Official guide VS ManhattenPrep Quant section and reaching +-650

Question

Dear all,

I'm studying for the GMAT and my target score is 650. Whilst studying the quant section I noticed huge differences in difficulty between different sources. For example the questions from the official gmat guide (OG)(2016,17,18,19) are easier than for example the Manhattenprep. My question is how good do I need to score on, for example the manhatten prep quant section, in order to reach around 650? I know it's hard to say because the real GMAT is adaptive and so on. But even if you could give me the slightest idea on how good I need to master the 'harder' prep tests that would be great. 
Side note: I read some where for around 650 the OG can suffice if you master it for like 95%.

Thanks in advance.

kiran120680 · Answer

Do the OG for Basics and concepts. Then do the practice question in GMATClub. In Gmatclub check your error log.
Your accuracy should in this range
1. sub 600- 90%
2. 600-700- 80%
3. 700- 70%
Then your quant score would be in between 47-50. If you get 28-32 in verbal in a combination of mentioned Quant score, you will be @ 650+.

CAMANISHPARMAR · Answer

This is a very difficult question to answer. While you are right that the MGMAT Quant mocks are difficult when compared to OG questions, some of the questions I have come across from many test prep companies do not match the official questions in terms of quality. I would advise not to infer anything from your performance on unofficial questions. Just practice them if you have run out of official questions and/or you just need to solve difficult questions. Just don't get bogged down by your performance on these difficult mocks. Use them to remove your mental block about difficult questions.

All the best!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi beuniedeunie,

Since the GMAT is a Computer-Adaptive Test (CAT), there's no practical way to assess how you might score on that Exam by working through a series of questions in a BOOK. Doing some book-based practice is fine, but to properly prepare for the GMAT, most of your study should be done on a computer - and you should take practice CATs at regular intervals (and in a realistic fashion that matches what you will face on Test Day).

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?
2) What study materials have you used so far?
3) How have you scored on EACH of your CATs (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?

Goals:
4) When are you planning to take the GMAT?
5) When are you planning to apply to Business School?
6) What Schools are you planning to apply to?

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

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi beuniedeunie,

So, you ask a great question; however, it’s difficult to provide an exact answer. Certainly, the more questions you correctly answer in the OG, the better, but if you are trying to determine your current GMAT score (and how far you are from your 650 score goal), you should take a full-length MBA.com practice exam. Once you take that exam, feel free to report back here with your score breakdown, and I’d be happy to provide some further advice.

Feel free to reach out with further questions. Good luck!

beuniedeunie · Answer

1) Almost a month now.
2) Mainly the Official Guide and mock tests for practice. For the theory mainly online material such as video's, question breakdowns etc and also some Manhatten Prep books.
3) I have done one CAT at the moment that was two weeks ago. 
Quant: 35 Scaled score. Verbal: 28 Scaled score. 530 total
I'm aware this is far from my target score.
Edit: I have done the Veritas prep test and scored 620 on that one. Quant 42 (out of 60) and Verbal (34 out of 60).
4) im planning to take the GMAT mid May.
5) I'm already in business school but it's for an extra curricular program.

If you need any more information please tell!

Thanks for the effort.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi beuniedeunie,

If you took your most recent CAT (the 620) under realistic conditions (re: you took the FULL CAT - with the Essay and IR sections, you took it away from your home, at the same time that you'll take the Official GMAT, etc.), then you're remarkably close to a 650+ right now.

Many Test Takers spend 3 months (or more) of consistent study time before they hit their 'peak' scores, so if you've been studying for just 1 month, you might naturally improve over time (as you become more familiar with the content and patterns of the Exam. That having been said, "review" is an exceptionally important part of the GMAT training process; your ability to define WHY you're getting questions wrong is essential to defining the areas that you need to work on (and the specific things that you need to 'fix'). As such, I'd like to know a bit more about your last CAT. While a full Mistake Tracker would provide a lot more information, there are some basic questions that you should be able to answer (and the more EXACT you can be with your answers, the better):

After reviewing each section of this recent CAT, how many questions did you get wrong....
1) Because of a silly/little mistake?
2) Because there was some math/verbal that you just could not remember how to do?
3) Because the question was too hard?
4) Because you were low on time and had to guess?
5) How many Verbal questions did you 'narrow down to 2 choices' but still get wrong?

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

mangubaj · Answer

From my experience, MGMAT CATs are about 30-40 points lower than OG CATs, so if you're consistently getting 600-650 on MGMAT exams, I think you'd be in a good spot.

beuniedeunie · Answer

EMPOWERgmatRichC

1) I would say that, especially in the quant section, about 1/4th are silly mistakes. This is a bit harder to indicate for Verbal
2) Some Quant questions I got wrong were indeed accountable to math principles I did not memorize. My main issues seem to be reducing very large root questions and questions regarding primes. Especially the parts with prime numbers and divisibility, everything in that corner is hard for me.
Regarding verbal out of my 11 mistakes, 7 are from Sentence correction so that's an obvious issue I suppose. Never been too keen on grammatics. My english is at a moderate level I'd say but I never really studied the grammatical part. I always 'follow my gut feeling'.
3) In the quant section only really 2 or 3 questions were just straight up too hard. While reviewing my other mistakes I almost immediately caught my mistake and understood why.
Verbal, again sentence correction. Those very long sentences really get me. Also the 650-700 Reading comprehension questions seem quite hard.
4) I finished quant section with 5 minutes left. Verbal was just enough time but had to speed up while I got near the end.
5) Not many honestly, maybe 2/11 or 3/11.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi beuniedeunie,

Many Test Takers spend 3 months (or more) of consistent study time before they hit their 'peak' scores, so if you've really studied for just 1 month so far, then you might naturally improve over time as you continue to study.

Your self-analysis shows that there are two major areas for you to work on: your "mechanics" (your Tactics, note-taking and organization) when you work on Quant questions and grammar/idiom rules for SCs. At this point, the question is whether you can make those improvements on your own (by studying in the same general ways that you were studying before) or if you would need a GMAT Course of some type to help you (by providing the structure, Lessons, specific practice, etc.).

1) Going forward, how many hours do you think you can consistently study each week?

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

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