Manhattan CATs VS Kaplan CATs VS Veritas CATs, A 360 View.

Hello People,

I am pleased to report a score of 710 Q48 V38 AWA 6 IR 1. While preparing for the test, I would search for other posts to see the correlation between X CATs and the real GMAT. However, I could find only old posts and these posts did not contain real time data. Having gotten a decent score, I would like to show you a comparison between my mock scores and the official exam. Please use this post as a guideline only.

REAL GMAT 17 DEC 2015 710 Q48 V38

Lets Start!

Kaplan

Kaplan 1 720 Q51 V37- Dont remember the dates.
Kaplan 2 710 Q50 V36
Kaplan 3 680 Q50 V34
Kaplan 4 700 Q50 V35
Kaplan 5 650 Q48 V34

AVG KAPLAN -700

Pros:
1. The look and feel of the mocks is very similar to the look and feel of the GMAT Test.
2. In the official exam, the first 10 questions are simple, the core starts from the 11th question. Kaplan follows a similar strategy.
3. Questions are good and match those of the official test.

Cons:
1. Even when you make a lot of mistakes, you will still score high on their tests. I was hovering around 650-670 but my Kaplan average was 700. So shave 30 points off your Kaplan average score to predict your official score.
2. The RCs were mind boggling. I could never understand their RC.
3. Few SC and CR were copied from GPSC and GPCR. (If you haven’t done GPSC and GPCR, you should)
4. AWA topics are damn easy
5. IR is not as intense as the IR on the official exam

Manhattan

MGMAT 1 650 Q42 V37 Aug 8
MGMAT 2 640 Q41 V36 Aug 12
MGMAT 3 670 Q47 V35 Aug 18
MGMAT 4 590 Q42 V31 Aug 19
MGMAT 5 680 Q47 V35 Aug 23
MGMAT 6 670 Q45 V37 Aug 27

AVG MGMAT 650

Pros:
1.Manhattan is known for its brutal quant. Seeing tough quant questions in its mocks makes you feel invisible during the official exam.
2.The Verbal is top notch. Manhattan SC is slightly easier (not easy) but very close. Manhattan CR uses the same logic that you would use to solve GPCR.
3.Verbal and quant solutions have awesome explanations.
4.If you consistently touch 700+ on MGMAT then you are ready to bang.

Cons:
1.Manhattan IR is really tough.
2.Some quant questions are extremely dense, require a lot of interpretation and are time consuming.
3.Few SC and CR questions copied from GPSC and GPCR.

Veritas

Veritas 1 620 Q45 V31 July 17
Veritas 2 470 Q43 V12 Sept 4
Veritas 3 620 Q45 V31 Sept 28
Veritas 4 620 Q46 V29 Oct 2
Veritas 5 620 Q44 V32 Oct 21
Veritas 6 620 Q44 V35 Nov 6
Veritas 7 620 Q44 V32 Dec 9

Pros:
1. Few good questions and questions that will teach you tricks.
2. Veritas SC pushes you to the limits, again this is good for the official exam.
3. Finally they have a ‘reset tests’ option.

Cons:
Although I like Veritas Prep Karishma’s solutions, I used to get really demotivated with their mocks.

1.Few CR questions were testing LSAT Logic ( All/Any/ Some/ None stuff )
2.A lot of their quant questions were testing pattern recognition. If you are bad at pattern recognition, then buckle up. Personally I hated their pattern recognition questions.
3.Many questions are copied from GPSC and GPCR.
4.A lot of their solutions didn’t seem convincing to me. I had to always cross check Buneal’s solutions.
5.The algorithm is flawed. See I have V38 but could never cross V35 on their mocks, I could never go beyond Q46 in their mocks either. I had to postpone my exam twice because I was so demotivated with my Veritas Scores.

Final Verdict:

Kaplan: Know that your scores would be higher on Kaplan Mocks. Rating 3/5.
Manhattan: Quant is slightly tough. Verbal is good. Best indicator after GMAT Prep ( Prep 1,2,3 and 4 ) Rating 4/5.
Veritas: Don’t get demotivated with your Veritas Scores. Rating 3/5.

So,
If you have ample time. Start with Veritas, then Kaplan and then Manhattan.

If you have just enough time. Start with Kaplan and then Manhattan.

If you want challenging tests. Do only Manhattan.

If you want to learn really cool techniques and push yourself. Do GMAT CLUB TESTS ( If you want 48+, practice them atleast twice ). I did not mention GMAT CLUB TESTS because I used Quiz mode and did not take full length tests. GMAT CLUB TESTS ( QUESTIONS ) are NECESARRY. No matter what you do, make sure you do GMAT Club tests. Either buy them or get kudos .Rating 10/5.

Final Advice.
1. Best friends to make during your GMAT preps are Buneal from GMAT CLUB, Ron Purewall from MGMAT Universe and GMAT GURU NY from BTG.
2. Stay positive and calm your nerves.
3. Have clarity of thought (You will need to ditch some questions in the official exam to stay on track)
4. GMAT is not a test of aptitude rather a test hardwork, persistence and dedication.

Hope this post helps.

*Request GMAT Takers to pitch in their scores.

Cheers,
Alchemist14