Are Manhattan GMAT Practice tests that much harder?

As BB rightly said, Manhattan mock tests - especially quant section, are harder compared to Official test. You better to not focus on such score difference rather focus on weak areas. You can consider such test to improve your pacing & stamina.

Hi esm8193,

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). The MGMAT CATs are generally regarded as being a little tougher than the real thing, but a 130 point difference seems dubious, so we'll have to consider more than just the "brand" of practice CAT that you're taking.

You listed 2 Official CAT results - did you take either of those CATs before? I ask because retaking a CAT that you've already taken is NOT a realistic way to assess your skills - since you will likely see some 'repeat' questions that you have already faced. Unfortunately, seeing even a couple of repeats 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).

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

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

Hey Rich!

To answer your first question, the two official CATs were distinct, no repeats.

Studies:
1) How long have you studied? How many hours do you typically study each week?
- I started studying in December, and dedicate about 10 hours a week.

2) What study materials have you used so far?
I completed a Manhattan in person course, including all the assigned coursework. I completed all quant and sentence correction questions in the OG2020.

3) On what dates did you take EACH of your CATs/mocks
December
Early February
End of February
Early March
1 week ago
Yesterday

Goals:
4) What is your overall goal score? 730
5) When are you planning to take the GMAT? ASAP! I was scheduled for early April but it was cancelled due to COVID19.
6) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to? Not certain yet, but open to any Top20 schools.

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Hi esm8193,

I've sent you a PM with some additional questions.

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

Your performance is much better in the official practice exam and you should use these scores in deciding on your future strategy.

Manhattan practice exams should be used only for practice not for framing opinions about your preparation level.

All the best!

Yes, the MPrep tests tend to be a little harder on Quant (although that isn't the case for everyone who takes them - I've seen many people get very similar official scores to their MPrep scores.) That said, I've also heard anecdotally that the GMATPrep official practice tests are a bit easier in Quant than the real thing. Assuming that you're doing the practice tests exactly how you'll do the real thing, and there are zero external factors that might affect your score either way, the truth is probably somewhere in between your two scores.

That said, because practice tests are invariably somewhat different from the official test no matter how hard you try and how good the test algorithm is... you should use them to tell you in a general sense whether you're in the right range, not predict exactly what your score will be. So, for example, if your Quant goal score was 40, I'd say that you should be moderately confident about hitting 40 or higher on your official test, since you're obviously in the right range! But if your Quant goal was 50, these tests would be a sign that you should continue working.

Hi esm8193

You ask a great question. Certainly, when you take practice tests from companies other than GMAC, you may find some variation in algorithms used and thus variations in your score. So, honestly, the fact that you scored 720 and 750 on your official GMAC practice exams is a really good sign! Also, based on the score breakdowns of those practice exams, it's clear that quant is more of a weakness than verbal. So, if you need any advice on how to improve your quant skills, feel free to reach out.

Good luck!

esm8193 have you already taken the real GMAT?
I'm very curious about your score, because I had a similar experience with a MGMAT CAT today (my first one from MGMAT, scored 590, Q42, V31).

My goal is 650 and I will take the real deal in about 4 weeks.

Thanks in advance!

I scored a 710, my experience is MGMAT's are WAY harder and practice CATs are a little easier.

Congratulations on your score!

I am in the same position as you guys were, and I think MGMAT kind of disturbed my confidence.
Can you tell me when did you take the official test? I’m interested in knowing if you worked harder after your mock tests’ scores for a couple of weeks or you took the test just after. What was your last CAT score before the official exam and how far was it from the exam?

Thank you in advance

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Hey Bashera

I highly recommend you to spend a few hours on the structured CAT reviewer from MGMAT. This tool really helped me a lot to understand what prevented me from reaching my target score and which areas I should work on. For example, I recognized that I had a huge timing problem in Verbal, which was the reason for answering the last 6 questions in Verbal wrong (my Verbal score dropped from 83%ile to 61%ile because of that).

Today I took the first official practice test and scored 680 (Q48, V35) - the reason for at least a part of this improvement is surely the structured CAT review

Best regards

May I know your final GMAT score if you have already taken? I am also in the same state as you in evaluating Mgmat Test outcome.

Yes! I always get anywhere from 720-770 in the official mocks. Just took the free CAT by Manhattan prep and got 660 and looked it up and arrived here xD

I experienced something very similar.

Cat 1 - Manhattan GMAT Practice Test - 640 43Q/35V
Cat 2 - Manhattan GMAT Practice Test - 590 40Q/32V
Cat 3 - Manhattan GMAT Practice Test - 670 46Q/35V
Cat 4 - Manhattan GMAT Practice Test - 670 46Q/35V
Cat 5 - Manhattan GMAT Practice Test - 670 43Q/38V
Cat 6 - Official GMAT Practice Test - 730 48Q/42V

Hi Guys,

I am under the same fix currently. My confidence is also shaken owing to this fact.

With MGMAT CAT I am experiencing the same trend in quant. With me, a good score range of 49 to 51 is maintained until first 8 questions. Then due to algorithm the upcoming mid bracket of 8 to 10 questions is so hard and time consuming that I loose out a lot of time, but end up answering most of the tough questions correctly. The disaster happens when I am left with almost no time and I have to guess the last 10 to 15 questions and due to incorrect and inaccurate guessing, the score consequetively declines.

I seriously need help about how to manage the time for quant because sure as hell I cant solve all questions to perfection. Confused about what point of time would be correct to guess and move on and when to actually invest time and solve. Any indicators or any comments are appreciated.

M.

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Just found this thread and my eyes are opened. So far my performance:

Cat 1 - Official GMAT Practice Test 1 - 650

---After 2 months of study

Cat 2 - Manhattan GMAT Practice Test - 670
Cat 3 - Manhattan GMAT Practice Test - 650
Cat 4 - Manhattan GMAT Practice Test - 640
Cat 5 - Manhattan GMAT Practice Test - 680 Q45 V37 (Yesterday)

I was hoping for 720+ on yesterday's CAT. I have been pushing my test date since a month not because of bad scores on Manhattan tests. I know they are hard and have been told that people usually score +30 on GMAT. I have a 750 target, So for Manhattan, I wanted to achieve a 720-730 and then take the official practice test 2. I score Q50 on Gmat Club tests and V37 on Manhattan mocks. Is Manhattan verbal also tougher than the official GMAT?

I think I will take the official mock now!

Edit :
Cat 6 - Official GMAT Practice Test 1 - 730 Q50 V39 (Today)

I scored 710 on GMAC Mock and got 620 on actual test yesterday. Totally heartbroken😔

On Manhattan, I was hitting the range of V35 to V38 but on gmat I scored V27.

I would advise you to work harder and keep resetting on mgmat mocks until you start obtaining a consistent score, considering the resetting and score inflation factor. Always alot of time reassessing that every uestion ypu answered was fairly answered and not just a stroke of luck out of 5 or last two options. It must be clear why you answered what you answered and you will know, how relevant and justified in your score. After this clarity and confidence, start taking GMAC mocks. You can reset them only twice and most of the questions repeat so scores inflate.

Hope that you achieve all that you hope for. Lots of good vibes. Good Luck.

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