GMAT Practice Tests: Is this normal?

Question

PowerPrep Test 1 650
GMATPrep 1 660 (45/35)
PowerPrep Test 1 700 (46/40)
Kaplan Test 4 580 (33/36)

I felt like I was making good progress until I took a Kaplan practice test yesterday. Are these scores usually lower than the actual GMAT or are the tests I downloaded from MBA.com easier than the actual GMAT? I am scheduled to take the test in 2 weeks and would really like a 700+. Should I postpone the test based on my last score or go ahead and take it based on my previous scores?

Any last minute study tips?

Yurik79 · Answer

Kaplan score is not good indication of your real abilities
add at least 80 points to your Kaplan test results

KLmets · Answer

I don't knwo if Kaplan does this, but when I was studying for the GREs, I took a class with a local prep program. They gave us noticeably harder tests than the real GREs so that they can keep their promise of 100 pt increase on the real one. So for the diagnostic i took with the prep course, I got a very mediocre score, but on the actual GREs, I got a 1490.

MBA 2007 · Answer

Thanks for the responses. That makes me feel better. I won't take the other Kaplan tests.

I will go ahead and take the GMATPrep 2 this week and then the real thing next weekend.

Any tips on how I should spend my last week studying? I haven't really spent any time studying for the AWA sections. Should I?

kidderek · Answer

I think all prep courses make the diagnostic hard just to scare you into taking their course.

btw, Let's go METS!!!

MBA 2007 · Answer

I think you must be right. I took the GMATPrep 4 today and scored a 710. Now I feel better about taking the real thing on Saturday.

meander · Answer

I agree with the others. Do the Powerprep tests and if you have time, do the Princeton Review tests as well. They are a lot like the real thing. If you don't have the Cracking the GMAT book, you can do a free test on their Web site, https://www.review.com.

shoob · Answer

I scored 730 on GMATprep 1. Is there any correlation between this score and what I can expect on the real GMAT? I want to study as little as possible and pull a 700...

diegmat · Answer

Shoob - yes there does appear to be a correlation between the actual GMAT and GMATPrep.

pelihu · Answer

There is a strong correlation between GMATprep and the real GMAT. I would say that if you are scoring 730 consistently on GMATprep, your chances of getting 700 on the real thing are very good. However, it's hard to make an accurate estimate based on just one attempt.

MBA 2007 · Answer

I made a 710 on the real GMAT today. Thanks to everyone on the site. I learned a lot reading the boards.

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GMAT Practice Tests: Is this normal?

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