Events & Promotions
|
|
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.
Customized
for You
Track
Your Progress
Practice
Pays
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
May 0510:00 AM PDT
-11:00 AM PDT
GMAT Inequalities is a high-frequency topic in GMAT Quant, but many students struggle because the concepts behave differently from standard algebra. Understanding the right rules, patterns, and edge cases can significantly improve both speed and accuracy.- May 06
08:30 AM PDT
-09:30 AM PDT
In Episode 3 of our GMAT Ninja Critical Reasoning series, we tackle Discrepancy, Paradox, and Explain an Oddity questions. You know the feeling: the passage gives you two facts that seem completely contradictory.... - May 08
08:00 AM PDT
-08:30 AM PDT
Join the special YouTube live-stream for selecting the winners of GMAT Club MBA Scholarships sponsored by Juno live. Watch who gets these coveted MBA scholarships offered by GMAT Club and Juno.
Sovjet
Joined: 21 Jun 2011
Last visit: 23 May 2012
Posts: 17
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 1
Affiliations: CFA Institute (CFA Candiate), Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CA Candiate), Chartered Alternative Investments Analysts Association (CAIA Candidate)
Location: Canada
Concentration: Finance, International Business
WE:Research (Finance: Investment Banking)
09 Aug 2011, 12:27
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hey all,
After finishing GMAT Premier (Kaplan), I took the first of 4 practice tests. I know it's too early for me to judge my actual performance on the GMAT based on a single attempt, but I'm pretty happy with a 710 (46Q/43V) on the Kaplan practice exam.
I used the GMAT Club's calculator (w w w.gmatclub. c o m/gmat-score-calculator/ - sorry, can't post URLs yet) and am projected to score a 780 - which sounds a little bit too good to be true. Are the Kaplan tests really that skewed towards difficulty, or do they vary year over year (I'm using the latest edition) with regards to difficulty?
Note: I know I'm posting on a public forum - and this may seem like a boastful post, but I'm really just interested in people's opinion on whether Kaplan is as skewed as suggested by the GMAT Club's calculator.
Thanks in advance.
After finishing GMAT Premier (Kaplan), I took the first of 4 practice tests. I know it's too early for me to judge my actual performance on the GMAT based on a single attempt, but I'm pretty happy with a 710 (46Q/43V) on the Kaplan practice exam.
I used the GMAT Club's calculator (w w w.gmatclub. c o m/gmat-score-calculator/ - sorry, can't post URLs yet) and am projected to score a 780 - which sounds a little bit too good to be true. Are the Kaplan tests really that skewed towards difficulty, or do they vary year over year (I'm using the latest edition) with regards to difficulty?
Note: I know I'm posting on a public forum - and this may seem like a boastful post, but I'm really just interested in people's opinion on whether Kaplan is as skewed as suggested by the GMAT Club's calculator.
Thanks in advance.
09 Aug 2011, 15:06
Kudos
Bookmarks
First, as a general reminder for anyone who reads this, remember to always take the practice CAT's under realistic test conditions. Take the test under time constraints with the AWA at a desk with scratch paper. This approach give you the most value out of the practice tests.
And now on to your question:
The Kaplan CAT's were known for their extreme difficulty and harsh scoring, so someone who consistently scored in th 700-plus range on those could expect a much higher score on the real test. About a year ago, however, Kaplan altered its tests in order to simulate a more realistic test experience. From what members have stated on the forums, the change wasn't that big. I'm not sure whether GMATClub has adjusted to these recent changes.
But a 710 is a very, very good start. Just keep focused and dedicated. Try to space those tests throughout your studies and monitor your progress. Hopefully the score goes up!
And now on to your question:
The Kaplan CAT's were known for their extreme difficulty and harsh scoring, so someone who consistently scored in th 700-plus range on those could expect a much higher score on the real test. About a year ago, however, Kaplan altered its tests in order to simulate a more realistic test experience. From what members have stated on the forums, the change wasn't that big. I'm not sure whether GMATClub has adjusted to these recent changes.
But a 710 is a very, very good start. Just keep focused and dedicated. Try to space those tests throughout your studies and monitor your progress. Hopefully the score goes up!
09 Aug 2011, 15:33
Kudos
Bookmarks
I've taken two Kaplan CATs, one within the last 36hrs and score 730 & 700 respectively. My posts are a few threads below yours. I'll also be taking the GMAT today in less than 12 hours so I'll update tonight or tomorrow once I know my score to give a comparison btwn actual and Kaplan scores. (I scheduled a 6pm test and its 6am over here...)
I find that the Math score is not indicative of much. The Kaplan math section tests you only on the grasp of the basics and the DS qtns are insufficiently challenging. You rarely find difficult conceptual qtns such as hard inequalities DS questions that frequenlty pop up on Gmatprep. You should take a high score here with a pinch of salt.
Because of the scoring algo which punishes careless mistakes very harshly (since the low difficulty level will result in a high score penalization with each question wrong), a low score doesn't count for much as well. You should only be worried if you are getting the qtns wrong because they are too difficult for you which in your case I find unlikely. Be careful, your 46Q prob means you tend to make careless mistakes. If you have timing issues in this test with this level of difficulty, I would suggest strongly that you improve your time management as GMAT qtns I assume would be at a much more higher difficulty level.
Verbal is a mixed bag. RC can follow a huge range with very difficult or very easy passages to delve through. If you do well in the difficult ones, you should be pretty much set for RC questions on GMATprep. CR is pretty straightforward as well. SC is very different from what appears on the GMATprep in my opinion with many qtns not following 2/3 splits. Also, the scoring algo punishes wrong answers very severely as well. Because of the weird algo and varying difficulty level, I've noticed from the scores of other posters in this forum that their verbal Kaplan scores jump around enormously. If you can consistently score high for verbal in Kaplan, I think you should do well in the actual exam as well. If your score is all over the place, than you can't really draw a conclusion one way or another.
However, reading other posters, none of the other companies, Veritas/Knewton/Manhattan, really come close to replicating the GMAT, so use these tests to improve your timing and test taking skills. If you consistently score well and can get at least a 50% on the toughest conceptual quant qtns (within 3 minutes), you should do very well.
Good luck!
I find that the Math score is not indicative of much. The Kaplan math section tests you only on the grasp of the basics and the DS qtns are insufficiently challenging. You rarely find difficult conceptual qtns such as hard inequalities DS questions that frequenlty pop up on Gmatprep. You should take a high score here with a pinch of salt.
Because of the scoring algo which punishes careless mistakes very harshly (since the low difficulty level will result in a high score penalization with each question wrong), a low score doesn't count for much as well. You should only be worried if you are getting the qtns wrong because they are too difficult for you which in your case I find unlikely. Be careful, your 46Q prob means you tend to make careless mistakes. If you have timing issues in this test with this level of difficulty, I would suggest strongly that you improve your time management as GMAT qtns I assume would be at a much more higher difficulty level.
Verbal is a mixed bag. RC can follow a huge range with very difficult or very easy passages to delve through. If you do well in the difficult ones, you should be pretty much set for RC questions on GMATprep. CR is pretty straightforward as well. SC is very different from what appears on the GMATprep in my opinion with many qtns not following 2/3 splits. Also, the scoring algo punishes wrong answers very severely as well. Because of the weird algo and varying difficulty level, I've noticed from the scores of other posters in this forum that their verbal Kaplan scores jump around enormously. If you can consistently score high for verbal in Kaplan, I think you should do well in the actual exam as well. If your score is all over the place, than you can't really draw a conclusion one way or another.
However, reading other posters, none of the other companies, Veritas/Knewton/Manhattan, really come close to replicating the GMAT, so use these tests to improve your timing and test taking skills. If you consistently score well and can get at least a 50% on the toughest conceptual quant qtns (within 3 minutes), you should do very well.
Good luck!
