verbal) so decided I need some more foundation before continuing doing CATs. (I decided to do Verbal first when doing the CAT so not sure if that is part of the reason for such a big improvement)

I believe I can pull my Q mark up to at least Q48 and from what I have read the GMAT Club CATS/Qbank with an error log is great for improving Quant.

Goals:
4) What is your overall goal score?

Anything above 700 would be preferred, however I have about a year timeline before applying to any MBA schools so would like to push as high as possible. I am from Africa so am hopeful will not need to score too high as have a unique story.

5) When are you planning to take the GMAT?

No set date yet, but August would work well for first time writing. (I will most likely write more than once)

6) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?

Either end of 2021 or beginning of 2022 and am only going to apply for the top 10 schools.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi pepsi123,

GMAC has publicly stated that the Official Score that you earn on Test Day is within +/- 30 points of actual ability. Assuming a similar 'swing' in how your CATs function, most of your recent CAT score results show that you essentially performed the same each time (about 650 +/- a few points). The 730/V46 is an interesting 'outlier' - and as such, we have to question that result a bit. You clearly handle certain aspects of the GMAT consistently well, but you also make certain consistent mistakes.

The scoring algorithm on the Official GMAT is far more complicated than most people realize. Since that algorithm is proprietary, no GMAT company has an exact match for it, thus CAT scores can vary a bit based on the 'biases' involved in their respective designs. The most realistic CATs available are the 6 from GMAC, but the CATs from Kaplan, MGMAT and Veritas are all 'close enough' to the real thing that they will provide you with a relatively realistic score assessment (assuming that you correctly take the CAT in a realistic fashion). Since you appear to have taken all of your CATs from one 3rd-party source, I suggest that you take one of the free Official practice CATs (from www.mba.com) next.

In addition, there are certain aspects to Test Day that you can really only train for by taking FULL-LENGTH CATs under testing conditions that will match what you will face when you take the Official GMAT. Once you've learned those things, it's important to remember that taking lots of CATs will NOT make you a better Test Taker. A CAT is really a 'measuring device' - when used correctly, it will give you a realistic score and help define your strengths and weaknesses, but it will NOT help you to fix any of those weaknesses. To raise your scores, you have to learn the necessary Tactics and put in the proper practice and repetitions. The CAT will show you whether your studies are helping you to improve or not. As such, you really shouldn't take more than 1 FULL CAT per week.

Since you are not facing any immediate deadlines, I suggest that you study/review as you like for the next week, then take a new CAT (as mentioned before, one of the 6 CATs from www.mba.com would be best) and make sure you take it in a realistic fashion that matches what you'll face at a Test Facility (take the FULL CAT - with the Essay and IR sections, on a desktop computer if possible, at the same time of day as when you'll take the Official GMAT, wear a face mask, etc.). Once you have that score, you should report back here and we can discuss the results and how best to proceed.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

pepsi123 · Answer

I wrote another Global Expert Mock and received a score off 700 (Q47 V40). (The last two Mocks I have done I started with Verbal and has made an incredible difference in my verbal score) I decided to write my first official Mock and just received a score of 720. (Q47 V42 IR 7). Replicated test conditions, on my laptop, time pressure etc. My Verbal was inflated as there were two questions I had seen before. I am looking to write towards end of July and am hopeful that I will receive at minimum a 700.

My strategy is to finish the remaining CATS/QBank offered by GMAT club then look to writing.

EMPOWERgmatRichC

My strategy is to finish the remaining CATS/QBank offered by GMAT club then look to writing.

EMPOWERgmatRichC

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi pepsi123,

Assuming that you took these CATs under realistic testing conditions that will match what you face when you take the Official GMAT, then you appear to have the necessary skills right now to hit your Score Goal. By extension, if you want to continue your studies as you described, then that would probably be fine.

I want to reiterate that you really should NOT take more than 1 FULL CAT per week. Lately, you've been taking your CATs too frequently; since the process of taking (and reviewing) a CAT requires a significant amount of energy and effort - and takes time to 'recover' from - you have to be careful about accidentally 'burning out' before Test Day.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

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